Dairy Cattle Production

Hello, in this post we’ll be discussing the dairy industry in Australia. We’ll take a look at the breadth and width of the dairy industry, the general principles of milk production and the common management practices used in this industry.

Over the last thirty or so years, the average annual milk production per cow has risen from about 2800 litres in 1980 to about 5700L now.  This increase in production is mainly a result of improved feed systems and the fact that cows have been bred for a large milk production. Victoria produces about two thirds of Australia’s total milk production with New South Wales producing about 10% of total production and the other states making up the rest.

Supply companies buy milk from farmers and then sell the milk to supermarkets. These companies pay farmers according to the attributes, this includes: milk composition, milk volume, and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC – it is the number of leukocytes in the milk and this indicates inflammation). In terms of composition, the farmers are paid according to the proportions of fat and protein in the milk (with protein being 2.5 times more valuable than fat). Some companies prefer to collect large volumes of milk from producers and so will pay the highest price per litre when collecting over a certain volume of milk. For example, they would pay the most if collecting over 2700 litres). Farmers are also paid the best prices for grade 1 milk (milk with a BMSCC of less than 150,000)

Principles of Milk Production

Before we go on, it is useful to understand some terminology related to milk production first. Cows have to have a calf in order to produce milk. The first milk that a cow produces after calving is known as colostrum and lasts for the first three days after calving. The period of time between calving and when a cow ceases to produce milk is known as lactation. “Days in Milk” (DIM) is the number of days that they cow has been milking during that period of lactation. Cows reach peak milk production 5-8 weeks after calving and then milk production is gradually reduced until no milk is produced. At this point, the cow is called “dry”.

Factors Affecting Milk Production

The amount of milk a cow produces during lactation is dependent on several factors such as:

• The Age of the Cow: annual milk production will increase until the 4^th lactation is reached. After this time, production will plateau out. 
•  Nutrition: It is essential that the cows receive the correct amounts of energy, protein, minerals, vitamins and water. There are three types of feed that can be given to dairy cows:

o   Pasture: this is cost effective but its energy, protein and fibre contents depend on the season. Thus, the farmer ensures that the cows calve at a time of peak pasture production.

o   Concentrates (grains, lupens, etc): these are quite expensive but are high in energy and protein and low in fibre.

o   Conserved Fodder (hay or silage): this is lower in energy and protein and higher in fibre and is moderately cost effective.

• Disease Status: diseases animals produce less milk than healthy ones. 
• Genetics: This plays an important role in increasing milk production. Farmers try to ensure that they retain and breed their best cows to the best bulls available and this can be done through artificial insemination. Offspring are thus genetically superior to their parents.

Overall, happy cows produce the most milk.

Milking

The harvesting of milk can have a large impact on the health of cows and the quality of the milk they produce. The design of laneways which guide the cows from the paddock to the dairy is important for cow health as the animals will need to pass through these four times a day (twice for each milking). Well-designed laneways means that cows spend less energy and time getting to the milking shed.

Milking sheds are also called milking parlours and three types exist:

• Walk through: this is an old style or shed that is used by only a small amount of farmers today. They can be classified as a simple walk through or a step up where cows step up onto a platform. They were designed for milking small numbers of cows. 
• Herringbone: This type of dairy is very common in Australia. They are designed so that on one side of the dairy cows are milked while on the other side cows are exit and enter the shed. 
• Rotary: these are popular with large herds but are expensive to build.

Management Practices

Stock Identification

Stock identification is used to distinguish stock belonging to different farmers, to distinguish between different types of stock and to identify individual cattle. There are several types of identification that can be used:

• Ear Tattoo: there are two types, both are permanent:

o   Registered mark: this ties in with the property’s identification code

o   Code identification of stock.

• Ear Mark: A piece of tissue is removed in a specific pattern or area of the ear. These are also permanent and there are four types:

o   Registered mark

o   Year Mark

o   Animal Type Mark

o   Government Mark

• Ear Tag: This is tied to the National Livestock Identification Scheme. The tags can be made from metal, plastic or rubber and are non-permanent as they can be lost or torn out from the ear. However, they are easier to read than ear tattoos. These tags use machine readable radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) to identify cattle and the owner’s property identification code is linked to the device.
• Branding: These can be registered brands or stock type brands. Three methods of branding can be used:

o   Hot Iron branding: this is easy to use but is very painful for the animal and permanently damages the hide. It is not used very much in the dairy industry.

o   Acid branding: this is a quick method but chemically burns the skin and may produce bad scarring. Scarring is irritating to the animal and may be difficult to read.

o   Freeze branding: this method doesn’t damage the hide and is less painful. However, hair must be clipped from the brand site and the brand needs to be held in place for thirty seconds. It also can’t be used on white pigmented skin.

Reproduction

There are a few different types of calving systems at use in Australia. The year-round calving method is more common in warmer climates where pasture grows for most of the year and calving occurs for at least ten months of the year. Its advantage is that there is relatively constant milk production throughout the year and this means that there is constant income throughout the year. The disadvantage to this method is that it involves lots of work and the farmer is more restricted in terms of holidays etc. because the cows are always calving.

The seasonal calving method involves cows that all calve at a single period during the year. The benefit to this method is that calving occurs during a short period of time and the farmer is able to take time off during other times of the year.  The disadvantage is that milk production and thus income are not constant throughout the year. There is also considerable pressure during mating time to ensure that all cows become pregnant in a short time. 

In the split calving method, herds calve in two or three distinct time periods each year (for example during autumn and spring). This involves less pressure because there is a greater opportunity for the cows to calve.

Oestrus

Consistent signs of a cow in oestrus include: mounting other cows, standing to be mounted by other cows, hair is rubbed off the back of the cow over the pelvic area. In addition, cows may become restless, bellow more, and produce less milk when in oestrus.

Methods of Mating Cattle

There are three methods used to mate cattle:

• Natural Service: this includes:

o   Paddock mating: the bull is put out with the cows for a specified period of time.

o   Individual Cow Mating: The bull is kept separate from the herd and an individual cow in oestrus is taken to the bull and mated.

•  Artificial Insemination (AI): this is quite a popular method with Australian dairy farmers. Frozen, chilled or fresh semen is used by a trained technician or farmer to inseminate a cow.
•  Combination of Natural Service and AI

That’s it for this post, see you next time :)

The Beef Cattle Industry

Hi :) In this post we'll take a look at the beef cattle industry in Australia. In particular, we'll go over the three production zones in Australia, the target markets for Australian producers, the management cycle of a beef breeding herd, as well as what BREEDPLAN is and how it works.

Production Zones

In terms of agriculture, Australia can be divided up into three major zones:

1. The Pastoral Zone: mainly the humid and arid tropics and the arid interior with summer rainfall.
• Cattle stations on very large pieces of land are found here. This zone relies on native pasture and casual water and low stocking densities exist although large herd sizes are present. Because of this, there are low labour costs because less management is required. Breeding occurs all year round among the Bos indicus cattle which are found here. Beef is exported mainly to Indonesia because it doesn't meet the requirements of premium quality beef demanded by the domestic market.  
2.  The Wheat/Sheep Zone: This has about 300-600mm of annual rainfall and is in the temperate south of the country. Its growing and dry seasons are of equal length and it experiences mainly winter rainfall.
• Smaller herd sizes in fenced paddocks are found here. Improved pasture is grazed by cows which are usually crosses between Bos indicus and Bos taurus. Cattle are slaughtered younger and sent to local markets.  
3. The High Rainfall Zone: This is in coastal areas extending from the north-east coast to the south and south-west coastal regions. Here, the growing season is longer than the dry season each year. 
• These set-ups produce high quality beef on small pieces of land which use improved pasture. Cattle are sent to local markets and because of the position near abattoirs and cities, transport costs are low. Increased stocking rates exist and grazing is controlled. 

 Target Markets

Australia's largest export market for beef is Japan. One third of Australia's exports go to the high quality Japanese market in the form of chilled grain fed or grass fed beef or frozen grass fed beef. Another third of exports goes to the low quality manufacturing grade US market. Beef is exported in frozen boxed form and is mainly used as ground or hamburger beef. Other exports go to Canada (low quality), Korea (high quality), Taiwan, and other South East Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia in addition to the European Community.

Cattle are also exported live for two purposes: breeding females and 'Feeder' steers and heifers which are exported to Indonesia to be finished in feedlots. Cattle are also exported live to the Philippines and Malaysia.

Management Cycle of a Beef Breeding Herd

The chain of events of the management cycle is as follows:

1. Mating: The start of mating depends on when the farmer wants the herd to calve. In southern Australia this is usually in autumn. Thus, if calving should start in the beginning of April, mating will occur for 9-10 weeks starting mid-June. About 2-3 bulls are put with every 100 females and every three weeks or so the bulls are rotated around the groups of cows. Any spare bulls are used in this process. 
2. Pregnancy: If all goes well, 90% or more of the herd should be pregnant by the end of mating. If the cows are to be pregnancy tested this will occur 7-8 weeks after the end of mating. However, sometimes this may be done a few months later when the herd is mustered for weaning to avoid having to muster twice. This time is also a good opportunity to do a herd audit and reduce the stocking rate by culling. Cows are culled for non-pregnancy, old age, arthritis, poor foot conformation or damaged teats, as well as poor temperament or aggression. Culling usually means that the cows will be sold out of the herd and may reduce the size of the herd by 10-20%. 
3. Weaning: the pregnant cows will also be looking after their calves. The calves are weaned and removed from their mothers. Fifteen to 20% of the best weaner heifer calves (young females) are kept to replace those that were culled. Calves that are excess to requirements are sold. 
4. Feeding: This stage usually occurs in February when most pasture has dried off and has reduced nutritional value. Thus, at this time supplementary feeding occurs and continues for about 5 or 6 weeks until the break of season. 
5. Buy In Bull Replacements: Bull sales usually occur from February to March and young bulls are bought to replace aged and injured bulls. The new bulls are kept on the farm until mating begins again in June. 
6. Calving: This happens in April, May and/ or the first week of June. The farmer will watch the cows closely and assist with any difficult births. 
7. Calf marking: This is done during May and June and calves are given a property ear mark, an ear tag, the males are castrated and all are vaccinated. Also at this time, the heifer replacements are weighed, treated for internal parasites and prepared for the upcoming mating. 

BREEDPLAN

 BREEDPLAN is a tool for the genetic improvement of beef herds that uses an Estimated Breeding Value (EBV). The system uses phenotypic data, the heritability of traits and the relationships between breeds to generate an EBV. This enables farmers to choose what kind of characteristics will appear in calves (eg. amount of fat, weight gain etc.)


That's all for this post, see you next time :)