In 1994, Florida had 177,000 cows on 312 dairies, or an average of 567 cows per dairy. Florida dairies use a number of by-product feedstuffs. Among these are soybean hulls, hominy feed, wheat middlings, citrus pulp and cane molasses. Medium protein feedstuffs include distillers grain, whole cottonseed, and wet brewers grains. The major protein sources used are soybean meal, peanut meal and cottonseed meal.
Some dairymen use cottonseed hulls as the major fiber source in the ration.
Corn silage and alfalfa hay continue to grow as a major forage feedstuff in dairy cattle rations. Feeding and management systems used in Florida frequently differ from those observed in other areas of the country due to herd size, available feedstuffs and environmental conditions. With the concentration of more cattle on fewer farms, dairymen are encouraged to group or phase feed their cows according to production or stage of lactation. The mixer wagon is used in many Florida herds to mix and distribute feed to groups of cows. Most dairymen feed little to no feed in the parlor.