УДК 636
Authors:
Skvortsova E. G.,
Skvortsov E. A.
Currently, the productive longevity of dairy cows is trending downward. A direct relationship has been found between the level of milk production and the length of economic use. The age of retirement of dairy cows from the herd in the Russian Federation is approximately 2.5 - 3.0 lactations. Culling and replacement decisions are made based on the productivity, reproduction, and health of the cow compared to other cows in the herd and available replacement heifers. Despite the identified benefits of increasing the economic longevity, global trends in the longevity of a cow in a dairy herd have been largely negative. In addition, efficient milk production and the welfare of dairy cattle are not necessarily ensured by the longest productive life. As the economic longevity of cows increases, there is an increase in the costs of veterinary care and reproductive management. However, a short productive longevity due to health problems is likely to be disadvantageous and raises questions about the welfare and suboptimal feeding of dairy cattle.
Key words: milk production efficiency, productive longevity, cattle
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