Midwest Dairy Issue 1, Volume 1
Taking Farmers
to new
HEIGHTS
Table of Contents Letter from the Editor...............pg. 4 The Udder Timeline...................pg. 5 Harvest: Preparing for Fall................pg. 9 Dairy: Feeding the Midwest....... pg. 15 Knowing Your Milk: From the Cow to You..........pg. 24
From The Editor Hello there! My name is Brooke Kriener and I am an about to be graduate from the University of Northern Iowa. I grew up on a dairy farm in beatiful Northeast Iowa, this is where my continous love for the country sprouted. I did all of the typical things a girl who grows up on a farm does. I was invovled in the local 4-H and helped my family with chores of the farm. As I moved out of my little Northeast Iowa bubble and went off to college, I found out that there are a lot of different definitions of agriculture and dairy farming. While I grew up and experienced first hand, I soon learned that the people who did not. That is where the idea formed for this issue of Midwest Dairy. This issue focuses on the seasonal going-ons of fall on a dairy farm. My goal is to explain major aspects of farming as well as take on the doubts of dairy products and the dairy industry itself. I hope that I can do that for you, reader and hopefully open your eyes to the way I see and understand dairy farming. Thank you for reading,
Brooke Kriener
Brooke Kriener
The Udder Timeline: History of Milkers
The first milking machine that was introduced was a start, but not the safest way to milk a cow. Tubes were inserted into the teats and forced the milk to flow out.
1875 The Beginning Milking cows by hand was originally the first way and is still used today. It wasn’t until the introduction of milking machines where milking by hand started losing it’s popularity.
1875 Shown below are the catheters that were inserted into the cow’s teats from the first milking machine. They caused continuous dribbling and injury to the teats.
1859 Milking machines made progress by having the vaccuum milker introduced. This machine was hand pumped and squeezed the milk out of the teats instead of forcing the milk out.
Pictured above is a device that allows the vaccuum milker to not be hand pumped. It allows the suction of the milking machine.
1900’s
1900’s
Pictued below is a portable milking machine. This allowed the machine to be dragged to the needed destination so cows don’t have to be brought to a barn or parlor, the machine can be brought to them instead.
1900’s Pictured below is an improvement from the vaccuum milking machine. The suction comes from the actual machine and does not have to be a seperate piece.
Picuted above is a portable milking machine that can allow the milk to be brought straight into the container instead of the milk tank through the pipes. This machine is used if the cow has 2000 the possibility of passing disease or has milk unfit to Robotic milking is and is beput into the milk tank for coming one of the more popdrinking. ular ways to milk cows. It is all monitored online and can show the farmer how often 1900’s a cow is milked and if they have any diseases.
Harvest: preparing for Fall
It’s just around that time where the combines will fire up and the fields will bare and the bins will fill. Due to the recent floods in Iowa, farmers now currently depend on the hay and straw harvest from the previous summer to either sell for profit or feed livestock.
Midwest farmers prepare to empty grain bins in time for the fall harvest of corn. T&P Farms choose to depend on Sukup products to ensure protection of the harvested corn.
While dairy livestock is currently dependent on hay, straw and last year’s corn harvest, it will help ensure healthy calves and enriching flow of milk from the cows.
With the hopeful prayers for drier weather in the near future, midwest farmers hope to be able to begin the Fall Harvest within the next two weeks(October 1st-14th).
HARD AT WORK SINCE 1889
Dai Feeding th When you pick up your favorite dairy product, what first comes to mine? For many of us, it is probably just because we are hungry and that’s the first thing that we saw in the fridge. But have you ever stopped to wonder how this product came to be in your fridge? And not the answer is the the local grocery store, it’s the dairy farmers. Even if dairy products aren’t your go-to snack, it is relatively known that our dairy products are made from the milk that comes from dairy cattle. While the process of how the milk is brought to the factories and turned into a variety of dairy prooducts, that’s a whole other story. This is more of a behind the scenes of the life of a dairy cow and all of the factores that go into how they develop their milk in order for farmers to sell to factories to feed people just like you.
iry: he Midwest
Looking into the process, feeding management practices on the dairy farm can have major impact on the levels of milk, fat and protein concentration in mailk. Nutritional strategies the optimize rumen function also maximize milk production and milk componenets. However, there are several strategies that producers can use to enhance rumen function and the resulting milk components. One practice that can help the milk results is using daily diary records to evaluate nutrition and feeding management programs. Utilization of herd and individual cow records allows identification of groups of animals, lactions number, days in milk and the economic assessment of the group’s combination.
There are also many non-nutritional facotrs that can affect milk componenets such as genetics and environment, level of milk production, stage of lactation, disease, season, cow comfort, facilities and age of the cow. A few tricks thay my dad likes to use when he’s milking the cows is listening to the radio while milking; hopefully the cows enjoy country, oldies and rock as much as he does. Despite what others do ensure the well-being of their herd, a milked cow is a happy cow.
Factors the Affect Milk Composition: The impact of nutrition changes in the ration can readily alter fat concentration and milk protein conentration. Fat concentration is the most sensitve to dietary changes and chan vary over a range of nearly 3.0 percentage units. Dietary manipulation can result in milk protein concentration changing approximately 0.60 percentage untis. These concentrations of lactose and minrals, and other solids constitues of milk, do not respond predicably to adjustments in diet.
“ There are also many non-nutritional factors that can affect milk components�
Normal Sources of Variation in Milk
The table above contains the breed averages for percentage of milk fat, true protein and fat-to-protein ratio. A change in milk composition using traditional breeding techniques occurs fairly slowly over many years. Hertiability estimates for yield are relatively low at about 1.25, while estimates for milk composition are fairly high at 0.50. The priority placed on each genetic trait depends on its economic or profit impact. Milk yield per cow tends to be overlooked. Genetic selection should be directed towards increasing fat, proteing and nonfat solids yields. However, because component percentages tend to have negative genetic asociations with yield traits, a change in these percentages is not likely to be acheived through genetic selection alone. Yields of fat, protein, nonfat solids and total solids are highly correlated with milk yield.
Season
Milk fat and protein percentages are hightest during the fall and winter and lowest duirng the spirng and summer. This variation is related to changes in both the types of feed available and climatic conditions. If cows go out on pasture in the spring, this generall reduces milk fat. Hot weather and high humidity decrease dry matter intake and consequently enegery intake, which in turn can reduce milk components. Heat stress is also known to decrease saliva production, which in turn can affect the buffering capacity of the rumen. Reduced ruminal pH may reduce milk fat.
Stage of Lactation
The concentration of milk fat and proteing is highest in early and late lactation and lowest
during peak milk production through mid-lactation. Normally, an increase in milk yield is followed by a decrease in the percentages of milk fat and protien, while the yields of hte these constituents remain uncharged or increase.
Disease Mastitis has been shown to reduce fat and casin and increase whey content of milk. Theses changes in the milk proteins, in conjunction with alterations in lactose, mineral content and milk pH, result in lower cheese yields and altered manufacuting properties. Milk from cows with evaluated somatic cell counts (>500,000 somatic cells/ml) has long coagulation time and forms weaker curds than milk from cows with lower somatic cell counts.
“ Milk fat and protein percentages are highest during the fall and winter and lowest the spring and summer�
Age (Parity) While milk fat content remains relatively constant, milk protein content gradually decreases with advancing age. A survey of Holstein DHIA lactation records indicates that milk protein content typically decreases 0.10 to 0.15 units over a period of five or more lactations or approximately 0.02 to 0.05 units per lactation.
Feed Intake and Milk Production Maximum feed intake minimizes negative energy balance during early lactation. As cows move into positive energy balance by consuming more energy than they are using, body weight is regained, losses in body condition are minimized and cows produce milk of normal fat and protein content. Increasing feed intake can improve milk protein by 0.2 to 0.3 units. This increase in milk protein percent may be caused by an overall increase in energy intake. Cows should reach peak milk production between four to eight weeks postpartum, followed closely by peak dry matter intake between 10 to 14 weeks pospartum. High producing cows eat 3.5 to 4.0 percent of their body weight daily as dry matter. If a herd is consuming less than 3.5 to 4.0 percent of body weight as dry matter, production of solids-corrected milk may be limited. A slow rise in postpartum feed intake lengthens the days to peak milk
production and may reflect metabolic problems or obese cows. Research has demonstrated that fat cows have depressed appetites at calving compared to thin cows. This results in longer delays to peak milk yield. Body condition scores greater than 3.75 at calving can reduce dry matter intake 1.5 to 2.0 percent for every 0.25 body condition score over 3.75. Therefore, monitore feed intake and days to peak milk production to determine if cows are managed properly with adequate body condition. Use of individual and herd records allows producers to determine if changes need to be made.
“ By monitoring components routinely, reductions that may occur in either fat or protein can be addressed quickly� Conclusion Rations can be developed that optimize both milk and yield components. This requires a focused approach toward forage quality, feeding management and nutirition. By monitoring components routinely, reductions that may occur in either fat or protein can be addressed quickly such that components can be maintained or improved, thereby enhancing the economic profitability of the dairy business.
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Knowing Your Milk: From The Cow To You
1. Rearing
2. Harvesting
3. Storing
4. Transporting
5. Lab Testing
6. Processing
7. Packaging/Selling
Hydration is important, for you and your animals.
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