Seeking Advice Regarding Raising Dairy Cows

[connda]

I'm seeking advice from anyone with experience raising dairy cows in Thailand. I'd like two raise one or two head for personal dairy consumption (and to sell any excess). We live in Lamphun province and have approximately 15 rai of land. I'd prefer to pasture graze the cattle.

How do I get started?

Thanks!

[surayu]

first step i guess would be to get one, then give her a squeeze or two every now and then have you been to the Chok Chai farm? they do those things on a larger scale and let you tour their operational sections too, it might help you i think

[jazzbo]

Maybe a little closer to home:

Muang Lamphun Agricultural Cooperative.

92 Palace Road, T. Muang District, Lamphun 51000 Tel - (053) 511 167.

[WatersEdge]

Cattle are social,

two animals will always fare better than one.

Of course you will need access to a bull,

in order to get calves,

which are the natural intended recipient of the milk.

To get milk production,

It's going to take a couple years to get it all together.

Of course breeding is important.

Get daughters of heavy milker mothers bred to top bulls

At about a year old you can breed them,

and nine months later they calve

You get 7-8 months of milk,

heavier early gradually decreasing.

Breed them again about three months after calving,

so as to maintain roughly an annual cycle.

Having milked two to four cows through most of my childhood,

I can say it's no big thrill to have to milk them morning and evening.

There is no vacation with milking cows, you must be there twice a day.

Milking cows is good for forearm muscle tone.

You will develop a very firm handshake.

You will need stronger feed than pasture grass,

if you intend to get high volume milk.

High Protein is required, so arrange a steady source of good dry forage.

and have plenty of grain standing by.

In my area, Mung Bean hay is left in piles in the field.

It is wonderful cow feed,

if you bring it to dry storage before late rains spoil it.

I buy corn sheller chaff from the granary for my hogs,

and it would be beautiful cow feed as well,

not high in protein but cheap and high in energy,

and cheap, almost as a disposal and handling problem for them.

Note that both these good feeds are seasonal.

Mung Bean hay available in December

Corn Sheller Chaff September through December.

Mung Bean screen rejects are a wonderful protein source,

the cheapest protein point that I know,

if purchased in December to February.

Soybean & Soy Meal is available year round

There are other high protein forage plants which you can cultivate in your pasture.

There are topics posted in this forum about Centrosema pubescens, Pigeon Pea, Leucaena leucephala, etc.

Be aware that cows eat a lot, and they want to eat every day.

A milking cow can eat 15 kg per day, strong dry forage, multiply by 5 for wet forage

They also drink a lot of water, around 40 liters a day.

The milk is no big trick to handle.

Bring it to the refrigerator soon as possible.

Filter out the debris that inevitably falls into the bucket while milking,

with something as simple as a coffee filter.

It will keep about 5-7 days,

with the cream floating to the top in the first 12 hours.

Your Customers will have to be made aware that whole milk non homogenized

is different from what they buy in a bottle from MaeJi

when you pour a glass of whole milk,

you first have to stir or shake the cream back down into the milk.

Good strong fences are necessary for cattle.

They don't require fancy conditions, but appreciate a dry place to lay.

I'm faced with a request to supply a volume of fresh milk to a local Customer,

so am considering the hassle versus the business return.

I would not consider getting into milk cows for less than ten head.

One cow is exactly the same inconvenience as a hundred,

simply because they all have to be tended 365 days.

There will be a learning curve time for your laborers.

Don't expect them to instinctively know how to tend cattle right away.

It would be nice, of course, to find a man who has tended beef cattle all his life.

In some regards, a cow is a cow is a cow,

it's just the finer points of milk production that distinguish a beef cow from the dairy types

[ETC]

Cattle are social,

two animals will always fare better than one.

Of course you will need access to a bull,

in order to get calves,

which are the natural intended recipient of the milk.

To get milk production,

It's going to take a couple years to get it all together.

Of course breeding is important.

Get daughters of heavy milker mothers bred to top bulls

At about a year old you can breed them,

and nine months later they calve

You get 7-8 months of milk,

heavier early gradually decreasing.

Breed them again about three months after calving,

so as to maintain roughly an annual cycle.

Having milked two to four cows through most of my childhood,

I can say it's no big thrill to have to milk them morning and evening.

There is no vacation with milking cows, you must be there twice a day.

Milking cows is good for forearm muscle tone.

You will develop a very firm handshake.

You will need stronger feed than pasture grass,

if you intend to get high volume milk.

High Protein is required, so arrange a steady source of good dry forage.

and have plenty of grain standing by.

In my area, Mung Bean hay is left in piles in the field.

It is wonderful cow feed,

if you bring it to dry storage before late rains spoil it.

I buy corn sheller chaff from the granary for my hogs,

and it would be beautiful cow feed as well,

not high in protein but cheap and high in energy,

and cheap, almost as a disposal and handling problem for them.

Note that both these good feeds are seasonal.

Mung Bean hay available in December

Corn Sheller Chaff September through December.

Mung Bean screen rejects are a wonderful protein source,

the cheapest protein point that I know,

if purchased in December to February.

Soybean & Soy Meal is available year round

There are other high protein forage plants which you can cultivate in your pasture.

There are topics posted in this forum about Centrosema pubescens, Pigeon Pea, Leucaena leucephala, etc.

Be aware that cows eat a lot, and they want to eat every day.

A milking cow can eat 15 kg per day, strong dry forage, multiply by 5 for wet forage

They also drink a lot of water, around 40 liters a day.

The milk is no big trick to handle.

Bring it to the refrigerator soon as possible.

Filter out the debris that inevitably falls into the bucket while milking,

with something as simple as a coffee filter.

It will keep about 5-7 days,

with the cream floating to the top in the first 12 hours.

Your Customers will have to be made aware that whole milk non homogenized

is different from what they buy in a bottle from MaeJi

when you pour a glass of whole milk,

you first have to stir or shake the cream back down into the milk.

Good strong fences are necessary for cattle.

They don't require fancy conditions, but appreciate a dry place to lay.

I'm faced with a request to supply a volume of fresh milk to a local Customer,

so am considering the hassle versus the business return.

I would not consider getting into milk cows for less than ten head.

One cow is exactly the same inconvenience as a hundred,

simply because they all have to be tended 365 days.

There will be a learning curve time for your laborers.

Don't expect them to instinctively know how to tend cattle right away.

It would be nice, of course, to find a man who has tended beef cattle all his life.

In some regards, a cow is a cow is a cow,

it's just the finer points of milk production that distinguish a beef cow from the dairy types

Well stated Waters Edge! I might add that buying a bull may not be necessary if you take a short course in Eutelegenesis (artificial insemination). Not sure of the availibility of frozen semen (in liquid nitrogen) in the land of LOS, but I found that to be superior when dealing with a small heard, as I have many many different bulls to choose from for individual cows. I have many more choices in breeding out imperfections in specific animals, as one shoe does not always fit all.

I might also add, that you should become familiar with the many different health problems incurred by bovine and how you can treat them yourself to save money. Vet bills can be expensive and finding a good vet can be a life's journey in itself. Being you're focusing on milk cows, I would become very knowledgable on mastitis and how to prevent its' occurance.

Another thing I would become familiar with is the ins and out of calving, as they are your cash crop or replacement heifers.

You also want to give thought to your milking parlor (or barn) and feeding system. Bovine are creatures of habit, so you will want to get their routine standardized from the beginning.

As Waters Edge, so accurately stated, "cows are 24/7 and they do not observe holidays."

Good luck and be sure and stock a good set of kickers or so!

ETC (Jim)

Edited August 27, 2010 by ETC