Comparison of the performance of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey×Holstein-Friesian crossbred dairy cows within three contrasting grassland-based systems of milk production

Vance, E.R.; Ferris, C.P.; Elliott, C.T.; Hartley, H.M.; Kilpatrick, D. J.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2012.10.011

Cited by 41 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Generalist breed cows had better milk fat and protein contents and lactation rank, while specialist breed cows had better milk yields and lactation length. Several studies have shown that Holsteins have higher milk yields than less milk-specialised cow breeds (Delaby et al, 2009;Vance et al, 2013). This result partially agrees with our assumptions about specialist v. generalist breeds: the performance profile of the former favours milk yield at the expense of milk fat and protein contents and fitness traits, while the opposite occurs for the latter.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Initial insights on the performances and management of dairy cattle herds combining two breeds with contrasting features

Magne¹,

Thénard²,

Mihout³

2016

Animal

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Finding ways of increasing animal production with low external inputs and without compromising reproductive performances is a key issue of livestock systems sustainability. One way is to take advantage of the diversity and interactions among components within livestock systems. Among studies that investigate the influence of differences in animals' individual abilities in a herd, few focus on combinations of cow breeds with contrasting features in dairy cattle herds. This study aimed to analyse the performances and management of such multi-breed dairy cattle herds. These herds were composed of two types of dairy breeds: 'specialist' (Holstein) and 'generalist' (e.g. Montbeliarde, Simmental, etc.). Based on recorded milk data in southern French region, we performed ANOVA: (i) to compare the performances of dairy herds according to breed-type composition: multi-breed, single specialist breed or single generalist breed and (ii) to test the difference of milk performances of specialist and generalist breed cows (n = 10 682) per multi-breed dairy herd within a sample of 22 farms. The sampled farmers were also interviewed to characterise herd management through multivariate analysis. Multi-breed dairy herds had a better trade-off among milk yield, milk fat and protein contents, herd reproduction and concentrate-conversion efficiency than single-breed herds. Conversely, they did not offer advantages in terms of milk prices and udder health. Compared to specialist dairy herds, they produce less milk with the same concentrate-conversion efficiency but have better reproductive performances. Compared to generalist dairy herds, they produce more milk with better concentrate-conversion efficiency but have worse reproductive performances. Within herds, specialist and generalist breed cows significantly differed in milk performances, showing their complementarity. The former produced more milk for a longer lactation length while the latter produced milk with higher protein and fat contents and had a slightly longer lactation rank. Our results also focus on the farmers' management of multi-breed dairy herds underlying herd performances. Three strategies of management were identified and structured along two main axes. The first differentiates farmers according to their animal-selection practices in relation with their objectives of production: adapting animal to produce milk with low-feeding inputs v. focussing on milk yield trait to intensify milk production. The second refers to the purpose farmers give to multi-breed dairy herds: milk v. milk/meat production. These initial insights on the performances and management of multi-breed dairy herds contribute to better understanding the functioning of ruminant livestock systems based on individual variability.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Initial insights on the performances and management of dairy cattle herds combining two breeds with contrasting features

Magne¹,

Thénard²,

Mihout³

2016

Animal

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“…Benefits of breeding such cows should be investigated further. Feeding system had no effect on recalving rate, which is consistent with other studies (Kennedy et al, 2003;Horan et al, 2004;Vance et al, 2013). This suggests that the adaptive strategy of the animals in case of nutrient restriction (support milk yield vs. preserve body condition) affects more dairy cows' ability to be pregnant than the nutritive uptake.…”

Section: Normande Ability To Be Pregnant Is Preserved By Adaptive Ressupporting

confidence: 87%

Ability of dairy cows to ensure pregnancy according to breed and genetic merit for production traits under contrasted pasture-based systems

Bédère

Disenhaus

Ducrocq

et al. 2017

Journal of Dairy Science

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The present study aimed to assess and measure the effects of breed, genetic merit for production traits, and feeding systems (FS) on the ability of dairy cows to ensure pregnancy through its components (fertilization, embryonic losses, recalving). An experiment was conducted over 9 yr on Normande and Holstein cows assigned to contrasted FS. Diets were based on maize silage in winter and grazing plus concentrate in spring in the high FS group, and on grass silage in winter and grazing with no concentrate during spring in the low FS group. Within breeds, cows were classified into 2 groups with similar estimated breeding values (EBV) for milk solids: cows with high EBV for milk yield were included in a milk group and those with high EBV for fat and protein contents were included in a content group. Holstein cows produced more milk throughout lactation than Normande cows (the differential was greater in the high FS group, +2,294 kg, compared with +1,280 kg in the low FS group) and lost more body condition to nadir (the differential was greater in the high FS group, −1.00 point, compared with −0.80 point in the low FS group). Within breeds, milk solids production was similar between genetic groups. Cows in the high FS group produced more milk (+2,495 kg for Holstein and +1,481 kg for Normande cows) and had a higher body condition score at nadir (+0.40 point for Holstein and +0.60 point for Normande) than cows in the low FS group. Holstein cows had a lower recalving rate than Normande cows (−19 percentage units). We found no effect of genetic group and FS on fertility of Normande cows. However, according to FS, Holstein cows in the content group exhibited different fertility failure patterns. In the low FS group, Holstein cows in the content group had more nonfertilizations or early embryo mortality (+26 percentage units at first and second services) than Holstein cows in the milk group.In the high FS group, Holstein cows in the content group had a higher proportion of late embryo mortality than in the milk group (+10 percentage units at first and second services). We observed no effect of FS on recalving rate; however, indicators of energy balance (protein content or body condition score) were positively associated with successful conception and pregnancy. This suggested a link between genetic merit for fat and protein content and lower ability of dairy cows to ensure pregnancy because of more nonfertilizations and early or late embryo mortality. Key words: dairy cow, genetic merit, fertilization, pregnancy loss INTRODUCTIONIn the past decades, reproductive performance of dairy cows has been declining and the strong genetic selection that was applied on production traits is considered to be responsible for this. Each step of the reproductive step has been affected: abnormal ovarian activity is more common in the current population (Gautam et al., 2010), the duration and intensity of estrus has markedly decreased (Kerbrat and Disenhaus, 2004), and the occurrence of pregnancy losses has increased (Grimard et al...

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“…On the contrary, differences in the fat content were lower, with the only exception of Holstein × Brown Swiss cows in farm#2 that produced milk with a high fat content compared to pure Holstein-Friesian. It is well assumed that in conventional systems HolsteinFriesian cows produce higher milk volumes but with a lower fat and protein content compared to other breeds such as Brown Swiss, Jersey or Swedish Blond (Oldenbroek, 1988;Heins et al, 2006a;Vance et al, 2009;Prendiville et al, 2011). Crossbred cows may be beneficial under a milk payment scheme that rewards higher components in contrast to systems where the payment is based on milk volume; in those systems care would have to be taken to select breeds, and bulls within breeds that could maintain milk volume (Bluhm, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holstein-Friesian milk performance in organic farming in North Spain: Comparison with other systems and breeds

Rodríguez‐Bermúdez

Miranda

Galdo

et al. 2017

Span. j. agric. res.

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Organic systems are highly dependent on the environment and require animals well adapted to local conditions. In Spain, organic dairy farmers are not satisfied with the productive performance of their herds and ask for technical advice to obtain suitable animals for organic systems. The milk productive performance (milk yield, nutritional composition, and somatic cell count) of Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming in North Spain compared with conventional farms has been analysed. When breed diversity was present in the same organic farm, Holstein-Friesian milk performance was compared with other breeds and/or crosses. Holstein-Friesian cows in organic farming produce slightly less milk than grazing conventional cows, but milk was similar in composition and somatic cell count across systems. The limited data from organic farms where breed diversity exists indicate that Holstein-Friesian cows produce numerically more milk than other breeds and crosses but with statistically lower protein content. Considering that in Spain organic milk production is mostly used for liquid milk consumption and that the payment system is based only on milk volume, Holstein-Friesian cows would better fit the farmer interests than other breeds or crosses. However, in addition to productive performance, reproductive efficiency, animal health and consumer's preferences should be fully considered when selecting a breed for organic production. If Holstein-Friesian was the selected breed, efforts should be made to identify cows within the breed that are best adapted to organic conditions. New productive, reproductive, nutritional and economic studies would be needed to develop a genetic merit index for organic systems.Additional key words: dairy cattle; milk composition; crosses; suitability; production systems.Correspondence should be addressed to Marta López Alonso: marta.lopez.alonso@usc.esAbbreviations used: DCR (dairy control record); FS (farm system); LG (lactation group); SCC (somatic cell count).

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Comparison of the performance of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey×Holstein-Friesian crossbred dairy cows within three contrasting grassland-based systems of milk production

Cited by 41 publications

References 44 publications

Initial insights on the performances and management of dairy cattle herds combining two breeds with contrasting features

Initial insights on the performances and management of dairy cattle herds combining two breeds with contrasting features

Ability of dairy cows to ensure pregnancy according to breed and genetic merit for production traits under contrasted pasture-based systems

Holstein-Friesian milk performance in organic farming in North Spain: Comparison with other systems and breeds

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