Preliminary report of the cost of milk production on 79 dairy farms in four areas of Pennsylvania 1938

Mimeographed.

The influence of soy bean sauce upon milk production and the quality of butter.

Cover-title.

Milk, production, disposition, and income /

Vols. for <1990-> called 1990- summary.

Illinois agricultural statistics : milk production by counties, 1945-52 /

"December 1953".

Milk production ii

Mode of access: Internet.

Milk production cost

Mode of access: Internet.

Goat meat production: Present status and future possibilities

The bulk of the world's goat population is found in South-East Asia and Africa, where goats are the major source of meat production. Unfortunately, lack of an organized goat meat industry and marketing structure in developing countries is primarily responsible for their poor export earnings compared to those in developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Goat meat is leaner than meat from other domestic red meat species as well as being comparable in terms of its nutritional constituents. Furthermore, there are few, if any, religious or cultural taboos limiting the consumption of goat meat. Development of a carcass grading system and a suitable infrastructure in developing countries are some of the key requirements needed to establish a sustainable goat meat industry in the world. With an increase in demand by consumers for low-fat red meat alternatives, the future of the goat meat industry looks promising.

Relationships of Efficiency to Reproductive Disorders in Danish Milk Production: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

Relationships of various reproductive disorders and milk production performance of Danish dairy farms were investigated. A stochastic frontier production function was estimated using data collected in 1998 from 514 Danish dairy farms. Measures of farm-level milk production efficiency relative to this production frontier were obtained, and relationships between milk production efficiency and the incidence risk of reproductive disorders were examined. There were moderate positive relationships between milk production efficiency and retained placenta, induction of estrus, uterine infections, ovarian cysts, and induction of birth. Inclusion of reproductive management variables showed that these moderate relationships disappeared, but directions of coefficients for almost all those variables remained the same. Dystocia showed a weak negative correlation with milk production efficiency. Farms that were mainly managed by young farmers had the highest average efficiency scores. The estimated milk losses due to inefficiency averaged 1142, 488, and 256 kg of energy-corrected milk per cow, respectively, for low-, medium-, and high-efficiency herds. It is concluded that the availability of younger cows, which enabled farmers to replace cows with reproductive disorders, contributed to high cow productivity in efficient farms. Thus, a high replacement rate more than compensates for the possible negative effect of reproductive disorders. The use of frontier production and efficiency/ inefficiency functions to analyze herd data may enable dairy advisors to identify inefficient herds and to simulate the effect of alternative management procedures on the individual herd's efficiency.

A comparison of individual cow versus group concentrate allocation strategies on dry matter intake, milk production, tissue changes, and fertility of Holstein-Friesian cows offered a grass silage diet

A diverse range of concentrate allocation strategies are adopted on dairy farms. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects on cow performance [dry matter (DM) intake (DMI), milk yield and composition, body tissue changes, and fertility] of adopting 2 contrasting concentrate allocation strategies over the first 140 d of lactation. Seventy-seven Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were allocated to 1 of 2 concentrate allocation strategies at calving, namely group or individual cow. Cows on the group strategy were offered a mixed ration comprising grass silage and concentrates in a 50:50 ratio on a DM basis. Cows on the individual cow strategy were offered a basal mixed ration comprising grass silage and concentrates (the latter included in the mix to achieve a mean intake of 6 kg/cow per day), which was formulated to meet the cow’s energy requirements for maintenance plus 24 kg of milk/cow per day. Additional concentrates were offered via an out-of-parlor feeding system, with the amount offered adjusted weekly based on each individual cow’s milk yield during the previous week. In addition, all cows received a small quantity of straw in the mixed ration part of the diet (approximately 0.3 kg/cow per day), plus 0.5 kg of concentrate twice daily in the milking parlor. Mean concentrate intakes over the study period were similar with each of the 2 allocation strategies (11.5 and 11.7 kg of DM/cow per day for group and individual cow, respectively), although the pattern of intake with each treatment differed over time. Concentrate allocation strategy had no effect on either milk yield (39.3 and 38.0 kg/d for group and individual cow, respectively), milk composition, or milk constituent yield. The milk yield response curves with each treatment were largely aligned with the concentrate DMI curves. Cows on the individual cow treatment had a greater range of concentrate DMI and milk yields than those on the group treatment. With the exception of a tendency for cows on the individual cow treatment to lose more body weight to nadir than cows on the group treatment, concentrate allocation strategy had little effect on either body weight or body condition score over the experimental period. Cows on the individual cow treatment had a higher pregnancy rate to first and second service and tended to have a higher 100-d in calf rate than cows on the group treatment. This study demonstrates that concentrate allocation strategy had little effect on overall production performance.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN VULNERABLE CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN MGETA, TANZANIA

Increased occurrence of drought and dry spells during the growing season have resulted in increased interest in protection of tropical water catchment areas. In Mgeta, a water catchment area in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania, water used for vegetable and fruit production is provided through canals from the Uluguru South Forest Reserve. The clearing of forest land for cultivation in the steep slopes in the area is causing severe land degradation, which is threatening the water catchment area, livelihoods, and food security of the local communities, as well as the major population centers in the lowlands. In this paper, the economic performance of a traditional cropping-livestock system with East African (EA)-goats and pigs and extensive vegetable production is compared with a more sustainable and environmentally friendly crop-dairy goat production system. A linear programming (LP) crop-livestock model, maximizing farm income considering the environmental constraints in the area was applied for studying the economic performance of dairy goats in the production system. The model was worked out for the rainy and dry seasons and the analysis was conducted for a basic scenario representing the current situation, based on the variability in the 30 years period from 1982-2012, and in a scenario of both lower crop yields and increased crop variability due to climate change. Data obtained from a sample of 60 farmers that were interviewed using a questionnaire was used to develop and parameterize the model. The study found that in the steep slopes of the area, a crop-dairy goat system with extensive use of grass and multipurpose trees (MPTs) would do better than the traditional vegetable gardening with the EA goat production system. The crop-dairy goat system was superior both in the basic and in a climate change scenario since the yield variation of the grass and MPTs system was less affected compared to vegetable crops due to more tree cover and the use of perennial grasses. However, the goat milk production in the area was constrained by inadequate feeding and lack of an appropriate breeding program. Hence, farmers should enhance goat milk production by supplementing with more concentrate feed and by implementing goat-breeding principles. Moreover, policy measures to promote such a development are briefly discussed.

Molecular detection of Brucella melitensis in sheep and goat milk in Iran

Purpose: To detect Brucella melitensis in the milk of reared sheep and goats from Isfahan and Shahrekord regions, Iran. Methods: A total of 225 milk samples (sheep = 125; goat = 100) were collected from Isfahan and Shahrekord regions, Central Iran. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of B. melitensis in the milk following standard procedures. Results: From 225 milk samples, 20 (8.9 %) were positive for B. melitensis. Out of 125 sheep milk, 12 (9.6 %) had B. melitensis, and of these, 8 (66.6 %) were milk collected from Shahrekord and 4 (33.3 %) from Isfahan region. On the other hand, out of 100 goat milk samples, 18 (18 %) were positive for B. melitensis, out of which 10 (55.5 %) were from Shahrekord and 8 (44.4 %) from Isfahan. Conclusion: The findings show that B. melitensis is present in a significant proportion of caprine and ovine milk in a section of Iran.

Effect of heat stress on milk production of goats from Alpine and Saanen breeds in Brazil.

The purpose of this bibliography review was to approach the thermal comfort rates on milk production of goats from Alpine and Saanen breeds in Brazil. The caloric stress caused by weather changes to which the animals are submitted, influence on the mechanisms of normal physiological processes of the body. Thus, the effect on the lactation process in goats can be mentioned, where it decreases the amount of water in the body with the consequent decrease in synthesis and milk ejection interfering in the production of hormone prolactin and growth hormone. The animal?s interaction with the environment must be considered when the aim in livestock farming is welfare, because the different responses of the animal to the peculiarities of each region are crucial for the success of the animal adaptation. So, the correct identification of the factors that influence the productive life of the animal, such as the stress caused by the seasonal fluctuations of the environment, allow production systems management, making it possible to make them sustainable and viable. The maintenance of these parameters in normal levels is very important, to the point of being used in the evaluation of climate adaptability of breeds to a certain environmental condition. In this way, the concerns about animal welfare and environmental comfort are due to the climatic variables and the behavioral, physiological and productive responses are prevailing when implementing the suitability of certain production systems.