This work lays out the tasks and techniques of the herdsman whilst maintaining a central concern with the welfare of the stock throughout the text. Topics covered are general stockmanship, feeding, cow management, milking, housing, health, calf rearing, herd replacements, breeding and bulls, preparing stock for show and sale, maintenance of machinery and equipment, and records and record keeping. In this second edition, particular emphasis has been placed on the optimization of margins per litre, the improved planning of calving dates and the implications for health and other green issues. The book was first published in 1983 under the title "The New Herdsman's Book". The author was, as a schoolboy, unchallenged as the "Youngest UK Farmer", studied the management of large dairy herds as a Churchill Scholar and imported techniques such as grouping cows and shift milking into Britain.