Are Cows Comfortable in Modern Dairy Facilities?

A dairy calf. Photo taken 04-01-17.

The main challenge of modern large dairy operations is to achieve high milk yield per cow without sacrificing health and welfare. Properly designed and managed facilities allow calves, heifers, and cows to be comfortable and successfully grow, mature, maintain health, and reach peak performance. This 8-page document discusses facilities, cow comfort, resting behavior, feed and water access and availability, stocking density, and heat stress. Written by Izabella Toledo, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences, December 2018.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an349

Florida Dairy Industry Statistics: Economic Measures (AN287)

Figure 1. Milk produced per cow and milk cows on farm in Florida from 1960 to 2012.This 7-page fact sheet brings together key economic and price data about Florida’s primary dairy industry collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Written by K.G. Arriola and A. De Vries, and published by the UF Department of Animal Sciences, February 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an287

Florida Dairy Industry Statistics: Herd Performance Measures and Benchmarks (AN286)

e dairy cows wait patiently in line to give milk at the UF/IFAS Dairy Research Unit in Hague. Florida ranks first nationally in average herd size and 15th in milk income. Photo by Milt Putnam.This 8-page fact sheet summarizes technical performance data of dairy herds in Florida and the Southeast United States collected through the Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) program. Written by K.G. Arriola and A. De Vries, and published by the UF Department of Animal Sciences, February 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an286

FE731/FE731 Economic Contributions of the Dairy Farming and Dairy Product Manufacturing Industries in the Southeast United States in 2005

FE731, a 32-page analysis by Thomas J. Stevens, Alan W. Hodges, W. David Mulkey, and Richard L. Kilmer, estimates the economic contributions of the dairy farm production and dairy product manufacturing industries in five southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee) during 2005. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Food and Resource Economics, August 2008.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE731

Circular 1091/DS121 Water Budgets for Florida Dairy Farms

Revised! Circular 1091, a 6-page fact sheet by D. R. Bray, R. A. Bucklin, H. H. Van Horn, , R. A. Nordstedt, A. B. Bottcher, R. N. Gallaher, C. G. Chambliss, and G. Kidder, provides estimates of amounts of water commonly used for various purposes so that water use budgets for dairy farms can be developed on a per-cow and total-farm
basis. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Animal Science, 2008.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DS121