About raising dairy cattle:
We have started rounds of experiments of breeding milk cows since 1979 under the financial help of the Council of Agriculture. Additionally, with the technical guidance of all husbandry agencies across Taiwan and the collected efforts of the Institute over the years, we have successfully built a model of dairy cattle breeding in Kinmen, and have bred prolific cows as a result.
Dairy cows rearing:
We would provide self-made herbage, coupled with grain feeds, to ensure that milk cows have a balanced nutritious feed every day. The process of milk cow breeding consists of three phases: female cows rearing, non-milking cows rearing and milking cows rearing.
Breeding:
The Institute adopts artificial breeding for our milk cows, procuring semen from the Hsinchu Office, Livestock Research Institute, Council of Agriculture and abroad, as an attempt to improve the strain.
Milk production:
The Institute has kept 16-20 milk cows regularly, with roughly 300 liters production every day. We have joined in the national milk cow improvement program, sending milk samples per month to Hsinchu Office, Livestock Research Institute so as to ensure the quality of our milk products.
Extracting milk:
Extracting milk is the most important work in a dairy farm, which is regarded as art and science. To extract the most healthful milk, respectful interaction between humans and cows is essential. We extract twice each day (at 4AM and 3 PM).
Disease prevention and health promotion:
Our milk cows grow in open wilderness and spacious pastureland, which provide excellent setting for their growth and taking regular exercise. Hence they are all very healthy cows and mostly can live a longer life without suffering from sickness. Moreover, we deliver the dairy cow samples regularly for TB test, which so far has produced negative results.
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