Associations between age at first calving, rearing average daily weight gain, herd milk yield and dairy herd production, reproduction, and profitability

Optimal growth of heifers and effect of milk yield level on dairy herd production, reproduction, and profitability

Associations between herd size, rate of expansion and production, breeding policy and reproduction in spring-calving dairy herds.

Dairy herd size is expected to increase in many European countries, given the recent policy changes within the European Union. Managing more cows may have implications for herd performance in the post-quota era. The objective of this study was to characterise spring-calving herds according to size and rate of expansion, and to determine trends in breeding policy, reproduction and production per...

Relationships Among Herd Life, Milk Production, and Calving Interval

Whether to select for longer life in the herd or shorter calving interval depends on the genetic and phenotypic relationships among herd life, amount of milk in first lactation, and calving interval. Herd life and average calving intmwal are essentially phenotypically uncorrelated. The phenotypic and genetic correlations of herd life and milk in first lactation ranged from .19 to .25 and from ....

Dairy operation management practices and herd milk production.

A national US survey collected data on herd milk production and management of Holstein herds. Step-wise selection identified management practices that were related to herd milk production using only operations that calculated herd milk production as well as using data from all operations. Results were similar. Milk production was highest in the West. Operations with < 100 dairy cows had lower p...

Associations between nondietary factors and dairy herd performance.

Forty-seven dairy herds (approximately 3,129 lactating cows) from northeast of Spain that were offering exactly the same lactating ration were surveyed to determine the effect of nondietary factors on herd performance. The survey collected information on the profile of the owners (their future intentions, the number of workers, and time devoted to the enterprise), information regarding the anim...