The introduction of new technology, management practices, and alternative production systems has resulted in rapid structural change in the US dairy industry. This paper examines adoption rates and adopter characteristics for the following dairy technologies, practices, and systems: holding pen with an udder washer, milking units with automatic take-offs, genetic selection technologies, recombi...

A basic principle of animal production is that individual performance is determined by genetic makeup and environmental conditions. Accordingly, individuals with above average phenotypes can result from superior genotypes, favourable environments, or both. Prior to weaning, it is the prenatal and then milking and mothering ability of the dam that provides an important component of a young anima...

First-lactation test-day milk, fat, and protein yields from New York, Wisconsin, and California herds from 1990 through 2000 were adjusted additively for age and lactation stage. A random regression model with third-order Legendre polynomials for permanent environmental and genetic effects was used. The model included a random effect with the same polynomial regressions for 2 yr of calvings wit...

Using a variable frequency drive (VFD) in order to drive the vacuum pump of a milking machine allows a dramatic reduction in energy use, while still producing equivalent vacuum stability. The VFD technology is able to adjust the rate of air removal from the milking system by changing the speed of the vacuum pump motor. A PID controller was developed in order to command the electric motor drivin...

We investigated the effects of omitting one or two milkings weekly on milk yield and milk composition in dairy sheep. Ninety Spanish Assaf ewes were allocated to three experimental treatments: T0 (no milking omission; 14 milkings/week), T1 (omission of one evening milking per week; 13 milkings/week) and T2 (omission of two evening milkings per week; 12 milkings/week). The experiment was extende...

The milk production of dairy goats under various regimes of mother-young contact from day 4 post partum were studied during the first 2 months of lactation, together with the prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) responses to udder stimulation. In the control group, 13 goats and their kids were left in permanent contact and did not undergo milking. In two additional groups, goats were machine...

212 Milk letdown, in most of the species studied, occurs after the activation of a neuroendocrine mechanism that releases oxytocin in the blood stream. The released oxytocin contracts the myoepithelial cells that surround the alveoli, forcing the expulsion of the milk. However, the pattern of milk ejection varies remarkably from species to species and could be related to the need or degree of o...

In dairy cows, increased milking frequency (IMF) during early lactation stimulates an increase in milk yield that partially persists through the remainder of lactation. However, the effects of IMF on lactation performance and udder health of primiparous heifers have not been clearly established. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of IMF during early lactation on milk yield...

It is a requirement as part of the safety evaluation of novel compounds, which are intended to be administered to pregnant women or women with young children, that the potential for the compound or its metabolites to be transferred from a dam to its litter during lactation is measured. The data obtained from the rat milking studies are also used to support the rat peri- and post-natal studies. ...