Understanding the Dairy Cow E-Book

John Webster

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 535

Beschreibung

A comprehensive and thoroughly revised text on dairy science that contains information on the most recent developments The fully updated third edition of Understanding the Dairy Cow explores the scientific principles that provide a foundation for understanding the animal's body system. The comprehensive text also reveals how to properly manage dairy cattle with economic efficiency whilst taking into consideration the cow's welfare. The revised new edition contains expanded coverage on topics including insight into cow behaviour and welfare, genetic selection indices, new strategies for control of mastitis and lameness and information on the overworked cow. It also contains the most recent developments in breeding, nutrition and management. * Is an authoritative text on the dairy cow that covers a wide-ranging subject area including the science, disease and husbandry * Presents the information and knowledge necessary for the efficient and humane management of cows * Includes expanded coverage on a variety of topics such as cow behaviour and welfare, and genetic selection indices * Highlights major new developments in the field Covering both the basics and recent developments in dairy science, Understanding the Dairy Cow 3rd Edition is ideal for students in agriculture and veterinary science and for professionals working in the complex business of dairy farming.

Leseprobe

Understanding the Dairy Cow

Third Edition

John Webster, MA, VetMB, PhD, DVM (Hon), MRCVS

Professor Emeritus of Animal HusbandrySchool of Veterinary ScienceUniversity of BristolBristol, UK

This edition first published 2020© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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The right of John Webster to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Webster, John, 1938– author.Title: Understanding the dairy cow / John Webster, MA, VetMB, PhD, MRCVS, Professor of Animal Husbandry, University of Bristol, School of Verterinary Science.Description: Third edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley‐Blackwell, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2020006388 (print) | LCCN 2020006389 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119550228 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119550235 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119550242 (epub)Subjects: LCSH: Dairy cattle. | Cows.Classification: LCC SF208 .W4 1987 (print) | LCC SF208 (ebook) | DDC 636.2–dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006388LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006389

Cover Design: WileyCover Image: © TonyV3112/Shutterstock

‘The cow, crunching with depressed head, surpasses any statue…they are so placid and self‐contained. I stand and look at them long and long.

Walt Whitman‘Song of Myself’

Acknowledgements

I thank the following for permission to reproduce illustrations: Geoffrey Pearson, Figure 2.3; The Scottish Farm Business Investigation Unit, Figure 8.1; The Institute for Food Research, Reading, Figures 8.1 and 8.2; Martha d’Andrade, Figure 13.2.

The wisdom of any group with shared interests and enthusiasms is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to all my special friends and colleagues on farms, in the veterinary profession and academe who share my fascination with the dairy cow. Among so many I give special mention to Nick Bell, Geoff Davies, Richard Dewhurst, Clive Snell and Becky Whay. Finally, I must once again thank Nick Jeanes, who contributed the best of the illustrations.

Preface to the Third Edition

The mediaeval expression ‘milch cow’ is, in modern parlance, variously used to describe a cow kept for milk production and an everlasting source of easy money. It is not hard to see how this second definition has come about. Since the earliest days of agriculture, the cow has served humankind as a regular, reliable source of excellent sustenance, in many different physical and social environments and from almost any mixture of feeds that we can provide or that she can forage for herself. Her value comes from her infinite ability to adapt. At the time when the first edition of ‘Understanding the Dairy Cow’ (UDC) was published in 1987, most dairy farmers in the UK fed their cows largely from pasture and other home‐grown crops, the milk lorry took it away and regular cheques arrived in the post. It was all so simple. The subsequent 30+ years have witnessed a roller‐coaster ride of change. The imposition then removal of quotas on milk production. The explosive increases in individual cow yields, achieved by a combination of genetic selection and radical changes in nutrition. Our greater concern about the environmental impact of farming in general and ruminants in particular. Our greater concern, expressed through our buying habits, about farm animal welfare and the potential risks attached to the consumption of food from animals. The circumstances in which the dairy cow may find herself are many and varied but a cow is still a cow. For this reason UDC, in its successive editions, has never taken the form of an instruction manual on dairy cow management but an examination of the fundamental principles of physiology, health and behaviour that govern both her capacity to produce milk and also give proper attention to her welfare in all circumstances; intensive or extensive, high‐tech or organic.

This third edition is, in effect, is a complete rewrite with over half the material radically updated or entirely new. It reflects the major shift in dairy production away from family farms with 100 cows or less, each producing modest amounts of milk largely from their own resources, to very large production units, with perhaps 1000 cows, housed throughout lactation, producing very large quantities of milk (and excrement) from feed tractored to them from near and far. It considers in detail the impact of these changes on cow health and welfare, and their environmental impact in terms of methane production and nitrogen pollution. It also acknowledges that dairy farmers can no longer operate on the simplistic assumption that while they continue to produce milk, the people will continue to buy it. Consumers and retailers now demand quality assurance as to production standards with regard to environmental quality, sustainability and animal welfare. All these things receive my attention.

There are some changes in the presentation. I have decided to include no references to specific papers and reviews within the text. If I were to give proper credit to the good scientific and technical publications that underpin the evidence I present in this book, the list of publications would run into thousands. If I were to be selective, I would be rightly accused of leaving too many good papers out. This book has been written for those actively involved with dairy cows and those university and college students beginning their education in these matters. It is not really intended for postgraduates and research workers – although I would like to think they might enjoy it and learn something. The list of papers and websites for further reading, which appears at the end of the text, provides a lead into the literature for those who wish to delve deeper. I would add that one of the incentives for me to prepare this new edition, and one of the reasons I felt I could achieve it, has been the recent publication of a multi‐author, high‐science (expensive) book ‘Achieving sustainable production of milk: Vol 3. Dairy Herd Management and Welfare’. I was invited to edit this book and, in the process, learned a lot.

Finally, I have acknowledged the need to conform to public demand for gender neutrality. Farmers and vets are no longer referred to simply as ‘he’. Stockmen have become herders or cowherds. I draw the line at emasculating that excellent word ‘husbandry’.

Achieving Sustainable Production of Milk Vol 3 Dairy Herd Management and Welfare 2017 ed. John Webster, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing.

About the Companion Website

Don’t forget to visit the companion website for this book:

www.wiley.com/go/webster‐dairy‐cow

The website contains downloadable figures from the book.

Part IHow the Cow Works