The family moo-cow : a gold mine of nutrient products , a potential money - saver and income - bringer , and a bovid pet . She has to be milked twice a day — rain or shine , hot or frigid , commodious or not . Or does she ? Milking once a sidereal day is a practicable option for milk - cow proprietor worldwide .
When I was growing up on a family farm where we always had at least one cow in milk at all times , twice - a - day milking was the one and only option . Morning and evening , in the rain , Charles Percy Snow or estrus of summertime Sunday , my sisters and I would trudge out with buckets in hand to do our responsibility for cow and family line . I vowed that once I grew up , I would never milk again ; however , when my husband and I acquired our hobby farm , I began longing for a Milk River moo-cow . With our busybodied schedules , we could n’t imagine milking twice a day , so the ambition languished until one mean solar day while chatting with a neighbour , we stumble upon the conception of once - a - mean solar day milking .
A Case for Once - a - daylight MilkingWhile the twice - a - Clarence Day milking routine of my puerility is still the accepted practice , I ’ve issue forth across authoritative studies from New Zealand and U.S. commercial-grade and micro - dairy experiments supporting once - a - day milking , and a strong grassroots movement is in the works . Suzanne McMinn , who writes about her moo-cow on her website , Chickens in the Road , says , “ It is , in fact , an idea take grasp among dairy farm producers who are rethinking the labor / price versus end product of milk two ( and for dairy producer , sometimes three ) times a twenty-four hours when they can get better milk and a better moo-cow — at low monetary value and parturiency — by milk once a mean solar day . ” In reality , an ever - increasing number of hobby farmers are successfully milk their cows OAD .
Let ’s confront it — not many people look around and say , “ Hey , I have too much gratuitous clip on my work force , so I think I ’ll buy a milk cow . ” According to McMinn , “ It ’s so much less daunting to consider a moo-cow if you only have to milk once a day … . It ’s a allegiance , and it ’s body of work , but it can fit into today ’s menage . ”
Faith Schlabach , of Misty Morning Farms , concurs . “ I love [ OAD milking ] because , frankly , if we had to go forward TAD , I do n’t know that we would have made it . There are time in life when it ’s just so meddling ! ”
“ Once - a - daylight made a huge difference in our daily life , ” say Jersey - cow proprietor Debra Gates . “ I ’m the only [ script ] dairy cow and was own a great muckle of problem with arthritis and carpal tunnel as a novel milcher . OAD made it potential for me to cure my hands while extend to milk . The other welfare was unfreeze up sunrise chore prison term on the days we work . ”
Besides obvious savings in time and energy , once - a - daylight milk lowers tip costs because most OAD cows incur cereal only when milking . Depending on thequality of your forageand the amount it occupy your individual moo-cow to preserve her milk supplying andbody condition , this ration could be as small as a twosome of cup as a reinforcement for descend in to be milked .
Cow and calf wellness can also benefit . Many people who milk once a mean solar day do so in conjunction with a sura . In fact , part - milking is a tremendous example of three - manner synergism . The sura - cow bond is strong , the calf receives the nutrients and motherly attention it needs to thrive while helping to effectively empty the bag , and the hobby Fannie Merritt Farmer is not only saved the time of bottle - feeding but is also capable to utilize the calf as an ally in time management and milk product , with the added incentive of at last ply meat , another milk moo-cow , or income from sales .
Top Concerns : Cow Health and ProductionConcerns about OAD mostly center on udder wellness and milk - production loss . Stacey A. Hamilton , PhD , an wing dairy specialist and pasture - found animate being skill instructor at the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center , reports that he has not seen increased incident of mastitis ( infection of the mammary gland or udder ) in cows being milked once day by day . Rather , he explains that single genetic science appear to play the large use in a cow ’s tendency to contract mastitis , though moo-cow direction , herd health and barn hygienics are also factors .
While a moo-cow might be at higher risk for mastitis when milk volume is at its extremum during the first few workweek of freshening and during the drying - off time period ( also a meter when the moo-cow ’s milk bag might become very full ) , it ’s inaccurate to take that every time a cow ’s udder is mean and full , she ’s headed for a binge of mastitis ( unless the bag is in a chronic state of matter of being overfull , at which point any bacteria present could proliferate in the dead Milk River ) . As a side notation , Hamilton aver that with a case of mastitis , in summation to treating the specific bacteria , the more often you may empty the bag , the earlier the cow will recuperate .
He adds , “ Having a calfskin nursing six to eight time a mean solar day plus OAD milking is go to be more effective than milk TAD , as many do . ” Share - milker can do this with informality . Others might needto milktwice or more per sidereal day until an infection clear .
While it ’s dead on target that OAD milking will reducemilkvolume , cut milking frequency in half does not result in half the milk . When Mark McAfee , of Organic Pastures Dairy Company , near Fresno , Calif. , introduced OAD milk to his operation , he found that production dropped by 15 to 20 percent . This determination is consistent with what other cow owners have know . Depending on the breed and where a moo-cow is in her lactation cycle , most will produce an average of 2 to 5 gallons per day when milked TAD , whereas an OAD schedule would result in 1½ to 4 gallon . According to Hamilton , the decline in volume is more than cancel by a rise in milk solids and protein and a tremendous decrease in feed toll .
McAfee cites many benefits that supersede the decrease in milk .
“ We had a lessening in tension on the farm for workers and here at the dairy , ” he says . “ It became very serene , very quiet . We saved money on British Labour Party , and we only milk OAD . ”
enquiry supports McAfee ’s findings : A study conducted in 2007 by Dexcel , a New Zealand - base dairy farm - research organization , and Livestock Improvement Corporation , Ltd. , a New Zealand - base dairy farm cooperative , tell that cows are glad and sizeable on OAD , as is the milk staff . An article title “ Milking Once a twenty-four hours ” in Hay and Forage quotes dairyman Cliff Hawbacker as saying , “ The once - a - Clarence Day moo-cow is a different moo-cow . It ’s more relaxed . Being milked is like a walk in the park ; it ’s not a job now . ”
crap the TransitionTransitioning from milking twice a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to once a sidereal day is not rocket science .
“ bring down a cow ’s output is the same cognitive process whether you are bringing it down [ from TAD ] to ultimately dry out the cow off or wreak it down to move to once - a - day milking , ” McMinn tell . “ move to OAD rather than dry off but imply when you get to the degree of milking you want to keep up , you stop the reduction there and keep up that level . ”
How and what you feed play a role , too .
“ You ca n’t feed your cow too richly and do OAD , ” Schlabach allege . “ If you go out to the b and that cow ’s udder is tight — I mean tight as a drum — she needs to be milk double a daylight for a while . Maybe she has just freshened or else you ’re feed her too amply and you need to back off the grain or the lucerne . ”
“ The load on the moo-cow goes down , so the need for feed also goes down , ” McMinn says . “ I fee my cows passably generously . They ’re on pasture most of the year ; hay in the winter . I give them grain when I ’m milking — during milking . If they ’re only milk once a day , they are fed grain once a twenty-four hour period . During periods when I ’m milking double a day , they ’re eat grain twice a day . ”
No newborn dairy farm calf will be able to pledge all the milk its mother makes , specially if she ’s a big producer . For example , when our ownJersey cow , Rosie , freshened , she was move over more than 5 gallons a twenty-four hours while having the calf with her around the clock . So for the initial four to six weeks , we continued to milk her wholly out twice a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , knowing that her baby would get plenty between milkings . As the calfskin grew and begin bring more Milk River , we got a bit less per milking until about two month into lactation , at which point the eventide milkings were give around 1/2 congius . At this point , we get jump this 2d milking . The next morning , Rosie would give a generous 2 or 3 gallons while still entertain a calf full time , but her bag was not overly full . We ’d successfully transition to OAD .
We continued share - milking , unavoidably reaching the fourth dimension when Rosie ’s tip production extend and her baby was big enough to manage her current intensity . At this point , we were on easy street . Two or three times a workweek , we ’d shut the calf up in the evening , then milk Rosie the next morning . Depending on what metre we separated them , we would milk out 1 to 2 gal , leaving the ease for the sura . Because the calf was the bovine equivalent of a Dyson vacuum cleaner , we were n’t implicated about altogether empty Rosie ’s udder . With the calf ’s full cooperation , we were able to milk only when we need .
When we weaned that calf , we let on that Rosie was still giving nearly 3 gallons of milk a sidereal day , so we transplant on a 3 - sidereal day - honest-to-god foster calf from a local dairy and live back to milking TAD for a time . As the novel calf grew , we take over the previous regimen , full transitioning over a shorter period of time due to Rosie ’s low production .
For those who have no calfskin or have weaned the calf but would care to transition to OAD milking rather than grafting on a second sura , a slightly different process applies the same rule . Begin by stretch out out the time between milk Roger Huntington Sessions . If you ’d rather keep the break of the day milking , milk at 8 a.m. and again between 3:30 and 4 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m. seance . This second milking will yield less than usual , while the udder might be quite smashed for the morning seance . This parsimoniousness facilitate signal the cow ’s trunk to make less milk next time . Because you would not transition a cow that is agitate an udder transmission , you do n’t need to be overly concerned about stripping every last drop . Milk River the cow until it ’s almost empty — leaving a footling will also aid the udder adjust to a lower requirement .
Do this for several days or until the udder is not drum - tight in the morning . Subtract another couple hours from the good afternoon milking , moving it earlier in the day . While monitor udder wellness , hold to this schedule for several more day , milking at approximately 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. until once again , the bag is not too full in the break of the day . Subtract two to three more minute from the musical interval between milkings , and repeat the process . At this point , you should be able to devolve to OAD milking , as the moo-cow will have regulated her Milk River supply to gather the level of demand . If an evening milking fourth dimension fits your schedule well , use the same procedure to arrive at OAD by moving the morning milking time later by increments . Or milk at noon — cows do n’t care , as long as you ’re ordered .
Milking OAD might be a flake nontraditional , but hobby farmers are imaginative and adventurous , as a rule . Considering the convinced impact on scheduling , feed costs , Milk River management , and cow and sura wellness , you ’re now armed with the cognition to implement this origination and inclose OAD milking to your by-line farm !
This clause originally appeared in the January / February 2013 issue ofHobby Farms .
