Dairy farm management

Introduction

The value for milk is among the highest in India’s agriculture and food sector,
more than that of rice and wheat together. In India, the dairy sector plays a
significant role in generating employment opportunities, providing a basic food
source, improving the country’s economy, afford stable income to rural
households and helps to combat poverty. The economic effects of the dairy
industry are consequential in India due to its major contribution to the country’s
GDP. The dairy and animal husbandry sector contributes 4.2% of the national
GDP (National Accounts Statistics, GoI, 2019). However, the majority of the
milk supply channel is informal and lacks maintenance of quality. Hence, there
is an increased demand for hygienic milk production to prevent harmful disease
transmission after its consumption.

Good management practices appear to tackle these problems and effectively

overcome them. For the dairy farm to be successful, proper management
becomes the chief area of concern for the farm owners (FAO, 2011). More
emphasis must be given to introduce modern technologies and strategies to
incur maximum profits.

Some of the most important new-age dairy technologies:

Health Tracking Devices for Cattle

Cattle production, lifespan, and reproductivity are all affected by health issues.
Farmers spend a lot of money on their cattle’s health and well-being every year.
Farmers may measure, monitor, and control cattle’s health, nutrition, behaviour,
pregnancy, milking frequency, milk production anomalies, and activity level in
real-time owing to wearable animal electronics that are similar to human fitness
trackers.

Robotic Milking Machines

Robotic milking machines allow farmers to reduce physical labour requirements,

maintain a sanitary milking procedure, milk cows at any time of day rather than
on a set schedule, and increase milk output.
Cattle Monitoring Drones

The livestock surveillance drones can follow the animals and herd them back to
the barns from the fields. Some drones include thermal sensor technology,
which allows them to follow animals based on their body heat. Drones may also
take photographs of pasture areas and provide information on whether or not
they are appropriate for livestock grazing.

Milk Freshness

Milk can now be detected for freshness and stored for extended periods of time
thanks to advances in technology. Naturo, an Australian food technology
business, has invented a method that can keep natural milk fresh for at least 60
days in the refrigerator without the need of chemicals or preservatives. IIT
Guwahati researchers have created a smartphone-app aided paper sensor kit
that can evaluate the freshness of milk and tell how effectively it has been
pasteurised back in India.

Ecommerce Marketplaces

In India, many online B2B marketplaces, such as AgroStar and Gold Farm, have
been developed to provide sophisticated equipment and consulting services to
farmers and dairy producers’ doorsteps via their cellphones. Many B2C systems
have sprung up quickly, such as FreshVnF, WayCool, and FarmLink, which
harvest fresh fruit from farms and transport it to retail consumers, hotels,
restaurants, and cafés.

DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL DAIRY FARMING

 NUTRITION MANAGEMENT (FEED AND WATER)

 FORAGE PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
 HOUSING AND MANURE MANAGEMENT
 HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT
 MILKING HYGIENE AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT
 ANIMAL WELFARE
 REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT
 YOUNG STOCK MANAGEMENT
 RECORD KEEPING
  NUTRITION MANAGEMENT (FEED AND WATER)

OBJECTIVES:

Enhance the milk production

Reduce the stress and discomfort

Maintenance of animal health

Cost-effective nutrient fulfillment

Improvement in reproductive efficiency

Increased growth rate

Control the potential effect of dairy feed production on the environment

 Gateway to dairy production and products

 Farm practices
 The objective of good dairy farming practice is the on-farm production of safe, quality milk
from healthy animals under generally acceptable conditions. To achieve this end, dairy
producers need to apply Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) in the following areas:

 Animal health: Poor animal health is one of the principal constraints to increasing small-
scale dairy productivity, as it results in high morbidity and low production. Overcoming this
constraint could significantly improve productivity and result in real and direct benefits for
producers.

 Good dairy farming practices for animal health are establishing the herd with resistance to
disease; preventing the entry of disease on to the farm; establishing effective herd health
management; and using all chemicals and veterinary medicines as directed.
 Milking hygiene: Most small-scale dairy producers in developing countries milk their
animals by hand, often in the presence of the calf to stimulate milk release. Where sufficient
labour is available, hand-milking allows milk extraction with minimal capital investment,
equipment maintenance, and cleaning. In many societies, milking is traditionally done by
women, but women are prohibited from milking in some pastoral and mixed farming
communities. With modernization, these milking customs are being lost. On medium to large
dairy farms, where improved dairy breeds are used, it is more common and convenient to
milk animals with milking machines. Irrespective of the milking method (hand or machine), it
is crucial to avoid contamination of the milk during and after milking.

 Good dairy farming practices for milking hygiene are ensuring that milking routines do not
injure the animals or introduce contaminants into the milk; that milking is carried out under
hygienic conditions; and that milk is handled properly after milking.
 Nutrition (feed and water): A dairy animal’s health and productivity, as well as the quality
and safety of its milk, depend largely on providing the right feed and water. The
requirements for feed and nutrients of dairy animals depend on factors such as
physiological state, milk production level, age, sex, body condition, body weight, weight gain,
health condition, level of activity and exercise, climate and season. The feeding of livestock is
a major challenge in many developing countries. This challenge is even greater in the tropics
because of seasonal fluctuations in the availability of feed – caused by periods without
rainfall – and the poor quality of feed. When producers cannot rely on locally available feed
resources, the feeding of dairy animals can become more expensive. The feeding methods
used by small-scale dairy producers in developing countries are grazing, which requires fairly
large areas; tethering, which permits full use of roadside verges, areas around cropland, etc.;
and stall or pen feeding, which requires more labour inputs. When supplements are
provided, they are either fed to the entire herd or to individual animals. Dairy animals
consume large amounts of water for milk production and pregnancy. Access to water
therefore has a great influence on milk production.water therefore has a great influence on
milk production.

Good dairy farming practices for nutrition are securing feed and water supplies from
sustainable sources; ensuring a supply of feed and water of suitable quantity and quality;
controlling the storage conditions of feed; and ensuring the traceability of feedstuffs brought
on to the farm.
 Animal welfare: Animal welfare is the application of sensible and sensitive animal
husbandry practices to the dairy animals on a farm. These practices must be applied to not
only milk producing animals, but also young stock, replacements and males in rearing units.

Animal welfare is primarily concerned with the well-being of the animals. Dairy farming
practices should aim to keep animals free from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; from
discomfort; from pain, injury and disease; from fear; and to engage in relatively normal
patterns of animal behaviour.
 Environment: Environmental concerns from the dairy sector include the impact on land
degradation (e.g., overgrazing), climate change, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution,
and loss of biodiversity. Dairy production is an important source of greenhouse gas
 emissions, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Ammonia
(NH3) emissions from livestock housing facilities and from poor manure management are
also a cause of concern in countries across the globe.

Good dairy farming practices for the environment are implementing an environmentally
sustainable farming system; having an appropriate waste management system; and
ensuring that dairy farming practices do not have an adverse impact on the local
environment.
 Socio-economic management: Social responsibility and economic sustainability are integral
to good dairy farming practice, as they address two key risks to the farming enterprise.
Human resource and financial management ensure the sustainability of the enterprise.

Good dairy farming practices for the socio-economic management of dairy farms are
implementing effective and responsible management of human resources; ensuring that
farm tasks are carried out safely and competently; and managing the enterprise to ensure its
financial viability.