Scholarly record

STUDY ON BREEDING A HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN LINE OF COWS TO IMPROVE MILK QUALITY

M. Colă

Abstract

As a basic number, a genealogical line of Holstein-Friesian cows within SCDA Craiova was selected with common genes from the bull STARBUCK (Canada) brought by their grandchildren 51801 and 52150 via BESNE BUCK (France), 52506 and 52507 via SABBIONA BOOKIE USA) and the great grandchild 52569 via FATAL (USA); Genetic assays for production are based on 305 days of lactation production in the Maturity Equivalent (ME) of each cow. The dairy cows within SCDA Simnic are subject to official control of milk production. This study is being carried out within the framework of the National Breeding Program, a program aimed at disseminating the genetic progression of cows at ?imnic in the Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle mass in Romania. The database includes information from cows born in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and from the pedigrees of 10 breeder bulls. New phenotypic values are recorded periodically. Until 2018 the basic stock (50 cows) produced 105 F1 products, out of which 52 females and 53 males. The milk production averages in 2018 at the first lactation, fat and protein, fat percentage, protein percentage and casein percentage were 9325.6kg, 450.5kg, 307.5kg, 4.82%, 3.30% and 26.66% respectively. The performance level of milk production and fat production is much higher compared to the control year 2015 (6319kg of milk and 243kg of fat), which means a positive trend. At the second lactation, the milk, fat and protein production averages and the fat percentage, the protein and casein percentage were of 10174.2 kg, 484.0 kg, 344 kg, 4.82%, and 3.38%. In the 2015 report, the HOLSTEIN breed in Canada had an average production of 10257 kg of milk, 398 kg of fat and 327 kg of protein. In 2009, it was an average production of 4523.8 kg, 176.44 kg of fat and 147.21 kg of protein in the primiparas of Baltata breed (without specifying the colour) in Timis region, Romania [12]. Heritability for milk, fat and protein production, and the fat, protein and casein percentages in the 1st lactation were of 0.30; 0.29; 0.30; 0.40; 0.38 and 0.48, respectively. Values for the heritability of milk, fat and protein production are consistent with those reported in the Holstein breed in the USA (0.30; 0.30; 0.30) [7]. The values of the percentage of fat and protein heritability are below the values reported by Cassell; (0.58 and 0.51). The average number of somatic cells in the mil of observed animals was of 156.17 thousand cells per ml of milk. The mean of somatic cell count per lactation is used to improve the health condition of the udder. Estimates of the heritability of the mean somatic cell count per lactation are from 0.05 to 0.17 [6].

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2019/6.1/s25.118

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