Dairy cattle

Today, the bovine industry is more specialized and most dairy cattle have been bred to produce large volumes of milk.

Purebred bulls from elite cows may be put into progeny testing schemes to find out whether they might become superior sires for breeding.

Most dairy farms separate calves from their mothers within a day of birth to reduce transmission of disease and simplify management of milking cows.

[18][citation needed] Cattle are social animals; their ancestors tended to live in matriarchal groups of mothers and offspring.

Traditionally individual housing systems were used in calf rearing, to reduce the risk of disease spread and provide specific care.

The chances of problems arising which may lead to a cow being culled are high, however; the average herd life of US Holstein is today fewer than 3 lactations.

Therefore, it can be said that it is in the best interest of the farmer to increase eating, rumination, and lying down and decrease stress, disease, and discomfort to achieve the maximum productivity possible.

[37] When the lactating dairy cow lies down, blood flow is increased to the mammary gland which in return results in a higher milk yield.

By killing the microbes, decreasing the transmission of infection, and elimination of enzymes the quality of the milk and the shelf life increases.

[citation needed] Rather than a large bull jumping on a smaller heifer or weaker cow, AI allows the farmer to complete the breeding procedure within 5 minutes with minimum stress placed on the individual female's body.

However for management purposes, some operations use synthetic hormones to synchronize their cows or heifers to have them breed and calve at the ideal times.

[citation needed] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that rBST recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) s harmless to people while the American Cancer Society finds that the use of rBGH can cause adverse health effects in cows.

[53][54] The use of rBST is banned in Canada, parts of the European Union, as well as Australia and New Zealand.due to possible opposing Views and of lack of findings.

Traceback to the dairy is undertaken by the FDA with further consequences including the possibility revocation of ability to sell milk.

Diets are formulated to meet the dairy cow's energy and amino acid requirements for lactation, growth, and/or reproduction.

Cereal grains, as the main contributors of starch to diets, are important in helping to meet the energy needs of dairy cattle.

[62] Ensuring adequate body fat reserves is essential for cattle to produce milk and also to keep reproductive efficiency.

[63] Scientists have found that a variety of fat supplements can benefit conception rates of lactating dairy cows.

Ruminants such as the cow have microbes in their rumen called methanogens which are capable of digesting down plant material so it can be utilized for energy, but also generates methane as a byproduct which is then released into the atmosphere by belching.

[70]: 212  American Jerseys have been selectively bred for higher milk yield, and are often larger and coarser than the island stock.

Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, and humane handling.

Improper handling techniques can stress cattle leading to impaired production and health, such as increased slipping injuries.

Dairy animals are handled on a daily basis for a wide variety of purposes including health-related management practices and movement from freestalls to the milking parlor.

Due to the prevalence of human-animal interactions on dairy farms, researchers, veterinarians, and farmers alike have focused on furthering our understanding of stockmanship and educating agriculture workers.

Stockmanship is a complex concept that involves the timing, positioning, speed, direction of movement, and sounds and touch of the handler.

However, as the growing U.S. dairy industry increasingly relies on an immigrant workforce, stockmanship training and education resources become more pertinent.

Clearly communicating and managing a large culturally diverse workforce brings new challenges such as language barriers and time limitations.

Additionally the Beef Quality Assurance Program offer seminars, live demonstrations, and online resources for stockmanship training.

[74][citation needed] For cows to reach high performance in milk yields and reproduction, they must be in great condition and comfortable in the system.

The cycle of insemination, pregnancy, parturition, and lactation is followed by a "dry" period of about two months before calving, which allows udder tissue to regenerate.