College - Author 1
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Department - Author 1
Dairy Science Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Dairy Science
Date
3-2013
Primary Advisor
Stan Henderson
Abstract/Summary
The objective of this study was to utilize electronically recorded data from on-farm milk recording systems and herd management software to determine if a sire has a genetic influence on his daughter’s milking duration. Measurements of milking duration from three dairy facilities were taken between January 27, 2013 and January 31, 2013. These measurements supplied 25,070 observations, corresponding to 9,418 cows and 895 sires. These data were evaluated with a SAS alongside a herd-mate comparison. The statistical analysis demonstrated that a sire does have a genetic influence on the milking duration of his progeny. The Van Beek Brothers and Dairyland Farms data sets reported an estimated covariance of 0.117 and 0.1491 for sire with heritability of 0.18947368 and 0.46706868 respectively. In addition, the herd-mate comparison showed some differences amongst sire ranging from the mean of 12.62 minutes. After comparing sires with over 50 daughters, a total of 35 bulls, the deviations between daughter milking duration were between -2.91 and 2.03 minutes. Based on the results presented in this study, it appears that further research will be required to finalize any significant outcome. With increasing technologies, the recording of milking duration will become more accurate and efficient to acquire. As producers begin to focus more on efficiency and profitability, the need to group the milking duration of their animals will increase. Future research should be conducted on milking duration to determine the factors that influence the time it takes cows to milk out.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/dscisp/103