Discover everything there is to know about dairy cattle
This foundation course is extremely practical and offers exceptional, in-depth support from professionals with university degrees and years of industry experience.
This course is for you if you wish to learn about dairy cow management.
remarks from students
“(This training) has given me confidence in that I can comprehend the farmers I would be working with as a vet,” the student said. UK dairy cattle manufacturer H. Thorneycroft
“The course was expertly put together. In addition to providing some crucial practical hands-on information that other courses lacked, it addressed all the crucial facets of dairy production. I had a great time, and I feel like I’m now ready to work on a dairy farm.” Australia’s K McKenzie sells dairy cattle.
Lesson Structure
There are 9 lessons in this course:
- Dairy Breeds
- Comparison of dairy breeds
- Ayrshire
- Guernsey
- Jersey
- Holstein
- Friesian
- A.F.S. (Australian Friesian Sahiwal)
- Illawarra
- Judging cattle: general appearance, dairy character, udder
- Dairy Products
- The composition of milk
- Factors affecting the composition of milk
- Environmental and physiological factors
- The Lactation Cycle
- Explain the management of the lactation cycle in dairy cattle, on a farm property
- Influence of the farmer on:
- lactation
- infertile cows
- feeding
- the milking shed
- planning for feed-flow
- Pests & Diseases of Dairy Cattle
- Manage the wellbeing of a dairy cow
- Optimising quality and quantity of production
- Treatment techniques
- Dry cow therapy
- bacterial diseases in cattle
- Disease types in cattle
- Feeding Dairy Cattle
- Manage the wellbeing of a dairy cow
- working out dairy rations
- maintenance requirements for a dairy cow
- the dairy ration
- working out the cost of dairy rations
- Managing Dairy Cattle
- Manage general husbandry operations for the dairy cow
- Managing the heifer
- Age of breeding
- factors affecting milk yield
- Breeding Dairy Cattle
- Significance of animal breeding programs for milk production
- Selection
- Artificial selection
- Regression
- Disadvantages of inbreeding
- Performance testing
- Artificial insemination
- Ova transplants
- Managing Dairy Facilities
- Explain the management of the facilities, including buildings and machinery at a farm dairy
- Basic requirements of all dairies
- Cooling of milk
- Machine milking
- Components of a milking machine
- Choosing a system
- Different types of systems
- Dairy Business Planning
- Develop a business plan for the management of a dairy property
- Economics of dairying
- Business plan example
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
- Choose the right dairy breeds for the various farming circumstances.
- Explain the various attributes of dairy products, including their kind and range.
- Describe the management of the dairy cow lactation cycle on a farm.
- Handle the dairy cow’s general husbandry procedures.
- To maximise the quality and output of a dairy cow, manage its well-being while taking into account its health and vigour.
- What role do animal breeding programmes play in milk production?
- Describe how a farm dairy manages its facilities, including its buildings and equipment.
- Create a business strategy for the administration of a dairy estate.
How You Plan to Act
- Differentiate between three breeds of dairy cow that are either major or potentially significant in the learner’s area, such as:
- size
- appearance
- preferred conditions
- milk
- cost per head.
- Analyze three different dairy cattle breeds’ suitability for a certain property in a neighbourhood the student is familiar with.
- Choose three suitable dairy cattle breeds for each of the following four scenarios:
- pasture varieties
- climatic conditions (eg. temperature and weather patterns)
- locality
- market requirements for the product
- Use a standardised scoring system to evaluate a dairy cow, such as the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association’s 1982 revision of the dairy cow unified scoring system.
- List the many dairy products that are frequently found in the learner’s area.
- Describe the composition of milk, with reference to different characteristics, including:
- sediment
- bacteria count
- chemical impurities
- somatic cell count
- added water
- flavour
- Explain the different types of flavours in milk, referring to both cause and prevention factors, and using relevant terminology, including:
- feed
- rancid
- flat
- unclean
- foreign
- salt
- acid
- oxidised flavours
- Describe how the content of milk can affect how it is used for various reasons.
- Describe the pasteurisation procedure used to process milk on a property the student visited (sanitisation).
- Describe the process of making cheese at a particular location.
- Describe the process of making yoghurt in a particular location.
- Describe the steps taken in a typical dairy to turn milk into cream.
- Explain the dairy cow’s lactation cycle.
- List the aspects of farm management that can affect the lactation cycle.
- Describe the potential effects of three different dietary changes on lactation in cows.
- Create a plan for a feed flow scheme to help a specific property’s milk output.
- Create a log book that details the management actions taken to regulate the lactation cycle in dairy cows on a specific farm over the course of one month.
- Checking the appropriate execution of the task by milking a cow.
- List the common maintenance procedures done on various dairy cows, both those that are producing milk and those that are not.
- Describe the standard care procedures used on two sorts of dairy cows, including those that are dry and those that are in milk.
- On a particular dairy farm, contrast the treatment of heifers with that of milking cows.
- Explain how a specific dairy farm manages its dairy cattle to produce meat.
- Analyze a dairy farm’s production system in a place that the student is familiar with.
- Identify the important pests and diseases that affect dairy cattle in the learner’s area.
- Make a list of the symptoms of disease that dairy cattle should have evaluated regularly.
- Name three important dairy cattle pests or diseases, such as mastitis.
- Describe three distinct pests or diseases that affect dairy cattle and their remedies.
- Describe the anomalies that the digestive system of dairy cattle can experience.
- Differentiate between a dairy cow’s productivity ration and maintenance ration.
- Describe the dietary needs of a typical dairy cow on a particular location.
- Determine the rations for a dairy cow based on the following characteristics::
- weight
- quantity of milk being produced
- butterfat concentration
- Prepare a collection of pasture plant species from two different dairy properties, and including:
- samples of plants (ie. pressings of different plants in the pasture)
- comments on the suitability of the pasture for dairy cattle.
- Produce a twelve month plan to manage the vigour of dairy cattle, on a specified property, which includes:
- a list of disease management procedures
- feed program variations throughout the year
- Describe a breeding programme being used to improve a dairy herd on a specific farm.
- Describe how dairy animals are artificially inseminated on the specific farm.
- Indicate the selection criteria for cattle for a dairy breeding programme in a place that the learner is familiar with.
- Create a hypothetical breeding programme to increase dairy cattle’s productivity and milk quality.
- Describe the very minimum physical requirements for a working dairy farm.
- List the elements that affect where a dairy is located on a farm.
- Create a plan for the development of dairy facilities at a designated site that includes:
- sketch or concept plans of buildings, fencing surrounding buildings, and interior layout
- a list of materials, including types and quantities required for construction
- a list of equipment to be installed
- a schedule of construction tasks
- Create a profile of the optimum location for a dairy farm.
- Choose the equipment required to run a specific, fictional dairy farm.
- Create a maintenance schedule for the dairy farm equipment on the farm the learner is investigating.
- Describe how standard milking equipment works.
- Describe the importance of farm water to a dairy farm’s functioning.
- Create policies for the management of items on a typical dairy farm, such as::
- ordering
- receipt
- dispatch
- Describe two strategies for handling waste effluent from a typical dairy.
- Create standards for safe work procedures on a typical dairy farm.
- Describe the legal regulations that apply to a dairy farm in a certain place.
- Report on the learner’s information-seeking investigation regarding advances in the dairy business.
- Report on the dairy industry’s adoption of new advances.
- List the variables that determine a dairy property’s profitability.
- Describe the variables that affect the cost of producing dairy on a particular farm.
- Create a job description for one employee at a particular dairy farm.
- Create standards for evaluating dairy property management.
- Create or assess a dairy farm budget for a particular piece of property.
- For a particular property, prepare or assess a dairy farm financial report.
- Analyze the marketing strategies used by a certain company to sell its dairy products.
- Describe the elements that affect the farm’s dairy product sales.
- Explain how dairy animals are chosen and ready for sale in the learner’s area.
- Create a marketing strategy for a particular dairy product that takes into account:
- product presentation
- delivery of product
- promotions
- customer relations
- Create a business strategy for a certain dairy property.
- Explain how to manage the sale of dairy meat in accordance with a business plan and in compliance with applicable laws.
WHAT MAKES SOME BREEDS BETTER FOR PRODUCING DAIRY?
For use on a dairy farm, some breeds of cattle are chosen. This is due to a variety of factors. They might produce more milk or milk of a higher quality, but there may be other factors to consider when choosing one breed over another. Breeds vary in how well they adapt to various climates. Different breeds may fit the market they serve better or may adapt to the available feed more effectively.
Breeds that are frequently employed for dairy production include:
- Ayrshire
- Brown Swiss
- Busa
- Canadienne
- Dairy Shorthorn
- Dutch Belted
- Estonian Red
- Fleckvieh
- Friesian
- Girolando
- Guernsey
- Holstein
- Illawarra
- Irish Moiled
- Jersey
- Kerry
- Lineback
- Meuse Rhine Issel
- Milking Devon
- Montbéliarde
- Normande
- Norwegian Red
- Randall
- Sahiwal
You will be able to select the best breed for any given situation by studying this course and understanding the many traits of the various breeds. From there, you can also learn about husbandry practises and other crucial aspects of the dairy industry.
WHY CHOOSE US?
- Remote learning doesn’t mean you’re on your own; you get tutor support at every turn.
- Develop individuality and talents that set you apart from others in your field by refusing to follow the crowd.
- Learn to fit your obligations; you don’t have to interrupt your study as life requires.
- Our curriculum design places more of an emphasis on your lifetime learning than it does on evaluation.
- choices for affordable learning and payment
- A chance for commercial success
- We can provide courses that are specifically suited to employer needs and preferences because of our independence from the government.
FOLLOWING YOUR COURSE
You will learn the skills necessary to work with dairy cows in confidence after taking this course:
- Having a dairy farm
- as a substitute milker
- As a member of a related profession, such as a stockbroker
- or to continue on to more advanced agricultural studies
