Ajayi Ayobami Ayodeji.

Ans/2013/011
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT EXPLANATORY AND RESPONSE VARIABLES IN DAIRY CATTLE
PRODUCTION

There are several explanatory factors affecting the productivity of a dairy cattle production. The
variables discussed are extracts from research papers to explain how they affect milk
production.

Artificial intelligence in dairy production

Artificial intelligence is being implemented into the dairy industry. Connecterra, a tech company
that’s using TensorFlow, a technology created by Google, has designed these trackers, called
IDAs, that sit around the neck of the cow.

With this collar, they can measure the behaviors of the cow, know whether she is standing or
laying, eating, rumination, drinking, walking, all of the standard behaviors of the cow.

While the cow is wearing the collar, the tracker collects data that can provide insights on the
health, heat stress, feeding, efficiency, and estrus of the cow. The data is then wirelessly
transmitted back to a cloud using these antennas where it can be accessed on a computer and
even on a cellphone.

“In this situation, it’s grabbing all these types of data from these cows 24 hours a day and it’s
able to synthesize that data into actual insights for farmers. So, tensor flow is great in these data
heavy tasks and is really able to pull out with deep learning way that can actually aid the
farmers in their production.

https://www.farm-monitor.com/new-artificial-intelligence-technology-changing-dairy-industry/

Breed of sire

On a simplified basis, the rate of genetic advancement in a dairy herd is primarily a function of
three factors: 1) the superiority of parents; 2) the accuracy of the parent’s genetic indexes and
3) the generation interval expressed as the time between the birth of the parent to the birth of
the calf. Dairy cattle breeders have, in the past, placed a priority on intense selection, but today
with genomic information generation interval is necessary.

In a population of dairy cattle there are four groups, commonly called transmission pathways
that are considered when determining the overall population rate of improvement. These
pathways are: 1) the Sires of Bulls (SB); 2) the Sires of Cows (SC); the Dams of Bulls (DB); and the
Dams of Cows (DC). Breeders do not have equally accurate information on each pathway and
definitely do not apply equal selection intensity for each pathway.

The bottom line is that determining which parent pathway is the most important rests with
which testing and selection program a breeder wants to follow. For breeders using the
traditional progeny testing program by far the most important animals are the sires of the
young bulls (SB) that enter A.I. progeny testing programs. For breeders wanting to advance their
herds at a faster rate by using the less accurate genomic information and shorter generation
intervals, the dams of the bulls (DB) is the most important pathway. No matter which program a
breeder chooses it is important to have a plan and always use the best available animals.

https://www.thebullvine.com/dairy-cattle-reproduction/sire-vs-dam-greater-impact-herds-
genetic-improvement/

Seasonal effect

Data was presented showing that the average monthly decrease in milk production for all
breeds is very uniform, the production during the twelfth month being approximately 50 per
cent of the production during the best month.

The principal variations in milk production, aside from that due to the advance of lactation,
were found to be largely due to the changes in pasture during the spring and summer months.
The fundamental reason for the variation in milk is probably one of nutrition. This in turn being
affected to some extent by atmospheric temperature. Cows on test being well fed are probably
less affected, either favorably or unfavorably, by pasture than those not being pushed for
maximum production.

From the standpoint of total milk production, cows calving in the fall and winter months equal
or exceed the average production while those calving during the summer months are generally
below the average.

Journal of dairy science: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(23)94079-

8/abstract.

Location

There are many factors a dairy producer would consider when seeking a location for a dairy
farm. Here are some of the factors that might be considered:

Availability of suppliers (vets, equipment, feed companies, etc.); Land and infrastructure
availability and cost; Proximity to areas that have productive land for forage and grain crops;
Location of processing plants; Risk management – irrigation areas; Many factors pertaining to
the exogenous dynamics beyond the farm, such as where their support is, such as the
aggregation of dairy farmers and market dynamics; Simply personal preference and what they
value in a community; Above all the weather and Climate condition.

Alberta milkhttps://albertamilk.com/ask-dairy-farmer/what-factors-affect-the-location-of-a-
dairy-farm/

Effect of cross breed

purebred calves from dual-purpose breeds obtained greater PR and MV than purebred calves
from dairy breeds. Thus, they contributed positively to the farm income. Holstein-Friesian
showed greater PR and MV than BS calves. Simmental exhibited superior BW, PR, and MV than
AG calves, but it should be considered that cows of the latter breed are lighter than cows of the
former. Crossbreeding with LI bulls increased BW, PR, and MV of calves from dairy and AG
breeds, but had less impact on SI cows. Crossbreeding with BB bulls increased PR and MV of
calves of dairy and dual-purpose breeds much more than LI bulls. The greatest increase in MV
was produced when BB semen was used on BS and AG cows and the least when used on SI
cows. Market value of male was greater than that of female calves with the exception of
purebred dairy calves. Results highlighted that breed complementarity (Cartwright, 1970)
occurred and the use of crossbreeding on cows not used to breed replacements in dairy herds
can result in greater economic revenue from selling crossbred calves. In the more specialized
dairy herds, the use of crossbreeding has been decreasing because of fertility and longevity
problems. However, this practice is expected to become more popular in the next years because
there is an increasing interest in the use of sexed semen among dairy producers. This
perspective would lead to more dairy cows available for mating with beef bulls.

Oxford academic journal of Animal Sciences.

https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/87/9/3053/4793340

Management system

A study carried out in Brazil showed the effect of different Production management systems on
milk yield and quality. This study provides the characteristics of the conventional high input (C-
HI), conventional low input (C-LI), and organic low input (O-LI) pasture-based production
systems used in Southern Brazil, and its consequences on production and milk quality. C-HI
farms had larger farms and herds, annual pasture with higher inputs and milk yield, whereas O-
LI had smaller farms and herds, perennial pastures with lowest input and milk yields; C-LI was in
between. O-LI farms may contribute to eco-system services, but low milk yield is a major
concern. Hygienic and microbiological milk quality was poor for all farms and needs to be
improved.

The three pasture-based systems differed in type of pasture (perennial or annual), farm size,
intake of concentrate and silage and pasture diet. The O-LI had the smallest farms and herds,
lowest input and lowest milk yields compared to C-HI and C-LI. C-HI had higher inputs and milk
yields than C-LI. Total milk composition was little affected by production system and season, but
BTSCC was generally high and BMBC exceeded the acceptable level in all systems and all
seasons. Based on the available data we may conclude that C-HI and O-LI systems are
economically more beneficial for the farmer; however, the low milk yields on O-LI farms are a
major concern. Besides milk production, O-LI farms may contribute to important eco-system
services. Cell count and hygienic quality need to be addressed in all production systems
especially during the autumn.

An open Access journal from MDPI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4598689/

Insemination Technician

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University have used radiography to evaluate

insemination technique accuracy. This method allows the interior of the tract to be viewed
without dissection and the location of the insemination rod to be easily seen. Twenty
professional technicians and twenty owner-inseminators were evaluated by this technique. Each
participant inseminated twenty reproductive tracts. Two radiographs were evaluated for each
insemination. The first was taken after insemination rod placement and the second after semen
deposition. Placement of the rod tip was assessed from the first radiograph and distribution of
semen from the second.

Analysis of radiographs of all inseminations indicated that only 39 percent of the rod tip
placements were within the uterine body. Placements in the cervix, right uterine horn, and left
uterine horn were 25, 23, and 13 percent, respectively. Semen distribution, determined from
the second radiograph, showed that 40 percent of the semen was located in the uterine body or
equally distributed in both uterine horns. The remaining 60 percent was located in the cervix or
disproportionately in one uterine horn. Accurate distribution of semen was significantly related
to proper placement of the insemination rod.

Pennstate extension: https://extension.psu.edu/artificial-insemination-technique

Response variables in dairy cattle production

Relationship of Age at First Calving, Days Open, Days Dry, and Herdlife to a Profit function for
Dairy Cattle

Relationships of breeding and management factors to economic return for dairy cows were
studied in lifetime records from 933 Holstein cows. A profit function was defined from milk
production, body weight, reproductive performance, herdlife, and prices for feed energy, milk,
calves, salvage value, and fixed costs. Statistics on individual cows were milk yield, days in milk
for each lactation, fat percent, weight at first calving and maturity, number artificial
inseminations, and age at each calving and at disposal. Values of each trait maximizing a second
trait are defined as optimal. Optimum percent days open and days dry were 31.0 and 10.5 for
profit per day-herdlife. Slightly larger percentages were optimal for total performance traits,
profit-life, milk-life, and herdlife. Optimum age at first calving for total lifetime performance was
22.5 to 23.5 mo. Profit per day of herdlife was $.05 larger for cows calving during the 25th mo of
age than those calving earlier. Days open, days dry, and age at first calving accounted for 10.0,
4.5, and .9% of variation in herdlife; for 4.3, 18.8, and .6% in milk per day-life; and 8.1, 8.3, and
5.2% of variation in profit per day-herdlife. Correlations between age at first calving with
percent days open and herdlife were .05 and −.10. Maximum profit per day-herdlife was
expected for cows with 25 mo of age at first calving, 124 days open, and 42 days dry while
maximizing milk per day-life and herdlife.

Journal of dairy science: https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(76)84333-

0/abstract.

Factors affecting non-return rate in dairy cattle

Non-return rate (NRR) to artificial insemination (AI) gives a measure of bull fertility early in the
mating season. Calving rate can be biased due to culling and is available too late in the season
to be useful for detecting sub-fertile bulls. A current limitation, in the New Zealand dairy
industry, to calculating the NRR for bulls is that it is largely based on raw averages of binary data
(returned or not) and using only qualifying matings. For example, for an 18-24 day NRR, a
mating would qualify if the insemination occurred at least 24 days prior to the end of the
observation period and this would utilise only about 42% of the available mating information.
Currently no account is taken of environmental factors that may affect NRR (e.g. region, breed
of cow) and of the number of inseminations for each bull. The variable of interest is the time
interval between the mating date for a cow and an end-point. For a cow returning to service
during the AI mating period, the end-point is the date of return to service. For non-returns
within the mating period, the end-point is the final AI mating date for the herd. The former type
of mating record is uncensored while the latter is a censored record in the sense that a possible
return event may not be observed.