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Characterization of dairy farm environments and their effect on cow lifespan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

I.M.S. White ,
M.P. Coffey ,
M.J. Haskell  and
S. Brotherstone
I.M.S. White
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
M.P. Coffey
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Penicuik, EH26 0PH, United Kingdom
M.J. Haskell
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Penicuik, EH26 0PH, United Kingdom
S. Brotherstone*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
*
Email:s.brotherstone@ed.ac.uk
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Extract

Environmental sensitivity exists when an environmental difference has more effect on some genotypes than on others (Falconer and Mackay, 1996). Quantifying the degree of environmental sensitivity shown by individual sires allows us to identify sires as specialists (those which rank highly in certain environments) or generalists (those which rank similarly across environments). Dairy farm environments vary enormously and this affects the production and health of the cows. The aims of this study were (1) to relate detailed survey information on farm management systems to information available at the national level to provide a definition of farm environment, and (2) to assess the effect of environment on lifespan.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2007 , April 2007 , pp. 53
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2007

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References

Brotherstone, S., Veerkamp, R.F. and Hill, W.G. 1997. Genetic parameters for a simple predictor of the lifespan of Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle and its relationship to production. Anim. Sci., 65:31–37.Google Scholar
Falconer, D.S. and Mackay, T.F.C. 1996. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. 4th ed. Longman Group, Essex, UK.Google Scholar