Interactive lesson

A year with a cow, step by step

Interactive lesson: what a cow gives in a year, spring or autumn calving, milk and processing, the calf and beef, manure and the holding cycle, work, cover and paperwork.

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The whole lesson as text

1. What a cow gives

A cow keeper doesn't count the year from January, but from calving.

  1. From calving to calving — One calf every 12–13 months, a lactation of roughly 305 days, a dry period of 60 days.
  2. Milk — A dual-purpose cow (Dairy Shorthorn or Fleckvieh) on a smallholding gives roughly 4,000 L of milk a year. 400–500 L of it goes to the calf.
  3. The calf — One calf, roughly 40–45 kg at birth from a dual-purpose cow. A heifer calf is kept or sold, a bull calf is reared for beef.
  4. Manure — Roughly 8–12 t of manure with bedding a year, for the garden, orchard and field.

Why: Calving decides when there is most milk, when cream and cheese are made, when the calf goes for beef or for sale and when the cow is dried off. Mowing, hay, paperwork and money are fitted around that.

  • A family needs roughly 150 L of milk per adult a year: for four adults that's 600 L.
  • The figures are rough: a Dexter gives much less than a dual-purpose cow, roughly 1,500–2,500 L of milk.

2. Spring or autumn calving

You choose the calving month yourself, through service.

  1. Spring calving — February–April. Most milk in May and June, at grass, and the calf is strong by turnout.
  2. Autumn calving — September–November. Most milk in winter, on hay; the calf is in the shed in winter and harder to keep dry.
  3. Two cows — Calving 5–6 months apart, e.g. February and August, gives milk all year: while one is dry, the other is at her peak.
  4. Service — You serve roughly 9 months and 10 days before the calving you want. Drying off is 2 months before calving.

Why: Spring calving uses the least feed, because peak milk falls at grass. Autumn calving gives the most milk in winter, when it's most wanted, but needs more hay, lucerne and concentrate.

  • With spring calving the cow is dry in winter (January–February), with autumn calving in summer (July–August).
  • Spring suits a holding with good grass, autumn suits someone who sells milk or cheese in winter.

3. Milk and processing · Locked

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4. The calf, beef and transport · Locked

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5. Manure and the holding cycle · Locked

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6. Work, cover and paperwork · Locked

Buy the A year with a house cow module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.