Determination of Structural Characteristics of Large-Scale Dairy Farms: Example of Yozgat Province

Year 2023, Volume: 6 Issue: 5, 444 - 451, 01.09.2023

Orhan Ermetin , Müge Erkan Can

https://doi.org/10.47115/bsagriculture.1288564

Cited By: 1

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the status of dairy cattle farms in Yozgat province, which has significant potential in animal husbandry, to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the existing barns, and to put forward suggestions for solving the problems. The research was completed by conducting observation and physical measurement studies in 28 dairy cattle farms with more than 50 milking animals, which we classified as large-scale, with the data obtained through questionnaires. Most dairy farms were established in the last ten years and received investment and grant support from various public institutions. It has been observed that the criteria suitable for animal welfare, especially in ventilation and building materials, are not followed by avoiding investment costs in farms established with equity capital. In the dairy farms established by receiving grants and investment support, it was observed that the stables were built in conditions suitable for animal welfare. Still, the herd management system was not established, and the records were not kept healthy because the farm owners and employees of the farms were insufficient in dairy cattle breeding knowledge, which would increase the costs. Although the majority of the examined enterprises did not have structural and technical problems, the absence of a birth partition in 21.43%, an individual calf pen in 25%, a ventilation shaft in 3.57%, and a manure pit slope in 28.57% was seen as an obstacle for these dairy farms to be modern enterprises. It is recommended that the economic sustainability of dairy cattle farms, which is a long-term investment branch, does not only depend on having sufficient equipment in terms of structural features but also on farm owners and employees should have sufficient knowledge and infrastructure on dairy cattle breeding and training should be provided to the relevant people.

Keywords

Large-scale dairy farms, Barn, Dairy cattle, Yozgat

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