Hide/Show Nav
One Town Center, 4201 Northview Drive, Suite 302, Bowie, MD 20716 | Ph: 240 334 7744

Reproductive status of cows in Dairy Herd Improvement programs and bred using artificial insemination (2014)

H.D. Norman, L.M. Walton, and João Dürr

Background

Measures of reproductive performance are now available from most Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) herds, whereas historically comprehensive documentation of reproductive performance was available for only days open or calving interval or from a limited number of research herds. Nieuwhof et al. (1989, Journal of Dairy Science 72:685-692) and Hare et al. (2006, Journal of Dairy Science 89:365-370) reported averages for age at first calving and calving interval for U.S. DHI herds. Norman et al. (2009, Journal of Dairy Science 92:3517-3528) provided a comprehensive summary from 1996 through 2007 of 9 reproductive traits for U.S. Holsteins and Jerseys in DHI herds.

More selection emphasis has been placed on fertility in recent years (Cole et al., 2009, AIPL Research Report NM$4) following a steady decline in a few of the important reproductive traits. For example, days open, which is used to calculate pregnancy rate for genetic evaluations increased by 37 days for Holsteins from 1960 through 2000; around 75% of that increase in days open was attributed to genetics (Trend in daughter pregnancy rate for Holsteins or Red & Whites, April 2015), a consequence of selection for higher milk yield traits.

The purpose of this 2016 annual report is to provide updates for some of the important reproductive traits. The phenotypic averages provided include both genetic and environmental differences. A few traits have shown improvement since 2004; others deteriorated for a time, but all now show slight or considerable improvement. Obviously, Holsteins drive industry trends because they account for a high percentage of the cow population. Considerable fluctuation over time is evident for a few of the other breeds because of their limited numbers.


Table Summaries

TABLE 1. 20161 REPRODUCTIVE TRAIT AVERAGES and standard errors by breed.
 
SAS Output
Trait Ayrshire Brown Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey Milking Shorthorn Red & White
Breedings per conception 1.9+/- 0.02 2.4+/- 0.02 2.4+/- 0.03 2.4+/- 0.00 2.2+/- 0.00 1.7+/- 0.04 2.2+/- 0.05
Days from calving to first breeding 91+/- 0.7 89+/- 0.4 93+/- 0.8 78+/- 0.0 76+/- 0.1 91+/- 1.3 85+/- 1.0
Days from calving to last breeding 126+/- 1.4 139+/- 1.0 141+/- 1.9 124+/- 0.1 111+/- 0.2 116+/- 2.3 127+/- 2.3
Days from first to last breeding 42+/- 1.1 64+/- 0.9 65+/- 1.6 56+/- 0.1 44+/- 0.2 31+/- 1.6 50+/- 2.0
Conception rate for first breedings 0.41+/- .009 0.30+/- .005 0.29+/- .009 0.34+/- .000 0.41+/- .001 0.43+/- .016 0.35+/- .015
Conception rate for all breedings 0.40+/- .006 0.27+/- .003 0.27+/- .005 0.32+/- .000 0.37+/- .001 0.40+/- .011 0.32+/- .009
Calving interval 407+/- 1.8 430+/- 1.2 430+/- 2.4 403+/- 0.1 388+/- 0.2 405+/- 3.4 409+/- 3.1

1Cows first bred in 2016 for all traits except calving interval; for calving interval, cows with first calving for the interval in 2013.
  • The fewest breedings per conception was 1.7 for Milking Shorthorns; the highest was 2.4 for Brown Swiss, Guernseys and Holsteins.
  • Days from calving to first breeding averaged 76 for Jerseys and 78 for Holsteins; the other breed averages ranged from 85 to 93 days.
  • Days from calving to last breeding were fewest for Jerseys (111) and highest for Guernseys (141).
  • Days from first to last breeding, the breeding interval, were fewest for Milking Shorthorn (31) and highest for Guernseys (65) and Brown Swiss (64); Ayrshires and Jerseys averaged 42 and 44 and Holsteins averaged 56 days.
  • Conception rate for first breedings was highest for Milking Shorthorns (43%) and Jerseys (41%) and lowest (29%) for Guernseys; Holsteins averaged 34%.
  • Breeds had similar results for conception rate for all breedings as for first breedings, although slightly lower.
  • Calving interval (days) was shortest for Jerseys (388) and longest for Guernseys and Brown Swiss (430); Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns averaged 403 and 405, respectively.


 
TABLE 2. Average numbers of BREEDINGS PER CONCEPTION by breed and year of first breeding.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9
Brown Swiss 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Guernsey 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.4
Holstein 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.4
Jersey 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.2
Milking Shorthorn 1.6 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.7
Red & White 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2

  • Breedings per conception (or number of services/conception) were often highest in 2005 to 2007 and have decreased by at least 0.2 since for 5 of the 7 breeds.

 
TABLE 3. Average DAYS FROM CALVING TO FIRST BREEDING by breed and breeding year.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 96 94 94 94 93 92 94 95 95 92 91
Brown Swiss 93 93 92 92 92 90 89 89 87 88 89
Guernsey 94 91 89 93 95 88 90 91 92 88 93
Holstein 88 87 86 85 83 81 81 79 78 78 78
Jersey 86 86 84 83 78 76 77 76 75 74 76
Milking Shorthorn 92 98 91 95 94 88 93 99 94 91 91
Red & White 96 97 94 87 86 86 84 85 86 85 85

  • Days from calving to first breeding has decreased by 10 or 11 days since 2004 in Holsteins, Jerseys, and Red and White. The other 4 breeds are lower also by 1 to 5 days.
  • Norman et al. (2009) indicated that much of the recent decline has resulted from the adoption of heat synchronization and timed AI.

 
TABLE 4. Average DAYS FROM CALVING TO LAST BREEDING by breed and year of first breeding.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 134 134 132 134 131 132 132 134 133 126 126
Brown Swiss 150 157 160 155 152 146 147 144 140 143 139
Guernsey 148 153 150 152 149 147 145 144 145 142 141
Holstein 143 146 145 141 136 133 132 130 126 126 124
Jersey 129 132 130 126 121 116 115 113 110 110 111
Milking Shorthorn 122 118 119 122 122 121 123 133 120 124 116
Red & White 143 148 146 143 133 136 129 128 126 126 127

  • Days from calving to last breeding declined from 6 to 19 days for all breeds over the last 10 years.
  • The Holstein, Jersey, and Red and White averages showed the largest declines of 16 to 19 days.

 
TABLE 5. Average DAYS FROM FIRST TO LAST BREEDING by breed and year of first breeding.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 47 50 49 48 42 47 50 48 47 43 42
Brown Swiss 72 79 81 78 73 69 72 69 66 67 64
Guernsey 72 76 75 76 71 73 71 65 65 67 65
Holstein 67 71 70 67 63 62 62 61 58 58 56
Jersey 53 57 57 54 51 48 47 45 43 45 44
Milking Shorthorn 34 25 36 35 37 41 36 38 29 40 31
Red & White 58 59 62 64 56 57 53 48 48 50 50

  • Breeding intervals are lower in 2016 by 3 to 11 days than in 2004 for all breeds.
  • Breeding intervals increased for all breeds before declining.

 
TABLE 6. Average CONCEPTION RATES FOR FIRST BREEDINGS by breed and breeding year.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 0.38 0.37 0.36 0.37 0.39 0.38 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.41 0.41
Brown Swiss 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.27 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30
Guernsey 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.27 0.26 0.25 0.27 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.29
Holstein 0.33 0.31 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.34
Jersey 0.41 0.40 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.40 0.41 0.41 0.43 0.42 0.41
Milking Shorthorn 0.43 0.45 0.38 0.40 0.41 0.38 0.42 0.39 0.43 0.39 0.43
Red & White 0.33 0.33 0.30 0.28 0.33 0.35 0.33 0.35 0.37 0.35 0.35

  • Holstein conception rates for first breedings were lowest (31%) in 2005 and 2006 and highest (34%) in 2016. Ayrshire, Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn had the highest conception rates in 2016 at 41, 41, and 43%, respectively.

 
TABLE 7. Average CONCEPTION RATES FOR ALL BREEDINGS by breed and year of first breeding.
 
SAS Output
Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ayrshire 0.36 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.39 0.37 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.39 0.40
Brown Swiss 0.26 0.25 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27
Guernsey 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.26 0.24 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27 0.27 0.27
Holstein 0.31 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.31 0.30 0.30 0.31 0.31 0.32
Jersey 0.37 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.37 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.37
Milking Shorthorn 0.41 0.44 0.35 0.38 0.40 0.36 0.39 0.39 0.42 0.37 0.40
Red & White 0.30 0.32 0.31 0.29 0.31 0.34 0.34 0.33 0.34 0.33 0.32

  • The lowest conception rates for all breedings were usually from 2005 to 2009.
  • The conception rates for all breedings in 2016 were lower (1 to 4%) than those from first breedings in all breeds. Ayrshire and Milking Shorthorn had the highest rate (40%) while Brown Swiss and Guernsey had the lowest (27%).

 
    TABLE 8. Average CALVING INTERVALS (days) by breed and year of first calving for the interval.
     
    SAS Output
    Breed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
    Ayrshire 421 420 421 416 418 412 418 421 417 407
    Brown Swiss 443 444 451 448 448 440 432 434 430 430
    Guernsey 437 440 438 439 441 435 432 436 432 430
    Holstein 422 423 423 418 417 412 409 408 404 403
    Jersey 412 411 411 402 400 396 393 392 390 388
    Milking Shorthorn 407 409 407 419 412 408 402 420 405 405
    Red & White 431 434 436 422 417 412 416 416 410 409

  • The long-term deterioration in calving interval described by Nieuwhof et al. (1989) and Hare et al. (2006) often continued into 2005 or 2006 for several breeds but since has been reversed.
    • Holstein calving intervals averaged 423 days in 2005 and 2006 but has improved to 403 days in 2013.
    • Jersey calving intervals improved from 412 days in 2004 to 388 days in 2013.
    • Brown Swiss calving intervals improved from 451 days in 2006 to 430 days in 2013.
  • The positive economic impact from these reduced calving intervals cannot be overemphasized, as it reflects a valuable measure of the overall reproductive picture.
  • Continued improvement of this trait is especially important to herds engaged in seasonal calving.

 
TABLE 9. Numbers of RECORDS (2003–12): A) AYRSHIRE, B) BROWN SWISS, C) GUERNSEY, D) HOLSTEIN, E) JERSEY), F) MILKING SHORTHORN, and G) RED & WHITE used to calculate reproductive statistics by breed, trait, and year..
  • Information in Tables 1 through 8 was based on the numbers of records in Tables 9A through 9G.
  • The number of reproduction records available through DHIA doubled from 2004 to 2016 revealing that more dairy producers are taking advantage of this management option.
  • Over 90% of the reproductive data each year came from the Holstein breed.
  • Reproductive records from Jerseys increased from 5% in 2004 to 8% in 2016.

A) AYRSHIRE
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 3,601 3,630 3,732 3,636 3,554 3,196 3,729 3,644 3,810 3,509 3,266
Days from calving to first breeding 3,740 3,748 3,854 3,750 3,714 3,309 3,875 3,804 3,950 3,616 3,388
Days from calving to last breeding 2,600 2,644 2,652 2,698 2,614 2,367 2,681 2,681 2,781 2,645 2,483
Days from first to last breeding 3,601 3,630 3,732 3,636 3,554 3,196 3,729 3,644 3,810 3,509 3,266
Conception rate for first breedings 3,338 3,356 3,458 3,356 3,197 2,917 3,402 3,380 3,502 3,232 3,029
Conception rate for all breedings 7,238 7,550 7,845 7,290 7,015 6,115 7,592 7,382 7,698 7,018 6,275
Calving interval 1,905 1,911 1,905 1,750 1,686 1,560 1,876 1,959 1,927 1,685 1,454




B) BROWN SWISS
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 8,850 9,591 9,358 9,730 9,980 9,631 10,183 10,343 10,129 9,837 9,792
Days from calving to first breeding 9,263 9,956 9,701 10,096 10,347 10,034 10,535 10,734 10,522 10,179 10,113
Days from calving to last breeding 5,582 5,952 5,866 6,263 6,421 6,288 6,788 6,834 6,697 6,616 6,417
Days from first to last breeding 8,850 9,591 9,358 9,730 9,980 9,631 10,183 10,343 10,129 9,837 9,792
Conception rate for first breedings 8,291 8,936 8,784 9,178 9,186 8,994 9,500 9,704 9,497 9,232 9,016
Conception rate for all breedings 21,101 23,475 23,965 25,277 25,367 23,987 24,789 25,300 24,736 23,927 23,897
Calving interval 4,702 4,720 4,684 5,050 4,898 5,044 5,370 5,209 5,155 5,006 4,612




C) GUERNSEY
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 4,044 3,872 3,536 3,501 3,481 3,224 3,616 3,413 3,269 3,025 3,028
Days from calving to first breeding 4,235 4,055 3,673 3,651 3,622 3,354 3,772 3,557 3,389 3,123 3,137
Days from calving to last breeding 2,730 2,555 2,333 2,339 2,207 2,074 2,378 2,231 2,182 2,050 1,990
Days from first to last breeding 4,044 3,872 3,536 3,501 3,481 3,224 3,616 3,413 3,269 3,025 3,028
Conception rate for first breedings 3,812 3,643 3,333 3,185 3,066 2,962 3,300 3,099 2,996 2,742 2,743
Conception rate for all breedings 10,431 10,143 9,544 9,361 9,113 8,869 9,287 8,610 8,074 7,728 7,574
Calving interval 2,052 1,912 1,707 1,674 1,531 1,622 1,651 1,549 1,461 1,464 1,200




D) HOLSTEIN
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 984,877 1,031,143 1,085,585 1,359,327 1,405,339 1,443,052 1,676,243 1,736,086 1,815,016 1,849,049 1,936,988
Days from calving to first breeding 1,019,832 1,066,383 1,120,941 1,400,539 1,450,009 1,487,654 1,726,766 1,787,086 1,871,082 1,903,898 1,991,008
Days from calving to last breeding 747,777 767,540 808,838 1,027,967 1,068,031 1,100,565 1,281,763 1,323,516 1,388,850 1,418,267 1,489,524
Days from first to last breeding 984,877 1,031,143 1,085,585 1,359,327 1,405,339 1,443,052 1,676,243 1,736,086 1,815,016 1,849,049 1,936,988
Conception rate for first breedings 957,172 1,005,601 1,039,122 1,275,701 1,341,797 1,392,511 1,618,344 1,690,291 1,766,396 1,806,504 1,884,420
Conception rate for all breedings 2,391,113 2,602,466 2,750,888 3,367,179 3,558,438 3,577,913 4,160,264 4,365,205 4,500,487 4,566,678 4,687,767
Calving interval 534,143 537,435 590,502 728,929 747,607 794,539 893,245 928,740 966,380 995,483 1,020,967




E) JERSEY
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 48,440 51,369 53,722 88,725 95,032 104,099 128,136 147,029 156,312 167,061 177,995
Days from calving to first breeding 50,547 53,436 55,745 91,901 98,292 107,154 132,111 151,689 162,154 172,223 183,422
Days from calving to last breeding 38,799 41,345 42,351 70,611 76,521 85,469 106,748 121,614 128,483 137,015 144,245
Days from first to last breeding 48,440 51,369 53,722 88,725 95,032 104,099 128,136 147,029 156,312 167,061 177,995
Conception rate for first breedings 46,810 49,644 51,692 80,911 89,753 98,790 119,900 137,583 144,405 152,409 159,622
Conception rate for all breedings 105,280 114,640 121,975 194,742 221,264 234,996 281,870 322,371 335,890 361,614 390,120
Calving interval 28,315 29,229 30,799 49,266 53,284 58,163 75,681 80,720 86,569 91,642 89,449




F) MILKING SHORTHORN
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 359 560 453 783 815 696 927 1,003 1,213 1,107 1,100
Days from calving to first breeding 386 604 479 801 854 720 955 1,053 1,261 1,169 1,175
Days from calving to last breeding 239 377 291 507 574 475 648 718 854 771 753
Days from first to last breeding 359 560 453 783 815 696 927 1,003 1,213 1,107 1,100
Conception rate for first breedings 310 469 382 667 725 618 803 855 1,058 983 986
Conception rate for all breedings 588 869 760 1,316 1,448 1,325 1,661 1,832 2,026 2,039 1,925
Calving interval 164 169 202 325 307 305 382 483 481 448 339




G) RED & WHITE
 
SAS Output
Trait 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Breedings per conception 1,276 1,219 1,100 1,377 1,291 1,166 1,202 1,200 1,135 1,200 1,082
Days from calving to first breeding 1,326 1,260 1,137 1,405 1,325 1,207 1,253 1,255 1,176 1,236 1,111
Days from calving to last breeding 865 853 763 980 888 865 910 824 827 849 790
Days from first to last breeding 1,276 1,219 1,100 1,377 1,291 1,166 1,202 1,200 1,135 1,200 1,082
Conception rate for first breedings 1,159 1,105 987 1,246 1,204 1,080 1,144 1,130 1,046 1,128 1,022
Conception rate for all breedings 2,970 2,646 2,440 3,298 2,950 2,527 2,731 2,615 2,375 2,530 2,522
Calving interval 612 513 533 685 582 564 578 578 566 562 563


Contact: Duane Norman, 301-525-2006, duane.norman@uscdcb.com