Dairy farmers are likely weary of hearing the cliche that “you have to increase production to be more profitable.” Nevertheless, optimizing the utilization of fixed resources is the best approach to boost profits. Production can rise without incurring significant variable costs by emphasizing management techniques and paying close attention to details (e.g., feed and supply). Increasing output per cow is the “gravy” after the fixed expenses of supplies, insurance, taxes, and animal facilities are covered.
Here are some key points to consider for increasing milk production:
Water & Food
- Water Constantly supply clean water at a sufficient flow rate.
- Give your cows enough space to drink: one water fountain for every twenty cows, or four inches of linear area per cow.
- Establish a weekly or more regular schedule for cleaning waterers.
- Feed: give each cow two feet of linear bunk area if it’s not a robotic dairy.
- Keep the feed bunks stocked.
- Push food up six times a day, minimum.
- Every day, remove the old feed and feed a balanced diet.
- If pastured, alternate and add more as needed.
- Before feeding, remove and dispose of any rotten silage in the silo.
- Regularly test feeds for nutritional analyses
Consider Comfort
To ensure cow welfare, provide each cow with a stall with ample bedding, clean bedding weekly, trim feet annually, treat sore feet, provide secure walkways, provide adequate airflow, and avoid drafts and storm penetration.
Incorporating solutions such as Custom Flat Plastic Sheets can strategically create comfortable living conditions for cows. These sheets provide useful applications, contributing to the overall comfort and well-being of cows while protecting against numerous environmental factors.
Improve Milking Procedure
- Stay cool, and avoid yelling or hitting the cows when transferring them.
- Milk either every eight or every twelve hours
- Think about milking fresh cows (Don’t let the cows stay in the holding area for too long).
- Give pre-milking udder stimulation and forestry.
- Applying the machine after manual stimulation shouldn’t take longer than 120 seconds.
- Put on fresh, disposable gloves.
- Avoid using a machine to strip cows; milk should take them 4–7 minutes.
Improve Reproduction Method
- Verify and note any visible temperatures.
- after the volunteer waiting period (VWP) of fifty days, breed
- Verify the review and updating of insemination techniques.
- Make use of heat-detecting tools (such as markers or tail-head chalking).
- If necessary, employ synchronization procedures.
- Take into account employing blood testing services to verify pregnancy
Use Microbial Vitamins
Dairy producers frequently utilize dairy cow microbial vitamins additives to increase milk output, efficiency, and health. According to Yoon and Stern (1995), these items are fed to control the rumen and lower intestine microbiota. They are made of live yeast and bacteria.
During lactation, lactating cows fed vitamin B-supplemented feed demonstrated increased milk yield and components, sustained productivity, enhanced feed efficiency, and decreased culling rates.
