„ Evaporated milk—a milk product made by removing about 60% of the water from ordinary milk. It may be used as a substitute for milk or cream. „ Condensed milk—a heavily sweetened milk product made by removing about 60% of the water from ordinary milk. It may be used in baking and desserts. Milk is used in many milk-based desserts including pudding (instant and cooked), custard (frozen and baked), and ice milk. It is used with breakfast cereals (cold and hot), in soups, and as the base for many types of sauces. It is easy to see the dairy industry’s influence on our food supply with the wide variety of products that come from milk. Common Dairy Cattle Terms The terminology used to describe dairy cattle is identical to the terminology used to describe beef cattle during different stages of their life: „ Calf—term to describe young dairy cattle „ Bull—young male „ Steer—castrated male „ Heifer—young female „ Bull—mature male „ Cow—mature female „ Calving—act of giving birth Production Cycle of Dairy Cattle The production cycle of dairy cattle is similar to that of beef cattle however, some aspects of the production cycle are vastly different, Figure 10-14. Parturition, the act of giving birth, is what causes milk production in cows. When dairy cattle give birth, their calves are only allowed to stay with the cow and nurse for a short period of time, usually a few hours. The newborn calves are fed milk or milk replacer from a bottle until they reach 6–8 weeks of age. Heifers are usually retained and placed into a replacement program where they are grown out to 15 months of age and bred. They will typically have their first calf at two years of age. Bull calves are usually grown out in similar fashion most will be castrated and grown out for beef production. Only elite bull calves with superior genetics are selected to keep as bulls. Most dairy producers use artificial insemination (A.I.) to breed their cows and do not keep a bull at their farm. Artificial insemination (A.I.) is a process where sperm is collected from a bull, processed and frozen for storage, and then thawed and placed in the reproductive tract of the cow. A major advantage of A.I. in dairy cattle is that producers can breed their cows to the top bulls in the industry without having to ship either of the animals. Culling the Dairy Herd A dairy cow will usually stay in the production herd about five years. There are several factors that can lead to cows being culled from the dairy herd: „ Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary glands, which is usually caused by bacteria. Did You Know? The National FFA Organi- zation has a career devel- opment event called Milk Quality and Products. This competition is designed to teach students about milk quality and safety along with manufacturing and marketing of milk and dairy products. Ask your FFA advisor for more information. Chapter 10 Large-Animal Production 529 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.