Number of cows needed to produce 100 litre's of milk

[thesilentone]

 

[deleted user 837354]

Wow, I would say the UK is very 'efficient'. [I hate that word].

 

[Beef farmer]

@Cows 'n grass youd fit right in in Kenya

 

[Milkcow365]

@Cows 'n grass youd fit right in in Kenya

Think Tanzania are milking mice not cows

 

[Cows 'n grass]

@Cows 'n grass youd fit right in in Kenya

Not today, mine are pumping at the moment, upto almost 22!

On a yearly average I'd be on par with Iran which probably isn't much to boast about.

 

[betweenthelines]

That tells us virtually nothing.

For example:

How much of that production is from the farm's own resources

How much is from imported (from another Country) feed

Herd size

Specialist dairy or dual (or even triple) purpose animals

Own labour or hired

Amount of mechanisation

etc.etc.

A 10,000 litre holstein in California, Chesire or Israel might appear "efficient" but an African farmer who lets his cows rear their calves and just takes a few hundred litres off them is doing a grand job-especially if the cow only eats what the farmer grows.

 

[kfpben]

Looks like that pallet of teat dip in 1 litre bottles I sold to a dairy vet in Tanzania a few years ago didn't help much.

 

[som farmer]

as we are constantly being told to be 'more' efficient, looking at that chart, we are pretty well there !

 

[tepapa]

as we are constantly being told to be 'more' efficient, looking at that chart, we are pretty well there !

They're telling you that so they can buy it off you cheaper. And farmers believe them.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

As said most of those African countries aren’t a comparison. They are likely just pulling a bit of milk off a Brahma cow when she is at peak and hauling it on a motorbike. There likely isn’t much commercial infrastructure for a dairy. Other than a few scattered large ones.

I wonder why South Africa didn’t make the list? Decent sized dairy industry there and more comparable to 1st world. @Dian Landman

I’m sure as China expands their influence there to extract resources and food things will change.

 

[som farmer]

They're telling you that so they can buy it off you cheaper. And farmers believe them.

and as you liked a previous post about my views, about that, you know why I liked yours. But unfortunately, you are spot on, but many still won't listen !!!!!!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Not today, mine are pumping at the moment, upto almost 22!

On a yearly average I'd be on par with Iran which probably isn't much to boast about.

It is if you're effective and energy-efficient.

 

[betweenthelines]

as we are constantly being told to be 'more' efficient, looking at that chart, we are pretty well there !

Depends how you define "efficient"

What's more efficient a 10k holstein housed ayr, eating 3 tonnes of imported concs or a 5k grazing rat, housed for 6 weeks and eating 250 kg of barley/rapeseed meal homemix?

 

[som farmer]

our bigger rats, we don't yet like the small ones, are averaging 25 litres, with an average conc use of 4 kg, after service it will be cut again, answer your question ? and outwintered on kale.

 

[Steevo]

Wow, I would say the UK is very 'efficient'. [I hate that word].

Farming is one of the few industries where efficiency is almost "bad". On the above graph you'd think UK was an ideal place to do dairy and it would be encouraged.....but clearly/sadly it is not valued by (m)any parties.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

As said most of those African countries aren’t a comparison. They are likely just pulling a bit of milk off a Brahma cow when she is at peak and hauling it on a motorbike. There likely isn’t much commercial infrastructure for a dairy. Other than a few scattered large ones.

I wonder why South Africa didn’t make the list? Decent sized dairy industry there and more comparable to 1st world. @Dian Landman

I’m sure as China expands their influence there to extract resources and food things will change.

Or Holland, they are not on there surprisingly.

 

[betweenthelines]

The graph just refers to production per cow, nothing to do with "efficiency"

 

[Steevo]

The graph just refers to production per cow, nothing to do with "efficiency"

It shows efficient use of cows as a resource.

I take your point about efficiency in terms of other “resources” (e.g money, labour, etc) as being valid though.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

The graph just refers to production per cow, nothing to do with "efficiency"

im assuming that’s what they are classing as efficient. Remember, cows are evil and cause pollution......

I don’t think this takes into account carbon output vs sequestration. It would look very different

 

[betweenthelines]

Just talking about yield per cow is a very blunt instrument in measuring virtually everything but......well, yield per cow.

If you're talking carbon footprint, you need to consider ALL feed and it's source, farming system, culling rate, etc. etc.

You might just as well say a Formula 1 car is more efficient than a Fiesta 'cos it'll travel further in a given time.

As a matter of interest, who produced the graph, and for what reason?