Post by rosalind on Dec 22, 2016 18:01:58 GMT -5
Yes, I think heavy culling would have to take place, as I know from a few different people that "not just any" cow can OAD and persist with milk.
Here's a copy of info I wrote to a friend recently that was having this problem:
1. Most people I know that OAD still start out milking TAD for the first few months or until the cow’s bred, which helps maintain production longer.
2. A way to lessen time involved is to use one milking for bottling milk and the other milking for just calves/pigs - so you can just whip right through all the cows without the detailed cleaning process.
3. People who start fresh cows on OAD, again, aren’t only milking OAD – they keep the calf on 12 hours and then lock the calves up overnight, milk cow in AM, and then return the calf (probably not an option, can be frustrating with cows that hold up their milk and calves that bite the teats, but illustrates how the cow is still milked multiple times per day).
4. I’m curious how NZ does OAD, if from the beginning, etc. but Jay made a good point that their cattle are on pasture most of the year, which really makes for good production. So I think in a setting where we (and you) have winter and cold weather and potentially months without pasture, that OAD might need to be timed such to maximize pasture season. For example, if your peak pasture is in say – May – then maybe try to calve in Jan/Feb and then transition onto pasture where cows get a pop in production from plush pasture. That could help sustain your lactations as well if you can get the cows on a sort of schedule, or at least most of the cows. We kind of do that – with winter calving, then come spring they get a nice little boost so they’re milking consistent until dry off time in the summer, then we “put them out to pasture” for late summer when grass is not ideal but still pastureable, so the cows are almost zero maintenance (move to a new field once a day or so and they have a automatic float on the water trough, and a mineral tub to fill maybe once a week).
5. I think idea #4 has merit, or just the concept of “a cow can produce to meet your needs based on how you feed her”
Here's a copy of info I wrote to a friend recently that was having this problem:
1. Most people I know that OAD still start out milking TAD for the first few months or until the cow’s bred, which helps maintain production longer.
2. A way to lessen time involved is to use one milking for bottling milk and the other milking for just calves/pigs - so you can just whip right through all the cows without the detailed cleaning process.
3. People who start fresh cows on OAD, again, aren’t only milking OAD – they keep the calf on 12 hours and then lock the calves up overnight, milk cow in AM, and then return the calf (probably not an option, can be frustrating with cows that hold up their milk and calves that bite the teats, but illustrates how the cow is still milked multiple times per day).
4. I’m curious how NZ does OAD, if from the beginning, etc. but Jay made a good point that their cattle are on pasture most of the year, which really makes for good production. So I think in a setting where we (and you) have winter and cold weather and potentially months without pasture, that OAD might need to be timed such to maximize pasture season. For example, if your peak pasture is in say – May – then maybe try to calve in Jan/Feb and then transition onto pasture where cows get a pop in production from plush pasture. That could help sustain your lactations as well if you can get the cows on a sort of schedule, or at least most of the cows. We kind of do that – with winter calving, then come spring they get a nice little boost so they’re milking consistent until dry off time in the summer, then we “put them out to pasture” for late summer when grass is not ideal but still pastureable, so the cows are almost zero maintenance (move to a new field once a day or so and they have a automatic float on the water trough, and a mineral tub to fill maybe once a week).
5. I think idea #4 has merit, or just the concept of “a cow can produce to meet your needs based on how you feed her”