What the average %for milking cow&dry cows&haifers in dairy herd?

Question

What the average %for milking cow&dry cows&haifers in dairy herd?

Answer 1

Generally, a cow's production starts to drop off after 9 months' lactation, or 3 months before calving, so "drying them up" at this time is advantageous.  Breeding programs are designed so that cows have a calf every year, and staggered to keep the maximum number of cows in production.  This results in roughly 25% dry and 75% milking.

A cow's "productive lifetime" is 6-7 years (6-7 calves), so herd maintenance requires 12.5% to 14.3% heifers.

Answer 2

All cows will have a dry period at some time during the year. The percentage of cows that are milking and the percentage dry at any one time will depend on how much you spread out the breeding season.