FACTORS AFFECTING MILK YIELD, MILK FAT, MILK QUALITY, AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF DAIRY FARMS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND By JEFFREY ANDREW RHONE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Jeffrey Andrew Rhone 2 To my love and wife, Kirathirat. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to first thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for the ability to perform and finish this work and all the accomplishments that I have made throughout my life and over the past 3 years. To Jesus Christ I give all the glory and praise. Secondly I would like to thank my major advisor, Dr. Mauricio Elzo whom has given me advice encouragement and has been a great mentor for me over the past 3 years. Dr. Elzo always had an open door policy and gave his time, knowledge and experience in a very sacrificial way. Over the past 3 years my relationship with Dr. Elzo has moved from that of student and advisor to that of a true friend. I appreciate all the help, understanding and advice Dr. Elzo has given me over the past 3 years. I would also like to thank Dr. Skorn, my committee member in Thailand. Dr. Skorn has helped me in so many ways, including all the work of getting me to Thailand, helping me establish relationships with farmers, government officials, and the Muaklek dairy cooperative, and gain a better understanding and respect of the Thailand and the Thai culture. I truly owe a great deal of thanks to all of the help and support Dr. Skorn has generously given over the past few years. All of my fellow Thai graduate students and friend’s, I also owe a great deal of gratitude. To Sombat, Tanaithip, Pi Wut, Miss China, and all the others that helped me with my project, I am very thankful for you help and friendship. Other professors on my committee, Dr. De Vries, Dr. Place, and Dr. Ward, thank you for all your help in advice with my research. I would also like to thank the Muaklek dairy cooperative for providing the data for this study and funding from the Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute 356 (KURDI) under project code number K-S (D) 9.50 that made this research possible. To The Muaklek cooperative, I hope the results of this study prove useful and valuable for your and the 4 farmers of your cooperatives future business. Thank you for allowing me to work with you and use your data. I also want to thank my family, my wife, church, Sunday school class, and men’s bible study group for all of your support, encouragement, and most of all, for your prayers. I wouldn’t have made it through this program without them. My family and friends have always been there for me and I am very grateful to have them in my life. Lastly, I would like to thank Dr. Joel Brendemuhl, Dr. Kirby Barrick, and the department of Animal Sciences and the University of Florida for allowing me to study here, and for giving me a graduate assistantship. Thank you for the opportunity and for your gratitude. Because of your faith in me, I will always be an advocate and supporter of the University of Florida and the Animal Sciences department. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................6 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................9 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................................13 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................14 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................16 2 LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................................19 Thailand ..................................................................................................................................19 Location and Background................................................................................................19 Climate ............................................................................................................................20 Agriculture.......................................................................................................................20 Dairy Industry..................................................................................................................21 Government Policies .......................................................................................................22 Dairy Cooperatives..........................................................................................................23 Current Statistics .............................................................................................................23 Dairy Production.....................................................................................................................24 Farm Size.........................................................................................................................24 Record Keeping...............................................................................................................25 Factors Affecting Milk Yield..................................................................................................26 Breed................................................................................................................................26 Climate ............................................................................................................................27 Nutrition ..........................................................................................................................29 Factors Affecting Milk Fat .....................................................................................................31 Breed................................................................................................................................31 Nutrition ..........................................................................................................................31 Factors Affecting Somatic Cell and Bacterial Counts............................................................33 Management Practices.....................................................................................................33 Climate and Season .........................................................................................................34 Educational Experiences of Farmers ......................................................................................35 Formal and Non-Formal Education.................................................................................35 Adoption of Programs and Participatory Learning .........................................................37 Economics of Dairy Farms .....................................................................................................38 Pricing System.................................................................................................................38 Expenses..........................................................................................................................39 Revenue and Profit ..........................................................................................................40 6 3 FACTORS AFFECTING MILK YIELD, MILK FAT, BACTERIAL SCORE, AND BULK TANK SOMATIC CELL COUNT OF DAIRY FARMS LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND..................................................................................43 Introduction.............................................................................................................................43 Material and Methods.............................................................................................................44 Location...........................................................................................................................44 Climate ............................................................................................................................45 Description of Farms .......................................................................................................45 Nutrition ...................................................................................................................45 Breed of cattle, breeding, and healthcare. ................................................................46 Milking management................................................................................................47 Data Collection and Records...........................................................................................47 Descriptive Analysis........................................................................................................49 Statistical Analysis ..........................................................................................................49 Results.....................................................................................................................................51