Milk contains 13 essential nutrients that humans need for their health. At Dairy One, we provide 13 (and more) essential things to dairy farmers to keep their cows healthy and their farms running efficiently. Read on for more information about these services that are important for dairies during National Dairy Month and beyond!
Milk Testing for Components
Milk is made of different components – butterfat, lactose, and fatty acids, to name a few. Each of these impacts milk quality and how much a dairy is paid for its milk. At the Dairy One Milk Lab, we can test a milk sample for many of the components of milk and generate a report back to farmers to see the levels for every individual cow.
Screening for Mastitis
Mastitis is a big hindrance to good milk quality in a herd. To detect mastitis, like the highly infectious Mycoplasma bovis, Dairy One can either provide technology to test samples on the dairy or conduct tests on a submitted milk sample. Tests will show the presence of DNA associated with different types of mastitis, so that cows can then be moved to the sick pen.
Health Screening for Diseases
In addition to component levels, milk can also be used to test health in a cow. The easiest test is for confirming pregnancy in a cow. Knowing if a cow is pregnant or not impacts her care plan. If she is pregnant, dairy farmers need to adjust her feed ration and move her into a pen for careful monitoring, and if not, she will need to be added back into the group for breeding.
In addition, Dairy One’s Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory can conduct other health tests for cows, such as Johne’s Disease and Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD). Both of these diseases can lead to problems for a dairy herd. Tests can be conducted through blood samples collected from a cow. This is minimally invasive to a cow and quickly gives an answer to a farmer.
Feed Testing for Rations
Cows are just like humans and need the right diet to thrive and keep producing high-quality milk. And like humans, cows often have a nutritionist who builds a ration for them to eat. But to know the nutrient make-up of these ingredients, the Dairy One Forage Laboratory can test everything a cow eats to report back on what’s actually in it. This information is used by nutritionists and herd managers to create a ration to keep cows healthy.
Testing for Water Quality
Cows can drink 30 to 50 gallons of water a day. Good, clean water is important for milk production and overall cow welfare. Testing water can reveal if there is a high bacterial count or look at the nutritional physicochemical properties. While water can look clean and drinkable, a test will confirm if there’s something concerning that has an impact on cows.
Analyzing Manure
Of course, once the feed is consumed, one of the byproducts made by a cow is manure. This byproduct is used by farmers as fertilizer for their fields. And like feed, testing manure is important to see what is in it. Because while nutrients might be high in certain nutrients, they might be low in others that are necessary for crop growth.
Building CAFO Plans
When applying manure to fields, dairy farmers often work with Agricultural Consulting Services (ACS), a subsidiary of Dairy One, that works to provide recommendations for manure applications. For dairies in New York and Vermont, ACS builds government-regulated plans, called CAFO and LFO, that are required by states to make sure that large farm operations are properly storing manure and applying it to fields.
Monitoring Barns with Cameras
Keeping an eye on multiple barns full of cows is a busy job. That’s where cameras come into play on a dairy. Mounted in a milk parlor, different holding pens, and even in the shop area, cameras are an extra set of eyes. This is helpful to see if milking protocols are being followed, watch maternity pens for newborn calves, and check in on things when not on the farm.
Managing with Herd Management Software
For farms with more than 50 cows, it can be hard to keep track of every single one of them. That’s where herd management software comes into play, which helps dairy farmers track every cow on their farm and all of the information associated with her. Data such as how much milk she is making, where she is in the reproductive program, and if she’s recently not feeling well. Herd managers and dairy owners can access this information on their cell phones, thanks to developments by BoviSync and DART, two programs supported by Dairy One’s Integrated Farming Solutions.
Tracking Locomotion Problems
Cows’ hooves grow just like human fingernails, and they need to be trimmed on a regular basis. To track a cow’s hoof growth and movement or locomotion, dairies can use a program like CattleEye. This artificial intelligence camera system monitors cows as they exit a milking parlor and rates their gait. If a cow falls below a certain score, her information will be flagged and sent to the herd manager. That way, she can be sorted out to receive treatment and care to prevent her from spiraling down into lameness.
Providing Software Support
Computers are a tool used on dairy farms for numerous jobs. Regular maintenance can sometimes fall to the wayside, but the Integrated Farming Solutions team can schedule visits to check on things. From updating software to cleaning computers, this is a job that may seem minor in cow care, but if computer systems crash, that can cause a log jam with data management, which can spiral into a bigger problem.
Setting Up WiFi
Although cows aren’t using cell phones (yet), WiFi is still necessary on a dairy. Not just for computers, but also for activity monitoring devices used to track cow behavior. Wiring and setting up WiFi on a large farm can take days, but the Integrated Farming Solutions team has years of experience setting up these networks.
Helping with Goats
Cows are not the only mammals that produce dairy. Goats make milk that’s used for a variety of products. Many of the services mentioned above for cows are also offered to goat farmers. This includes milk and forage testing, pregnancy confirmation, along with camera systems for barns.
While dairy farmers put in work 24/7/365 to provide the best care possible for their cows, Dairy One works right alongside them to support them. For more information about any of the services mentioned above, feel free to email [email protected].