| title: | Eesti veisetõugude toodanguvõime ja tervisliku seisundi väljaselgitamine kõrge söötmistaseme korral |
|---|---|
| reg no: | PM12 |
| project type: | Põllumajandusministeeriumi põllumajanduslike rakendusuuringute ja arendustegevuse toetus |
| subject: |
4.4. Animal Husbandry (incl. Pisciculture) |
| status: | accepted |
| institution: | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU |
| head of project: | Olav Kärt |
| duration: | 01.01.2003 - 31.12.2006 |
| description: | The project was launched by the cattle breeding societies in December, 2000. A council, comprising members of breeding societies and animal breeding researchers, was formed to initiate, realize and analyze the results of the project. The main objective of the project is a comprehensive comparison of the cattle breeds, bred in Estonia, on high feeding background. Within last years, attention has been focused on genetic potential of dairy cows, their milk yield, composition and technological properties of milk, relationship between health, fertility and feeding of cows. Studies have indicated that the genetic potential of milk productivity of cows has increased from year to year. In the US the annual genetic trend for milk yield of dairy cows has accelerated with time and had means of 37 kg during the 1960s, 79 kg during the 1970s, 102 kg during the 1980s, and reached 116 kg during the 1990s. No doubt that by using new breeding methods breeding success will continue in the near future. It is well known that an increased productivity level of cows is related to a higher incidence of metabolic disorders e.g. ketosis, fatty liver, acidosis, milk fever etc, and lower fertility. On the basis of the results of previous investigations it can be assumed that the increase in the genetic trend for milk yield is related to the incidence of metabolic disorders of cows. Selecting cows by milk yield, we actually prefer the dairy cows with more intensive gluconeogenesis and the cows using more body reserves during the period of negative energy balance. While the heritability of reproductive ability and metabolic disorders is low, the health, fertility and stayability of dairy cows should be improved by feeding and keeping. However, the prepartum and postpartum nutrition of dairy cattle is a very complicated problem, as during this period prevails the milking on negative energy balance and the cows are using body reserves to synthesize milk. Our research is primarily focused on this period of lactation. Manipulating different energy sources and gluconeogenesis precursors of a diet, we try to shorten the period of postpartum negative energy balance, reduce the incidence of metabolic disorders and improve the reproductive performance of dairy cows. As the cows with high breeding value use concentrates more efficiently for milk production, compared with the cows with low breeding value, we attempt to find the economically optimum forage-concentrate balance in a diet, based on the cows¿genetic trend for milk production. |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Hanno Jaakson | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU | doktorant | |
| 2. | Olav Kärt | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU | professor | |
| 3. | Meelis Ots | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU | teadur | |
| 4. | Eve Rihma | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU | teadur | |
| 5. | Jaak Samarütel | Institute of Animal Husbandry at EAU | doktorant | |