Arkansas - Agricultural Communication Services - University of ...

Arkansas Animal Science Department Report 2001
they were required to find an article published about that
topic, and write a brief report supporting, or refuting, the
practice that they found being used on a dairy farm.
Students were asked to evaluate the course, emphasizing
written responses to each aspect of the course.
Results and Discussion
The video was a superb presentation of dairy cattle
nutrition and included thorough discussion of carbohydrate
ratios, protein digestion, and rumen buffers. An additional
benefit of the video was presentation of feeding management
and dairy farming in the Northeast United States where colder
winter temperatures require different cattle housing and
management compared to the South and Southwest. It was of
particular assistance in keeping the attention of students during
a 3-hour, evening lecture session. The two sets of slides
also helped to break the long sessions into interest areas. All
the materials helped introduce vocabulary used by dairy
farmers and assisted in meeting the goal of preparing students
to learn from the producers, extension specialists, and consultants
they would encounter on the tour.
Farms with pasture systems.
Double D Dairy Farm, owned by Charles and DeWite
DeShazo, had over 200 cows on pasture, but grain was supplemented
at several computerized feeding stations. The
computer was re-programmed regularly so the Holstein cows
received amounts of grain appropriate for their production
level. Constant maintenance of the system allowed expression
of genetics for high production by cows receiving bovine
somatotropin (BST) even though cows grazed pasture when
grass was available. Students were allowed to observe the
milking parlor and equipment closely and to ask questions
about each phase of the farm’s management.
Simon Family Dairy Farm milked over 100 Holstein
and Jersey cows. Cows were on pasture, but they supplemented
cows by feeding a total-mixed ration (TMR) based on
grass silage that they raised and commodities that they purchased.
A commodity barn allowed them to purchase truckload
lots of grains and soybean meal to mix with the grass
silage. Their milking parlor was new, but incorporated some
used equipment to reduce initial investment costs.
Green Acres Dairy Farm near Greenbrier is owned by
Chris Acre’s family. Their 114 registered Holstein cows have
routinely been among the top-producing herds in Arkansas,
and the animals are often shown at fairs and other competitive
events. Their cows were on pasture but also received
corn silage and grain supplements to support high milk production.
Helms Dairy Farm is located near Arkadelphia. The
family farm had air-tight silos and an auger feeding system
for corn silage, haylage, and high-moisture grain that they
raised. In addition to the automated feeding system, their
cows grazed pasture in season.
A “New Zealand style” dairy farm (Pine Star Farm
owned by Robbie and Susie Bean) had capability to manage
1000 cows on pasture with a simplified double 32-stall, herringbone,
milking parlor that was open (no walls) to the west,
south, and east, an unusual (for the United States) parlor
design. Cows were fed a grain mixture immediately after
milking. Two large troughs allowed twice as much time to eat
as it takes to milk cows. The cows relied heavily on pasture
during the growing season. Excess pasture was harvested as
hay to provide supplemental feed when pastures did not produce
enough feed for the cows.
The Alexis Roulet Dairy Farm near Evansville featured
a remodeled old barn containing a new “trigon” milking parlor.
The three herringbones had 12 milking stalls and allowed
the person to move in a tight circle while milking rather than
walking back and forth in a conventional double herringbone
parlor. Some grain was supplemented in a separate feeding
barn, but the farm did not emphasize high milk production.
The herd of about 70 registered Brown Swiss cows grazed
pasture, although hay was fed due to the limited availability
of grass.
All six of the dairy farms that relied heavily on pasture
approached supplementation of pasture differently depending
upon their goals. The tour allowed students to see that high
milk production is possible with pasture by combining an
economical means of supplementation. It also shows the
necessity of planning carefully to alternate with stored forages
when pasture is not growing or when the quality of pasture
is low.
Farms with intensive management of cows.
Ark-Tenn Dairy Farm is located near Center Ridge. The
entire farm was constructed and began milking cows in
December, 1998. They had over 1000 cows of three breeds—
Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Ayrshire—and plan to demonstrate
several styles of management. Cows were milked three
times daily. In addition to the free-stall barn for 900 cows fed
a TMR based on corn silage, some cows were on pasture. The
corporation owned a feed mill, but they maintained some
commodities on the farm. The concrete side of a bunker silo
doubled as the back wall of the commodity shed. The waste
disposal system of large lagoons was approved for 2100
milking cows.
Rose-Ark Dairy near Rosebud, owned by Ricky Strain,
was a new farm with a rotary milking parlor for 1200 cows.
Although the farm existed on a smaller scale for many years,
they began milking in the new parlor during April, 2000. The
cows voluntarily entered and left the parlor very efficiently,
although exiting meant they had to back off the moving platform.
The cows were housed in six free-stall barns. Cows
were fed a TMR based on small-grain silage.
The farm of Leo and Christina Ruyne near Sulphur
Springs, Texas, had a covered feeding barn and an outdoor
feeding area for a TMR. Cows had access to large “pasture”
areas, but the paddocks served basically as exercise lots
because of the number of animals. Part of a lake was used to
cool cows that submerge themselves in the water during hot
weather, and cows could enter or leave the water to go to the
feeding area when they choose.
The Jack Kempanaar Dairy Farm near Sulphur Springs
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