Breeding Plans

Why do we use breeding plans?

Breeding plans in dairy cattle are created to optimize milk yield, so planning to breed cows that have the best milk production and bulls that throw calves with the best milk production will result in this. Along with that, creating a breeding plan may allow for the prevention of compounding genetic disorders that may be a rising problem due to years of closely breeding holstein cattle. Other purposes for breeding dairy cattle are discussed below in this section, as well as some of the ways the industry minimizes deleterious effects of closely related cows.

What are the objectives of breeding plans?

Milk Production

Breeding plans in dairy cattle for milk production aim to optimize milk yield, produce heifers that reach puberty sooner, and have the most optimal udder conformation. Using the predicted transmitting ability (PTA) of a bull can help tell a breeder if its offspring will produce the traits that the PTA is for. For example, a high milk yield PTA can show that a bull will produce offspring with a high milk yield if he is out of a cow with high milk yield. Picking stock that has the traits or a history of the traits you want in your cattle will produce the most efficient offspring. Maximizing these three traits allow the highest amount of milk to be produced for the longest successful period of time, which allows the farm to make money as a milk producing farm.

Show

Show cattle breeding plans are all about creating cattle with the best conformational correctness and a docile temperament for the show ring. Conformation of the cow's udder, legs, and body are what are judged with show cattle. Having a symmetrical teats, straight legs, and a well built broad ligament are some of things that are looked for when judging the cattle. A calm cow is a safe cow in the show ring, so good temperament is bred into these animals that are handled every day. A lot of showing is done by children, so calm cows are essential to the safety of these kids.

Breeding Purposes

Superior genetics for healthy cattle and successful breeding qualities are important objectives when creating breeding plans for cattle that are being used for breeding purposes. Because many of these cattle are going to be bulls that are used for collection, breeding qualities need to be considered such as sperm count and success rate. If the bull has these things that make him a successful sire, he will be worth more and able to be used more as a sire. With a large and healthy sperm count, one sire could be used for more cows due to the high prevalence of AI used in dairy cattle. Bulls used for breeding should come from exceptional cows and bulls themselves. This should improve the health and profitability of their offspring as well.

Who are we breeding these cows for?

Depending on the objective of the breeding plan, there could be many end users for dairy cattle. Some users include commercial production homes, show homes, and breeding homes. As listed above, the commercial production homes will want the cows with the greatest milk production to maximize their profits and allow them to continue to make money off of their farm. The success of a commercial dairy cow depends on her ability to successfully become bred, produce large amounts of high quality milk, and do so for many years. Show homes want the cows with the best possible conformation and temperament so that they perform the best in the show ring. This includes leg, body, and udder conformation as this is what they are judged on. Level temperament and breeding success becomes increasingly important as the cow gets older because she will be judged on the conformation of her full udder and she will grow to be pretty large so she needs to be easy to handle. A breeding facility for dairy cattle is unique in the fact that male cattle, or bulls, are going to be very important to them. Because of this, bulls are required to have some of the best genetics to be kept as breeding stock. This will keep the quality of their offspring high and aid in their success for whatever purpose they might be used for.

Figure 11. 2021 Australian Holstein Champion (3)

How do we select the best animals for specific purposes?

As mentioned above, predicted transmitting ability (PTA) can tell you a cow or bull's genetic value for any given trait. A PTA of zero shows that the animal is about average, where a negative number shows that the animal is below average and a positive number shows that the animal is above average. Holsteins also have a figure called the Total Performance Index (TPI), which combines traits from production, health, fertility, and conformation (4).

For example, one trait all cattle are going to be bred for is optimal birth weight to minimize dystocia in any discipline. Using cattle that may have about average birth weights would be a good idea, but using a bull with a high PTA for high birth weights could be dangerous for a cow that has a history of calving large calves. Cattle bred for production purposes are going to be bred for traits like optimal udder conformation, maximal milk yield. Cattle bred for show purposes are going to be bred for the best conformation and temperament out of all the cattle. Cattle bred for breeding stock will be the best genetic material possible.

What mating systems are used in dairy cattle?

It is said that 99% of Holstein sires in the United States can be traced back to two bulls (1). It is also found that performance of dairy cows can take a hit due to high inbreeding percentages in yield, fertility, and udder health traits (2). Because of this, it is very important to keep a close eye on how closely bred we are breeding our dairy cows in the US today. Outcrossing within the Holstein breed is used as much as possible without disturbing the performance of the cow by breeding her to an inferior bull. Inbreeding coefficients are used to assess how related the cattle are in an attempt to minimize them while still breeding effective cattle for whatever their purpose is.

References

Derksen, B. (2021, March 18). Inbreeding remains a challenge for Holsteins. The Western Producer. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.producer.com/livestock/inbreeding-remains-a-challenge-for-holsteins/
https://gsejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12711-019-0497-z#:~:text=Inbreeding%20depression%20is%20the%20decrease,2%2C3%2C4%5D.
Holstein champions - WHFF • world holstein friesian federation. WHFF. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from http://www.whff.info/events/champions.php
Armstrong, J. (n.d.). Dairy Cattle Genetics. UMN Extension. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-milking-cows/dairy-cattle-genetics#predicted-transmitting-ability-%28pta%29--2154960

Page updated

Report abuse