The development of dairying depends on physical and economic conditions. The areas of moderate coolness with temperature between 16°C and 24°C and rainfall of 63.5 to 101.6 cm per annum favoring the growth of luxuriant green grasses are best suited for dairy farming. Large areas of sandy land with drainage facilities favor the growth of the feedstuff. Dairy farming requires more skilled labour than crop agriculture and has no off-season. Tending, milking and preparation of the products must be done scientifically. A modern dairy farm is highly mechanized. It requires large capital outlay in building cattle sheds, in storing feedstuff in dairy machinery and implements and in acquiring high quality and scientific well-bred cows. High consumption of milk products inside a country facilitates the development of dairying industry. Dairy farming can be carried on a commercial scale profitably when dairy products, viz., milk, dried milk, condensed milk, butter, cheese and cream can be sold in urban markets having a high per capita consumption of dairy products and well-developed transport and refrigeration facilities.
The great dairying regions lie in temperate lands where superior conditions prevail, than in the tropical lands. The regions of commercial dairying in the world are
(i) East Central North America,
(ii) North-west Europe,
(iii) Eastern Australia and
(iv) New Zealand.
Dairying in East Central North America. The dairying districts are located in the east central part of the continent comprising the cool, humid northeastern portions of the U.S.A. and Canada having a large acreage under hay crops. The extension of dairying to the north is restricted to 16°C means summer temperature line and frost season of 110 days. In the south the dairy belt extends up to 20°C summer temperature line and in the west 50.8 cm annual rainfall line restricts dairy farming. In the east the belt extends up to the ocean coasts.
Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay have beef cattle in the rich grasslands from where chilled meat and tinned meat are exported.
The climate is suited to dairying. Rainfall varying from 55.8 cm in the west to 127 cm in the east-favor the growth of rich pastures and forage crops-on a large amount of sandy and well drained lands of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New England.
The dairy belt has more than 40 million people having a high per capita consumption of milk and milk products. This provides a large market for the dairying industry. The dairy farms lying in the highly 7 industrial region of northeast USA have the advantages of quick transport by rail or trucks. The farmers have adequate arrangement of refrigeration, pasteurization and distribution of dairy products.
Dairy farming is stable in this region and most of the farms are operated by owners. The region has more than 50 percent of much cows of USA and 60 percent of Milk cows of Canada.
Fresh milk consumption being low in the western part and Canadian portion of the dairy belt, those areas has specialized in the production of butter or cheese. Creameries in the dairy belt lie on the western margins and Minnesota Wisconsin and Iowa together produce more than 40 percent of United States production of butter. Three-fourths of the cheeses are made in the western dairy states-nearly half in Wisconsin.
In 1987-88 U.S.A. produced 58 million metric tonnes of fresh milk, 36 thousand metric tonnes of dried milk, 915 thousand metric tonnes of condensed milk, 447 thousand tonnes of butter and 2067 thousand metric tonnes of cheese.
Canada produced 7 million metric tonnes of fresh milk 7 thousand metric tonnes of dried milk, 162 thousand metric tonnes of condensed milk and 103 thousand metric tonnes of butter in 1987.
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