Evaluation of Selected Effects on Milk Production and Fertility in Holstein Dairy Cattle

Abstract

The breeding of dairy cattle, in terms of investment and operating costs, is the most demanding sector of livestock production. In terms of importance for agricultural enterprises and all of society, in most EU Member States and the Czech Republic it is one of the major agrarian sectors. Milk production in the Czech Republic has been an important source of income for farmers. For this reason, it is important to ensure an adequate level of milk production in dairy cattle herds and the resulting profit of the enterprise. At the present time in the Czech Republic, it is difficult to ensure profitability in dairy farming because input costs have a continuously rising trend, as compared to the price of milk, which is very unstable. The evaluation of selected indicators of milk yield and fertility in dairy herds is an important tool for evaluating the economics and the level of the breeding. The highest milk yield in kilograms during the first lactation was attained by dairy cows that calved at the age of 27 to 29 months (9,335 kg of milk). When utilizing the DOUBLE OVSYNCH synchronization protocol, the average calving interval was 412 days, and a higher conception rate after first insemination (43%) was found as compared to the nationwide average in the Czech Republic (34.2%).

Keywords

• age at first calving
• fertility
• holstein cattle
• milk yield