Risk factors associated with on-farm mortality in Swedish dairy cows

Dairy cow mortality (unassisted death and euthanasia) has increased, worldwide and in Sweden. On-farm mortality indicates suboptimal herd health or welfare and causes financial loss for the dairy producer. The objective of this study was to identify cow-level risk factors associated with on-farm cow mortality. Cows with at least one calving between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2009 from herds enrolled in the Swedish official milk recording scheme with >40 cow-years were included. Each cow was followed from the day of calving until she calved again or left the herd (died, slaughtered or sold). The effects of potential risk factors on on-farm cow mortality were analysed using a Weibull proportional hazard model with a gamma distributed frailty effect common to cows within herd. The event of interest (failure) was euthanasia or unassisted death. An observation was right censored if the cow was slaughtered, sold, calved again or had an on-going lactation at 500 days after calving. The lactations were split into seasons (January to April, May to August and September to December) and at 30 and 100 days in milk in order to evaluate seasonal effects and the effect of disease in different lactation stages. Primiparous and multiparous cows were analysed separately. The highest hazards for both primiparous and multiparous cows were found for traumatic events and diseases, both in the lactation stage in which the cow died and in the preceding stage. The hazard was higher in early lactation and lower in 2nd parity compared to higher parities. Increased age at first calving (for primiparous cows), calving between January and April, dystocia and stillbirth also increased the mortality hazard. Differences were also found between breeds, between milk production parameters at first test milking and between management types. The results from this study show the importance of good management and preventive health actions, especially around calving, to avoid mortality in dairy cows.     

Age and weight at first calving and subsequent performance in Dutch dairy cattle from rearing farms

Summary

Calf‐cow records from 1081 replacement heifers raised on 42 specialised rearing farms in the province of Noord‐Brabant have been analysed. The predominant breed was Meuse‐Rhine‐Yssel (MRY). The objective was to study the relationship between weight and age at first calving and milk production in subsequent lactations, herd life span, dystocia and first calving interval.

Weight appeared to be a better predictor for first lactation Fat and Protein Corrected Milk production (FPCM‐1) than age. First lactation FPCM had a significant and positive effect on herd life FPCM. First lactation FPCM was significantly associated with first calving interval.     

An epidemiological study of hyperketonaemia in Swedish dairy cows; Determinants and the relation to fertility

In a study based on 3078 Swedish dairy cows from 126 herds, milk acetone was measured at the first 3 monthly production tests after calving. The values were assessed together with data from the official milk recording system, artificial insemination records and the computerised recording system for veterinary treatments. Milk acetone concentrations above 0.40 mmol 1^?1 were considered to indicate hyperketonaemia. The prevalence of hyperketonaemia was 8.9, 4.7 and 1.1%, respectively, at the first 3 monthly production tests. A significant influence on milk acetone was found for herd mean production, breed, herd, lactation number, cow, week of lactation, season and the interaction between lactation number and week of lactation. The highest individual milk yield and highest individual acetone value were significantly positively correlated. Test-day milk yield and milk acetone on the same day were significantly negatively correlated. The recorded incidence of clinical ketosis and ovarian cysts increased with increasing highest milk acetone concentration. Significant correlations were found between the prevalence of hyperketonaemia and herd means of the intervals from calving to first and last service. No significant correlations were found between milk acetone and fertility traits when calculated on an individual cow basis.     

Economic aspects of reproductive failure in dairy cattle. II. The decision to replace animals

Until now, economic research to support the dairy farmer's policy with respect to the replacement decision has mainly been concerned with culling for production. However, in most cases the replacement decision for cows suffering from ill health or the after-effects thereof is also an economic one. In this paper the question approached is: how long is it profitable to continue inseminating dairy cows with poor fertility, and differing in age and productive capacity, before the decision to cull them must be made? At each heat, the criterion for the decision is that a cow should be inseminated with the aim of retention if the sum of expected differences in profits during her remaining expected life in the case of pregnancy, compared with replacement at the optimal stage of the current lactation, still exceeds zero.This criterion has been expressed in an economic replacement model for dairy cows. The essence of the model is a comparison of expected incomes of a cow present in the herd with an average herd life of 4 lactations, an average calving interval of 365 days, age and stage of lactation) below which it is not profitable to inseminate empty cows has been calculated. This was done at 10 stages in each lactation, from 65 to 245 days after calving at 20-day intervals. In the first instance, these calculations were made within a herd with an average herd life of 4 lactations, an average claving interval of 365 days, an average milk production of slightly more than 5300 kg per cow per year and a genetic increase in milk production of 1% per year. Moreover, a time preference was assumed for present over future income (discounting).In this basic situation, it appeared to be profitable to continue inseminating cows with poor fertility for a long time: even up to 8–9 months after calving in young cows with an average production level or higher. It was concluded from a sensitivity analysis that the calculated critical production levels were practically independent of several factors, especially those (e.g., milk price) that affect the expected income of both the cow present in the herd and the replacement cow. Factors which did have a considerable influence were persistence of milk production during lactation, and repeatability of a longer calving interval of the cow concerned.Finally, the possible use of the present model for the replacement decision with respect to other diseases is discussed.     

Estimation of genetic parameters for functional longevity in the South African Holstein cattle using a piecewise Weibull proportional hazards model

Non‐genetic factors influencing functional longevity and the heritability of the trait were estimated in South African Holsteins using a piecewise Weibull proportional hazards model. Data consisted of records of 161,222 of daughters of 2,051 sires calving between 1995 and 2013. The reference model included fixed time‐independent age at first calving and time‐dependent interactions involving lactation number, region, season and age of calving, within‐herd class of milk production, fat and protein content, class of annual variation in herd size and the random herd–year effect. Random sire and maternal grandsire effects were added to the model to estimate genetic parameters. The within‐lactation Weibull baseline hazards were assumed to change at 0, 270, 380 days and at drying date. Within‐herd milk production class had the largest contribution to the relative risk of culling. Relative culling risk increased with lower protein and fat per cent production classes and late age at first calving. Cows in large shrinking herds also had high relative risk of culling. The estimate of the sire genetic variance was 0.0472 ± 0.0017 giving a theoretical heritability estimate of 0.11 in the complete absence of censoring. Genetic trends indicated an overall decrease in functional longevity of 0.014 standard deviation from 1995 to 2007. There are opportunities for including the trait in the breeding objective for South African Holstein cattle.     

Production and related variables in bovine leukaemia virus-infected cows

A newly developed milk dot blot test was used to detect anti-bovine leukaemia virus (BLV) antibody in milk samples from 2079 lactating adult cows from among 61 herds. The milk dot blot test was highly repeatable; the concordance rate, compared with the agar gel immunodiffusion test performed on serum, was 83.5%. All herds contained BLV-positive cows; the prevalence rate was 36%. BLV-positive cows tended to come from larger herds and were older and more often later in lactation. Fourteen production and related variables (herd size, age, days open, days in milk, milk somatic cell count, milk, fat, and protein produced in the current lactation, projected production of milk, fat, and protein, and breed class average deviations for milk, fat, and protein) were compared between BLV-positive and BLV-negative cows. Although somatic cell count, milk produced, and projected production of milk and protein were related significantly to BLV status using simple tests of association, once the variables herd size, age and days in milk were controlled, these differences were removed. Further analyses using logistic (outcome: individual cow BLV status) and least-squares regression (outcome:herd proportion of BLV-positive cows) failed to show an association between any of the measured production or related variables and BLV-positivity. We concluded that the effect of BLV on production and related variables in dairy cows was below the sensitivity of our analytical techniques or was non-existent.Abbreviations ABCA herd average breed class average for milk, fat, and protein production - AVGAGE average age of the herd - ADIM herd average for days in milk - AGID agar gel immunodiffusion - AVGSCC herd average milk somatic cell count - BCA breed class average, a milk, fat and protein production index calculated by comparing a cow's actual 305-day lactation production to the corresponding BCA standard for the same breed, age, and month of calving - BLV bovine leukaemia virus - CALVINT calving interval - COWAGE cow age - DBCA breed class average deviation for milk, fat, and protein production, the difference between an individual cow's BCA and the herd average - DIM days in milk - HS herd size corresponding to the number of lactating cows in a herd - LACT actual amount of milk, fat, and protein produced in a cow's lactation - ODHIC Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation - PCTPOS percentage of herd that is BLV-positive - PROJ projected 305-day production for milk, fat, and protein by fitting to a standard lactation curve adjusted for days in milk and age at calving - RHBCA rolling herd average for breed class average for milk, fat, and protein production, the average for all cows that completed a lactation (cows must have completed a 305-day lactation) during the previous 12 months - SCC milk somatic cell count     

产犊季节对北京地区荷斯坦奶牛Wood泌乳曲线参数的影响探究

本研究通过对北京地区1998-2016年28个场区的奶牛生产性能测定（DHI）数据进行分析,旨在比较不同产犊季节对1~3胎奶牛泌乳曲线相关参数的影响。使用Wood模型对1~3胎不同产犊季节群体和个体泌乳曲线进行拟合,并获得相应胎次下不同产犊季节奶牛泌乳曲线参数a、b、c （分别代表泌乳潜力、产奶量上升至顶峰速率、产奶量达到顶峰后下降速率）、泌乳曲线二级参数Per、PY （分别代表泌乳持续力、泌乳峰值）及305 d产奶量（305MY）。群体和个体水平的曲线拟合采用SAS 9.2中NLIN模块进行,采用混合线性模型分析不同产犊季节对各胎次奶牛泌乳曲线参数的影响。结果显示：产犊季节对Wood泌乳曲线的泌乳潜力、达到峰值的上升速率、达到峰值后的下降速率、泌乳峰值及305MY均有显著影响（P<0.05）,对于泌乳持续力没有显著影响（P>0.05）。夏季产犊牛泌乳曲线整体低于其他产犊季节,且胎次越高趋势越明显,1胎牛受到的影响较小;从胎次上分析,头胎牛泌乳持续力极显著高于经产牛（P<0.01）;头胎牛夏季产犊305MY比其他产犊季节的低274.33~490.17 kg,经产牛夏季产犊305MY比其他产犊季节的低440.76~930.68 kg。以上结果提示,北京地区牛场应注重做好经产牛和头胎牛的防暑降温工作,注意调整配种时间,避免夏季产犊牛过多,造成损失。     

Longevity of Swiss Brown cattle in different housing systems in Switzerland

A Weibull mixed survival model was used to study the effect of a change in the housing system on length of productive life (LPL) in dairy cows. The data set included records on 71,469 Swiss Brown cows in 1674 farms in eastern and central Switzerland. About 36% of the records were right-censored. The observation period lasted from January 1, 1988 to May 1, 2001. During this period, 517 farms changed their housing conditions from a tie-stall barn to a loose housing system. Besides a random time-dependent effect of herd–year–season, the model included fixed effects of housing system, lactation number and stage of lactation, within herd and parity production level (all time-dependent), and age at first calving (time-independent). All effects had a significant effect on LPL at a level of p < 0.001. Cows in loose housing systems showed the lowest risk ratios of being culled (0.93) compared to the reference system tie-stall barn (1.00). The highest relative culling rate (1.09) was observed within the changing period from tie-stall barn to loose housing system. Within the first three lactations, the relative culling risk increased stepwise with lactation stage. The hazard slightly increased from first until lactation number 8 and higher. The relative culling rates were highest (2.22) for cows yielding less than 90% compared to herd-mates of the same lactation number, whereas the lowest risk ratios were estimated for animals yielding more than 110% compared to their reference group (0.64). When heifers were older than 3 years at first calving, there was a tendency towards a higher relative culling risk (1.06).     

Age and weight at first calving and subsequent performance in Dutch dairy cattle from rearing farms

Calf-cow records from 1081 replacement heifers raised on 42 specialised rearing farms in the province of Noord-Brabant have been analysed. The predominant breed was Meuse-Rhine-Yssel (MRY). The objective was to study the relationship between weight and age at first calving and milk production in subsequent lactations, herd life span, dystocia and first calving interval. Weight appeared to be a better predictor for first lactation Fat and Protein Corrected Milk production (FPCM-1) than age. First lactation FPCM had a significant and positive effect on herd life FPCM. First lactation FPCM was significantly associated with first calving interval.     

Heifer rearing conditions affect length of productive life in Swedish dairy cows

Associations between rearing conditions and the risk of culling in dairy cows were studied by survival analysis. Data were collected from 1039 Swedish Red cows, 1029 Swedish Holsteins, and 56 cows of other milk or cross-breeds, representing all female animals born in 109 Swedish herds during 1998. Length of productive life was defined as the number of days from 1st calving to culling. The applied Weibull proportional hazards model included time-independent effects of breed, housing from 3 to 7 months of age, number of housing changes before calving, grazing before 1st calving, herd median age at 1st calving, age at 1st calving, cow housing, herd lactational incidence risk of veterinary-reported clinical mastitis, and the random effect of herd. Time-dependent effects were year, month, the interaction year by month, parity, number of breedings, pregnancy status, the interaction parity by pregnancy status, herd mean milk-production level, relative milk yield within breed-parity, and veterinary-reported clinical mastitis. The lactation was divided into six stages in which pregnancy status was assumed to be known by the farmer and culling could occur. Median productive life time in culled cows was 780 d and 14% of the records were censored due to terminated data collection. An individual calving age of 28.2–30.9 months was associated with the highest culling risk, 1.2-fold higher than calving at ≤25.3 months, whereas the risk decreased almost linearly with a higher herd median age at 1st calving. Housing in slatted pens with >7 calves from 3 to 7 months was associated with a 1.7-fold increase in risk, relative to litter pens. If a cow had changed housing system 4 times before 1st calving it increased the risk of culling 1.4 times, relative to two housing changes. These results show that rearing factors affect the productive life time of dairy cows in Swedish family operations.     

中国荷斯坦牛青年初产年龄和成年母牛产犊间隔遗传参数估计

本研究旨在估计河南省青年牛初次产犊年龄与成年母牛产犊间隔遗传参数。收集河南省17个牧场2008—2017年14406头青年牛的初次产犊年龄记录与8912头成年母牛的产犊间隔记录,使用DMU软件DMU_AI模块采用AI-REML结合EM算法的动物模型估计性状遗传参数。动物模型中的固定效应包括出生年季、产犊年季和牧场效应,产犊间隔性状动物模型还包括胎次效应;随机效应包括加性效应和残差效应。结果表明:青年牛初次产犊年龄的遗传力为0.21、成年母牛产犊间隔性状遗传力为0.05,与相似研究结果相近,为制定区域性、精细化的育种目标提供理论参考。     

The effect of repeated, four-weekly eprinomectin treatment on milk production in pasture-based, seasonally-calving dairy cattle

A randomised clinical trial from the North Island of New Zealand was conducted to assess the effect of repeated anthelmintic treatment on milk production, and to assess factors that affect treatment response. Nine hundred and twenty three multiparous, lactating dairy cattle from three pasture-based, spring-calving dairy herds were enrolled in this trial. Within each herd, cattle were stratified on age and calving date, and were randomly allocated to treatment (n=319) or control (n=604) groups. The treatment group received ≥0.05mg/kg of topical eprinomectin every 28 days for eight treatments during lactation. Pooled-milk from treated cows and bulk-milk samples were obtained at each treatment and analysed with an Ostertagia antibody ELISA, expressed as optical density ratios (ODR). Bi-monthly milk data were collected and expressed as energy-corrected milk (kg/day; ECM). A linear mixed model was used to analyse ECM, with cow as the random effect. The effect of anthelmintic treatment on days from calving, and start-of-mating, to conception were analysed with Cox-proportional hazard models. ODR values ranged from 0.6 to 1.3; there were no differences in ODR between herds (p=0.12), or between pooled-milk from treated cows and bulk-milk (p=0.26). Repeated treatments had no effect on daily ECM yields (p=0.74). However, there was a significant treatment×herd interaction (p=0.03); treatment increased ECM in one herd by 0.781kg/cow/day (p=0.015), but resulted in a non-significant decrease in the other two herds. A curvilinear interaction existed between days-in-milk and treatment response (p=0.039); the greatest treatment effect occurred during mid-lactation. Previous year milk production (p=0.46) and age (p=0.11) did not influence the effect of treatment on ECM. Treatment had no effect on any reproductive parameter. In conclusion, under New Zealand pastoral conditions, anthelmintic treatment increased milk production in one herd, but had no effect in two other herds. Further work is needed to identify why this variation in gastro-intestinal parasitism occurs.     

Random regression models to estimate genetic parameters for test‐day milk yield in Brazilian Murrah buffaloes

The objective of this work was to estimate covariance functions for additive genetic and permanent environmental effects and, subsequently, to obtain genetic parameters for buffalo’s test‐day milk production using random regression models on Legendre polynomials (LPs). A total of 17 935 test‐day milk yield (TDMY) from 1433 first lactations of Murrah buffaloes, calving from 1985 to 2005 and belonging to 12 herds located in São Paulo state, Brazil, were analysed. Contemporary groups (CGs) were defined by herd, year and month of milk test. Residual variances were modelled through variance functions, from second to fourth order and also by a step function with 1, 4, 6, 22 and 42 classes. The model of analyses included the fixed effect of CGs, number of milking, age of cow at calving as a covariable (linear and quadratic) and the mean trend of the population. As random effects were included the additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. The additive genetic and permanent environmental random effects were modelled by LP of days in milk from quadratic to seventh degree polynomial functions. The model with additive genetic and animal permanent environmental effects adjusted by quintic and sixth order LP, respectively, and residual variance modelled through a step function with six classes was the most adequate model to describe the covariance structure of the data. Heritability estimates decreased from 0.44 (first week) to 0.18 (fourth week). Unexpected negative genetic correlation estimates were obtained between TDMY records at first weeks with records from middle to the end of lactation, being the values varied from ?0.07 (second with eighth week) to ?0.34 (1st with 42nd week). TDMY heritability estimates were moderate in the course of the lactation, suggesting that this trait could be applied as selection criteria in milking buffaloes.     

Association between exposure to Neospora caninum and milk production in dairy cows

OBJECTIVE: To determine association between exposure to Neospora caninum and milk production in dairy cows. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. Animals: 565 Holstein cows. PROCEDURE: Cows were classified as seropositive or seronegative to N. caninum within 7 days after calving by use of a kinetic ELISA. Milk production was compared between seropositive and seronegative cows. RESULTS: On the basis of 305-day mature equivalent milk production data, seropositive cows produced less milk (2.8 lb/cow per day) than did seronegative cows. In addition, analysis of results throughout the first 300 days of lactation revealed that after adjusting for effects of lactation number, calving season, clinical mastitis, and lameness, milk weight of seropositive cows was 2.5 lb/cow per day less than that of seronegative cows. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Exposure to N. caninum was associated with a 3 to 4% decrease in milk production. A decrease in milk production of 800 lb/cow for a typical 305-day lactation represents a loss of $128/cow.     

荷斯坦牛泌乳前期体况评分及其对泌乳性能和离群寿命的影响

为了探究荷斯坦牛泌乳前期体况评分（body condition score,BCS）的影响因素及BCS对生产性能和离群寿命的影响,本研究收集江苏省某大型牛场2018年1月至2020年12月共7 811头荷斯坦牛泌乳前期BCS、生产性能测定（dairy herd improvement,DHI）结果及淘汰记录,利用多因素方差分析法在分析奶牛泌乳前期BCS变化及影响因素基础上,重点分析泌乳前期BCS及其变化对泌乳性能和离群寿命的影响,利用Cox回归对泌乳前期不同BCS的荷斯坦牛生存曲线进行绘制,并对不同BCS荷斯坦牛的淘汰原因进行卡方检验。结果表明,全群泌乳前期BCS均值为（2.95 ±0.32）。胎次、产犊季节和泌乳天数对泌乳前期BCS有极显著影响（P<0.01）,1胎牛和夏季产犊的母牛泌乳前期BCS均最高;5~30、31~60、61~100 d BCS呈显著下降。泌乳前期BCS对产奶量、乳脂率、乳蛋白率、体细胞评分等均有极显著影响（P<0.01）。产奶量和高峰奶量随BCS的增加呈极显著下降（P<0.01）。泌乳前期BCS与产奶量、高峰奶量呈极显著负相关（P<0.01）,与乳蛋白率呈极显著正相关（P<0.01）。泌乳前期BCS的变化对SCS和高峰奶量均有显著影响（P<0.05）。泌乳前期BCS对离群胎次和淘汰月龄有极显著影响（P<0.01）。生存分析表明,BCS为2.75的牛只生存概率最大。2胎和4胎母牛、冬季产犊的母牛不同BCS淘汰比例均呈极显著差异（P<0.01）;低产淘汰的牛只泌乳前期BCS淘汰分布具有极显著差异（P<0.01）。在本研究牛群中,当泌乳前期BCS为2.75时,牛只生产性能较佳且淘汰风险最低,本研究为规模化牛场荷斯坦牛泌乳前期的饲养管理提供了参考。     

Management of dairy heifers and its relationships with the incidence of clinical mastitis

AIM: To describe aspects of management of dairy heifers before calving and determine risk factors for clinical mastitis postpartum in heifers, at the herd level, under pasture-based management systems in the Waikato and Taranaki regions of New Zealand. METHODS: Dairy herdowners (n=578) provided information via a prospective survey about their practices for rearing heifers and management of mastitis. A proportion of herdowners (n=250) subsequently provided data on the cases of clinical mastitis in their herds, including the date, cow identification, age and quarter affected from cases occurring in the 4 months after the planned start of calving (PSC) in the subsequent lactation. The relationship between management factors and the proportion of heifers diagnosed with clinical mastitis within a herd was examined using bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The herd average percentage of heifers with clinical mastitis was 13.6 (95% confidence interval (CI)=12.3-14.9)%, and multiparous cows with clinical mastitis was 9.0 (95% CI=8.2-9.8)% in the first 4 months of lactation. There were positive relationships between the proportion of heifers with clinical mastitis and average milk production per cow (kg milksolids/ lactation; p<0.001), number of cows milked per labour unit (p=0.003), stocking rate (<> 3.30 cows/ha; p=0.002), and incidence of clinical mastitis in multiparous cows (%/120 days; p<0.04), in the final multivariate model. The proportion of heifers with clinical mastitis per herd was lower in herds that milked their lactating cows in multiple groups (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of clinical mastitis in heifers was significantly associated with management practices. It may be possible to reduce the incidence of clinical mastitis in heifers by modification of management practices at the herd level, and further studies are required to investigate this.     

Heterosis effects in a black and white dairy cattle population under different production environments

The effect of the environmental level of production (ENV) on the expression of heterosis for 305-day milk, fat, protein, and fat plus protein (FP) yields, lactation average somatic cell score (LSCS), and age at first calving (AFC) was investigated in first lactation Black and White dairy cows in the Netherlands, and officially enrolled in the Dutch herd-book. Holstein Friesian (HF), Dutch Friesian (DF), and first generation (F₁) crosses obtained from the mating of HF sires and DF dams (HD) were involved in the study, and data from animals with a calving date between 1990 and 2000 were used. A total of 22,930 cows with production and AFC information distributed in 3549 herds and 11,055 cows with LSCS information distributed in 2071 herds, were available. Adjusted lactation yield of milk for each herd was obtained using a model that accounted for fixed effects of herd, year and month of calving, genotype, and AFC. The overall mean of all adjusted data was computed, and 3 ENV were defined on the basis of the overall mean ± 0.5 standard deviations. Once ENV was defined, traits were analysed with a model that included fixed effects of ENV, herd nested within ENV, AFC (only production traits and LSCS), year and month of calving, genotype, and the interaction between ENV and genotype. Least squares means for the interaction effect were used to estimate heterosis and to evaluate its magnitude across ENV. Holstein Friesian achieved higher productions than DF. First generation crosses showed productions close to HF, especially in the low ENV. Estimates of heterosis for yield traits ranged from 2.4% (milk) in the high to 5.3% (fat) in the low ENV, and reduced with increasing ENV. Estimates for LSCS and AFC were low, with the exception of LSCS in the high ENV. Results suggest that the highest non-additive genetic effects for yield traits and LSCS were expressed in the most stressful ENV, i.e., the low one for production and the high one for LSCS.     

Associations between dairy production indices and lipoarabinomannan enzyme-immunoassay results for paratuberculosis.

Data from an epidemiological study in Ontario, involving 304 dairy herds, were used to identify associations between selected production indices and lipoarabinomannan antigen serological test results for paratuberculosis (LAM-ELISA). Analyses were conducted at both the herd and individual cow levels of organization. After analytically controlling for management and cow factors in the respective regression models, positive serological paratuberculosis status (as defined by the LAM-ELISA test), was associated with higher milk somatic cell counts at both the herd average (p less than 0.01), and individual cow levels of organization (p less than 0.0001). In contrast, LAM-ELISA test results were consistently not associated with calving intervals in either the herd average or individual cow level analyses. Associations between LAM-ELISA results and milk production were inconsistent. No associations were found at the herd level of organization, and LAM-ELISA results were not associated with a change in breed class average (BCA) for milk, between the previous and the most recent lactations of individual cattle. However, at the individual cow level, LAM-ELISA results were positively associated with higher milk production as measured by the current BCA (p less than 0.05), and individual cow average kg of milk produced per year of life since two years of age (p less than 0.0001).     

Some aspects of reproductive performance in selected town-supply dairy herds

Breeding and production data were collected from 20 town-supply dairy herds in the Manawatu/Horowhenua region. Calving interval, calving to first service interval, first service to conception interval, inter-service interval, calving rate to first service and services per cow calving were 384, 85, 11, 43 days, 51% and 1.7, respectively, for the pooled population of 12, 056 calvings. The mean milk yield was 3730 litres per cow and the mean lactation length 291 days. Age, herd, season within year, and year, had statistically significant effects on reproductive performance, although the amount of variation due to these variables was small. The younger cows (2-year-olds) were relatively poor performers. Reproductive performance was best during the spring. Days from calving to first service, and from first service to conception, were of similar importance in determining differences in calving interval. A high incidence (25%)of return intervals of more than 49 days was found between first and second service. It was concluded from the data that a programme for breeding each cow as she comes into oestrus 46–66 days post-partum is a simple and appropriate procedure for achieving a 365-day calving interval. Such a programme is more likely to be successful if continued attention is paid to both heat-detection procedures and the nutritional requirements of animals during rearing, late pregnancy and early lactation, and if routine pregnancy testing 6 to 8 weeks after service is used to recognise the problems of post-service anoestrus.     

Effect of culling age of does on milk and meat production in Japanese-Saanen goats

A functional herd dynamics model was developed to estimate the effect of culling age on milk and meat production for Japanese-Saanen goats in relation to changes in prices of milk and meat. The model simulates life cycle production of bucks and does and their kids. Every production trait is first modelled as an individual trait and thereafter as a trait in the herd using a herd dynamics model. At the individual level, the survival curve function, the litter size function and the production traits function are combined. Data on growth and lactation were used to fit growth and lactation curves to estimated parameters using non-linear least squares regression technique and used in the production traits function. Using herd dynamics, the individual level functions are combined with the total number of animals function to estimate the total herd output and income efficiency at the herd level. Here, variables of culling days including the effect of difference in meat price value among goat categories (bucks, does, male kids and female kids) are used. Analysis of interrelations among the culling days of does, the price ratio and the income efficiency indicated that optimal culling days of does was shortened with an increase in the price ratio of meat to milk. However, when meat price value was different among goat categories according to actual situation of Japanese goat production, the optimal culling days of does could be fixed regardless of the change in price ratio and was calculated as 1730 days. This functional herd dynamics model can aid in decision-making regarding culling under several situations especially when there is a wide fluctuation in prices at local markets.