increasing milking frequency can increase farm profit

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increasing milking frequency can increase farm profit

Cows milked 3×/d and multiparous cows produced more milk than those milked 2×/d and primiparous cows, respectively. The extra time required for milking 3×/d altered the distribution of cow behavioral activity throughout the day. Although this did not affect total daily lying or rumination time, feeding time did tend to increase. For multiparous cows, the increase in feeding activity was facilitated through having longer and slightly larger meals when milked 3×/d. Alternatively, primiparous cows consumed smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day when milked 3×/d, resulting in a tendency for greater DMI. These results indicate that under 3×/d milking schedules, primiparous cows will positively adjust their feeding behavior to achieve similar production increases as multiparous cows. Overall, milking 3×/d can be used to increase production; however, greater milking frequency elicits varying effects on the behavior of primiparous and multiparous cows, suggesting that grouping and management of cows based on parity may be beneficial