ABSTRACT Genetic selection for improved feed efficiency in dairy cattle has received renewed attention over the last decade to address needs of a growing global population. As milk yield is critical component metrics animals, our objective was evaluate associations between primiparous Holstein and parameters mathematical model describing individual lactation curves. The Dijkstra curve ...

(Co)variance components for milk, fat, and protein yields during first and second lactations were estimated from test-day data from 23,029 Holstein cows from 37 herds in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin using a multitrait test-day model. Canonical transformation was used with an expectation-maximization algorithm. To allow description of (co)variances within and across yield traits and parities, four...

Although the intensive production system of Lacaune dairy sheep is the only profitable method for producers outside of the French Roquefort area, little is known about this type of systems. This study evaluated yield records of 3677 Lacaune sheep under intensive management between 2005 and 2010 in order to describe the lactation curve of this breed and to investigate the suitability of differen...

Nine mathematical models were compared for their ability to predict daily milk yields (n = 294,986) in standard 305-d and extended lactations of dairy cows of Costa Rica. Lactations were classified by parity (first and later), lactation length (9 to 10, 11 to 12, 13 to 14, 15 to 16, and 16 to 17 mo), and calving to conception interval (1 to 2, 3 to 4, 5 to 6, 7 to 8, and 9 to 10 mo). Of the nin...

A method with best prediction properties that condenses information from all test days into measures of lactation yield and persistency has been proposed as a possible replacement for the test interval method and projection factors. The proposed method uses previously established correlations between individual test days and includes inversion of a matrix for each lactation. Milk weights that w...