Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
HISTORY:
Dairy farming has been part of agriculture for thousands of years.
Historically it has been one part of small, diverse farms. In the last century or
so larger farms doing only dairy production have emerged. Large scale dairy
farming is only viable where either a large amount of milk is required for
production of more durable dairy products such as cheese, or there is a
substantial market of people with cash to buy milk, but no cows of their own.
Hand milking
Centralized dairy farming as we understand it primarily developed
around villages and cities, where residents were unable to have cows of their
own due to a lack of grazing land. Near the town, farmers could make some
extra money on the side by having additional animals and selling the milk in
town. The dairy farmers would fill barrels with milk in the morning and bring
it to market on a wagon. Until the late 1800s, the milking of the cow was done
by hand. In the United States, several large dairy operations existed in some
northeastern states and in the west, which involved as many as several hundred
cows, but an individual milker could not be expected to milk more than a
dozen cows a day. Smaller operations predominated.
Milking took place indoors in a barn with the cattle tied by the neck with ropes
or held in place by stanchions. Feeding could occur simultaneously with
milking in the barn, although most dairy cattle were pastured during the day
between milkings. Such examples of this method of dairy farming are difficult
to locate, but some are preserved as a historic site for a glimpse into the days
gone by.
Milking pipeline
The next innovation in automatic milking was the milk pipeline. This
uses a permanent milk-return pipe and a second vacuum pipe that encircles the
barn or milking parlor above the rows of cows, with quick-seal entry ports
above each cow. By eliminating the need for the milk container, the milking
device shrank in size and weight to the point where it could hang under the
cow, held up only by the sucking force of the milker nipples on the cow's
udder. The milk is pulled up into the milk-return pipe by the vacuum system,
and then flows by gravity to the milkhouse vacuum-breaker that puts the milk
in the storage tank. The pipeline system greatly reduced the physical labor of
milking since the farmer no longer needed to carry around huge heavy buckets
of milk from each cow.
The pipeline allowed barn length to keep increasing and expanding, but
after a point farmers started to milk the cows in large groups, filling the barn
with one-half to one-third of the herd, milking the animals, and then emptying
and refilling the barn. As herd sizes continued to increase, this evolved into the
more efficient milking parlor.
Milking parlours
Innovation in milking focused on mechanising the milking parlour to
maximise throughput of cows per operator which streamlined the milking
process to permit cows to be milked as if on an assembly line, and to reduce
physical stresses on the farmer by putting the cows on a platform slightly
above the person milking the cows to eliminate having to constantly bend over.
Many older and smaller farms still have tie-stall or stanchion barns, but
worldwide a majority of commercial farms have parlours.
The milking parlour allowed a concentration of money into a small area,
so that more technical monitoring and measuring equipment could be devoted
to each milking station in the parlour. Rather than simply milking into a
common pipeline for example, the parlour can be equipped with fixed
measurement systems that monitor milk volume and record milking statistics
for each animal. Tags on the animals allow the parlour system to automatically
identify each animal as it enters the parlour.
Recessed parlours
More modern farms use recessed parlours, where the milker stands in a
recess such that his arms are at the level of the cow's udder. Recessed parlours
can be herringbone, where the cows stand in two angled rows either side of the
recess and the milker accesses the udder from the side, parallel, where the cows
stand side-by-side and the milker accesses the udder from the rear or, more
recently, rotary (or carousel), where the cows are on a raised circular platform,
facing the center of the circle, and the platform rotates while the milker stands
in one place and accesses the udder from the rear. There are many other styles
of milking parlours which are less common.
Area Density
Country Population (km²) (pop per km²)
Denmark 5,519,441 43,094 128
Danish Shorthorn
Local names: Dansk Korthorn (dan.)
Synonymes: Dairy Shorthorn (eng.)
Population trend: decreasing
Range of use: milk, meat
Towards the end of the 19th century the Shorthorn breed began to gain a
foothold in Jutland, and in 1922 every third cow in this area was of this breed.
At the start, animals were mainly imported from the Ejderstedt region, but later
Dairy Shorthorn bulls were introduced in large numbers from England - breed's
country of origin. The breed has had its own breeding society in Denmark
since 1906, but breeding stock has continued to be imported. Up until 1950
imports were limited to Dairy Shorthorn bulls from England.
During the 1950s crosses were made with bulls of the Dutch Red Cattle
breed, and in 1962 the breeding society changed its name to “The Breeding
Society for Danish Red and White Cattle” (DRK). In subsequent years almost
all of the Danish population of Dairy Shorthorns was crossed with red and
white cattle from Germany and Holland. Individual females of the old type of
Dairy Shorthorn are still found, but as a rule there is no documentation of their
extraction. The Genetic Resources Committee has a small store of semen from
bulls of the old type of Dairy Shorthorn. Cattle that are currently registered as
Danish Shorthorn are a result of displacement crosses with bulls of mainly
North American Beef Shorthorns, and have no special cultural/historic interest
in Denmark.
Danish Jersey
Local names: Dansk Jersey
Population trend: decreasing
Range of use: milk, meat
Jutland Cattle
Local names: Jysk kvæg
Population trend: increasing
Range of use: meat, socio-cultural
The Jutland Cattle are descendants of the original black or grey pied animals
which were widespread in Jutland in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, where
they formed the backbone for the export of steers to the markets of northern
Germany. The first herdbook for “Horses and Cattle of Jutland Breeds” was
published in 1881, and contains information about 48 bulls and 53 cows. The
starting material was very heterogeneous. Thus, 27 of the bulls were described
as being of dairy-type, 10 were of beef-type, and one was given as “not clearly
of dairy or meat type”. The dairy-type animal was generally smaller than its
beef-type counterpart, the average withers height for eight dairy-type cows
being 120 cm. The weight of grown cows was given as about 350 kg, while
their annual milk yield typically amounted to 800-1.000 litres. Beef-type
animals were generally taller and heavier. The tallest cow in the first herdbook
was 146 cm high. In general Jutland Cattle are relatively small, the weight of
adult cows being about 500 kg. Their none-white pied markings vary in colour
from light grey, through dark grey to entirely black.
A large part of the feed for the cattle is produced on the farm as a combination
of silage and grain in a crop rotation with grass clover swards. Moreover, some of the
farms with lower stocking rate produce grains, rapeseed or grain legumes as cash
crops. Most cows are Holstein-Friesian of high genetic potential using artificial
insemination (AI). Average yearly milk yields are around 7000 kg per cow in the
farms. Most cows graze in 180 days per year and thus needs conserved fodder for at
least 185 days. Almost all the heifers are raised on the farm and grazed up to 200 days
per year often on marginal land/permanent pasture. Bulls for fattening exist only on
part of these farms mainly because of limitations on stocking rate. Most farms have
stables with slatted floors (manure handled as slurry) and central milking parlors
(rooms). All used water and effluents are collected in concrete slurry containers with
a minimum capacity of 6 months (application to fields is only allowed from March to
September). Cultivation of crops is often done using farmers own equipment while
harvest of grains and silage is most often done by contractors. Equipment is usually
modern and most processes automatic.
There is most often one owner and a full time hired helper, who both have a
diploma and are trained in farm management. Most farmers use modern feed planning
methods and regular feed analyses to adjust protein levels and minerals and all follow
public regulation concerning manure N utilization and fertilization.
Data treatment:
The data processing and details of the different farm types is the
responsibility of DIAS and FØI. The FØI checks the account data and has
divided the accounts according to the farm typology presented. These average
data from each farm type has been used by DIAS to model a typical farm in
terms of land use, herd size and production. All resource use, inputs,
production and emissions is calculated using the farm level as the main unit
and all the single enterprises have been described so that they fit coherently
into the overall farm balances (e.g. crop production must fit the sum of
homegrown feed used and exported). Thus, inputs of fertilizer, feeds and
minerals are calculated to mach the livestock and cash crop production after
correction for home grown feed.
The nutrient turnover on the farm is calculated by multiplying the
physical turnover of inputs and products with N and P contents following
standard procedures. Emissions of ammonia, methane and nitrous oxide (N20)
from the livestock, stables, manure storage and handling and from crop
residues and soil are calculated using standard coefficients (IPCC, 2000) on the
amounts of nutrients and feed dry matter (DM).
Technical scope
The Inventory includes all processes on the farm necessary for the
cultivation and preservation of crops and home-produced fodder (e.g. soil
preparation, sowing, fertilizing/manuring, plant protection, harvesting, making
silage and transport of crops).
Feeding and milking of cattle and calfs, feeding of other livestock and
handling of bi-products such as manure and straw, use of electricity for milk
cooling, ventilation and light is also included. To some of the processes are
attached imports of e.g. feeds and fertilizers.
Resource use and emissions related to the production of fertilizer,
imported feeds, minerals and electricity are handled as external processes
described separately.
Use of medicine is not considered and pesticide use is not included in the first
version. Resource use and emissions related to the construction and
maintenance of buildings and machinery used on the farm is not included.
Most dairy farm types produce small amounts of other items than milk
and meat, e.g. bread wheat. All inputs, resource uses and emissions related to
these secondary enterprises have been included in the inventory. Only technical
allocations have been made between enterprises within the farm and only when
resources used could be clearly divided between the enterprises. To account for
the part of resource use and externalities related to e.g. meat and cash crop
production on the dairy farm the method of system enlargement is
recommended. This method has been used in the Simapro database developed
from this inventory to define the resource use and emissions attached to milk
production per se. Systems enlargement has also been used to account for the
exported manure from farm types with high stocking rate. Thus, the difference
in fertilizer use and emissions on the manure receiving farm type (modeled as
before and after manure import) has been allocated to the manure selling farm
type.
Representativity
The dataset of 2239 accounts used is statistically representative of the
Danish farming sector (59000 farms in total) following a method developed
over several decades for yearly economical analysis of Danish farms (FØI) and
for reporting to other bodies like the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network. In
order to secure rrepresentatively within the established typology only farm
types that could be described by at least 14 accounts from the sample were
allowed for the basic products. Moreover, a given farm could be included in
only one type depending on the main enterprise. The data represent only one
year (1999), but the large number of farms allows for some generalizations of
the input-output relationships.
The present dairy farm types are based on 8 sub samples. Together they
represent all Danish dairy farms with a maximum of 10% of Gross Margin
from pig production. The total milk production on these types account for 85%
of the total milk produced in Denmark. The farms have been divided into
groups in order to represent dairy production on sandy and loamy soil types
respectively and with different stocking rates (number of standard livestock
units per hectare). Two separate types represent organic dairy farms. Farms
with low or medium stocking rates usually produce 1-3 secondary products,
which may differ from farm to farm. The resulting farm type thus represents an
average of these secondary enterprises, but the number of small enterprises is
not typical for a single farm.
Materials/fuels
Spring barley ton 0,0 64,9 217,2 98,2 0 91,9 210,5 144,3
Soy meal ton 59,0 70,4 336,2 0 49,2 77,2 125,3 0
Rape seed meal ton 0 0 0 22,0 0 0 0 35,2
Lubricant Oil liter 1463 831 720 1093 1164 1068 955 1249
Manure kg N 602 0 0 1692 625 0 0 2002
Fertilizer ,
Calcium
ammonium
nitrate kg N 10689 4486 2096 0 8806 6602 3580 0
Fertilizer P kg P 1016 554 430 0 872 909 758 0
Fertilizer K kg K 2735 872 0 0 2873 2549 534 8725
P, Mineral Feed kg P 0 124 135 105 137 332 189
Electricity/heat
Electricity
Denmark kWh 46190 30003 44258 39399 34929 42162 45563 55129
Heating MJ 545 933 57 199 606 690 515 549
37604 33618
Traction MJ 515111 292549 326952 384807 409783 3 1 439502
Emissions to air
Methane kg CH4 10017 9107 12097 10673 9205 12316 13640 14395
Ammonia kg NH3 3277 2704 3796 2438 2919 3426 3733 3324
N2O Kg N2O 942 669 619 579 866 920 817 882
Emissions to
water
Nitrate kg NO3 29775 19978 18970 2449 30490 31112 28324 14522
Phosphate kg P 66 73 851 6 94 113 139 39
Emissions to
soil
Validation
The representativity of the farm accounts has been checked using
standard methodology at FØI. The resource use and production on the farms
have been validated at two levels: Internal coherence within each farm type
and overall coherence between the sum of farm types and national level input
use and production.
On the farm level the quantification of each type has been validated
primarily by checking the coherence between land use, crop yields and
livestock production (e.g. the feed needed for the herd matches the home-
produced feed plus imported feeds less sold cash crops and the sum of
homegrown feeds and sold crops fits the land use).
At a higher hierarchical level the land use has been validated by
comparing the sum of each crop acreage over all types with national statistics
for the same year, e.g. checking that the total wheat area and total wheat yield
does not differ more than a few % from the national statistics.
Likewise, the total estimated use of inputs like diesel, fertilizer and
concentrated feeds across all farm types have been checked against statistical
information on national level. In case of differences that could not be ascribed
to an error in a specific type, a general correction factor was multiplied into all
types for the relevant input item.
The diagram above shows that the total number of cows has been falling
over the years, and the farms have grown bigger (the small farms
disappear). The reason the farms grow bigger is that it’s too expensive to
run farms with a small number of cows (the expenses are bigger than the
income).
2000/2001
Red Danish Dairy 9.0 7,456 4.21 3.57 314 266
Cow
Black Brindled 70.0 8,257 4.13 3.35 341 277
Danish Dairy Cow
Jersey 12.3 5,709 5.99 4.06 342 232
Danish Red 0.9 7,280 4.27 3.43 311 250
Brindled Cattle
Other Breed 7.8 7,361 4.42 3.50 325 258
In all/Average 100 7,792 4.32 3.45 337 269
Rape-cakes 4.9kg
Beet-pills 1.5kg
Pea-silage 13.4kg
NH3 processed straw 0.5kg
Mineral with E-vitamin 0.1kg
Housing design
In the past, most of the cattle houses had walls with doors and windows.
Now, most of the cattle houses are open and they have only a big roof made of
alloy, which is good for heat radiation. In windy areas, the roof may be made
of cement.
Housing systems
Cattle can be housed under very different conditions. The welfare of the
animals in a given system will depend on details in design.
The feed manger must be placed at least 5-20 cm (2-8 in.) above floor
level to allow easy access to the food. The back of the manger must be low
enough so that it does not hamper the species-typical range of action during
feeding and the forward movements of the animal when getting up.
Cows have a fairly constant need for rest. The resting area should be
relatively soft and well heat-insulated to account for the fact that the animals
spend a major portion of the time lying. Therefore, all animals should have free
access to comfortable resting sites on a bedded floor at all times. Straw
bedding is a species-appropriate resting material for cattle and should be used
whenever possible.
It is extremely important to make sure that the walking areas are dry and
not slippery so that the animals can walk without the risk of losing their
balance and possibly injuring themselves. Walking areas used as traffic and
exercise areas should be wide enough for the animals to freely pass one
another. Competition exists around food and water, therefore these sites should
allow enough space for avoidance.
The dimensions of cubicles and tie-stalls must meet the cow's spatial
requirements when she stands and lies and when she is getting up or lying
down. It should be remembered that cattle need free space in front of them so
that the whole sequence of the getting-up behaviour can take place
unhampered.
Nutrition
Cattle are ruminants, which means that they chew their feed twice. At
first the feed is only chewed slightly and swallowed together with relatively
large quantities of saliva. When the stomach is full, the animal will often lie
down and start ruminating: The feed is regurgitated and chewed up again
whereupon it is swallowed. Ruminants are furthermore characterized by a
gastric system containing a large fermentation chamber, the rumen, where
microorganisms facilitate the digestion of cellulose and other fibrous parts of
the food.
This special digestive system implies that from the age of 2-3 weeks
calves need fibrous feedstuffs (grass, hay, silage, straw, etc.). When the
rumination process is fully developed at the age of eight weeks, the feed for
cattle ought to include at least 20% fibrous material and preferably more. The
lack of structural feed or extremely restrictive feeding may cause the
development of oral stereotypies such as tongue rolling and bar-biting due to
frustration or thwarting of foraging and ruminating behaviour. Free access to
roughage is therefore essential for the welfare of cattle.
The requirements for fluids in cattle are relatively high. Even calves given milk
during the first 6-12 weeks of life need free access to water. The young calf has
a very high suckling motivation which is particularly stimulated by the taste of
milk (Passillé et al. 1992). Hence, it is preferable that the milk is given from a
sucking pail or that the calf has "access" to a dry teat .The opportunity to
suckle milk reduces the incidence of non-nutritive suckling on equipment and
pen mates, and hence decreases the risk of the formation of bezoars (hair balls)
and the development of behavioural disorders
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dairy_farming
http://www.lcafood.dk/processes/agriculture/dairyfarms.html
mark-is.htm
http://as.casalemedia.com/s?s=91534&u=http
%3A//www.experiencefestival.com/a/Dairy_farming/id/2039805&
f=3&id=6177004185.354508
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Dairy_farming/id/2039805
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?
artid=1712350
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?
res=9D07E2DD153AE033A2575AC0A96F9C94699FD7CF