A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems
ABSTRACT: Globally, the majority of dairy cows are milked twice a day (TAD); however, in pasture-based production systems, such as in Ireland, the idea of milking once a day (OAD) is being considered for reasons such as improved work-life balance. The immediate effects within a lactation, as well as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223005921 |
| _version_ | 1827583907318464512 |
|---|---|
| author | John Paul Murphy Michael O'Donovan Kieran McCarthy Luc Delaby Katie Sugrue Norann Galvin Craig Murphy Emer Kennedy |
| author_facet | John Paul Murphy Michael O'Donovan Kieran McCarthy Luc Delaby Katie Sugrue Norann Galvin Craig Murphy Emer Kennedy |
| author_sort | John Paul Murphy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Globally, the majority of dairy cows are milked twice a day (TAD); however, in pasture-based production systems, such as in Ireland, the idea of milking once a day (OAD) is being considered for reasons such as improved work-life balance. The immediate effects within a lactation, as well as the multilactation consequences of OAD, compared with TAD milking, require understanding. The objective of this randomized experiment was to compare OAD and TAD milking, over a 3-yr period, by examining the differences in milk production and composition, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), dry matter intake (DMI), udder characteristics, locomotion score, and milking time. Over the 3-yr period, 83 cows were enrolled in the experiment; 32, 44, and 48 cows in yr 1, 2, and 3 of the experiment, respectively. Each year, 23% of the herds were primiparous animals, while the remainder were second lactation or greater in parity. All cows were milked in the morning at 0700 h; only cows milked TAD were milked a second time each day at 1600 h. Cows rotationally grazed pastures for the duration of the lactating period and were housed during the nonlactating period. Milking cows OAD reduced cumulative milk yield by 26%, and milk solids yield (kg of fat + kg of protein) by 21%, across the 3 yr of the experiment when compared with cows milked TAD which produced 4,126 and 365 kg/cow, respectively. A contributory factor to the reduced production was a shorter lactation length (9.7 d) of the cows milked OAD compared with TAD (294 d). Milk fat percent of cows milked TAD was similar for all 3 yr of the study (5.05%), whereas milk fat percent of the cows milked OAD increased year on year, with each year being greater than the previous year (5.02%, 5.32%, and 5.70% for yr 1, 2, and 3; respectively). Milk protein percent was greater (+0.19%) for cows milked OAD compared with TAD which was 3.78%. Compared with cows milked TAD, total DMI for cows milked OAD was 22% less at the start of lactation (<167 d), but as the lactation progressed (>167 d) we observed no difference in DMI between treatments. Similar to the literature, milking cows OAD significantly increased average somatic cell score, both during (+16%) and at the end of lactation (+19%), compared with milking cows TAD which were 4.69 and 4.79, respectively. We detected positive aspects associated with OAD milking such as greater BW, BCS, and fertility performance. Milking OAD reduced both milking time per cow per day (reductions ranged from 34% in the first 4 mo of lactation to 43% during mo 5–9 of lactation) and milking time per liter of milk (−3.5 s/L) throughout lactation, leading to less labor inputs on-farm which can have positive implications for farmer work-life balance. The significant time saving and potential savings in costs (e.g., electricity) need to be considered in conjunction with the milk production reduction when considering OAD milking for the entire lactation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:13:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a168b03876c4e10aa8b3c15bd2beead |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:13:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a168b03876c4e10aa8b3c15bd2beead2023-12-15T07:22:08ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022023-12-011061289108925A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systemsJohn Paul Murphy0Michael O'Donovan1Kieran McCarthy2Luc Delaby3Katie Sugrue4Norann Galvin5Craig Murphy6Emer Kennedy7Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302; Department of Biological Sciences, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland T12 P928Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302INRAE, AgroCampus Ouest, Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage, 35590 Saint-Gilles, FranceTeagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302INRAE, AgroCampus Ouest, Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage, 35590 Saint-Gilles, FranceTeagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland P61 P302; Corresponding authorABSTRACT: Globally, the majority of dairy cows are milked twice a day (TAD); however, in pasture-based production systems, such as in Ireland, the idea of milking once a day (OAD) is being considered for reasons such as improved work-life balance. The immediate effects within a lactation, as well as the multilactation consequences of OAD, compared with TAD milking, require understanding. The objective of this randomized experiment was to compare OAD and TAD milking, over a 3-yr period, by examining the differences in milk production and composition, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), dry matter intake (DMI), udder characteristics, locomotion score, and milking time. Over the 3-yr period, 83 cows were enrolled in the experiment; 32, 44, and 48 cows in yr 1, 2, and 3 of the experiment, respectively. Each year, 23% of the herds were primiparous animals, while the remainder were second lactation or greater in parity. All cows were milked in the morning at 0700 h; only cows milked TAD were milked a second time each day at 1600 h. Cows rotationally grazed pastures for the duration of the lactating period and were housed during the nonlactating period. Milking cows OAD reduced cumulative milk yield by 26%, and milk solids yield (kg of fat + kg of protein) by 21%, across the 3 yr of the experiment when compared with cows milked TAD which produced 4,126 and 365 kg/cow, respectively. A contributory factor to the reduced production was a shorter lactation length (9.7 d) of the cows milked OAD compared with TAD (294 d). Milk fat percent of cows milked TAD was similar for all 3 yr of the study (5.05%), whereas milk fat percent of the cows milked OAD increased year on year, with each year being greater than the previous year (5.02%, 5.32%, and 5.70% for yr 1, 2, and 3; respectively). Milk protein percent was greater (+0.19%) for cows milked OAD compared with TAD which was 3.78%. Compared with cows milked TAD, total DMI for cows milked OAD was 22% less at the start of lactation (<167 d), but as the lactation progressed (>167 d) we observed no difference in DMI between treatments. Similar to the literature, milking cows OAD significantly increased average somatic cell score, both during (+16%) and at the end of lactation (+19%), compared with milking cows TAD which were 4.69 and 4.79, respectively. We detected positive aspects associated with OAD milking such as greater BW, BCS, and fertility performance. Milking OAD reduced both milking time per cow per day (reductions ranged from 34% in the first 4 mo of lactation to 43% during mo 5–9 of lactation) and milking time per liter of milk (−3.5 s/L) throughout lactation, leading to less labor inputs on-farm which can have positive implications for farmer work-life balance. The significant time saving and potential savings in costs (e.g., electricity) need to be considered in conjunction with the milk production reduction when considering OAD milking for the entire lactation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223005921milking frequencydairy cowsgrazed grassdry matter intakemilk production |
| spellingShingle | John Paul Murphy Michael O'Donovan Kieran McCarthy Luc Delaby Katie Sugrue Norann Galvin Craig Murphy Emer Kennedy A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems Journal of Dairy Science milking frequency dairy cows grazed grass dry matter intake milk production |
| title | A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems |
| title_full | A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems |
| title_fullStr | A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems |
| title_short | A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems |
| title_sort | three year comparison of once a day and twice a day milking in seasonal calving pasture based systems |
| topic | milking frequency dairy cows grazed grass dry matter intake milk production |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223005921 |
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