Animal Bytes

Take Home Message: Selection for increased milk yield and lower somatic cell counts based on 305-d lactation data is resulting in a shift in peak yield, a flatter lactation curve and lower cell counts in mid-late lactation.
The rate of change of milk predicted transmitting abilities (PTAs) at various days in milk (DIM) is greatest around [...]

 Take Home Message: Selecting for milk yield decreases fertility and body condition score.
Selecting for increased milk production leads to a deterioration in genetic merit for fertility and condition score. That was the unequivocal conclusion of a study carried out by geneticists at SAC on the college’s Langhill herd, which was under maximum selection for milk [...]

Take Home Message: Selecting for carcass conformation in dairy cows will reduce milk yield but improve fertility, with little effect on somatic cell count or lifespan.
Selection on an index that improves carcass conformation of Holstein Friesian beef by 0.1 of a unit will lead to a reduced rate of improvement in production traits and an [...]

Take Home Message: Earlier turnout for 2-3h per day in the Spring will decrease total mixed ration intake and have no effect on milk yield or composition, improving margin over feed by 50p/cow/day
Allowing access to grazing for two hours per day in the spring had no effect on milk yield or milk composition in autumn [...]

Take Home Message: If you wish to have extended lactations above 305 days then select bulls with a high genetic merit for milk and milk protein yield that produce a high proportion of milk in the first few months of lactation
Protein yield early in lactation – the first two months – has a genetic correlation [...]

Take Home Message: Feeding maize silage will increase intake and milk output, but has little effect on milk fatty acid composition
Despite some beneficial changes associated with the replacement of grass silage with maize silage, the overall effects on milk fatty acid composition would not be expected to substantially improve long-term human health.
That was just one [...]

Take Home Message: Finishing beef animals on grass improves the shelf life of the meat.     
Meat from grazed cattle had an improved colour and lipid stability than that from concentrate-fed cattle due, to a higher deposition of vitamin E.
Just one of the findings of a study carried out by scientists to determine the influence of a [...]

Take Home Message: Estimated breeding values for calving interval are not influenced by management decisions on when to re-breed.
         
Any bias against early maturing British Limousin heifers from management decisions on when to re-breed did not adversely affect the calving interval estimated breeding values (EBVs).
That’s what a team of scientists at the Scottish Agricultural College found [...]

Take Home Message: Genetic selection for carcass quality traits in beef animals can be improved by using carcass data collected at the abattoir.
Improving beef carcass quality traits through genetic selection is possible, according to the results of a recent study carried out by researchers at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC).
“The data we gathered gave a [...]

 Take Home Message: CT scanning accurately predicts carcass quality in beef  joints. This information can be used in breeding programs or for industry benchmarking
CT scanning allows fast and accurate assessment of beef carcass composition with lower costs than physical dissection – the traditional method – and without damaging or devaluing the carcass.
“And this information is [...]