Lamaster Dairy Farm - Midterm Quizlet

How many dairy cows are at this farm?

150-170 cows at any point in time

What is the milking robot called?

Delaval

How many of the cows are Holstein, and what is the runner-up?

2/3 are Holstein, the other 1/3 is mostly Jerseys

Four breeds on the dairy farm ranked from most to least

- Holstein (2/3)

- Jersey (almost 1/3)

- Brown Swiss (just a few)

- 1 Gurnseys

The Clemson farms has the cows from ______ to _______.

the time they are born; when they are done being milked (they are replacement heifers and are kept as such until they outgrow their use)

When are the dairy calves separated from their mom?

Nearly right after being born

Why do the heifers go into hutches after their child is born? How long are they there, and how often are they milked?

Colostrum collection, they are there for two months and are milked twice a day

Where do the heifers go after their two months of being milked and hutches?

They are transitioned back into the group setting

At what age are cows moved to the breeding area? What kind of breeding is used there?

At 12-13 months; only AI is used which ups the genetic diversity

Why are cows not bred "naturally" and AI is used instead?

Dairy bulls are very aggressive

Are there any male bulls on the Clemson farm? If so, what breed?

There is one, it is Angus

What is the goal age of pregnancy and why?

15 months because you want them to give birth at two years

How often does the average cow have a calf?

Every year (12 months)

How often are cows milked, and how long is their dry time? Why do they have said dry time?

They are milked for ten and dry for two, during that dry time there is no milking (the cow is about to give birth) which allows them to rest and heal before giving birth

Traditional cow barn setup

- cows housed in the barn

- milked in the parlor two to three times a day

Modified guided flow system (ours, NOT the standard)

- make a partially mixed ration (PMR) and feed it twice a day

- Feed side: stalls and water (a true guided system would not have this but we do)

-Sort gates wither bring them to be milked or to be fed, the left ear has a RFLO tag which tracks this

Benefits of modified guided flow system

less cows that we have to fetch to milk

How much is a fresh cow (early in milk) milked

About four times a day

A mature cow is milked more/less often

More often

When is the peak milk and how often are these cows milked?

At the 50 day mark, 4-5 times a day

Why do we feed PMR and not TMR in the feed stalls?

Because the feeder has pellet feed that covers what the milker does not. Motivates cows to come be milked

Steps of robot milking

- clean the teets

- cup cleaner - intitiates let down which releases oxytocin in the cow's brain. Stimulates teets to get them producing/open

- Each quarter milked to prevent overmilking of any one quarter

- Robot identifies any sick cows based on the milk, monitors the quarter level

Mastitis

inflammation of the breast tissue. Can be found through the electricity in the milk, if it is high then the cow has it.

How to see if a cow is infected through somatic cell count

If the cell count rises (30k cells/mL) then there is an infection

What do the collars on the cows do?

Measure their physical activity.

Why are jerseys housed independent?

Because their stalls are narrower

Why are the teets sprayed before and after milking?

because of the steak cannal, decreaces change of infection

When was the barn built? When were the robots added?

2017, 2019

How long does the average milking take?

6 minites

How many milking robots are there? What is the cow to robot ratio?

There are 3, which is a 60 cow/robot ratio

How much did the robots cost?

300k

Benefits of the robots? (hint - this is why small farms like them so much)

Decreases the labor and allows for flexibility

If there is no robot for milking what is done instead?

There will be a staff of people, and the job is very labor intensive

Milk cup

rubber with a hard shell

Milk tank

- 6k gallons

- picked up every 3 days

- 1300 gallons/day

- most milk goes to ingles

- milk chilled, paddles keep it from separating,

-part of Apalachin co-op

- Product is fluid milk, pasteurized and homogenized

Robots work 24/7 except...

At 8AM and PM, as that is the cleaning time, and 5AM because that is the pickup time for the tank

Withdrawal period

- cannot get milked during the intake period

- cow is milked, then the robots diverts it

- then we get a sample and test them, if an antibiotic is found then the lot is dumped and the barn is fined for transport etc.

One gallon is _____ pounds

8

Pasturazation

prevents health issues

Homogenization

break up the fat and allow it to mix. Some farms sell milk that does not undergo this, which would be cream and skim

Percent fat in whole milk

3.5%

Are the heifers housed together? What about the bulls?

No, they have individual housing.

Why are calves housed individually?

Because they have poor immune systems

Do the calves get ventilation?

Yes, in the form of fans

How much milk do the calves get

They get it twice a day for two months, two quarts in AM and PM

When are the calves weened

8 weeks and then turned out into the pasture.

Collostrum

first milk, helps with immunity. We test it before using it to make sure that it works well. Holsteins make a gallon and jerseys make a little more than 2 quarts. Only happens in the first 1-2 hours. Better if the mom makes it for HER calf not someone else's.

At what age are the bulls sold

One week

What do we feed the heifers at first? What age do we switch, and what do we switch to?

texturized feed, at 5-6 months we switch to pellet

Is grazing or feed the main food source?

Feed

When are the female cows sold for beef?

When they can no longer reproduce (5-7 years). This means we get 3-4 lactations and 30% are sold out per year

Cow barn

- has brush

- feed bunk gives PMR

-Sprinklers

- Fans keep cows cool

- Tank with water flushes waste

- Sand beds (inorganic, drains well, comfortable)

What do we do with the flushed sand?

It goes to the separation lane, can be cleaned and recycled

Research barn

- for research and trials

- 16 stalls, individual housing

- Good for nutrition trials because we can separate the feed

Why is milk kept at a low temprature?

It prevents the milk from denaturing (below 40 degrees F)

Hospital barn

- maternity for those just born

- early labor stages

- hoof trimming spot

-abomasum surgery

How often are cow hooves trimmed?

At least once a year

Displaced abomasum

large rate of survival, surgery for this, when the abomasum flips and is stuck on the rumen

Two months before labor we...

dry them off

When do we close up the pen?

3 weeks before labor

Signs of calving

-laying down, antsy, discharge

Correct calving position

- front feet and nose. If the head comes first, push it back in and pull

Do fat cows have an easier or harder calving?

A harder one

Do cows need more or less assistance calving than horse?

They need more. They are also more aggressive than horses

How many pounds of milk to holsteins produce per day

5-9 lbs of milk

How many total cows are at this farm?

Dry cows and 200 replacement heifers

400 cows total.

Where do cows get turned out to after being milked?

The feed side

partial + robot feed =

total mixed ration

What do teat cups do

compress the teat to reduce the accumulation of fluid and congestion of the teat canal. Also measure the flow rate. Robots will pull the cup off once the quarter is milked.

What does the disinfection help start the production of?

The disinfection helps stimulate Oxytocin. Goes through the bloodstream to the mammary gland which helps induce the milk. All the milk goes to the same barrel.

Three weeks before birth the cow is moved to...

3 weeks before the expected due date will be moved to close up dry cow pens

How long after birth do you wait before breeding again?

75 days

White blood cell count - what is healthy, and what shows signs of an illness

The cut off for white blood cell count is 150,000-200,000. 300,000 is likely to be an infection.

How many feedings do calves get collostrum for?

Two

Quarts fed for calves (holstein and jersey)

Jersey gets two quarts at am and pm. Holsteins get 3 quarts

Where does the barn waste go?

The waste from the barn goes into the lagoon

Corn Sylage

Corn Sylage, what is feed to the cows. Chopped up and packed down, keep free of oxygen.goes into pickles.

Barn flush out

4 hrs 6 times a day the barn is flushed out. The sand can be reclaimed because it will settle out first, be scooped and piled up and will be cleaned through rain. Sand lane.

Balage

50% dry matter wrapped in plastic, allowed to ferment.

How much do holsteins eat a day?

Holstein eats 120 lbs of feed per day. 60lbs of dry matter.

Cannulated cow

plug that helps absorb content of rumen and allows access to it for teaching and research. 3 cows on the farm are like that.

Kalen gates

guides cows from holding gates to milking parlors

Bottle room

where milk is prepared for the calf. Bottle fed and milk is pasteurized two hours before. Diverted milk from the robot is collected and put in the fridge then pasteurized then used.

Hoof trimming

Hooves are trimmed in the shoot for special occasions. The hoof trimmer shoot can be used for surgery. Maintenance trims on the cows once a year to make sure feet are healthy.