"Business Management for Tropical Dairy Farmers" gives smallholder dairy farmers the business management skills they need to remain sustainable. It shows how to budget cash inputs to match cash outflows during different seasons of the year, and how to invest wisely in improving cattle housing and feeding systems.

Make your farm better, smarter, and more productive The Lean method is revolutionising farming globally with its proven approach for reducing waste, improving productivity and sustaining profits.In The Lean Dairy Farm, dairy farmer and Lean consultant Jana Hocken explains why this approach is essential to every dairy farm and how to apply these tools, practices and principles to your dairy operation. The Lean Dairy Farm helps reduce the common problems and stressors faced by farmers every day: long work hours, high staff turnovers, repeat problems, breakdowns, wastage, safety and high costs. Using her own family’s dairy farm as a case study, Jana provides insight into how the Lean approach applies to farming, introduces practical tools to help you improve efficiency and reduce waste, and shows you how to create a farm culture that supports Lean thinking. Even if Lean is entirely new to you, this book offers a simple blueprint for applying its principles and practices to improve your farm. Quickly make use of basic Lean concepts on your farm Identify and eliminate waste in farm processes Organise your farm effectively to improve productivity Standardise your processes to do everything right the first time Develop an engaged, high performing team If you want a more efficient, profitable and robust dairy farm, The Lean Dairy Farm is for you.

"Cows send out signals continuously about their health, well-being, nutrition, and production. The challenge for the dairy farmer is how to interpret these signals and use them. Dutch vet and cow enthusiast Jan Hulsen has drawn on his expertise and wide experience of cows and dairy farmers to write Cow Signals: a richly illustrated farmer's guide on how to interpret the behaviour, posture and physical characteristics of groups of cows and individual animals. When observing cows it is important not to jump to conclusions immediately, but instead always to ask yourself three questions: What do I see? Why has this happened? What does this mean? If you know what to look for, you can pick up the signals everywhere and any time. Cow Signals will show you how"--Back cover note.

Tropical Dairy Farming is a manual designed for use by dairy production advisors working in tropical areas, especially in South-East Asia. It aims to increase the productivity of small holder dairy farmers in the humid tropics by improving the feeding management of their livestock. It shows how to provide dairy cows with cost-effective feeds that match small holder farming systems and discusses the major obstacles to improving feeding management in the humid tropics. The author shows the benefits and drawbacks of various feed components and the calculation of balanced diets based mainly on forages combined with some supplementary feeding. Diseases and problems associated with unbalanced diets are also covered, as well as important information on growing and conserving quality forages as silage. The book draws on examples from a variety of countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, East Timor and the Philippines.