Introduction:

Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which

is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for
eventual sale of a dairy product.

Common species

Although any mammal can produce milk, commercial dairy farms are typically one-species
enterprises. In developed countries, dairy farms typically consist of high producing dairy
cows. Other species used in commercial dairy farming include goats, sheep, and camels.
In Italy, donkey dairies are growing in popularity to produce an alternative milk source for
human infants.[1]

Nutritional Management
Feed for their cattle is by far one of the largest expenses for dairy producer whether it be
provided by the land they graze or crops grown or purchased.[14] Pasture based dairy
producers invest much time and effort into maintaining their pastures and thus feed for their
cattle. Pasture management techniques such as rotational grazing are common for dairy
production. Many large dairies that deliver food to their cattle have a dedicated nutritionist
who is responsible for formulating diets with animal health, milk production, and cost
efficiency in mind. For maximum productivity diets must be formulated differently
depending on the growth rate, milk production, and reproductive status of each animal.

Cattle are classified as ruminants because of the amazing construction of their digestive tract.
Their symbiotic relationship with the microbes that occupy the fermentation chamber in their
stomach, the rumen, allows them to survive on incredibly low quality feed. The rumen is a
micro-ecosystem within each dairy cow. For optimal digestion, the environment of the rumen
must be ideal for the microbes. In this way, the job of a ruminant nutritionist is to feed the
microbes not the cow.

The nutritional requirements of cattle are usually divided into maintenance requirements,
which depend on the cow's weight; and milk production requirements, which in turn depend
on the volume of milk the cow is producing. The nutritional contents of each available feed
are used to formulate a diet that meets all nutritional needs in the most cost effective way.
Notably, cattle must be fed a diet high in fiber to maintain a proper environment for the
rumen microbes. Farmers typically grow their own forage for their cattle. Crops grown may
include corn, alfalfa, timothy, wheat, oats, sorghum and clover. These plants are often
processed after harvest to preserve or improve nutrient value and prevent spoiling. Corn,
alfalfa, wheat, oats, and sorghum crops are often anaerobically fermented to create silage.
Many crops such as alfalfa, timothy, oats, and clover are allowed to dry in the field after
cutting before being baled into hay.

To increase the energy density of their diet, cattle are commonly fed cereal grains. In many
areas of the world, dairy rations also commonly include byproducts from other agricultural
sectors. For example, in California cattle are commonly fed almond hulls and cotton
seed.[15] Feeding of byproducts can reduce the environmental impact of other agricultural
sectors by keeping these materials out of landfills.[15]

To meet all of their nutritional requirements cows must eat their entire ration. Unfortunately,
much like humans, cattle have their favorite foods. To keep cattle from selectively eating the
most desirable parts of the diet, most produces feed a total mixed ration (TMR). In this
system all the components of the feed are well mixed in a mixing truck before being
delivered to the cattle. Different TMRs are often prepared for groups of cows with different
nutritional requirements.[16]

Market

There is a great deal of variation in the pattern of dairy production worldwide. Many
countries which are large producers consume most of this internally, while others (in
particular New Zealand), export a large percentage of their production. Internal consumption
is often in the form of liquid milk, while the bulk of international trade is in processed dairy
products such as milk powder.[citation needed]

The milking of cows was traditionally a labor-intensive operation and still is in less
developed countries. Small farms need several people to milk and care for only a few dozen
cows, though for many farms these employees have traditionally been the children of the
farm family, giving rise to the term "family farm".[citation needed]

Advances in technology have mostly led to the radical redefinition of "family farms" in
industrialized countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. With farms of
hundreds of cows producing large volumes of milk, the larger and more efficient dairy farms
are more able to weather severe changes in milk price and operate profitably, while
"traditional" family farms generally do not have the equity or income other larger scale farms
do. The common public perception of large corporate farms supplanting smaller ones is
generally a misconception, as many small family farms expand to take advantage of
economies of scale, and incorporate the business to limit the legal liabilities of the owners
and simplify such things as tax management.[citation needed]

Before large scale mechanization arrived in the 1950s, keeping a dozen milk cows for the sale
of milk was profitable. Now most dairies must have more than one hundred cows being
milked at a time in order to be profitable, with other cows and heifers waiting to be
"freshened" to join the milking herd. In New Zealand the average herd size, for the
2009/2010 season, is 376 cows.[citation needed]

Worldwide, the largest cow milk producer is the United States[47], the largest cow milk
exporter is New Zealand,[48][49] and the largest importer is China.[50] The European
Union with its present 28 member countries produced 158,800,000 metric tons (156,300,000
long tons; 175,000,000 short tons) in 2013[51](96.8% cow milk), the most by any politico-
economic union.

Supply management

The Canadian dairy industry is one of four sectors that is under the supply
management system, a national agricultural policy framework that coordinates supply and
demand through production and import control and pricing mechanisms designed to prevent
shortages and surpluses, to ensure farmers a fair rate of return and Canadian consumer access
to a high-quality, stable, and secure supply of these sensitive products.[52] The milk supply
management system is a "federated provincial policy" with four governing agencies,
organizations and committees—Canadian Dairy Commission, Canadian Milk Supply
Management Committee (CMSMC), regional milk pools, and provincial milk marketing
boards.[53]:8 The dairy supply management system is administered by the federal government
through the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), which was established in 1966 and is
composed mostly of dairy farmers, administers the dairy supply management system for
Canada's 12,000 dairy farms.[54] The federal government is involved in supply management
through the CDC in the administration of imports and exports.[55] The Canadian Milk Supply
Management Committee (CMSMC) was introduced in 1970 as the body responsible for
monitoring the production rates of milk and setting the national Market Sharing
Quota (MSQ) for industrial raw milk.[56]:31[57] The supply management system was authorized
in 1972 through the Farm Products Agencies Act.[52] Supply management ensures consistent
pricing of milk for farmers with no fluctuation in the market.[58] The prices are based on the
demand for milk throughout the country and how much is being produced. In order to start a
new farm or increase production more share into the SMS needs to be bought into known as
“Quota”. in this case farmers must remain up to or below the amount of “quota” they have
bought share of. Each province in Canada has their own cap on quota based on the demand in
the market.[57][59] There is a cap on the countries quota known as total quota per month. In
2016 the total butter fat produced per month was 28,395,848 kg.[60]

World total milk production in 2009

FAO statistics [61]
(including cow/buffalo/goat/sheep/camel milk)

Rank Country Production (106 kg/y)

World 696,554

1 India 110,040

2 United States 85,859

3 China 40,553

4 Pakistan 34,362

5 Russia 32,562

6 Germany 28,691
7 Brazil 27,716

8 France 24,218

9 New Zealand 15,217

10 United Kingdom 13,237

11 Italy 12,836

12 Turkey 12,542

13 Poland 12,467

14 Ukraine 11,610

15 Netherlands 11,469

16 Mexico 10,931

17 Argentina 10,500

18 Australia 9,388

19 Canada 8,213
20 Japan 7,909