ECONOMICALLY USEFUL SIGNS OF DAIRY BREEDS CATTLE IN HERDS OF RESEARCH FARMS OF THE NETWORK OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES OF UKRAINE
Authors: Vyshnevskyi L. V. , Voitenko S. L. , Sydorenko O. V. 
Published: May 2019

In conditions of intensive dairy farming, breeding and breeding work deserves special attention, which helps to create highly productive herds of animals with improved economic characteristics.

To determine the state of the dairy industry in the research farms of the NAAS network and the possibilities of adjusting the direction of selection, the task was to study the productivity of herds of different breeds according to the Instructions for boning cattle of dairy and dairy-beef breeds.

According to the results of the analysis, it has been established that in 25 breeding herds of experimental farms of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, the number of cattle of dairy production as of 01.01.2018 amounted to 15500, including 8060 cows. The Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy breed was kept in 17 experimental farms, in three – Ukrainian Red-and-White Dairy breed, in two breeds – Ukrainian Brown breed, in one Ukrainian Red Dairy, Ayrshirе and Holstein breeds. The vast majority of zoonotic animals – 99.5%, belonged to pure-bred and IV-th generation. Elite-record and elite class account for 81% of the total livestock in experimental farms.

The analysis of cows by age in calves shows that in experimental farms, the majority of cows with two or three calves (64.6%) are kept, although among the studied breeds this figure is slightly different. The evaluation of cows by the age of the first calving and age in the calving indicates that the herds are not evenly differed from the breed. It was found that the average age of cows in calving in herds of experimental farms was 3.1 out of the range of 1.3–4.7 beds. Average in the cows' cows at the first hotel was 27.7 months. The number of primates introduced into the herd, which depends on the presence of non-cells and the need for replacement of full-eyed cows, has high variability in herds of experimental farms, ranging from 13.8% to 77%, with an average herd score of 27.6%.

The analysis of cows of investigated breeds in herds of experimental farms shows that the cows of the Ukrainian Red Dairy, Ukrainian Red-and-White Dairy and Ayrshirе breeds are superior to the breeds. At an average yield of the studied breeds – 6157 kg. For cows of all investigated breeds, there is a tendency to increase the supply with an increase in the number of lactation, and it is determined that cows with the highest tastes are selected to the breeding group.

It was established that the breeds of cattle of experimental farms of the NAAS network did not differ significantly in their content of fat and protein in milk, both on average for herds and for lactation. At the same time, the fat content in milk of cows of investigated breeds on average was 3.8% for the variation of the characteristic within the limits of 3.6–4.1%. The highest fat content characterizes the milk of cows of Ukrainian brown breeds – 4.2% for the third lactation .The lowest fat content in milk was found in the Holstein breed – 3.6%. In cows of some breeds with an increase in supplements and serial numbers of calving, the fat content of milk increased, while in others the opposite – declined.

The live weight of cows of the investigated breeds was 559 kg and ranged from 527 kg (Ayrshire) to 586 kg (Ukrainian Red Dairy). It should be noted that the cows of the investigated breeds most intensively increased live weight after the second lactation. The highest live weight is characteristic for full-age cows of Ukrainian Red Dairy and Ukrainian Brown Dairy breeds – 635 kg and 628 kg, respectively.

The evaluation of cows by type of body structure showed that among the estimated 7602 cows in experimental farms, 39.5% had an excellent score, 30.1% – very good, 21.7% – good with a plus, 7.6% – good, 1.1% – satisfactory and 0.01% – not satisfactory.

The proportion of fertilized females from the first insemination in experimental farms of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine 50% for the variation in the indicator for breeds within 32–82%. From the available heifers in the herds of experimental farms artificially infected were almost 63% of the population for some variability of this indicator for the breeds. The average live weight of heifers at the first insemination in herds of experimental farms of the NAAS network was 385 kg and ranged from 360 kg in heifers of the Ayrshire breed to 405 kg in females of Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy breed. The proportion of fertilized heifers from the first insemination among the animals of the investigated breeds was 73–84% on the average indicator of experimental farms – 78%.

Analysis of the age of heifers at the first insemination shows that in experimental farms they are asymptomatic when they reach the age of 17.7 months. At the same time, the heifers of the Ukrainian Red Dairy and Ukrainian Brown Dairy breeds were earlier marketed by the 18-month old age, Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy from 15 months to 23.2 months of age. At a rather late age – 23.2 months.

The calves retention in the herds of the research farms of the NAAS network is rather high – on average 94.7% for changes in the trait from 91% to 100%.

As the results of our research prove, the live weight of repair heifers of the investigated breeds at the age of 6 months varied from 154 kg (Ayrshire) to 185 kg (Ukrainian Brown Dairy) breed and on average in herds of experimental farms it was 173 kg. At 12 months of age, the average live weight of repair heifers in herds of experimental farms was 290 kg for the least live weight in this period in the hens of the Ayrshire breed – 251 kg, and the largest – 320 kg in the representatives of the Ukrainian Red breed. The number of heifers, which at live weight exceeded the requirements of the breed standard at 12 months of age, increased by 10% to the previous period and amounted to 59%. The live weight of heifers in this age period in breeding farms was 399 kg on average – 360 kg in the herd of the Ayrshire breed and the maximum – 452 kg in animals of Ukrainian Red Dairy breed.

Monitoring of the state of dairy cattle breeding in breeding herds of the experimental farms of the NAAS network indicates that in the vast majority of them there are well-developed animals with high milk productivity and reproductive capacity.