Invited Review: Crossbreeding in Dairy Cattle From a German Perspective of the Past and Today

Freyer, G.; König, Sven; Fischer, Bernd; Bergfeld, U.; Cassell, B.G.

doi:10.3168/jds.2008-1287

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…Moreover, Holstein cows tend to have higher milk yield (29.61 kg dia -1 in group 2, predominantly containing Holstein cows) whereas Jerseys tend to have higher concentration of solids (4.4 and 3.62 % for fat and protein levels, respectively, in group 1, predominantly containing Jersey cows (Table 4). The differences between Holsteins and Jerseys in the production and composition of milk have been widely reported in the literature, in works such as those of Freyer et al (2008), Smith et al (2013) and Miglior et al (2007) and such results corroborate with those obtained in the present work.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Multivariate analysis of lactose content in milk of Holstein and Jersey cows1

Alessio

Neto

Velho

et al. 2016

SCA

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This study evaluated the factors influencing the variation in the lactose content of milk in Holstein and Jersey herds in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, using multivariate analysis. Data from 73 dairy herds in the Dairy Herds Improvement Program of the State of Santa Catarina were provided by the Santa Catarina Association of Cattle Breeders (ACCB). A total of 46,242 monthly records of Holstein and Jersey (59 and 41 % of the total records, respectively) cows from 2009 to 2012 were analyzed using multiple correspondence, factor, and cluster analyses. Lactose content was observed to correlate with somatic cell count and parity, whereas the evaluated breeds, as well as the production and concentrations of fat and protein in the milk, were not associated with the lactose content. The cows were categorized into three groups, the first consisting of cows of both breeds with low lactose content (4.19), high somatic cell score (5.82), and higher parity (2.50), contrasting with two other groups each with mean values characteristic for Holstein and Jersey breeds, respectively. Analysis of cows without subclinical mastitis (<200,000 somatic cells ml -1 ) revealed that the relationship of parity with lactose level was independent of the effect of somatic cells. Lactose contents less than 4.4 % were observed in autumn. Overall, the present study suggests that the lactose content of milk is influenced by somatic cell count and parity and that it varies seasonally; however, it is not related to breed, milk yield, milk fat content, or milk protein level.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Multivariate analysis of lactose content in milk of Holstein and Jersey cows1

Alessio

Neto

Velho

et al. 2016

SCA

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“…Studies presenting the positive contribution of heterosis date back many decades (Gowen, 1920;Fohrman, 1946;Laben et al, 1955;Touchberry, 1992). Recent reviews on the subject include McAllister (2002), Sørensen et al (2008) and Freyer et al (2008). More recent research conducted over the past decade is arguably most relevant, given the enormous strides in genetic gain for production potential, the associated decline in fertility and survival (Hoekstra et al, 1994;Pryce and Veerkamp, 2001;Evans et al, 2006), and the evolution of management systems over time.…”

Section: Does the Theory Stack Up In Practice?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossbreeding: implications for dairy cow fertility and survival

Buckley

López‐Villalobos

Heins

2014

Animal

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In pasture-based seasonal calving systems, failure to become pregnant during the breeding season results in important economic losses as maximum profit is attained by minimising costs and increasing the proportion of grass in the diet of the lactating dairy cow. In the United States, dairy producers primarily strive to maximise production potential but are becoming increasingly aware of the economic consequences of sub-optimal cow fertility and survival. For this reason, interest in crossbreeding is emerging. The objective of this paper is to review the fertility and survival outcomes reported from recent research studies and data analyses in Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. Research conducted in Ireland during the early 2000s concluded that of three 'alternative' dairy breeds the Norwegian Red was most suited to seasonal grass-based production. A key finding was favourable fertility and survival. A follow-up study confirmed a fertility advantage with Norwegian Red × Holstein-Friesian compared with Holstein-Friesian: proportion pregnant to first service; +0.08 and in-calf after 6 weeks breeding; +0.11. Another study found higher fertility with Jersey crossbreds: pregnant to first service; +0.21, and in-calf after 6 weeks breeding; +0.19. Studies conducted in Northern Ireland also found superior fertility performance with Jersey crossbred cows offered low and moderate concentrate diets. In New Zealand, crossbred dairy cattle (primarily Jersey × Friesian) are achieving similar rates of genetic gain for farm profit as the purebred populations, but creating additional gain derived from economic heterosis. In the United States, analysis of commercial data from California showed higher first-service conception rates for Scandinavian Red × Holstein (+6 percentage units) and Montbeliarde × Holstein (+10 percentage units) compared with Holstein (23%). They also exhibited fewer days open and greater survival. At Penn State University, Brown Swiss × Holstein cows had 17 fewer days open than Holstein cows during first lactation, and numerically fewer in second (12 days) and third lactation (6 days). At the University of Minnesota, crossbred cows had 21 percentage units higher first-service conception rates, 41 fewer days open and 12 percentage units higher in-calf rates compared with pure Holstein cows. They also had greater survival to second (+13 percentage units), third (+24 percentage units), fourth (+25 percentage units) and fifth (+17 percentage units) lactation. The literature clearly illustrates favourable animal performance benefits from crossbreeding, using a range of modern breeds, and within the context of both grass-based and high-input confinement production environments. Economic analyses generally indicate profitable performance owing to lower replacement cost and higher herd productivity.

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“…For instance, the average CIV for HO in France was 408 days in 2006; median CIV for the period between the years 2006 and 2012 in the present study was 369 days (Table 3). The merits of cross-breeding have been discussed in detail elsewhere (VanRaden and Sanders, 2003;Freyer et al, 2008;Kargo et al, 2012;Buckley et al, 2014). Crossbreeding strategies aim to exploit the enhanced performance associated with heterosis, as well as capitalise on the introgression of favourable alleles from different breeds with good complementarity.…”

Section: Breed and Non-additive Genetic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive genetic, non-additive genetic and permanent environmental effects for female reproductive performance in seasonal calving dairy females

Kelleher¹,

Buckley²,

Evans³

et al. 2016

Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research

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Excellent reproductive performance (i.e. 365-day calving interval) is paramount to herd profit in seasonal-calving dairy systems. Reproductive targets are currently not being achieved in Irish dairy herds. Furthermore, most research on the genetics of reproductive performance in dairy cattle has focused primarily on lactating cows and relatively few studies have attempted to quantify the genetic contribution to differences in reproductive performance in nulliparae. The objective of the present study was to estimate the contribution of both the additive and non-additive genetic components, as well as the permanent environmental component, to phenotypic variation in the reproductive traits in nulliparous, primiparous and multiparous seasonal-calving dairy females. Reproductive phenotypes were available on up to 202,525 dairy females. Variance components were estimated using (repeatability where appropriate) linear animal mixed models; fixed effects included in the mixed models were contemporary group, parity (where appropriate), breed proportion, inter-breed specific heterosis coefficients and inter-breed specific recombination loss coefficients. Heritability of the reproductive traits ranged from 0.004 (pregnancy rate to first service) to 0.17 (age at first service in nulliparae), while repeatability estimates for the reproductive traits in cows ranged from 0.01 (calving interval) to 0.11 (pregnant in the first 42 days of the breeding season). Breed-specific heterosis regression coefficients suggest that, relative to the parental mean, a first-cross Holstein–Jersey crossbred was almost 7 days younger at first calving, had a 9-day shorter calving interval, a 6 percentage unit greater pregnancy rate in the first 42 days of the breeding season and a 3 percentage unit greater survival rate to next lactation. Heifer calving rate traits were strongly genetically correlated with age at first calving (–0.97 to –0.66) and calving rate in the first 42 days of the calving season for first parity cows (0.77 to 0.56), but genetic correlations with other cow reproductive traits were weak and inconsistent. Calving interval was strongly genetically correlated with the majority of the cow traits; 56%, 40%, and 92% of the genetic variation in calving interval was explained by calving to the first service interval, number of services and pregnant in the first 42 days of the breeding season, respectively. Permanent environmental correlations between the reproductive performance traits were generally moderate to strong. The existence of contributions from non-additive genetic and permanent environmental effects to phenotypic differences among cows suggests the usefulness of such information to rank cows on future expected performance; this was evidenced by a stronger correlation with future reproductive performance for an individual cow index that combined additive genetic, non-additive genetic and permanent environmental effects compared to an index based solely on additive genetic effects (i.e. estimated breeding values).

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Invited Review: Crossbreeding in Dairy Cattle From a German Perspective of the Past and Today

Cited by 35 publications

References 19 publications

Multivariate analysis of lactose content in milk of Holstein and Jersey cows1

Multivariate analysis of lactose content in milk of Holstein and Jersey cows1

Crossbreeding: implications for dairy cow fertility and survival

Additive genetic, non-additive genetic and permanent environmental effects for female reproductive performance in seasonal calving dairy females

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