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Twelve dairy cows were used to determine behavior with varying numbers of free stalls and length of feed trough. A least squares procedure, which regressed for numbers of observations, was adapted for obtaining dominance values. Available free stalls were 1.0, .83, .67, .50, .33 per cow. With 1.0 free stalls, linear feed trough was .5, .4, .3, .2, .1 m per cow changed at 7-day intervals. Cow behavior and locations were quantified by time-lapse photography at I-minute intervals during the last 3-days of each treatment. Spatial recommendations for dairy cattle can be greatly reduced. Behavior was altered only when less than .67 free stalls or .2 m of linear trough was available per cow. Minimum stalls needed per cow without altering daily free stall usage = [14.2 hours (average use)]/[hours per day free stalls are available to the herd X .93 (maximum. efficiency before crowding)]. Linear feed trough of .2 m appears adequate to ensure desired amount of eating time when individuals have access to feed in trough 21 hours per day. Estimated individual dry matter intakes were the same at .5 m and .25 m of trough per cow. Intake was affected by time spent eating for .25 m. In 10-variable models for various levels of competition, time spent eating, or in free stalls, and individual dry matter intake were described predominantly by production variables, not dominance values. Adrenal responsiveness to 200 IU adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) was determined by quantifying plasma corticosteroids in two groups of lactating Holstein cows. One group of 18 cows received ACTH via jugular catheter 0, 2, or 9 days after introduction to an established group in restricted space (3.96 m2 lot space and .67 free stalls per cow). Differences in total plasma corticoids (area under curve) in response to ACTH were not statistically different although corticoid response 2 and 9 days of stress tended to be greater than day O. A second group of 16 cows received ACTH at 0, 1, 2, or 3 days after introduction to a new group and crowding (2.97 m2 lot space and .5 free stalls per cow). Mean corticoid response to ACTH (area under the curve, ng/ml ± SD) were 161.6 ± 12.6, 158.2 ± 28.2, 227.7 ± 32.2 and 229.9 ± 40.3 for cows inject~d days 0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively, days 2 and 3 differed from day 0 (P<.OS). Bacteriological status of quarter milk samples was not changed by stress. In non-infected quarters of 24 stressed cows, 8 quarters increased above 150,000 somatic cells/ml while 5 quarters decreased below 150,000 cells/m1 of milk after 4 days of stress when compared to 2 and 6 days prior to stress. Stress did not affect milk production relative to controls. / Ph. D.

Dairy cows are extremely inefficient at converting dietary nitrogen (N) to productive N. Approximately 25-30% of dietary N is used for milk protein while the remaining N is lost to the environment. According to National Research Council (NRC, 2001) recommendations, dairy cow rations are formulated in terms of metabolizable protein (MP) which often causes many amino acids (AA) to be fed in excess. A better understanding of protein and AA requirements could help to improve the nitrogen efficiency of dairy cows. The objective of this work was to examine the effects of feeding a low protein diet supplemented with rumen protected (RP) AA on production and N efficiency of dairy cows. Twenty-four Holstein and 24 Holstein x Jersey crossbred cows were used in a Youden square design consisting of 3 periods. Cows were randomly assigned to one of 8 treatments: 1) a standard diet containing 17% crude protein (+Con), 2) a 15% crude protein diet (-Con), 3) â Con plus RP methionine (+M, 16g/d), 4) â Con plus RP lysine (+K, 47g/d), 5) â Con plus RP leucine (+L, 181g/d), 6) â Con plus RP methionine and lysine (+MK), 7) â Con plus RP methionine and leucine (+ML), and 8) â Con plus RP methionine, lysine, and leucine (+MKL). Cows fed the â Con as well as the +MKL diet experienced a reduction in milk production and milk protein yield (P < 0.05). Dry matter intake decreased only for those animals on the +ML diet (P < 0.05). Milk urea N (MUN) decreased for all diets when compared to the +Con treatment (P < 0.05). In accordance with the decrease in MUN, N efficiency was numerically increased in the diets supplemented with RP AA, but this improvement was not significant. Phosphorylation of signaling proteins important for protein synthesis were also examined. Animals fed the +MK treatment increased phosphorylated and total forms of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) when compared to the +Con and â Con (P < 0.05), but this increase in abundance did not affect the ratio of phosphorylated to total abundance. Feeding dairy cows a low protein diet supplemented with RP AA has the ability to alleviate the loss in milk production associated with feeding a low protein diet as well as to increase nitrogen efficiency. / Master of Science

O contínuo aumento na produção leiteira, associado à diminuição no número de produtores na atividade, acaba por levantar um questionamento no tocante à produtividade. Afinal, quais os fatores socioeconômicos que podem estar afetando esta produtividade? A fim de investigar mais sobre o assunto, o presente trabalho analisou o comportamento das funções de produtividade, de custo e de lucro. Além das variáveis econômicas propriamente ditas - como escala de produção, nível e tipo de tecnologia, essas funções incluíram algumas especificidades do produtor - como escolaridade, idade, experiência, domicilio etc. Para sintetizar tais especificidades, utilizou-se o método dos componentes principais da análise fatorial. Em seguida, os fatores obtidos foram incorporados nos modelos de lucro, custo e da produtividade. As variáveis econômicas tiveram efeito predominante sobre a produtividade. Observaram-se ganhos moderados de escala, que reduzem os custos e aumentam os lucros. Dessa forma, há uma tendência moderada de longo prazo de expansão de volume produzido em maiores propriedades, ficando os pequenos produtores em desvantagem competitiva. A permanência desses produtores na atividade dependerá da capacitação que venham a receber, o que costuma ser oferecido por cooperativas e laticínios. Esse treinamento deveria ser estendido também aos filhos. Investimentos nesse sentido trariam ganhos na receita e um impacto social positivo por reter o jovem no campo e/ou prepará-lo para que, em melhores condições, busque outras formas de ocupação nas áreas urbanas. / The continuous growth of the milk production along with the reduction of the number of producers raises questions concerning productivity. What factors might be affecting productivity? This work aimed to analyze the effects of economic variables on the cost, the profit and the milk productivity functions. In addition some specificities of the farmer - such as age, experience etc. - were considered in those functions. The method of principal components of the factorial analysis was used to group the specificity variables in factors that later entered the models of profit, cost and the productivity. As for the economic variables, they are the main variables that affect the productivity. Moderate increasing returns to scale were observed. Therefore there is a tendency in the long run of increasing production in large farms. The permanence of small producers in the activity will depend on the training they will receive, which is usually offered by cooperatives and some milk companies. It is essential that this training also be extended to their children. Investments in this direction would bring gains in income either by enhancing farm productivity or by improving the chances of success in urban activities.

O contínuo aumento na produção leiteira, associado à diminuição no número de produtores na atividade, acaba por levantar um questionamento no tocante à produtividade. Afinal, quais os fatores socioeconômicos que podem estar afetando esta produtividade? A fim de investigar mais sobre o assunto, o presente trabalho analisou o comportamento das funções de produtividade, de custo e de lucro. Além das variáveis econômicas propriamente ditas – como escala de produção, nível e tipo de tecnologia, essas funções incluíram algumas especificidades do produtor – como escolaridade, idade, experiência, domicilio etc. Para sintetizar tais especificidades, utilizou-se o método dos componentes principais da análise fatorial. Em seguida, os fatores obtidos foram incorporados nos modelos de lucro, custo e da produtividade. As variáveis econômicas tiveram efeito predominante sobre a produtividade. Observaram-se ganhos moderados de escala, que reduzem os custos e aumentam os lucros. Dessa forma, há uma tendência moderada de longo prazo de expansão de volume produzido em maiores propriedades, ficando os pequenos produtores em desvantagem competitiva. A permanência desses produtores na atividade dependerá da capacitação que venham a receber, o que costuma ser oferecido por cooperativas e laticínios. Esse treinamento deveria ser estendido também aos filhos. Investimentos nesse sentido trariam ganhos na receita e um impacto social positivo por reter o jovem no campo e/ou prepará-lo para que, em melhores condições, busque outras formas de ocupação nas áreas urbanas. / The continuous growth of the milk production along with the reduction of the number of producers raises questions concerning productivity. What factors might be affecting productivity? This work aimed to analyze the effects of economic variables on the cost, the profit and the milk productivity functions. In addition some specificities of the farmer – such as age, experience etc. - were considered in those functions. The method of principal components of the factorial analysis was used to group the specificity variables in factors that later entered the models of profit, cost and the productivity. As for the economic variables, they are the main variables that affect the productivity. Moderate increasing returns to scale were observed. Therefore there is a tendency in the long run of increasing production in large farms. The permanence of small producers in the activity will depend on the training they will receive, which is usually offered by cooperatives and some milk companies. It is essential that this training also be extended to their children. Investments in this direction would bring gains in income either by enhancing farm productivity or by improving the chances of success in urban activities.

Thesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The South African dairy industry is approximately 0.5% of the global production. The production of milk contributes to exports, manufacturing, employment, food security and development of other producers of agricultural products such as maize and soya bean. Following the deregulation of the agricultural markets in 1996, the dairy industry has seen a decline in the number of producers, with Milk Producer Organisation noting that between 2008 and 2015 there has been a decline of 58%. Therefore, the decline in producers necessitates the need to understand the nature and factors that influence the remaining producers to continue producing. This study, therefore, was undertaken to examine the supply response of milk production to price and non-price factors in South Africa using the Nerlovian Partial adjustment model. In that regard, the historical data for the period of 1996 to 2014 was used and analysed in Eviews 10 software. The short-run and Long-run elasticities of milk production were found to be inelastic. The results of the study further indicated that milk production was responsive to changes in price of beef, technology, previous production, and temperature. Given the study findings, thus recommendations made are that technological research and advancement, such as animal cross breeding is necessary to improve production of milk in the country. Furthermore, better price incentives such as price floors and subsidies are necessary in the industry, to encourage more milk production and reduce likelihood of farmers to switch from milk to beef, given the changes in price.

In operating conditions there was evaluated the animal production (dairycow breeding) by means of selected economic indicators. In Agrodružstvo Načeradec there were monitored the basic principles of dairycows nutrition and feeding and their milk production as well. The attention was paid to expense items and their modifications with respect to the production. I aimed at monitoring costs (feeding cost, labour cost, services cost etc.), yields, profit or loss in 2005 {--} 2006. During the monitoring period there was found that dairycows are profitable. The rate of milk production profitability was 12 % in 2005 (the ČR average is 3,8 %). In 2006 the rate of profitability dropped to 3,02 %. This drop was caused by the price policy of dairy industry by milk purchase. Simply we can say that milk production in Načeradec is profitable thanks to high efficiency of dairycows.

The work deals with the analysis of selected input data of one agriculture enterprise in relation to milk production. In the operating conditions evaluated indicators are: levels of nutrition, costing, cost of milk production. In this work on the basis of available data an overall evaluation of financial results in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 has been done.

The ifluence on the chosen economicaly operational indicators of the milk production will be examined in the specific agricultural company.