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Reproductive performance of Holstein, Norwegian and crossbred dairy cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

A J Dale ,
C P Ferris ,
M A McCoy  and
C S Mayne
A J Dale*
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6DR, UK
C P Ferris*
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6DR, UK
M A McCoy
Affiliation:
Veterinary Science Division, Stoney Road, Belfast, BT4 3SD, UK
C S Mayne
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6DR, UK
*
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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Extract

Declining fertility is a major problem on dairy farms throughout the United Kingdom, with a recent farm survey identifying infertility as the primary reason for culling dairy cows in Northern Ireland (Mayne et al., 2002). This decline in fertility is often attributed to the focus on milk production within the Holstein-Friesian breed, and as a consequence, there is a growing interest in alternative dairy cattle breeds and in the use of crossbreeding. Norwegian dairy cattle (NRF) have been evaluated at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland since 2000, with a recent on-farm study indicating a significant improvement (P<0.05) in conception to 1st service with NRF compared to Holstein dairy cattle (Ferris et al., 2004). This study examines the reproductive performance of Holstein and Norwegian cattle, and of crossbred animals of these two breeds.

Type
Poster presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2006 , March 2006 , pp. 91
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 The American Society of International Law

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References

Ferris, C.P., Patterson, D.C. and McKeague, J.A. 2004. A comparison of the first lactation performance of Holstein-Friesian and Norwegian dairy cows on Northern Ireland dairy farms. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, 2004: p 47 Google Scholar
Mayne, C.S., McCoy, M.A., Lennox, S.D., Mackey, D.R., Verner, M., Catney, D.C., McCaughey, W.J., Wylie, A.R.G., Kennedy, B.W. and Gordon, F.J. 2002. Fertility of dairy cows in Northern Ireland. Veterinary Record 150: 707-713 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed