INTRODUCTION
The United States dairy industry has undergone significant changes in recent decades. Most notably, farms continue to get larger while the overall number of dairy operations continues to decrease. Dairy farms today are complex systems that require meticulous management and integration between each of its parts to be successful. This literature review will focus on the changing structure of the U.S. dairy industry and the driving forces behind these changes, as well as provide a review of housing systems, animal health and well-being, common management practices, and economic efficiency in modern dairy production systems. (Need to add a piece about large scale dairy farming and viability)
INDUSTRY TRENDS
Background
Over the past century, the dairy industry has undergone significant structural and technical changes in how and where milk is produced. Up until the time of the mid-20th century, dairy farming was largely done as a sideline activity of the small, self-sufficient farming operations that were found all across the countryside. Right around that time, howe...
Unfortunately, this business model was unsustainable due to the increasing input costs of farming and the low prices the Hatcher’s were receiving for their milk. All other local dairies faced the same issues. As a result, a federal buy-out
The Dairy Cattle Instructional Unit was built in 1992 and is used for a wide range of instructional activities. The first floor of this unit contains two classrooms, a computer room, a nutrition and physiology laboratory, and a microbiology laboratory. Numerous plaques and awards from local cattle shows dot the white walls. Cal Poly has bred some of the top-rated cows in the nation for type and production and individual cows have won many awards for the rich content and amount of milk produced. Industrial-like stairs along one wall lead up to the second floor where visitors can view the milking process. Cows are milked at the milking parlor daily from 4 to 6 am and 4 to 6 pm. This immaculate parlor can milk 16 cows at one time and contains state of the art milking equipment including an energy-efficient pre-cooling system, which the milk passes through before being stored in two 3,000-gallon bulk tanks. The physiology laboratory is used for artificial insemination, feed analysis, and dairy biotechnology courses. Students perform experiments such as embryo manipulations and transfer techniques in this laboratory.
From a financial and marketing standpoint, the effects have been catastrophic. In some areas, milk production has decreased by an average of two liters daily and calving index (efficiency at which new calves are produced) went down by an average of twenty days (Davies NP). Th...
The 1920’s were the singularly most influential years of farming in our country. The loss of farms following the war, and new agricultural practices resulted in the dawn of modern agriculture in our country. The shift from small family to big corporation during this time is now the basis for how our society deals with food today. Traditional farming in the 1920’s underwent a series of massive transitions following WWI as the number of farms decreased and the size of farms increased.
The Cattle Boom was also present in Wyoming, especially after cattle ranchers discovered that cattle could survive winters in Wyoming. Cheyenne, Wyoming had an estimated number of 60,000 cattle grazing within 100 miles of the town in 1871 (Western). As demand for beef continued to grow and the U.S. government continued to buy cattle to feed the Indian tribes they had displaced, wealth and cattle in Wyoming also continued to grow (Western). There were more than 476,000 reported heads of cattle in Wyoming in 1882, which usually meant there was closer to a million on the range. T.A. Larson, a Wyoming historian, estimated 1.5 million cattle in the state in 1886. It was reported that there was not a blade of grass within
On the edge of campus, past the colorful gardens of the Orfaleea College of Business, beyond the recreation fields covered with students playing Frisbee or catch, and off busy Highland Drive is the unpaved Mt. Bishop Road. Mt. Bishop Road is home to the crops unit, campus orchards, veterinary unit, and the Eugene and Rachel Boone Dairy Science Complex, more familiarly known as the Cal Poly Dairy. Walking through the dairy on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I am greeted by fifteen or so calves chained to oversized dog houses called “hutches.” Petting them as they attempt to suck on my pants, I look up to see their mothers in the long cages just a few feet away. It is hard to leave the doe eyes of the Jersey calves, but I move on to the rows of enormous Holsteins. It is the late afternoon and their udders are filled to the brim with milk. The weight of ten bowling balls hangs from their bodies making their locomotion slow and awkward. The cow’s milking time is from four to six in the afternoon. Automatic milking systems milk the hundreds of cows quickly and efficiently.
Many people nowadays try to be conscious of their impacts on the environment, but what if one of the main contributors of environmental destruction was something that the vast majority of people contribute to everyday, without even realizing the detrimental effects it has on the environment? In conversations about lessening one’s personal environmental impacts, some common points are using renewable energy, recycling, taking shorter showers, and not littering. While these are great steps to take, one subject rarely thoroughly discussed is one’s consumption of animal products. Switching to more sustainable meat is suggested by numerous environmental organizations, but
The idea of the family farm has been destroyed by large food corporations. As discussed in class, industrial farming typically leads to the mass produ...
The current Production Capacity is Low to face the upcoming competition-The dairy currently produces 10000 liters of milk per day even after 30 years of presence in the market. This will certainly affect the chances to take advantage of the current growing market and to manage the consumption cycles of the industry. The question of whether to decide on the expansion of production capacity: With an incredible growth expected in the industry, the issue that the management faces now is, whether to increase the production capacity or not. This is very much needed as the expansion of production capacity will equip the company to supply and cater to the demand as well as attain economies of scale, which can be used as a competitive advantage against the new entrants. However, this calls for capital investments on the assets required for expansion.
The recent economic downturn has made business especially difficult for dairy farmers in Utah and elsewhere. According to NPR, in 2007 and 2008 milk prices were at an all-time high. However, as the economic situation in the country worsened, the demand for dairy products decreased and raw milk prices were set to reach the lowest they've been since 1978. Now many dairy farmers are losing more money than they can make on milk sales, and some farmers are resorting to bankruptcy or selling their herds. A recent ad by the Utah Dairy Council claims that in four years Utah lost 28% of its family-owned dairy operations, and the number of families running dairy farms in the state is now down to 240.
Cattle were first brought to Australia in 1788 with the first fleet. Five cows and two bulls were not to be eaten but to be used for breeding. The cattle soon wonder off and were found about seven years later but they had bred and there was a herd 70. By 1820, there were 54 000 cattle. By 1840 there were 371 699 cattle.
Since its inception in 2001, Fonterra Co-Operative Group Limited (Fonterra), the largest company in New Zealand, has grown to be the world’s 4th largest dairy company in 2013 (Robobank, 2013). Fonterra is the largest dairy exporter of the world and it controls a third of global dairy exports. Fonterra has huge pool of talents of 16,000 staff locally and internationally to make dairy available every day to millions of consumers ...
Envision a farm with an abundance of animals and crops. The farm that most likely comes to mind is not one of giant machinery and smokestacks of pollution, but a vision of the old red barn and cows grazing freely. Sadly, these types of farms are mostly gone in the United States. These ‘family farms’ are being replaced every day by bigger, more industrialized farms. It is sad to see such a staple of the American culture being washed away by a type of farm that is being used purely for economic reasons. Family farming is slowly disappearing from the American landscape. We, as Americans, need to realize the importance of family farming because it produces high quality foods and helps economically for the local community.
The packaged milk category was originated in 1981 by (quaintly named) Milk Pak, which pioneered tetra pack milk in Pakistan. The supply chain involved collecting milk from rural areas across Punjab, processing the milk through UHT (Ultra-High Temperature Processing) treatment, and selling it to consumers in uniquely colored triangular and rectangular packs designed to prolong the milk’s quality. Milk Pak’s “Milk Packs” were very well-received and the brand soon became synonymous with quality milk. Its first real competition came in the form of Haleeb, which introduced distinctively blue tetra packs to the market in 1986.
Livestock farming plays an integral role in the lives of individuals all over the world. Despite the magnitude of animal agriculture, research on its environment effects has been severely lacking in the past. Recent studies have shown that greenhouse gas emissions from livestock play a much bigger role in global warming than was once thought (Gill, 2009; Miller et. al 2013). The session that I propose will look at the greenhouse gasses emitted by livestock farming and the effects that this has on the ecological environment. Topics will include human reliance on domesticated animals, greenhouse gasses emitted by livestock farming, indirect ecological effects of animal agriculture relating to biodiversity and the water supply, and