Book Description

Rearing young stock for replacement heifers is probably one of the least well understood and practiced aspects of herd and feeding management on dairy farms throughout the world, particularly on smallholder dairy farms in the tropics. This book addresses all the major concerns of the small holder dairy farmer in Asia. It shows how to attain optimal growth in young stock, so that as cows, they can calve at an appropriate early age at the lowest cost and promptly substitute for any cows culled from the milking herd. This provides continuing returns on the investments of feed, labor and other farm resources. Low reproductive rates and high calf mortality are the major causes of reproductive wastage. This has a direct bearing on culling and replacement strategies and on genetic improvement. In many tropical countries, calf mortality can be as high as 50%. In some areas this can be due to climatic stress on temperate or crossbred stock. While climatic stress compounds the other hazards of calf life, high calf mortality is usually due to diseases and poor feeding management. Rearing Young Stock on Tropical Dairy Farms in Asiaencourages the smallholder dairy farmer to maintain their investment in replacement heifers and gives them the tools necessary to achieve realistic targets for mortalities, live weight gain, mating age and age and live weight at first calving. - Shows how to reduce mortality rates of milk fed and weaned heifer replacements in the tropics. - Covers disease prevention and treatment to ensure a longer lifespan of the milking herd. - Companion volume to three previous manuals written by John Moran: Tropical Dairy Farming, Business Management for Tropical Dairy Farmersand Managing High Grade Dairy Cows in the Tropics.