Economics of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin Use in Individual Dairy Herds

The environmental impact of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) use in dairy production.

The environmental impact of using recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in dairy production was examined on an individual cow, industry-scale adoption, and overall production system basis. An average 2006 U.S. milk yield of 28.9 kg per day was used, with a daily response to rbST supplementation of 4.5 kg per cow. Rations were formulated and both resource inputs (feedstuffs, fertilizers, and fu...

Predicting Bovine Somatotropin Use by California Dairy Farmers

An ex ante adoption model of bovine somatotropin (BST) is estimated with survey data of California milk producers. Theoretical justification is developed for incorporation of socioeconomic explanatory variables in a technology-adoption model. The advantages of a multinomial over a binomial ex ante model also are presented. The multinomial logit model is used to predict BST adoption, to test hyp...

Fertility of lactating dairy cows administered recombinant bovine somatotropin during heat stress.

Administration of recombinant bovine somatotropin (bST) to lactating dairy cows during heat stress increases milk yield, but it also can increase body temperature and may therefore compromise fertility. However, it is possible that bST treatment could increase fertility during heat stress because it has been reported to increase fertility in lactating cows. In addition, bST increases secretion ...

An approach to identify dairy cows being responsive to recombinant bovine somatotropin.

Forty-eight primiparous and pregnant Holstein cows at 202 (+/-59) days in milk and average daily milk production (DMP) of 22 (+/-5.3) kg at the beginning of the trial were used to study the possibility of identifying animals that are more responsive to recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Animals were housed in free-stall barns, milked three times a day and fed a total mixed ration. Animals ...

Use and Implications of Bovine Somatotropin for the Wisconsin Dairy Sector in the 1990s