Agribusiness Handbook: Milk / Dairy Products - FAO

Table 2: Milking animals and yields, 2007
Species M head Kg/year a
Cow 245.08 2,287
Buffalo 57.52 1,485
Goat 170.07 87
Sheep 195.36 47
Camel 4.28 345
Total 672.31 1,000
a - 10 Nov quotation.
Source: International Grains Council Grain Market Indicators, November 2008
The quantity of milk (yield) produced in a year by an animal varies enormously
according to breed, feed and management practices. The world average of
2,300 kg/year per cow is somewhat meaningless because it is influenced
heavily by the large numbers of poor-yielding animals in less developed
countries across the globe. In many developed dairying countries, yields are
typically 4,000–5,000 kg/head and exceptionally reach 6,000–8,000 kg/head
in particular intensively managed enterprises. In such systems, cows will be
selected on the basis of yield, the calving interval will be closely monitored
(cows produce milk only when they have been put in calf), inseminations will
be with bulls with high-yielding daughters (rather than having cows served
by a local bull, for example), the animals will have their feeding rations and
regime controlled, probably by computer, and they may be milked three times
a day. The cows will produce significant volumes of milk, but will be kept for
only a small number of lactations, maybe four or five. After this, the animals
will be culled.
The structure of dairy farming varies enormously from country to country.
In many developing countries, the owner of the holding has just one cow,
while in commercial dairying enterprises the worldwide average herd size is
typically more than 100 animals – in the United States, many Californian herds
have more than 1,000 animals. About 90% of California’s milk is produced
in herds of more than 500 animals. Within the European Union (EU), there
is a vast difference between the structure of dairying in a country such as
the Netherlands and the dairy industries in Baltic countries, for example. In
the former, the majority of herds consist in more than 100 animals and the
average herd size is 60 animals per holding. In a country such as Lithuania,
the average size of a dairy holding is five cows, and only 28% of animals are
in herds of more than 50 cows.
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