Dairy Productivity

Factors Affecting Milk Yield

The actual amount of milk produced during the lactation period is affected by several factors:

• Breed• Season of calving• Geographic region• Management factors

– Feed – Quantity, nutrition – frequency of milking– IV technology– Hormone Therapy

Dairy Cattle Breeds

• North America

In North America, the Holstein cow has the highest volume of milk production and the highest total production of all major milk components (i.e. fat, protein and lactose). However, there are a lot of variations in milk yield and composition between individuals within a certain dairy breed.

• Tropical Areas

Tropical Breeds

Season of calving

The effect of season of calving on milk yield is confounded by breed, the stage of lactation, and climatic condition. Cows calving in late fall to spring produce more milk (up to 8% more) than cows calving in the summer.

This is likely due to an interaction between day light and ambient temperature.

Seasonal differences have become less significant because of better feeding and management of the dairy cow.

Geographic Region:Ambient temperature The effect of ambient temperature on milk yield is dependent upon the

breed. Holsteins and the other larger breeds are more tolerant to lower

temperatures, whereas the smaller breeds particularly the Jersey, are much more tolerant to high temperatures.

The optimum temperature for the Holstein cow is about 10 °C. Milk production declines when environmental temperature exceeds 27 °C. The reduction in milk yield is largely due to drop in feed intake.

High temperature affect high producing cows more than low producers and it is particularly harmful during the peak of lactation.

Disease: The main disease that affect milk yield of dairy cows is mastitis.

Management FactorsFeed and water supplyAny restriction in feed or water supply will result in a drop in milk production. The mostdramatic effect is brought about by shortage of water as the cow has no means of storingwater. Withholding access to water, or insufficient supply of water for few hours willresult in a rapid drop in milk yield.Growth hormones (BST)There is a positive correlation between milk production of cows and the level of growthhormone in their blood. Growth hormone causes redistribution of nutrient within thecow’s body to favor nutrient utilization towards milk production. However, growthhormone is not directly involved in milk secretion process.Milking intervalsCows are usually milked at equal intervals (12-h interval for 2 x milking). Cows milkedat unequal intervals produce less milk than those milked at equal intervals. The reductionin milk yield is more in high producing cows than in low producing ones. Milking frequencyCows are usually milked twice daily. Milking a twice a day yields at least 40% more milkthan once a day.. The increase is usually highest for first lactation cow and declinesas the cow gets older. Dry periodDairy cows are usually dried-off for two months prior to the next calving. This rest periodis necessary to maximize milk production in subsequent lactation.

Developing Countries

Reasons for low Milk Yields

Lack of Feed/Nutrient FeedCase of Punjab, Pakistan: “The productivity of livestock in Punjab, despite their known genetic potential, is low. 

This may be attributed to many reasons, of which mal-nutrition is probably the most important. Green fodders are not available in sufficient quantities especially in extreme hot months (June-July) and during cold seasons (December-January) and most of the animals are under-fed. Straws of the cereals and other by-products are commonly used to overcome feed shortages, but don't meet the actual requirements of the animals.

Source: Feed resources of livestock in the Punjab, Pakistan; M Younas and M Yaqoob Dept of Livestock Management, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan

Case of Nigeria“Poor nutrition (Adegbola, 2002) and low reproductive performance (Olaloku, 1999) have

been highlighted as some of the major factors affecting milk production from our indigenous cattle breeds. ... The low nitrogen content of dry season fodder usually confer severe nutritional stress on ruminant livestock with the result that cattle grazing these poor quality forages without supplementation experience weight loss, Materials and Methods delayed growth rate and decline in milk production (Otchere, 1986).

Source: Milk Yield and Composition of Grazing White Fulani Cows Fed PoultryWaste-Cassava Peel Based Diets;A.I. Ndubueze, S.N. Ukachukwu, F.O. Ahamefule and J.A. Ibeawuchi;College of

Animal Science and Animal Health, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria

Lack of Feed/Nutrient FeedCase of Kerala, India“Ms. Gouri stressed the need to give the cattle good quality fodder and hay.

The Government had taken up schemes for collecting hay, she said. Milma had been given sanction to start a plant for increasing supply of hay. The

Government-owned Kerala Feeds will soon increase its production to meet the requirement of cattle feed in the State. It was estimated that the State was facing a shortage of 3,600 tonnes of feed every year, she added.”

source: Artificial insemination failed to increase milk yield: Minister ;

Staff Reporter ;Government-owned Kerala Feeds to increase cattle feed production

Other Issues in Developing Countries: Cameroon

Source: Contributions of Heifer Project International (HPI) to small-scale dairy development in CameroonR.M. Njwe1, L.N. Kwinji1, A.L. Gabche1 and E.N. Tambi2

Surveyed farmers were asked to rank in order of importance five major constraints faced in their diary activities

• marketing is the major constraint for more than 90% of the farmers. poor road network coupled with lack of transport facilities; lack of processing and storage or conservation equipment for fresh milk; inadequate demand in the immediate environment of the farmers and low milk prices etc.

• The second constraint is that of finance. Here, the problem is associated largely to insufficient savings to finance investments, limited access to credit

• The next most important constraint as mentioned by the farmers is animal health. Lack of drugs and the presence of ticks are the main problems cited by farmers (about 65%).

• More than 80% of the surveyed farmers have reported the lack of funds to purchase concentrates and also the fact that in some local markets concentrates are not available. Feed scarcity during the dry season is an important constraint to adequate feeding of animals and often results in lower milk yields and lower income. The farmers (95%) consider that this problem is very crucial because poor feeding would result in poor health and low milk yield.

• Farmers are not very satisfied with the practice of artificial insemination (AI) as about 60% of the farmers have reported to have successful insemination only after two to three trials. Because of this, the request for bulls for natural crossing has been on the increase.

Also, The scarcity of local supplies of heifers of exotic breeds like Holstein, Friesians and Jerseys is an important obstacle to the rapid expansion of small-scale dairy development

Canada-Facts

Canada-Facts

Canada-Facts

Canada-Facts

How does supply management work for dairy?

• In dairy, balancing supply with demand largely implies balancing milk production from all farms with domestic consumption of dairy products. Controlling national production at the farm level is achieved through the establishment of marketing quotas through the framework provided in the National Milk Marketing Plan .

• Supply management also takes into account certain imports which enter Canada, as well as some production which is shipped to export markets.

The Canadian Dairy Commission • CDC provides ongoing support to the Canadian dairy industry while operating in close co-

operation with national and provincial stakeholders and governments

• It acts as a facilitator and provides secretariat services to the revenue pooling and market sharing systems. 

• It calculates and recommends to the CMSMC the target national milk production for industrial milk, or Market Sharing Quota;

• It has the authority to purchase, store, process, or sell dairy products on the domestic or export market, within World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.

• The Commission establishes support prices at which it will purchase butter and skim milk powder. These support prices are used as references by provinces to establish prices for milk used to manufacture products.

• It administers the Special Milk Class Permit Program  and issues permits allowing further processors to have access to competitively-priced dairy ingredients, and allowing exporters to export dairy products within Canada’s WTO commitment levels;

• It develops and implements marketing programs and services aimed at encouraging food manufacturers to maintain or increase their use of dairy ingredients in their various products.

• The CDC carries out audits, and acts as a facilitator in advancing the harmonization of audit procedures for dairy plants.

Market Sharing Quota

• The Market Sharing Quota is the national milk production target for industrial milk in Canada.The Canadian Dairy Commission makes a recommendation to the CMSMC on the MSQ. This target is constantly monitored and is adjusted when necessary to reflect changes in demand,

• The National Milk Marketing Plan establishes each province's share of the MSQ, and provides for the sharing of any quota increase or decrease. Each province allocates its respective share of the MSQ to its producers according to its own policies

Provincial Shares of MSQ* (July 31, 2006)

Province Butterfat

(millions of kg) Milk

(million hl) Percentage (%)

NFLD & Labrador 0.055 0.15 0.3

Prince Edward Island 3.08 0.86 1.8

Nova Scotia 1.81 0.50 1.1

New Brunswick 2.11 0.58 1.2

Quebec 79.79 22.16 46.5

Ontario 53.55 14.87 31.2

Manitoba 6.14 1.71 3.6

Saskatchewan 4.48 1.24 2.6

Alberta 10.75 2.99 6.3

British Columbia 9.47 2.63 5.5

TOTAL 171.72 47.70 100.0 %

Analysis• Supply ManagementThe Canadian dairy industry operates under supply management. Supplymanagement refers to the systematic use of production and border controls tomanage national supplies to satisfy projected demand at a target price. Thegoal of controlling supply so the market clears at the target price is to stabilizeand enhance dairy farm incomes. The economic implications of supplymanagement are well known (Barichello, 1981; Forbes, Hughes and Warley,1982; Schmitz and Schmitz, 1994). Supply management ensures a sizableincome transfer from consumers to producers. However, this dairy policyreduces social welfare since the loses to consumers exceed the gains toproducers.Using Demand and Supply graphs – Can you show the impact when moving

from free markets to controlled market in the form of supply management.

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