Describe a typical large family dairy farm

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The large farm is often owned by a family who manages and provides labor. Hired labor is also employed. Large dairies of 1,000+ cows are becoming commonplace throughout the United States. These dairies specialize in milk production and contain no other type of livestock. The animals are confined in large free-stall barns and milked three times per day in modern milking parlors. Computer programs and consultants are used to formulate the most cost-effective rations for cows at a particular stage of lactation. Average milk production per cow in the Midwestern dairy states Minnesota and Wisconsin of nearly 24,000 pounds (10,900 kilograms) is not uncommon.
The large quantities of manure produced per cow (about 100 pounds or 45 kilograms per day) is stored as liquid in large lagoons and then transported to the field. Large dairy farms often have over 1,000 acres (401 hectares) of land on which to grow feed ingredients. They typically grow corn for grain and silage and alfalfa for hay and haylage. Silos for silage and barns for hay and grain are required. Soybeans are also grown, but because of antiquality components must be processed before feeding. Other feed ingredients such as supplementary vitamins and minerals are purchased off-farm. For crop production and harvesting, animal feeding, and manure handling, large tractors (200 hp) and machinery are used to increase speed of production and to decrease operating costs. They would likely use BST, an injected hormone, to increase milk production efficiency.