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samedi 10 janvier 2015

Common Problems On Dairy Farms

By Lianne Derocco


The dairy industry in the United States is one among the top agricultural industries but the life of the dairy farmer cannot be considered a life in a bed of roses also. The fact is that there are also a lot of issues that the dairy farmer has to face. The following are just some issues that have to be handled, if you are also a dairy farmer.

Waste production is an issue and dairy cows are no exception as all animals produce waste. Large waste pits or lagoons are these structures built and where the cow waste is typically stored. The waste stored can become hard and solid but it is best to have this in liquefied form, thus special manure treatment is also often needed. A solid sludge layer can form on the bottom of the waste pits and lagoons if the waste is poorly treated. Attracting more flies and also odor and foaming are the results when a hard top crust forms.

To prevent these problems, some farmers use chemicals to treat the waste. However, these days there are some natural products that can be used as an agricultural waste treatment. These manure digesters include Activator Plus which eats away and liquefies a tough top crust. Agra Sphere and Lagoon Agra Sphere are easy-to-use, biodegradable spheres that you can toss into your lagoon or pit and will eat away at sludge and keep crusts from forming. Both manure treatment products contain no chemicals and use special bacteria to deal with agricultural waste.

A lot of problems can also be faced with the individual cows. Infertility is one common problem encountered. Cows have to continuously produce calves, for milk production to continue. The animal can no longer be used for milk production when this cow no longer gets pregnant. The cows will be separated from the herd when these are culled. These are also sources of beef however, the animals culled.

Mastitis is another common problem that might plague a dairy cow. This is a mammary gland infection and can be a fatal condition. Generally, the cow will be culled and then treated with antibiotics until the infection is gone and all traces of the antibiotics are gone and the milk produced is once again suitable for market.

The milk produced by the cow every day is also taken into special considerations. In general, a dairy cow often produces six gallons of milk every day. If there is already little milk produced, this cow may also be culled. There are studies however that say that the lesser level of milk production will also lead to longer longevity of the cow. If you are just producing four gallons of milk from this cow, it may also live longer and thus also produces milk for a longer time than a cow producing seven gallons of milk every day. Stress in the cows is also related to milk production, and there are studies that show cows that are allowed to roam in the pastures and also with calming music played while lactating, can increase the amount of milk produced.




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