The relationship between Norwegian Red heifer growth and their first-lactation test-day milk yield: A field study

Today's Norwegian Red (NR) is markedly different from the one that existed 25 yr ago due to the continuous genetic improvement of economically important traits. Still, current national recommendations on replacement heifer rearing largely are based on results from Danish studies from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. The objectives of the present study were to gain information on (1) growth and growth profiles of modern NR replacement heifers in commercial dairy herds and (2) how growth during the rearing period affects the heifers' milk yield during their first lactation. To this end, we conducted a field study on 5 high-producing and 5 low-producing commercial dairy farms from each of 3 geographical regions in Norway. On these 30 farms, we combined repeated onsite registrations of growth on all available females from newborn to calving with registrations deriving from the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System. Each herd was visited 6 to 8 times over a period of 2 yr. At each visit, heart girth circumference on all available young females was measured. Registrations were made on a total of 3,110 heifers. After imposing restrictions on the data, growth parameters were estimated based on information from 536 animals, whereas 350 of these animals had the required information needed to estimate the relationship between growth and test-day milk yield. Our findings pointed toward an optimal ADG of 830 g/d from 10 to 15 mo of age that would optimize first-lactation yield of heifers in an average Norwegian dairy herd. The optimum will likely increase from selection over time. Utilizing simple proportionality, the ADG between 5 and 10 mo of age ideally should be 879 g/d, taking into account the fact that animal growth rate is higher at low ages and that a high prepubertal growth rate had no negative effect on first-lactation yield. When such a rearing practice is used to meet the requirements of today's genetically improved NR heifer, heifers can both optimize production in their first lactation and enter the milking herd earlier than the current average age of 24.8 mo.     

Association between somatic cell count during the first lactation and the cumulative milk yield of cows in Irish dairy herds

Reduced potential milk yield is an important component of mastitis costs in dairy cows. The first aim of this study was to assess associations between somatic cell count (SCC) during the first lactation, and cumulative milk yield over the first lactation and subsequent lifetime of cows in Irish dairy herds. The second aim was to assess the association between SCC at 5 to 30 d in milk during parity 1 (SCC1), and SCC over the entire first lactation for cows in Irish dairy herds. The data set studied included records from 51,483 cows in 5,900 herds. Somatic cell count throughout the first lactation was summarized using the geometric mean and variance of SCC. Data were analyzed using linear models that included random effects to account for the lack of independence between observations, and herd-level variation in coefficients. Models were developed in a Bayesian framework and parameters were estimated from 10,000 Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. The final models were a good fit to the data. A 1-unit increase in mean natural logarithm SCC over the first lactation was associated with a median decrease in first lactation and lifetime milk yield of 135 and 1,663 kg, respectively. A 1-unit increase in the variance of natural logarithm SCC over the first lactation was associated with a median decrease in lifetime milk yield of 719 kg. To demonstrate the context of lifetime milk yield results, microsimulation was used to model the trajectory of individual cows and evaluate the expected outcomes for particular changes in herd-level geometric mean SCC over the first lactation. A 75% certainty of savings of at least €199/heifer in the herd was detected if herd-level geometric mean SCC over the first lactation was reduced from ≥120,000 to ≤72,000 cells/mL. The association between SCC1 and SCC over the remainder of the first lactation was highly herd dependent, indicating that control measures for heifer mastitis should be preferentially targeted on an individual-herd basis toward either the pre- and peripartum period, or the lactating period, to optimize the lifetime milk yield of dairy cows.     

Short-day photoperiod increases milk yield in cows with a reduced dry period length

Exposure of cows to a short-day photoperiod (SDPP; 8 h light:16 h dark) during a 60-d dry period increases milk yield in the subsequent lactation compared with cows exposed to a long-day photoperiod (LDPP; 16 h light:8 h dark). Whereas the traditional recommendation for dry period length is 60 d, recent studies indicate that the dry period length can be reduced without depressing the yield in the next lactation. However, the optimal duration of the dry period appears to be between 40 and 60 d, because fewer than 30 d could result in a significant loss of milk production. Our main objective was to determine whether treatment with SDPP combined with a reduced dry period length of 42 d would increase milk yield in the next lactation relative to treatment with LDPP, even though SDPP exposure was limited to 42 d. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 40) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments during the dry period: LDPP or SDPP. Each treatment group (n = 20) was balanced according to the previous 305-d mature equivalent milk yield. To quantify plasma prolactin (PRL) concentration, blood samples were collected weekly during the dry period. Dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded during the dry period. Health was monitored weekly during the dry period and at calving. During lactation, milk yield and DMI were recorded for 120 and 42 d, respectively. Cows exposed to SDPP calved 4.8 d earlier than cows exposed to LDPP and days dry averaged 37 and 42 d for cows exposed to SDPP and LDPP, respectively. Cows on SDPP consumed more dry matter (17.0 ± 1.1 kg/d) during the dry period than did cows on LDPP (15.9 ± 1.1 kg/d), but DMI after parturition did not differ. In the first 42 d of lactation, cows exposed to SDPP and LDPP consumed 18.0 and 17.7 ± 1.4 kg/d, respectively. The periparturient PRL surge was greater in cows exposed to LDPP (22.6 ± 3.2 ng/mL) than in those exposed to SDPP (17.1 ± 4.1 ng/mL). Milk yield was inversely related to the magnitude of the periparturient PRL surge, but was directly related to the expression of PRL-receptor mRNA in lymphocytes during the dry period. Through 120 d of lactation, cows exposed to SDPP when dry produced more milk (40.4 ± 1.1 kg/d) than cows exposed to LDPP (36.8 ± 1.1 kg/d). These results support the concept that SDPP, combined with a targeted 42-d dry period, increases milk yield in the subsequent lactation, relative to a 42-d dry period combined with LDPP, and that exposure to 42 d of SDPP in the dry period is sufficient to increase milk yield in the next lactation.     

Artificial lighting during winter increases milk yield in dairy ewes

In Australia, the supply of sheep milk is reduced during the winter. Housing dairy animals under lights during winter is a simple technique to increase milk yield; however, it is difficult to predict the magnitude of this increase in dairy ewes, because there are few corroborating data. We studied 220 East Friesian crossbred ewes (50 primiparous and 170 multiparous ewes, respectively) that lambed in April to May 2007 (late autumn, southern hemisphere) and were weaned from their lambs within 24 h of parturition and milked exclusively by machine. These ewes were ranked according to their milk production, and ewes producing ≥1,000 mL/d of milk were allocated to 1 of 2 groups. One group of ewes was kept indoors under a long-day photoperiod (16 h of light), whereas the other group was kept indoors under a naturally declining day length. Ewes were maintained under these conditions for 8 wk. Milk yield was measured twice weekly, and ewe weight and condition were measured at weekly intervals. From a subset of ewes (n = 20 per group), milk samples were collected twice weekly at the morning milking to measure milk lipid, protein, and lactose, and blood samples were collected once a week to measure plasma prolactin concentrations. Mean daily milk yield was analyzed as a percentage of preexperimental milk yield because the milk yield of ewes housed under the long photoperiod was lower than that of ewes under a declining day length when the treatments began. Thus, the ewes under a long photoperiod yielded 91.7% of their starting yield by wk 8 of treatment, whereas ewes under a declining day length yielded 76.25% of their initial value (LSD = 5.1), and this divergence in milk yield was apparent by wk 2 of treatment. Mean plasma prolactin levels were greater in ewes housed under the long-day photoperiod (n = 20) compared with control ewes (n = 20) at wk 6 (168 ± 27 vs. 72 ± 19 ng/mL, respectively), wk 7 (125 ± 28 vs. 37 ± 7 ng/mL, respectively), and wk 8 of the experiment (132 ± 35 vs. 31 ± 7 ng/mL, respectively). The composition of the milk was similar between the groups at each time point, and milk from these ewes (n = 20 per group) contained, on average, 6.1 ± 0.05% lipid, 4.8 ± 0.02% protein, and 5.4 ± 0.01% lactose (n = 309 samples). We concluded that ewes increase milk production in response to being housed under a long-day photoperiod during winter.     

Effect of prepartum photoperiod on milk production and prolactin concentration of dairy ewes

Long photoperiods during established lactation increase milk production in dairy cattle and dairy sheep, but recent research in cattle and dairy goats suggests an additional influence of prepartum day length on milk yield in the subsequent lactation. The proposed mechanism of function is the level and role of circulating prolactin in mammary development. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of prepartum photoperiod on milk production, milk composition, and prolactin concentration of 22 multiparous dairy ewes exposed to short day prepartum photoperiod (SDPP; 8 h of light:16 h of dark) or long day prepartum photoperiod (LDPP; 16 h of light:8 h of dark) for at least 6 wk prepartum. During the first 8 wk of lactation, SDPP ewes tended to produce more milk than LDPP ewes (2.43 vs. 2.29 kg/d, respectively), and the milk of SDPP ewes had a greater fat percentage than that of LDPP ewes (6.04 vs. 5.51%, respectively). Due to daily milk yield and greater fat content, SDPP ewes produced more 6.5% fat-corrected milk (+0.30 ± 0.08 kg/d) and 6.5% fat- and 5.8% protein-corrected milk (+0.28 ± 0.08 kg/d) than LDPP ewes. For the lactation period of 180 d, SDPP ewes produced more test day milk than LDPP ewes (1.76 vs. 1.60 ± 0.05 kg/d, respectively), but there were no differences in milk fat or protein percentages. Ewes in both treatments experienced a prolactin surge at lambing, but SDPP ewes had lower circulating prolactin concentration than LDPP ewes from 4 to 0.5 wk before lambing (14.7 vs. 51.3 ± 4.2 mg/dL, respectively). These data suggest that decreased prepartum photoperiod may be important for increasing milk production in dairy ewes and may provide a management strategy for dairy sheep producers to increase milk yield.     

A prospective study of calf factors affecting first-lactation and lifetime milk production and age of cows when removed from the herd

This prospective study was designed to investigate possible carryover effects of calf management practices and how events occurring during the first 16 wk of life affect first-lactation and lifetime milk production as well as age when animals are removed from production. This is the final of 3 stages in a longitudinal study that encompassed 10 yr of data collection. First, management and nutritional data were collected in the first 16 wk of life. The second part of this study evaluated conditions of animals at the time of first calving as affected by calf management, nutrition, and health. Both of these studies have been previously reported. This third portion covers the same calf effects on lactation performance and age at culling. Observations for the current study were collected from on-farm and Dairy Herd Improvement records. The multiple imputation technique was used in this analysis to avoid bias due to missing data. This study concluded that delivery score, weaning dry matter intake, days of illness before 4 mo, days treated before 4 mo, and body weight at first calving all had significant effects on first-lactation production of Holsteins. Delivery score and grain intake at a young age affected lifetime production. Age at culling was only affected by early grain intake in this study.     

Predicting energy × protein interaction on milk yield and milk composition in dairy cows

Feed management is one of the principal levers by which the production and composition of milk by dairy cows can be modulated in the short term. The response of milk yield and milk composition to variations in either energy or protein supplies is well known. However, in practice, dietary supplies of energy and protein vary simultaneously, and their interaction is still not well understood. The objective of this trial was to determine whether energy and protein interacted in their effects on milk production and milk composition and whether the response to changes in the diets depended on the parity and potential production of cows. From the results, a model was built to predict the response of milk yield and milk composition to simultaneous variations in energy and protein supplies relative to requirements of cows. Nine treatments, defined by their energy and protein supplies, were applied to 48 cows divided into 4 homogeneous groups (primiparous or multiparous × high or low milk potential) over three 4-wk periods. The control treatment was calculated to cover the predicted requirements of the group of cows in the middle of the trial and was applied to each cow. The other 8 treatments corresponded to fixed supplies of energy and protein, higher or lower than those of the control treatment. The results highlighted a significant energy × protein interaction not only on milk yield but also on protein content and yield. The response of milk yield to energy supply was zero with a negative protein balance and increased with protein supply equal to or higher than requirements. The response of milk yield to changes in the diet was greater for cows with high production potential than for those with low production potential, and the response of milk protein content was higher for primiparous cows than for multiparous cows. The model for the response of milk yield, protein yield, and protein content obtained in this trial made it possible to predict more accurately the variations in production and composition of milk relative to the potential of the cow because of changes in diet composition. In addition, the interaction obtained was in line with a response corresponding to the more limiting of 2 factors: energy or protein.     

The effect of intramammary infection with coagulase-negative staphylococci in early lactating heifers on milk yield throughout first lactation revisited

The objective of this study was to further scrutinize the previously found positive association between intramammary infection (IMI) caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) in early lactating heifers and test-day daily milk yield (MY) throughout first lactation, with a specific focus on the effect of the heifers’ genetically determined milk production levels and the incidence of clinical mastitis. Two precise longitudinal data sets were analyzed using a series of statistical models including potential confounding and intermediate variables. The final database included the IMI status at calving, composite milk somatic cell count (SCC) and MY records at test day up to 285 d in milk (DIM), farmer-recorded clinical mastitis (CM) cases between 14 and 285 DIM, estimated new IMI incidence based on a SCC threshold of 100,000 cells/mL between 14 and 285 DIM, DIM, average 305-d MY at the herd level, and the heifers’ genetic merit for MY from 240 dairy heifers from 29 dairy herds. Seventy-one (29.6%) early lactating heifers were noninfected, 108 heifers (45.0%) were CNS infected, and 61 heifers (25.4%) were infected with any major pathogen. The positive effect of CNS IMI in early lactation on test-day MY was estimated at 1.32 kg/d using a first basic mixed regression model. Correcting for the confounder genetic merit for MY reduced this effect to 1.17 kg. Interestingly, taking into account the confounding effect of herd resulted in an increase of the estimate from 1.32 to 2.2 kg/d. The positive effect of CNS IMI in early lactation on MY after correcting the model for both confounders was estimated at 2.05 kg/d. Heifers infected with CNS in the first DIM tended to have fewer CM cases throughout lactation compared with the noninfected herd mates. Including the intermediate variable CM in the model explained 0.16 kg/d of the corrected effect of 2.05 kg/d. Inclusion of test-day SCC, another intermediate variable, however, increased the estimate by 0.11 kg/d. With an appropriate correction for several confounders and biologically understood intermediate variables such as CM, test-day SCC, and new IMI based on SCC threshold of 100,000 cells/mL, an unexplained test-day MY difference between CNS-infected and noninfected heifers of 2.0 kg/d remained.     

Effect of pathogen-specific clinical mastitis on milk yield in dairy cows

Our objective was to estimate the effects of the first occurrence of pathogen-specific clinical mastitis (CM) on milk yield in 3071 dairy cows in 2 New York State farms. The pathogens studied were Streptococcus spp.,Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Arcanobacterium pyogenes, other pathogens grouped together, and "no pathogen isolated." Data were collected from October 1999 to July 2001. Milk samples were collected from cows showing signs of CM and were sent to the Quality Milk Production Services laboratory at Cornell University for microbiological culture. The SAS statistical procedure PROC MIXED, with an autoregressive covariance structure, was used to quantify the effect of CM and several other control variables (herd, calving season, parity, month of lactation, J-5 vaccination status, and other diseases) on weekly milk yield. Separate models were fitted for primipara and multipara, because of the different shapes of their lactation curves. To observe effects of mastitis, milk weights were divided into several periods both pre- and postdiagnosis, according to when they were measured in relation to disease occurrence. Another category contained cows without the type of CM being modeled. Because all pathogens were modeled simultaneously, a control cow was one without CM. Among primipara, Staph. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella spp., and "no pathogen isolated" caused the greatest losses. Milk yield generally began to drop 1 or 2 wk before diagnosis; the greatest loss occurred immediately following diagnosis. Mastitic cows often never recovered their potential yield. Among older cows, Streptococcus spp., Staph. aureus, A. pyogenes, E. coli, and Klebsiella spp. caused the most significant losses. Many multipara that developed CM were actually higher producers before diagnosis than their nonmastitic herd-mates. As in primipara, milk yield in multipara often began to decline shortly before diagnosis; the greatest loss occurred immediately following diagnosis. Milk loss persisted until at least 70 d after diagnosis for Streptococcus spp., Klebsiella spp., and A. pyogenes. The tendency for higher producing cows to contract CM may mask its impact on cow health and production. These findings provide dairy producers with more information on which pathogen-specific CM cases should receive treatment and how to manage these cows, thereby reducing CM impact on cow well being and profitability.     

Impact of early lactation somatic cell count in heifers on milk yield over the first lactation

The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of somatic cell count (SCC) in early lactation (SCCel) [measured between 5 to 14 d in milk (DIM)] of dairy heifers on test-day milk yield (MY) during the first lactation.In total, 117,496 four-weekly test-day records of 14,243 heifers were used. A multilevel regression analysis, which included test-day SCC among the explanatory variables, revealed that an increase by one unit of the natural log-transformed SCCel (LnSCCel) was on average associated with a decrease in MY of 0.13 kg/d later in lactation. As an example, a heifer with an SCCel of 50,000 cells/mL measured at 10 DIM was estimated to produce 119 and 155 kg more milk during its first lactation than heifers with a SCCel of 500,000 and 1,000,000 cells/mL, respectively. When not accounting for test-day SCC, the effect of LnSCCel on MY was larger, indicating that part of the negative impact of elevated SCCel was associated with elevated test-day SCC later in lactation.Furthermore, an elevated SCCel at 14 DIM had a larger impact than an equally elevated SCCel measured at an earlier DIM. In addition, the negative effect of an elevated SCCel remained present during almost the entire first lactation in a subgroup of heifers with a second test-day SCC 相似文献   

A meta-analysis on the relationship between intake of nutrients and body weight with milk volume and milk protein yield in dairy cows

Previously observed strong relationships between dry matter (DM) intake and milk yield in dairy cows were the basis for this meta-analysis aimed to determine the influence of intake of specific dietary nutrients on milk yield and milk protein yield in Holstein dairy cows. Diets (563) from feeding trials published in the Journal of Dairy Science were evaluated for nutrient composition using 2 diet evaluation programs. Intake of nutrients was estimated based on DM intake and program-derived diet composition. Data were analyzed with and without the effect of stage of lactation. Models based on intake of nutrients improved prediction of milk yield and milk protein yield compared with DM intake alone. Intake of net energy of lactation was the dominant variable in milk yield prediction models derived from both diet evaluation models. Milk protein yield models also improved prediction over the DM intake model. These models were dominated by ruminally undegradable protein intake and included a number of energy-related intake variables. In most models, incorporating stage of lactation improved the model fit.     

The effects of controlled feeding of a high-forage or high-concentrate ration on heifer growth and first-lactation milk production

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate growth and first-lactation milk production in dairy heifers fed a high-forage (HF) or high-concentrate (HC) ration for similar levels of average daily gain (ADG) before puberty. Responses in weight and structural gains were determined on 41 Holstein heifers fed diets containing the same ingredients but formulated in different proportions to give 2 treatment rations of 75% forage or 75% concentrate. The feeding period lasted 245 d, and individual animal dry matter intake was controlled to maintain constant ADG between diets. Puberty was assessed, and first-lactation milk production was evaluated through 150 d. Average dry matter intakes required to achieve desired levels of gain were 5.96 HF and 5.32 HC kg/d (SE ± 0.12), and the associated feed efficiency (kg of ADG/kg of dry matter intake) was 0.142 HF and 0.156 HC (SE ± 0.003) over the experimental growth period. Throughout the feeding period, ADG was not affected by treatment (0.828 HF vs. 0.827 HC; SE ± 0.010 kg/d). Gains in structural measurements were not affected by treatment with the exception of paunch girth, which increased faster in HC-fed heifers. Body weight at puberty (293 HF vs. 287 HC; SE ± 7 kg) and experimental ADG prior to puberty (0.837 HF vs. 0.837 HC; SE ± 0.009 kg/d) were not different between rations. Milk and component production were numerically greater for heifers fed HC prior to puberty, although only fat-corrected milk and fat production were significant. From the results of this experiment we conclude that, compared with heifers fed HF for equal ADG, feeding dairy heifers HC before puberty did not affect most structural growth characteristics or puberty attainment and allowed equal or improved 150-d milk and component production. Controlled feeding of HC during the rearing period may allow for improved growth efficiency for dairy heifers while maintaining future productivity.     

A meta-analysis of the effects of dietary protein concentration and degradability on milk protein yield and milk N efficiency in dairy cows

Data sets from North American (NA, 739 diets) and North European (NE, 998 diets) feeding trials with dairy cows were evaluated to investigate the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) intake and ruminal degradability on milk protein yield (MPY) and efficiency of N utilization for milk protein synthesis (MNE; milk N ÷ N intake) in dairy cows. The NA diets were based on corn silage, alfalfa silage and hay, corn and barley grains, and soybean meal. The NE diets were based on grass silage, barley and oats grains, and soybean and rapeseed meals. Diets were evaluated for rumen-degradable and undegradable protein (RDP and RUP, respectively) concentrations according to NRC (2001). A mixed model regression analysis with random study effect was used to evaluate relationships between dietary CP concentration and degradability and MPY and MNE. In both data sets, CP intake alone predicted MPY reasonably well. Addition of CP degradability to the models slightly improved prediction. Models based on metabolizable protein (MP) intake predicted MPY better than the CP or the CP-CP degradability models. The best prediction models were based on total digestible nutrients (TDN) and CP intakes. Similar to the MPY models, inclusion of CP degradability in the CP (intake or concentration) models only slightly improved prediction of MNE in both data sets. Concentration of dietary CP was a better predictor of MNE than CP intake. Compared with the CP models, prediction of MNE was improved by inclusion of TDN intake or concentration. Milk yield alone was a poor predictor of MNE. The models developed from one data set were validated using the other data set. The MNE models based on TDN and CP intake performed well as indicated by small mean and slope bias. This meta-analysis demonstrated that CP concentration is the most important dietary factor influencing MNE. Ruminal CP degradability as predicted by NRC (2001) does not appear to be a significant factor in predicting MPY or MNE. Data also indicated that increasing milk yield will increase MNE provided that dietary CP concentration is not increased, but the effect is considerably smaller than the effect of reducing CP intake.     

Pathogen-specific effects on milk yield in repeated clinical mastitis episodes in Holstein dairy cows

The objective of this study was to estimate the effects of clinical mastitis (CM) cases due to different pathogens on milk yield in Holstein cows. The first 3 CM cases in a cow’s lactation were modeled. Eight categories of pathogens were included: Streptococcus spp.; Staphylococcus aureus; coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS); Escherichia coli; Klebsiella spp.; cases with CM signs but no bacterial growth (above the level detectable by our microbiological procedures) observed in the culture sample, and cases with contamination (≥3 pathogens in the sample); other pathogens that may be treated with antibiotics (included Citrobacter, Corynebacterium bovis, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, Pasteurella, Pseudomonas; “other treatable”); and other pathogens not successfully treated with antibiotics (Trueperella pyogenes, Mycoplasma, Prototheca, yeasts; “other not treatable”). Data from 38,276 lactations in cows from 5 New York State dairy herds, collected from 2003–2004 until 2011, were analyzed. Mixed models with an autoregressive correlation structure (to account for correlation among the repeated measures of milk yield within a lactation) were estimated. Primiparous (lactation 1) and multiparous (lactations 2 and 3) cows were analyzed separately, as the shapes of their lactation curves differed. Primiparas were followed for up to 48 wk of lactation and multiparas for up to 44 wk. Fixed effects included parity, calving season, week of lactation, CM (type, case number, and timing of CM in relation to milk production cycle), and other diseases (milk fever, retained placenta, metritis, ketosis, displaced abomasum). Herd was modeled as a random effect. Clinical mastitis was more common in multiparas than in primiparas. In primiparas, Streptococcus spp. occurred most frequently as the first case. In multiparas, E. coli was most common as the first case. In subsequent cases, CM cases with no specific growth or contamination were most common in both parity groups. The hazard of CM increased with case number. Mastitic cows were generally higher producers before the CM episode than their nonmastitic herdmates. Milk loss varied with pathogen and case number. In primiparas, the greatest losses were associated with E. coli and “other not treatable” organisms. In multiparas, the greatest losses were associated with Klebsiella spp. and “other not treatable” organisms. Milk loss was not associated with occurrence of CNS. The findings may help farmers to make optimal management decisions for their cows.     

Effect of hoof trimmer intervention in moderately lame cows on lameness progression and milk yield

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of hoof trimmer intervention (HTI) in moderately lame cows on lameness progression and milk yield. Two freestall Holstein herds were enrolled. Cows were milked 2 (herd A: 2,374 cows) or 3 (herd B: 2,800 cows) times a day. Within each dairy, moderately lame cows [locomotion score (LS) = 3 on a 5-point scale] were randomly assigned to control group (CON; herd A = 66, herd B = 84) or treatment group (HTI; evaluated and treated by the hoof trimmer under researchers' supervision; herd A = 73; herd B = 75). Enrollment criteria were <350 d in milk, <180 d pregnant, >10 kg/d of milk yield, not selected for therapeutic trimming 2 mo before enrollment, and >14 observations of daily milk yield during the study period. Biweekly lameness scoring (LS ≤2, LS = 3, LS ≥4) was conducted up to 6 wk post-intervention. Lesion type and severity records were collected at intervention from HTI cows and up to 6 wk post-intervention from all enrolled cows identified as lame by farm employees. Daily milk yield data were collected from ?1 to 6 wk relative to intervention using Afifarm (Afimilk Ltd., Kibbutz Afikim, Israel) records. No treatment effect was detected on the predicted probability of locomotion score, but the predicted probability of LS ≥3 decreased over time in herd B, whereas in herd A, it initially decreased but later increased. A tendency for a treatment by time interaction was observed in herd A; at 2 wk post-intervention, the predicted probability for LS ≥3 was higher for HTI (0.69) than for CON (0.43), but similar at 4 wk (0.41 HTI, 0.49 CON) and 6 wk (0.77 HTI, 0.73 CON). At intervention, most study cows had no lesions (41.2%), sole hemorrhages (28.4%), thin soles (8.8%), or vertical fissure (6.8%). During the 6 wk following intervention, a similar proportion of cows were identified as lame in CON (8.7%) and HTI (6.7%) groups. In herd A, milk yield (least squares means ± standard error) was similar for CON (42.0 ± 0.77 kg/d) and HTI (42.3 ± 0.75 kg/d) cows, whereas in herd B, it tended to be lower for HTI (43.7 ± 0.61 kg/d) than for CON (45.2 ± 0.59 kg/d) cows. A significant effect of time was detected on both dairies, with milk yield decreasing over the study period. In our study, implementing HTI on moderately lame cows resulted in no improvement in gait or milk yield. The low presence of severe lesions amenable to therapy may partially explain our findings.     

Association between milk yield and serial locomotion score assessments in UK dairy cows

This study investigated the effect of lameness, measured by serial locomotion scoring over a 12-mo period, on the milk yield of UK dairy cows. The data set consisted of 11,735 records of test-day yield and locomotion scores collected monthly from 1,400 cows kept on 7 farms. The data were analyzed in a multilevel linear regression model to account for the correlation of repeated measures of milk yield within cow. Factors affecting milk yield included farm of origin, stage of lactation, parity, season, and whether cows were ever lame or ever severely lame during the study period. Cows that had been severely lame 4, 6, and 8 mo previously gave 0.51 kg/d, 0.66 kg/d, and 1.55 kg/d less milk, respectively. A severe case of lameness in the first month of lactation reduced 305-d milk yield by 350 kg; this loss may be avoidable by prompt, effective treatment. Larger reductions can be expected when cases persist or recur. Evidence-based control plans are needed to reduce the incidence and prevalence of lameness in high yielding cows to improve welfare and productivity.     

The impact of clinical lameness on the milk yield of dairy cows

This paper investigates the impact of lameness on milk yield. The dataset includes approximately 8000 test-day milk yields from 900 cows on five farms in Gloucester, UK, collected over 18 mo from 1997 to 1999. The data were structured to account for repeated measures of test-day yield (1 to 10 per cow) and analyzed to account for this autocorrelation. Factors affecting milk yield included: farm of origin, stage of lactation, parity, and whether a cow ever became lame. In clinically lame cows, milk yield was reduced from up to 4 mo before a case of lameness was diagnosed and treated and for the 5 mo after treatment. The total mean estimated reduction in milk yield per 305-d lactation was approximately 360 kg. We conclude that clinical lameness has a significant impact on milk production. This is important information for assessing the economic impact of clinical lameness and its impact on cow health. It adds weight to the importance of early identification of clinical lameness and the urgency of techniques to improve the definition of this highly subjective diagnosis.     

Association between early postpartum rumination time and peak milk yield in dairy cows

Limited information is available on the relationship between rumination time (RT) in the early postpartum period and milk production later in lactation. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the association of change in RT and average RT during the immediate postpartum period with peak milk yield (PMY) in dairy cows, and (2) determine the best model based on days in milk (DIM) to evaluate this association. Cows from 33 free-flow automatic milking system farms were included in this study, where retrospective milk production and RT data were collected for 12 mo. Cows were categorized by parity number into parity 1 (P1, n = 1,538), parity 2 (P2, n = 1,354), or parity ≥3 (P3+, n = 1,770). For each cow, PMY was identified as the highest daily milk yield up to 180 DIM for P1 and 120 DIM for P2 and P3+ cows. Five change in RT variables and 5 average RT variables were created corresponding to the first 2 to 6 DIM. Change in RT variables were the slope coefficients for change in RT/d related to DIM = 1 extracted from simple linear regressions, and average RT variables were the arithmetic mean RT. Five models analyzing PMY and corresponding variables calculated over the first 2 to 6 DIM had fixed effects of average RT, change in RT, parity, average RT × parity interaction, change in RT × parity interaction, and a random intercept for farm. Peak milk yield occurred at (median) 75, 44, and 46 DIM for P1, P2, and P3+, respectively. Overall PMY was (mean ± standard deviation) 54 ± 11 kg and it increased as parity increased. A positive association was found between change in RT and PMY, and average RT and PMY for P2 and P3+ cows in all 5 models corresponding to the first 2 to 6 DIM, indicating that greater average RT and quicker increase in RT after calving are associated with greater PMY for multiparous cows. Although the model including all 6 DIM had the greatest accuracy, results indicated that rumination data collected over the first 2 DIM may also provide adequate information for the association of average RT and change in RT with PMY in P2 and P3+ cows. For each 100 min/d increase in change in RT over the first 6 DIM, PMY increased by 4.3 (95% confidence interval: 2.2–6.3) and 4.8 (95% confidence interval: 3.2–6.5) kg for P2 and P3+ cows, respectively. Peak milk yield increased by 2.3 (95% CI: 1.7–2.8) and 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.7–2.6) kg for each 100 min increase in average RT over the first 6 DIM for P2 and P3+ cows, respectively. No association was observed between rumination behaviors and PMY for P1 cows. Results from this study indicate that the length of time for multiparous cows to achieve a stable RT in the early postpartum period combined with average RT during the same period may be useful in predicting their overall lactation milk production.     

Automatic cluster remover setting affects milk yield and machine-on time in dairy cows

The primary objectives of this study were to examine effects of automatic cluster remover (ACR) settings on milk yield and machine-on time, and to describe variation in cow body weight (BW) associated with day of bovine somatotropin (bST) cycle. Automatic cluster removal settings of 0.48, 0.6, and 0.8 kg/min were used to regulate the end of milk removal. The setting was changed every 2 wk for 12 wk and followed the sequence 0.8, 0.6, 0.48, 0.48, 0.6, and 0.8 kg/min. Milk yield, machine-on time, and BW were measured for 60 Holstein cows at each milking. Milk yield averaged 19.7, 19.9, and 19.3 kg/cow per milking for ACR settings of 0.48, 0.6, and 0.8, respectively. There was a 2.5% reduction in milk yield at the high setting, but yields were similar for the others. Machine-on time was 6.3, 5.9, and 5.6 min for ACR settings of 0.48, 0.6, and 0.8, respectively. There was an 11.1% reduction in milking time between the 0.8- and 0.48-kg/min settings. The middle ACR setting yielded a shorter milking time than the low setting without reducing production. Milk yield and cow BW increased over the 14-d bST cycle, peaking by d 8, and then declining through d 14. Automated collection of milk yield, milking time, and BW at each milking can be used to establish normal patterns for individual animals, which could be useful in making management decisions.