Breeding for robust cows that produce healthier milk: RobustMilk

Veerkamp, R.F.; Kaal, L.M.T.E.; Haas, Y. de; Oldham, J. D.

doi:10.1017/s2040470013000149

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…If we consider that the pedigree-based inbreeding level in Dutch Holstein–Friesian cattle has increased from around 0.5% in 1980 to around 4.5% in 2010 [41–43], this would roughly imply a mean loss of 150 kg due to inbreeding depression. Such a loss is small compared to the realised genetic progress in the same period, which was equal to approximately 2200 kg [44]. Although the rate of inbreeding has increased with the introduction of genomic selection [41], contrary to expectation [45], the increased genetic gains [46] are expected to still outweigh the losses caused by inbreeding depression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inbreeding depression due to recent and ancient inbreeding in Dutch Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle

et al. 2019

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Background Inbreeding decreases animal performance (inbreeding depression), but not all inbreeding is expected to be equally harmful. Recent inbreeding is expected to be more harmful than ancient inbreeding, because selection decreases the frequency of deleterious alleles over time. Selection efficiency is increased by inbreeding, a process called purging. Our objective was to investigate effects of recent and ancient inbreeding on yield, fertility and udder health traits in Dutch Holstein–Friesian cows. Methods In total, 38,792 first-parity cows were included. Pedigree inbreeding ($$F_{PED}$$ F PED ) was computed and 75 k genotype data were used to compute genomic inbreeding, among others based on regions of homozygosity (ROH) in the genome ($$F_{ROH}$$ F ROH ). Results Inbreeding depression was observed, e.g. a 1% increase in $$F_{ROH}$$ F ROH was associated with a 36.3 kg (SE = 2.4) decrease in 305-day milk yield, a 0.48 day (SE = 0.15) increase in calving interval and a 0.86 unit (SE = 0.28) increase in somatic cell score for day 150 through to 400. These effects equalled − 0.45, 0.12 and 0.05% of the trait means, respectively. When $$F_{PED}$$ F PED was split into generation-based components, inbreeding on recent generations was more harmful than inbreeding on more distant generations for yield traits. When $$F_{PED}$$ F PED was split into new and ancestral components, based on whether alleles were identical-by-descent for the first time or not, new inbreeding was more harmful than ancestral inbreeding, especially for yield traits. For example, a 1% increase in new inbreeding was associated with a 2.42 kg (SE = 0.41) decrease in 305-day fat yield, compared to a 0.03 kg (SE = 0.71) increase for ancestral inbreeding. There were no clear differences between effects of long ROH (recent inbreeding) and short ROH (ancient inbreeding). Conclusions Inbreeding depression was observed for yield, fertility and udder health traits. For yield traits and based on pedigree, inbreeding on recent generations was more harmful than inbreeding on distant generations and there was evidence of purging. Across all traits, long and short ROH contributed to inbreeding depression. In future work, inbreeding depression and purging should be assessed in more detail at the genomic level, using higher density information and genomic time series.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inbreeding depression due to recent and ancient inbreeding in Dutch Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle

et al. 2019

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“…The trend for crossbred cows has been influenced by expanding herds and larger herd sizes, with a demand for "easy care" or robust animals that suit reduced labor input systems and, in particular, pasture-based systems (Sørensen, 2007;Veerkamp et al, 2013). However, the use of crossbreeding in spring-calving systems has been limited in Ireland, with only 5.2% of herds reported as crossbred in 2014 (Department of Agriculture, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of the production, reproduction, and functional traits of Holstein-Friesian, Jersey × Holstein-Friesian, and Norwegian Red × (Jersey × Holstein-Friesian) cows in pasture-based systems

McClearn

Delaby

Gilliland

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Science

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Pasture-based production systems typically require highly fertile, healthy, and robust genetics, with greater emphasis on milk solids (MSo; kg of fat + protein) production as opposed to milk yield. This study assessed milk production, production efficiency, reproductive performance, body weight (BW), body condition score, and functional traits in 3 different dairy cow genotypes: Holstein-Friesian (HF), Jersey × Holstein-Friesian (JEX), and Norwegian Red × (Jersey × Holstein-Friesian) (3-way). The 3 genotypes were rotationally grazed on 4 different grazing treatments after calving in spring and were stocked at a rate of 2.75 cows/ha. Holstein-Friesian cows produced higher daily and total milk yields compared with JEX and 3-way cows (5,718 vs. 5,476 and 5,365 kg/cow, respectively). However, JEX and 3-way cows had higher milk fat and protein contents (4.86 and 4.75%, respectively, for JEX and 3.87 and 3.88%, respectively, for 3-way) compared with HF (4.52 and 3.72%), resulting in similar MSo yield for JEX and HF (469 and 460 kg/cow) and slightly lower MSo yield for 3-way (453 kg/cow) compared with JEX. As parity increased, milk and MSo yield per cow increased. Reproductive performance was not significantly different between the 3 genotypes, which had similar 24-d submission rates, 6-wk pregnancy rates, and overall pregnancy rates over the 4-yr period. No difference in calving difficulty, incidence of mastitis, or incidence of lameness was observed among the 3 genotypes. Body weight was significantly different among all 3 genotypes, with HF being the heaviest followed by 3-way and JEX (530, 499, and 478 kg, respectively), and 3-way cows had a higher body condition score throughout lactation compared with HF and JEX cows. The differences in BW coupled with similar MSo production resulted in JEX cows having the highest production efficiency (4.58 kg of MSo/kg of metabolic BW), 3-way cows being intermediate (4.30 kg of MSo/kg of metabolic BW), and HF cows having the lowest (4.16 kg of MSo/kg of metabolic BW). In conclusion, HF herds with poor reproductive performance and low milk fat and protein contents are likely to benefit considerably from crossbreeding with Jersey, and all herds are likely to benefit in terms of production efficiency. However, where herd performance, particularly in relation to reproductive performance, is comparable with HF in the current study, crossbreeding with Jersey or Norwegian Red is unlikely to lead to significant improvements in overall herd performance.

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“…The Global Dry Matter Initiative, led by Dr Roel Veerkamp of Wageningen UR Livestock Research, is an example of such an effort and has begun to combine feed intake data sets from over 10 countries and 15 institutions (Veerkamp, 2013;Berry et al, 2014). To ensure accuracy over time, however, continuous collection of RFI phenotypes from a reference population that is representative of the current breeding stock will be required to reevaluate individual SNP effects on GEBV, which represents a future challenge for the dairy industry and the dairy research community.…”

Section: Selection For Correlated Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invited review: Improving feed efficiency in dairy production: challenges and possibilities

Connor

2015

Animal

132

112

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Despite substantial advances in milk production efficiency of dairy cattle over the last 50 years, rising feed costs remain a significant threat to producer profitability. There also is a greater emphasis being placed on reducing the negative impacts of dairy production on the environment; thus means to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nutrient losses to the environment associated with cattle production are being sought. Improving feed efficiency among dairy cattle herds offers an opportunity to address both of these issues for the dairy industry. However, the best means to assess feed efficiency and make genetic progress in efficiency-related traits among lactating cows without negatively impacting other economically important traits is not entirely obvious. In this review, multiple measurements of feed efficiency for lactating cows are described, as well as the heritability of the traits and their genetic and phenotypic correlations with other production traits. The measure of feed efficiency, residual feed intake is discussed in detail in terms of the benefits for its selection, how it could be assessed in large commercial populations, as well as biological mechanisms contributing to its variation among cows, as it has become a commonly used method to estimate efficiency in the recent scientific literature.

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Breeding for robust cows that produce healthier milk: RobustMilk

Cited by 11 publications

References 44 publications

Inbreeding depression due to recent and ancient inbreeding in Dutch Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle

Inbreeding depression due to recent and ancient inbreeding in Dutch Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle

An assessment of the production, reproduction, and functional traits of Holstein-Friesian, Jersey × Holstein-Friesian, and Norwegian Red × (Jersey × Holstein-Friesian) cows in pasture-based systems

Invited review: Improving feed efficiency in dairy production: challenges and possibilities

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