Farm
Animals - Cows
No
other breed of cow can compete with the Holstein-Friesian for quantity
of milk produced. However, it is not very rich. A good cow can
produce around 12,000 litres of milk annually.
At Branstone farm we keep the British Friesian. We are allowed to produce 66,000 litres of milk each year. This is called our quota. Cows must have a calf each year otherwise they won’t produce any milk. They are milked for 305 days. A young cow (heifer) is mated (served) at 18 months. Her first calf will be born 285 days later (gestation period). A heifer will be called a cow after she has had 2 calves.
A
cow might drink 35 litres (over 60 pints) of water and eat over 50 Kgs
of grass daily!! Apart from this she will need a concentrate feed containing
valuable vitamins, minerals and protein to keep her in good condition.
From early spring through to early autumn (6/7 months) Branstone cows will spend most of their time grazing. During the winter months they are kept in a covered yard and feed on silage (pickled grass). If they remained out in the field their feet would ruin the grass. Plus of course, the grass doesn’t grow in the winter!
Milking
Milk
is made in a large bag which hangs between the cows back legs. It is called
the udder. On the udder are 4 teats where the milk comes out. Each day
the cows are milked at 6.00am and 3.30pm. They have their own place in
the stable where they will be given a ration. This is an amount of concentrate
food calculated according to their milk yield. Once fed, the cow’s
teats will be cleaned. A small amount of milk will then be drawn out of
the teat to check for any lumps that might indicate an infection. If all
is well a machine will be placed over each teat which gently sucks and
squeezes. This imitates the sucking action of a calf. The milk is drawn
off into a refrigerated tank where it will be kept at 1 degree Celsius.
At this temperature the milk will remain “fresh” until the
tanker arrives to take it to the dairy. Some milk is made into butter,
cheese, cream and yogurt………….dairy products.
Costs
A Branstone cow will give around 6,500 litres of milk a year.
A Branstone cow will give around 6,500 litres of milk a year…worth about £910 at 14p per litre. We expect an income of approx. £10,000 annually from our 10 cows. A cow giving 35 litres of milk a day will cost about £3.25 to feed. If the amount of milk drops below about 15 litres a day we don’t make any money!
