Analysis of lactating cows on commercial Austrian dairy farms: the influence of genotype and body weight on efficiency parameters

Abstract

The aim of this study was twofold: first, to evaluate the influence of body weight on the efficiency of dairy cows, and second, to analyze the current state of dairy cattle populations as part of the Austrian Cattle Breeding Association's Efficient Cow project.Data of Fleckvieh (FV, dual-purpose Simmental), Fleckvieh×Red Holstein (FV×RH), Holstein (HF) and Brown Swiss (BS) dairy cows (161 farms, 6098 cows) were collected at each performance recording during the year 2014.In addition to routinely recorded data (e.g., milk yield, fertility), body weight, body measurements, body condition score (BCS) and individual feed information were also collected. The following efficiency traits were considered: body weight efficiency as the ratio of energy-corrected milk (ECM) to metabolic body weight, feed efficiency (kilogram ECM per kilogram dry-matter intake) and energy efficiency expressed as the ratio of energy in milk to energy intake.The relationship of milk yield to body weight was shown to be nonlinear. Milk yield decreased in cows above the 750 kg body weight class for HF, BS and FV×RH with 68 % RH genes, but less dramatically and later for FV at 800 kg. This resulted in an optimum body weight for feed and energy efficiency. BS and HF had the highest efficiency in a narrower and lighter body weight range (550–700 kg) due to a stronger curvature of the parabolic curve. Contrary to this, the efficiency of FV did not change as much as it did in the dairy breeds with increasing body weight, meaning that FV had a similar feed and energy efficiency in a range of 500–750 kg. The breed differences disappeared when body weight ranged between 750 and 800 kg.The average body weight of the breeds studied (FV 722 kg, BS 649 and HF 662 kg) was in the optimum range. FV was located at the upper end of the decreasing segment.In conclusion, an optimum body weight range for efficiency does exist, due to the nonlinear relationship of milk yield and body weight. Specialized dairy breeds seem to respond more intensively to body weight range than dual-purpose breeds, due to the stronger curvature. Cows with medium weights within a population are the most efficient. Heavy cows (>750 kg) produce even less milk. A further increase in dairy cows' body weights should therefore be avoided.

Relationship between the animal body condition and reproduction: the biotechnological aspects

“…Research on the relationship between the body condition and reproduction has been carried out by a number of research teams and from different viewpoints. Important studies have been focused on animal husbandry (Buckley et al, 2003;Berry et al, 2003;Banos et al, 2007;Cam et al, 2018;Gruber et al, 2018;Makarevich et al, 2018;Ledinek et al, 2019;Ptáček et al, 2017;Tančin et al, 2018), but also on biotechnology, e.g., embryo transfer (Bezdíček et al, 2015;Bezdíček and Louda, 2016), in vitro fertilization (Makarevich et al, 2012b;Chrenek et al, 2015;Oba et al, 2013) and ovarian activity (Makarevich et al, 2012a;Kuźnicka et al, 2016). A number of studies have been also focused on the relationship between the body condition and reproduction from a veterinary point of view, e.g., early embryonic mortality and retained placenta (Qu et al, 2014;Aungier et al, 2014;Berry et al, 2007a, b).…”

“…A number of studies have been also focused on the relationship between the body condition and reproduction from a veterinary point of view, e.g., early embryonic mortality and retained placenta (Qu et al, 2014;Aungier et al, 2014;Berry et al, 2007a, b). A relationship was also determined between BCS and mastitis by Loker et al (2012), who calculated the average genetic correlation between the BCS and mastitis in Canadian Holstein ( − 0.730) and the correlation between BCS and metabolic disease (−0.438). These authors reported a higher susceptibility to mastitis in cows with a lower BCS (Loker et al, 2012).…”

Integrating diverse data sources to predict disease risk in dairy cattle

“…Feed (tab. 16): These 40 features were also acquired as an extension of the of the recurring DHI assessments within the scope of the Efficient Cow project 46,47,101,103 . They contain detailed information about the type of staple forage, ration type and the nutrient content of the rations (protein content, crude fibre content, .…”

“…Breed (tab. 12): The data set also includes information about the main breed of an animal and ratio and type of any foreign genes 103 . This information stems from the national breeding registry 48 .…”

Relationship Between Milk Solids Yield Efficiency and Postpartum Body Weight in a Pastoral Dairy Farm in Chile

“…According to the results of this research, selection for increments in milk yield increase body size, which could be detrimental for production efficiency. Ledinek et al (2019) studied the influence of body weight on efficiency parameters of four dairy cattle breeds in Austria, and concluded that there is an optimum body weight range for efficiency, and that cows with medium weights within a population, were the most efficient. Therefore, an additional increment in dairy cows' body weights should be avoided.…”