1. Ralph Ginsberg
National Service for Udder Health and Milk Quality
Israeli Dairy Board
http://www.israeldairy.com/ ralph@milk.org.il
Facts about Israeli
Dairy Farming
2. 1. 90% of cows on DHI
2. All cows milked in milking parlors
or 71 milking robots (37 farms)
3. 65% of cows milked with electronic
milk meters
The Israeli Dairy Herd
120,000 cows – 950 farms
11,667 kg milk, 3.20% protein and 3.62% fat
6. Milk production in Israel is carried out
under a quota system, where the annual
volume is divided into monthly quotas.
Annual national quota for the coming
year is determined by the Minister of
Agriculture based on the forecast of milk
consumption, population and income
growth and consumption trends.
Quota System
7. Quota System
The quota is allocated to individual farms
Economic incentives for farmers to level-up
monthly production
Reduced price for excess milk production
Quotas can only be traded among the farmers
9. The Kibbutz is a large collective
production unit.
Kibbutz members jointly own the means
of production and share social and
economic activities.
All the Kibbutz dairy herds participate in
DHI and represent 63% of the cows with
recorded production.
The Kibbutz
10. The Moshav is based on individual farms
yet organized as a cooperative society.
The Moshav
Approximately 75% of the Moshav dairy
herds participate in the DHI system and
represent 37% of the cows with recorded
production.
11. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Family farms (Moshav)
Number 855 843 830 811 787 774 776
Average quota (x 1,000 ltrs.) 560 555 587 648 641 672 714
Cooperative farms (Kibbutz)
Number 176 167 165 165 165 163 163
Average quota (x 1,000 ltrs.) 3,747 3,859 4,156 4,451 4,241 4,408 4,728
Agric. school farms
Number 16 15 15 15 15 15 15
Average quota (x 1,000 ltrs.) 746 781 810 866 848 865 906
Total
Number of farms 1,047 1,025 1,010 991 967 952 954
Average quota (x 1,000 ltrs.) 1,098 1,096 1,174 1,285 1,258 1,315 1,403
No. of farms by type & average
annual milk quota (x 1,000 litrs.)
13. Institution for planning and regulation of
milk production and processing in Israel
Jointly owned and managed by
representatives of:
Milk producers (ICBA, Sheep & Goat breeders)
Milk processing companies
Government agencies: Agriculture, Finance,
Industry & Commerce and Health
Israel Dairy Board
16. Organization Structure
Israel Dairy
Board
National service
for udder health
and milk
quality
Field Services
Director
Milking
Management
Advisers
Laboratory
Director
Laboratory
Assistants
Scientific
Director
18. Periodic sampling and analysis of all dairy herds.
Analysis of samples from mastitic cows sent by dairy
farmers.
Analysis of samples sent by farmers from pre-partum
cows for sub-clinical mastitis.
Antibiograms providing information to the clinical
veterinarian.
Evaluation of teat dip samples from dairy herds.
Bulk tank analysis for Strep. Agalactiae, Mycoplasma.
Analysis of bedding samples.
Analysis of water for Pseudomonas.
Bactoscan Calibration.
20. Milking Procedures and Hygiene
Examination of Milking Equipment
Sanitation and washing procedures
Housing and cow environment
management
21. Advice on milking parlor planning and
construction
Handbook on milking machine specifications
Static and dynamic testing of milking parlors
Milking parlor trouble shooting
Supervision of companies supplying milking
equipment , teat dips and detergents
Milking Parlor & Equipment
Consultation
22. Israeli Cattle Breeders Association
ICBA is a farmer organization,
representing farmer’s interests in their
relations with the Israel Dairy Board,
Government ministries, Professional
organizations and the Dairy industry.
23. ICBA maintains the Israeli Holstein Herdbook.
Performs milk-recording in affiliated herds.
Operates the central laboratory for milk testing.
Promotes and organizes export of live cattle,
frozen semen and embryo transfer on behalf of
its affiliated members.
Maintains a Computerized Management System
for the National Dairy Herd. (NOA)
Publishes technical and scientific periodicals.
ICBA executives sit on the boards of directors of
several dairy related institutions.
24. Sion: Company for Artificial
Insemination & Breeding
The Sion A.I. company was founded
in 2001 by the merging of the On and
Hasherut A.I. cooperatives.
26. HaChaklait was founded in 1919 as
a cooperative, non-profitable
organization, owned and managed
by the farmers for their benefit, in
order to combine a mutual insurance
policy with comprehensive veterinary
medicine.
HaChaklait Veterinary Services
27. HaChaklait Veterinary Services
HaChakalit is unique both in size
and philosophy, in the veterinary
world with 40 district vets and 11
locums & experts.
Drugs are dispensed to farmers at
operating cost price.
28. Routine & emergency farm visits
Consultants visits
Semi Annual Herd health reports
Epidemiological Investigations
Clinical Research Unit
Cooperation with vet & agriculture
bodies
Overseas Courses and Consultancy
Services
29. Services
Annual Contract: Routine & emergency
visits included
Consultants & Herd health reports
included
Rate per Head: All ages (female >> male)
Differential Rate: Scale discount of
monthly rates: 1-40 heads: $3 41- 700: $2
>700: $1
Vet income related to No. of heads in his
district.
31. Agricultural Research Organization
Volcani Center
The Department of Ruminant Science is
targeted to optimize meat and milk production
in dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep.
Main areas of research are:
Nutrition, Physiology, Reproduction,
Breeding, Lactation biology & Quantitative
and Molecular Genetics.
32. Development of new feeding regimes for critical
stages of cow’s lactation; heat-stress effects;
robotic milking; effects of lack of either grains or
roughages.
Nutrition
Genetics and Breeding
Genetic analysis of dairy cattle for production
and secondary traits, including fertility,
persistency, twinning rate, and calf growth rate.
34. Lactation Biology
Effects on milk composition of sub-
clinical and clinical mastitis, and of
commercial storage, in relation to quality
requirements for the dairy industry and
consumer heath.
35. Extension Service
The Extension Service within the framework of
the Ministry of Agriculture, is constantly in
direct contact with dairy farmers.
Functions range from: Advisory work proper.
Field observations and applied research.
Preparation of short courses for local students
as well as programs for foreign trainees
Implementation of the ministry's dairy policy.
36. Veterinary Institute
The Veterinary Services are of crucial importance to
livestock in general and to the health of high-yielding
dairy cattle in particular.
Our herds are free of tuberculosis, brucellosis,
bovine trichomoniasis and campilobacteriasis, and
are vaccinated against various tick-borne diseases,
foot & mouth and other known contagious diseases.
Thanks to the prompt intervention by the Veterinary
Services, BSE did not arrive at our shores.
37. Regional “Feed Centers”
Feed Centers manufacture and
supply T.M.R. (Total Mixed Ration)
for all kindes of ruminants – dairy
cows, dry cows, beef cattle, heifers,
goats and sheep.
38. Feed centers introduced the feed bunk
dispensing T.M.R. truck method to
Israel, thereby saving of tractor and
feeding wagon the costs for the
customer .
Unique T.M.R. compounded
concentrate feeds can be tailor made
according to the customers
specifications in order to add to locally
produced roughage.
39. This system allows all the micro
elements and much of the dry
ingredients, to be added by a
computer without human intervention,
thereby streamlining the process,
obtaining maximum accuracy, and
eliminating human errors.
41. Loose-housing Barn Design
Barns housing high yielding cows should provide
optimal environmental conditions in order to
enable full potential milk production levels for
cows.
The loose-housing barn is characterized by a
two-sloped roof with a feeding table in the middle,
serving two sides at a time. On each side there is
a feed alley built of concrete with water troughs
located between the feeding alley and the
bedding area.
42. Cooling systems contribute in enabling the
cow to reach its potential for milk
production.
Forced ventilation is widespread in order to
lower by half the rate of body temperature
increases in the shed.
We have initiated evaporative cooling over
the shaded feed bunks using sprinklers that
give only approximately 150 liter of water/hr
at 2 atmospheres.
43. The sprinklers are spaced about every 2 m
apart and 1.5 m above the cow’s back.
Fans should be spaced every 9 m apart
and operate continuously whenever the
system is operating.
In order to save bedding costs we have
allocated a large resting area of at least 20
square meters per cow-under-roof.
Most farms till the bedded pack once or
twice a day bedding only in "wet' areas.
44.
45. Cooling cows in summer
Heat stress influences production and fertility of high
producing dairy cows.
Due to the harsh summer conditions in Israel, milk
production declines in summer to almost 90% of the
winter level. Conception rate in summer reaches
levels of 20%, compared to more than 40% in winter
months.
The summer decline in production and fertility creates
significant seasonality in milk supply to the market
and an additional cost to the consumers, caused by
the need to dry milk in winter and to use it in summer.
46. The use of cooling methods in dairy farms
has become an important tool for
increasing milk production efficiency.
Cows are intensively cooled during the
summer, using a combination of wetting
and forced ventilation for 5 - 7 cooling
periods of 0.5 min of sprinkling and then
4.5 min of fan ventilation controlled by an
automatic timer over a period of 24 Hours.
47. Cooling is continued for 20 min, which is the
time it takes for cows to reach their normal
body temperature without standing too long in
the holding pen before and between
milkings.
The sprinklers used in the holding pen should
thoroughly soak the cow. It is very important
for the drops to be large enough to penetrate
the cow’s coat. If the drops are mist-like, a
layer of hot, humid air may form. The air flow
of the fans must be approximately 3 m/s.
48. Summer-to-Winter Performance
Ratio
A “summer to winter performance ratio”
index was developed to evaluate the
efficiency in which each farm deals
with summer heat stress by
implementing management tools which
are mainly based on the use of cooling
methods.
49. The “summer to winter performance
ratio” compares average herd summer
results to average herd winter results
regarding milk, Economical Corrected
Milk (ECM), milk fat and protein
percentage, somatic cell count (SCC),
and conception rate.
Calculation of this index is based on
data from the Israeli Dairy Herdbook
Database.
50. A large scale survey was carried out to study
effects of production level and heat stress
relief on the performance of dairy cows in
Israel.
The results of this survey indicate that
intensive cooling almost eliminated the
summer decline in milk production regardless
of the level of production and reduced about
half of the summer decline in conception rate.
Intensive cooling had greater impact on
improving conception rate in low producing
herds, than in high producing herds.
51. The Secrets of Success
Cooperation of all industry sectors
including commercial companies.
High level of professional services.
Shared data base.
Education, Education, Education.
