Dairy production or suckler cow production what is the most future oriented production system for traditional dairy breeds?

Transcription

1 Dairy production or suckler cow production what is the most future oriented production system for traditional dairy breeds? Nina Sæther & Anna Rehnberg Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre Socio-economic and Cultural Values of Farm Animal Breeds NordGen Workshop Iceland sept 2011

2 Outline > Suckler cow production in Norway > Norwegian dairy breeds > Differences in traits between the dairy breeds > The population size and structure, endangered dairy breeds > Case study: How one breeding association fights suckler cow production > Concluding remarks

3 Suckler cow production is increasing in Norway > General trend, last decade: > Total dairy cow population is slightly decreasing (- 10 %) > Total suckler cow population is increasing (+ 152 %) (imported beef breeds and cross breds) > Traditional dairy breeds: > % are in suckler cow production > Small populations (less than 1000)

4 Traditional dairy breeds > Native

5 Criteria for being regarded as a native breed in Norway > The breed shall have been bred in Norway for at least five generations without major import of other breeding material. > If the breed has a sister population (international or national) it can still be regarded as native if: > The breed has been genetically isolated without major import of other breeding material. > The breed has obtained unique traits due to diverging breeding practice compared to the sister population. > The breed shall have or have had commercial and cultural-historical importance. > The breed shall not have been so few in number that today s breed only can be regarded as a reconstruction Norwegian Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources, 2008

6 Traditional dairy breeds > Native > Endangered > National conservation programmes > Main goal: Increase population sizes

7 Sided Trønder and Nordland 1000 cows Døla Telemark 650 cows Western Red Polled 200 cows Eastern Red Polled 200 cows 170 cows Western Fjord 850 cows

8 Norwegian Red (NRF) > 98 % of all dairy cows in the national dairy recording scheme in Norway are NRF = NRF cows

9 Differences in breeding goals The six endangered breeds NRF >Milk production >Avoidance of inbreeding >Breed type >Pure breeding >Dual purpose breed >Broad breeding goal >Both production and health traits included >Included progeny testing of 250 daughters >Relationship index in addition to breeding index >Ne = 173 (2008)

10 Annual milk yield, Norwegian cattle breeds Sided Trønder and Nordland (STN) Telemark Western Red Polled Western Fjord Døla Eastern Red Polled NRF Tine Advisor & Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre (2010)

11 Differences in live weight and milk quality? (Sæther et al 2002) Trait STN NRF Live weight, kg, sign dif Milk fat, %, sign dif Milk protein % 3.29 Milk lactose %, sign dif

12 Protein allele frequences (e. Lien et al 1999) Protein/Breed Døla Fjord Tele WRP ERP STN NRF a s1 casein B 1,0 0,7 1,0 1,0 0,9 0,9 0,9 C 0,0 0,3 0,0 0,0 0,1 0,1 0,1 b-casein A1 0,4 0,3 0,7 0,4 0,4 0,3 0,5 A2 0,6 0,7 0,3 0,6 0,6 0,6* 0,5 k-casein A 0,8 0,6 0,7 0,6 0,8 0,7 0,8 B 0,2 0,4 0,3 0,4 0,2 0,3 0,1* b-lactalbumin A 0,4 0,2 0,1 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,3 B 0,6 0,8 0,9 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8

13 Meat quality, STN (Aass & Fristedt 2005) Conclusion > Little variation in tenderness, all over rather tender meat > Small study, preliminary results

14 Differences in grazing preferences? Sæther et al, 2005 On mountain grasslands: Semi natural and species rich (appr. 100 different plant species recorded) When grazing not very nutritious rich grasslands; NRF seemed to prefer more nutritive plants and vegetation types than STN

15 Differences between NRF and STN in level of activity when grazing mountain pastures (Sæther et al 2006) > Do they do the same things?? > STN walks and play more than NRF > NRF stands more than STN > No differences in time spent on drinking, lying or grazing

16 Conclusions, differences in traits > STN cows (compaired to NRF cows): > Lower yield > Lower live weight > Higher fat content in milk > More tender meat > Higher frequency of k-casein B > Not so focused on grazing more nutritive plants and vegetation on species rich grass lands > Several interested traits for extensive (suckler cow) production systems

17 No of cows Population sizes of the endangered breeds Sided Trønder and Nordland (STN) Telemark Western Red Polled Western Fjord Døla Eastern Red Polled Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre (2010)

18 Population sizes and share of suckler cows 90 % 79 % 73 % 80 % 67 % 70 % 55 % 50 % 60 % 50 % 30 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % Tot pop size Share of Suckler cows 0 0 % Sided Trønder and Nordland (STN) Telemark Western Red Polled Western Fjord Døla Eastern Red Polled Tine Advisor & Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre (2010)

19 No of cows Population sizes without suckler cows Tot pop size 600 Dairy population Sided Trønder and Nordland (STN) Telemark Western Red Polled Western Fjord Døla Eastern Red Polled

20 Stated concerns from breeders Against suckler cow production Pro suckler cow production > Impossible to record milk yield > Udder traits are destroyed > Heifers nursed as suckler calves too wild to be milked > Traditional knowledge is lost > Modern times modern usage > Grazing animals needed > Less labour demanding > The breed is being utilized, not going extinct

21 Traditional knowledge?? If these cows are fed as high producing breeds: >Fat cows > Infertile > Poorer milk yield >Calving problems >Fat heifers >Develope fat tissue instead of udder tissue

22 Case study: the STN breed > 1000 cows > Annual milk yield: kg > No progeny testing > Avoidance of inbreeding > 70 % of the population are used as dairy cows

23 Number of cows Number of dairy and suckler cows, STN STN dairy cows STN suckler cows

24 Case study: STN breeding association > Several initiatives to reduce the share of suckler cows in the population > Up to 2009: Requesting the agricultural authorities to differentiate the subsidies to endangered cattle breeds

25 Evaluation of the subsidies to the native endangered cattle breeds (Norwegian Agricultural Authorities, 2010) Stating: > All populations have increased since conservation programs and subsidy system started > Important to stimulate the three smallest breeds > Uncertainty about the effect of differentiating the subsidies between suckler and dairy cows Conclusion: > Differentiation not recommendable

26 Case study: STN breeding association > Several initiatives to reduce the share of suckler cows in the population > Up to 2009: Requesting the agricultural authorities to differentiate the subsidies to endangered cattle breeds

27 Case study: STN breeding association > Several initiatives to reduce the share of suckler cows in the population > Up to 2009: Requesting the agricultural authorities to differentiate the subsidies to endangered cattle breeds > August 2010: Breeding bulls from suckler cows are excluded from the herd book

28 Case study STN: Expected effects of excluding suckler bulls from herd book > Securing the breed s dairy traits > Maintaining traditional knowledge on dairy production > Excluding pure bred animals from herd book > Splitting an already small population > Sustainable breed management?

29 Concluding remarks > A substantial part of the endangered breeds is in suckler cow production > Excluding suckler cow production from conservation programs will decrease the total population sizes of the endangered breeds > Maintaining the traditional knowledge on dairy production on traditional and endangered dairy breeds might be a challenge

30 Threat or opportunity? The main goal in the conservation programme: > Increase the population size! > Suckler production is contributing to the increase in population sizes of endangered populations > Suckler cow production might be a challenge but should not be regarded as a threat to the traditional low producing dairy breeds.

31 Thank you!