Effects of Varying Lactation Length on Milk Production Capacity of Cows in Pasture-Based Dairying Systems

Auldist, M.J.; O'Brien, G. N.; Cole, D. J. A.; Macmillan, K.L.; Grainger, C.

doi:10.3168/jds.2006-683

Cited by 76 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Actually, the possibility of increasing lactation length has been considered as an alternative to the common strategy of maximizing lactation peaks and minimizing calving intervals (Grossman and Koops, 2003;Auldist et al, 2007;Butler et al, 2010). Cows with extended lactations have a reduction of calving risks and of postpartum metabolic diseases (Cole and Null, 2009) with a corresponding decrease in insemination costs and in number of days dry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of lactation shapes in extended lactations

Steri

Dimauro

Canavesi³

et al. 2012

animal

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In order to describe the temporal evolution of milk yield (MY) and composition in extended lactations, 21 658 lactations of Italian Holstein cows were analyzed. Six empirical mathematical models currently used to fit 305 standard lactations (Wood, Wilmink, Legendre, Ali and Schaeffer, quadratic and cubic splines) and one function developed specifically for extended lactations (a modification of the Dijkstra model) were tested to identify a suitable function for describing patterns until 1000 days in milk (DIM).Comparison was performed on individual patterns and on average curves grouped according to parity (primiparous and multiparous) and lactation length (standard <305 days, and extended from 600 to 1000 days). For average patterns, polynomial models showed better fitting performances when compared with the three or four parameters models. However, LEG and spline regression, showed poor prediction ability at the extremes of the lactation trajectory. The Ali and Schaeffer polynomial and Dijkstra function were effective in modelling average curves for MY and protein percentage, whereas a reduced fitting ability was observed for fat percentage and somatic cell score. When individual patterns were fitted, polynomial models outperformed nonlinear functions. No detectable differences were observed between standard and extended patterns in the initial phase of lactation, with similar values of peak production and time at peak. A considerable difference in persistency was observed between 200 and 305 DIM. Such a difference resulted in an estimated difference between standard and extended cycle of about 7 and 9 kg/day for daily yield at 305 DIM and of 463 and 677 kg of cumulated milk production at 305 DIM for the first-and second-parity groups, respectively. For first and later lactation animals, peak yield estimates were nearly 31 and 38 kg, respectively, and occurred at around 65 and 40 days. The asymptotic level of production was around 9 kg for multiparous cows, whereas the estimate was negative for first parity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of lactation shapes in extended lactations

Steri

Dimauro

Canavesi³

et al. 2012

animal

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“…Recently, the seasonal calving system is being challenged due to increased herd size, increased use of bought-in feed, premium paid for off-season milk, increased milk production potential, reduced reproductive performance and pressure from animal welfare groups to minimise induced calving (Borman et al, 2004). As a result of these factors, interest in milking cows beyond the standard 305 days (over an extended lactation period) has increased and the proportion of herds that practice seasonal calving in Victoria, Australia, has decreased from 63% to 41% (Auldist et al, 2007). Expected benefits of extended lactations include reduction in insemination costs and in number of days dry within the cow's lifetime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variation between cows in the ability to maintain lactation after 300 days is large (Bertilsson et al, 1997;Van Amburgh et al, 1997) even in countries where average milk production levels are over 9000 kg of milk. In Australia, where mean milk production varies between 4000 and 7000 kg, a large variation in ability of cows to produce milk after the standard 300 days was observed in an experimental herd (Auldist et al, 2007). The risks associated with delaying mating could be high due to losses in the current and future performance of cows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and phenotypic parameters of lactations longer than 305 days (extended lactations)

Haile‐Mariam¹,

Goddard

2008

Animal

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Test-day milk yield and somatic cell count data over extended lactation (lactation to 540-600 days) were analysed considering part lactations as different traits and fitting random regression (RR) models. Data on Australian Jersey and Holstein Friesian (HF) were used to demonstrate the shape of the lactation curve and data on HF were used for genetic study. Test-day data from about 100 000 cows that calved between 1998 and 2005 were used for this study. In all analyses, a sire model was used.When part lactations were considered as different traits, protein yield early in the lactation (e.g. first 2 months) had a genetic correlation of about 0.8 with protein yield produced after 300 days of lactation. Genetic correlations between lactation stages that are adjacent to each other were high (0.9 or more) within parity. Across parities, genetic correlations were high for both protein and milk yield if they are within the same stage of lactation. Phenotypic correlations were lower than genetic correlations. Heritability of milk-yield traits estimated from the RR model varied from 0.15 at the beginning of the lactation to as high as 0.37 by the 4th month of lactation. All genetic correlations between different days in milk were positive, with the highest correlations between adjacent days in milk and decreasing correlations with increasing time-span. The pattern of genetic correlations between milk yield in the second 300 days (301 to 600 days of lactation) do not markedly differ from the pattern in the first 300 days of lactation. The lowest estimated genetic correlation was 0.15 between milk yield on days 45 and 525 of lactation. The result from this study shows that progeny of bulls with high estimated breeding values for yield traits and those that produce at a relatively high level in the first few months are the most likely candidates for use in herds favouring extended lactations.

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“…On the other hand, Auldist et al (2007) showed a small negative effect and Kolver et al (2007) showed some gains and some losses in milk yield of cows, which had their lactations extended to up to 2 yr in a pastoral system. Furthermore, 2 studies have indicated a potential negative influence of a previous extended lactation on the dry period length and milk yield of the following lactation (Arbel et al, 2001;Österman and Bertilsson, 2003).…”

Section: Effect Of Calving Interval and Parity On Milk Yield Per Feedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of calving interval and parity on milk yield per feeding day in Danish commercial dairy herds

Lehmann

Fadel

Mogensen

et al. 2016

Journal of Dairy Science

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The idea of managing cows for extended lactations rather than lactations of the traditional length of 1 yr primarily arose from observations of increasing problems with infertility and cows being dried off with high milk yields. However, it is vital for the success of extended lactation practices that cows are able to maintain milk yield per feeding day when the length of the calving interval (CInt) is increased. Milk yield per feeding day is defined as the cumulated lactation milk yield divided by the sum of days between 2 consecutive calvings. The main objective of this study was to investigate the milk production of cows managed for lactations of different lengths, and the primary aim was to investigate the relationship between CInt, parity, and milk yield. Five measurements of milk yield were used: energy-corrected milk (ECM) yield per feeding day, ECM yield per lactating day, cumulative ECM yield during the first 305 d of lactation, as well as ECM yield per day during early and late lactation. The analyses were based on a total of 1,379 completed lactations from cows calving between January 2007 and May 2013 in 4 Danish commercial dairy herds managed for extended lactation for several years. Herd-average CInt length ranged from 414 to 521 d. The herds had Holstein, Jersey, or crosses between Holstein, Jersey, and Red Danish cows with average milk yields ranging from 7,644 to 11,286 kg of ECM per cow per year. A significant effect of the CInt was noted on all 5 measurements of milk yield, and this effect interacted with parity for ECM per feeding day, ECM per lactating day and ECM per day during late lactation. The results showed that cows were at least able to produce equivalent ECM per feeding day with increasing CInt, and that first-and second-parity cows maintained ECM per lactating day. Cows with a CInt between 17 and 19 mo produced 476 kg of ECM more during the first 305 d compared with cows with a CInt of less than 13 mo. Furthermore, early-lactation ECM yield was greater for all cows and late-lactation ECM yield was less for second-parity and older cows when undergoing an extended compared with a shorter lactation. Increasing CInt increased the dry period length with 3 to 5 d. In conclusion, the group of cows with longer CInt were able to produce at least equivalent amounts of ECM per feeding day when the CInt was up to 17 to 19 mo on these 4 commercial dairy farms.

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Effects of Varying Lactation Length on Milk Production Capacity of Cows in Pasture-Based Dairying Systems

Cited by 76 publications

References 13 publications

Analysis of lactation shapes in extended lactations

Analysis of lactation shapes in extended lactations

Genetic and phenotypic parameters of lactations longer than 305 days (extended lactations)

Effect of calving interval and parity on milk yield per feeding day in Danish commercial dairy herds

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