Treatise on dairy farming. Breeds
Yurii Sivov, head of the development department of the DGE Consulting Center
Until recently, many breeds of cattle for dairy and dairy-meat productivity were bred in Ukraine. Each of them has its own characteristic features and makes its own demands on the living conditions under which it can most fully develop its economically useful qualities.
In zoological terms, cattle belong to the bovine subfamily. In addition to the usual cattle, this also includes buffalo, bullheaded bulls and bison. All of them are independent zoological genera. The first three of them exist both in the wild and in the domesticated state, bison and bison - only in the wild. All genera of cattle descended from one common ancestor of the genus Leptobos, which was widespread in southern Asia and Europe about one and a half million years ago. From it, under the influence of various factors of adaptive evolution, new forms of animals arose, including the above-mentioned genera of the bovine subfamily.
The wild ancestors of common cattle of the genus Bos were distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Europe and Asia during the glacial and post-glacial periods. Wild bulls of the historical period, known collectively as aurochs, existed in Central Europe until the early seventeenth century. The last representative of this species (female) lived in custody in the Jaktor Forest near Warsaw and died in 1627. In Southern Europe, the tours disappeared earlier. The different timing of the extinction of aurochs in different places of the Old World is obviously related to the degree of development of domestic cattle breeding. In the ancient pastoralist countries of South Asia, pastures for wild bulls began to be limited much earlier than in Central Europe, where they existed much longer. Here, in the south of Asia, a little later humpbacked livestock, the zebu, also appeared.
The beginning of the domestication of wild bulls - aurochs - dates back to that period of history when people moved from a hunting to a herding lifestyle and partly to agriculture. By that time (8–9 thousand years BC), man had domesticated dogs, small cattle and pigs. The domestication of cattle is associated with the creation of a more or less stable food supply thanks to the development of agriculture. The oldest centers of domestication of cattle are India, South-West Asia, and the Mediterranean. In addition, the domestication of cattle occurred in parallel and independently in the middle and southern parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, but later. In the south of Ukraine, in the regions of the Lower Dnieper region, in the Trypillian culture zone, bones of domestic cattle were found, belonging to animals of different sizes. Judging by a number of material remains of Trypillian culture, the domestication of livestock took place here, on the spot.
The main reason for the domestication of cattle was primarily the human need for meat for nutrition. Following the example of the domestication of small ruminants and pigs, young cattle caught during hunting were kept in captivity as a kind of game reserve. Then, over many generations, animals gradually entered human life and began to reproduce in captivity. Livestock breeding moved towards working use and milk production. During the domestication of wild bulls and their subsequent breeding into a domesticated state, significant changes occurred in the living conditions of the animals: they lost freedom of movement, and humans took care of their feeding and protection from predators; he began to manage the reproduction of animals and their settlement, as well as direct economic productivity. Natural selection has been replaced by artificial selection. As a result, livestock, compared to their wild ancestors, has become more diverse and flexible in adapting to different living conditions.
In terms of body size, livestock are much smaller than wild animals. Numerous wild aurochs fossils found in Western Asia, North Africa and Europe are about 300 thousand years old. Turs reached a height at the withers of 1.8-2.1 m and were distinguished by long, massive horns. The physiological signs that determine the productivity of animals have undergone the most significant changes. Fertility has increased significantly due to the compaction of calving: the seasonality of reproduction characteristic of wild animals is almost not observed in domestic animals, because mating and calving can occur at any time of the year. The precocity of animals has increased significantly, both in relation to puberty and physical development.
The milk productivity of domestic cows has sharply increased, their milk yield is much higher than that of wild animals (it can be called hypertrophied: for example, in Holsteins it increased by more than 20 times). Significant changes have occurred in the chemical composition of milk and meat. Livestock easily creates conditioned reflexes and quickly adapts to changes in the environment.
Until recently, many breeds of cattle for dairy and dairy-meat productivity were bred in Ukraine. Each of them has its own characteristic features and makes its own demands on the living conditions under which it can most fully develop its economically useful qualities. Back in the 80s of the last century in Ukraine, according to breed zoning plans, the following breeds were kept: gray Ukrainian, red steppe, Simmental, Lebedinsky, white-headed Ukrainian, red Polish, brown Carpathian and black-and-white.
Gray Ukrainian cattle
Of the breeds bred in our country, the gray Ukrainian breed, created by the labor of many generations, was of great value. The breed is included in the general group of breeds and offspring of gray steppe cattle - indigenous and aboriginal breeds of South-Eastern Europe, formed under the influence of natural, historical and economic conditions over a large territory (gray Ukrainian in Ukraine, Bulgarian gray in Bulgaria). It comes from local cattle, the ancestors of which are considered to be the wild bull - the aurochs.
Gray Ukrainian cattle were formed without the participation of other breeds and were formed under the influence of human labor in the conditions of the southern black soil steppes of Ukraine. The soil and climatic features of the steppe zone, the conditions of feeding and keeping livestock, as well as the selection and economic use of animals contributed primarily to the creation of large and strong working-type livestock, with their characteristic exterior forms. The color of livestock is gray and light gray; many animals, in particular bulls, have dark spots (tan marks) on the neck, chest and belly. The hooves, ends of the horns, tail brush, and nasal planum of all animals are dark in color. Calves are usually born red, graying with age. The head of cows is long, rough, set high, the horns are most often lyre-shaped. The neck is long, with well-developed muscles, the withers are also high and muscular. The back and lower back are straight, the sacrum is long. The hips are not very full and round. The legs are strong, correctly placed, with strong joints and hooves.
Animals have good adaptability and vitality. At the end of the 19th century. Gray cattle were the main breed of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Ukraine, but already at the beginning of the twentieth its number began to sharply decrease. With the development of industry and the growth of the urban population in Ukraine, the demand for milk and dairy products increased significantly, and the gray Ukrainian could not satisfy this demand; its displacement began by crossing with other, more dairy-bearing breeds.
Already by 1949, its quantity was just over 5% of the pedigree livestock of Ukraine. Today it practically does not exist in its purity. At the same time, it served as the basis for the creation of modern herds of cattle in Northern, Eastern and Central Ukraine for dairy and meat productivity.
Simmental cattle
The Simmental population is one of the largest on all continents: more than 41 million heads, according to the World Simmental Livestock Organization. They are used in both dairy and beef cattle breeding.
It is well known that Simmentals were bred in Switzerland, in the valley of the Simm River, canton of Bern, where their name comes from. However, some literary sources claim that the origin of this breed is still unknown. For example, S.G. Azarov (1943) argued that, according to craniological studies, Simmentals were not bred in Switzerland in prehistoric times. In all likelihood, they were brought to this country by immigrants from Scandinavia. It is known that in 443 AD. The Burgundians invaded the territory of modern Switzerland. “It is likely that they brought and spread cattle that displaced the local ones and became the material for the creation of Simmental cattle,” the researcher believed. The ancestral home of the Simmentals is Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea coast. It is believed that the breed originates from animals obtained by crossing wild aurochs with peat or pile cattle.
The Simmental breed acquired its modern appearance in the 19th century. It was formed in the mountains of Switzerland at an altitude of 1000-2000 meters above sea level. Thin air, rich grass and high nutritional value of alpine meadows and pastures, saturation of soil, water and plants with minerals, a relatively warm climate and mountainous terrain left their mark on it. These cattle are distinguished by their large stature, bonyness, strong muscles, rough skin and a relatively high ability to acclimatize.
The requirements of cheese making contributed to an increase in the milkiness and fat content of Simmental milk. The export of Simmentals from Switzerland to other countries played a very important role in the formation of the breed and especially its exterior. Adapting to the requirements of foreign buyers, Swiss cattle breeders created a variety of types in the breed and achieved harmony in physique. Since Ukraine, which was part of the Russian Empire at that time, was one of the main buyers of Simmentals, then, of course, the requirements of Ukrainian cattle breeders left a certain imprint on the type of this cattle.
In addition to Switzerland, Simmental cattle came to Ukraine from Austria-Hungary (Germany, Austria, Hungary and others). Basically, this happened after the First World War. The Simmentals of Germany were formed in the south of the country by the absorption crossing of local (mainly mountain) cows with bulls, first of the Bernese (predecessors of the Simmentals), and then of the Simmental breed. During the selection of both bulls and their offspring in Germany, animals with lower legs were preferred and they had characteristics associated with beef cattle. This led to the fact that these signs of Simmentals of Germanic origin became characteristic. However, along with the characteristics of the meat type, German Simmental cattle were distinguished by a fairly high milk production.
In Hungary, for a long time, the local Hungarian gray steppe was crossed with Simmentals. A peculiar breed of Hungarian Simmentals was formed, called “Magyarks” and differing from the Swiss Simmentals by slightly lighter weight, meatiness, thinner bones, less regular exterior and higher milk production. This breed is closely related to the Ukrainian Simmental cattle, because both are obtained from crossing two offspring of gray steppe cattle with Simmentals.
In Germany and Austria, the breed was called Fleckvieh, in France - Montbéliarde, in Hungary - Hungarian Pnstraya, etc. and had different areas of productivity: from dairy to meat.
A little later, Simmentals appeared in South Africa. In the XX century. The breed is distributed in Asia, North and South America. In the Czech Republic, the Simmental breed is called the Czech Pied. It makes up about half of all livestock. Czech breeders have done a lot of work to achieve high quality milk and meat from livestock.
Simmentalized cattle of Ukraine were formed by absorption crossing of local breeds, mainly gray Ukrainian, with Simmentals, with the simultaneous breeding of crosses of the desired type “in themselves”. This crossbreeding began en masse in the 70–80s of the 19th century, although rare cases of importation of variegated animals from Switzerland occurred at the beginning. This process occurred most intensively in the beet-growing regions of Poltava, Kyiv, Kharkov provinces and in the western regions of Ukraine.
Basically, the breeding of Simmentalized cattle was carried out on large landowner farms. Among the first factories of Simmental cattle in Ukraine, one should name the landowner farms in Novo-Bykov in the Chernigov region in 1815-1828 (M. P. Chirvinsky, 1885), in Belaya 1860 (V. V. Bukraba, 1914), in the Poltava region (P . A. Pakhomov, 1903), as well as in the Kharkov region (M. I. Lishchinsky, 1873). According to E.F. Liskun (1910), in 28.9% of landowners' farms, Simmental cattle were bred.
V.V. Bukraba notes that in 1871, at the parrying points of the Kyiv province, there were 43 bulls of the Simmental breed, 52 Swedish, 12 gray Ukrainian, and 10 other breeds. 2136 cows were mated with Simmental bulls, 1465 with Swedish cows, and 369 with gray Ukrainian cows.
Simmental cattle became increasingly widespread and recognized due to their versatility. It had excellent meat, dairy and working qualities, which were always especially valued by peasants. Despite the fact that Ukraine experienced two world wars and one civil war, as well as dispossession and collectivization, which forced it to struggle for survival and conduct extensive farming, the saturation of Simmentals in 1974 was already 37.4%. This cattle was bred in 17 regions of Ukraine. Simmentals have traditionally had a relatively good breeding base. Back in 1987, there were 22 breeding plants and 12 breeding farms of this breed, the average milk productivity of cows in which was 4435 and 3538 kg, respectively. In many herds this figure exceeded 5000 kg.
Due to their strong constitution and relative unpretentiousness to environmental conditions, Simmentals were most common in the beet growing zone combined with intensive grain farming. That is, their main food was and is pulp, tops, and straw. In the Soviet Union they were considered the Ukrainian zonal type. However, it should be noted that many famous Ukrainian scientists and producers worked with these cattle. Only in post-war times did M. D. Potemkin, M. A. Kravchenko, M. V. Zubets, A. I. Samusenko, V. P. Lukash, V. P. Burkat, I. make a major contribution to the development of Simmentals as a breed. I. M. Klochko, A. L. Voedilo, I. S. Volenko, M. V. Danilevsky, N. F. Suprunenko, G. I. Kosyura and many others.
In the early 70s, it became clear that Simmentals, in terms of milk productivity, suitability for machine milking and other characteristics, no longer met the needs of socio-economic development. In this regard, they were replaced by a more highly productive and technologically advanced black-and-white breed, on the one hand, and on the other hand, they became an excellent mother breed in the creation of the Ukrainian red-and-white dairy breed.
Ukrainian Simmentals were characterized by two genetic defects: stilted rear (due to which, especially in first-calf heifers, calving was difficult) and irregular udder shape (the volume of the front quarters was only 30%, and the volume of the hind quarters, respectively, 70%; that is, the udder formula was 30/ 70, while in Holsteins it is closer to 50/50). With purebred breeding, they cannot be quickly corrected, so we decided to do this using complex reproductive crossbreeding. At the first stage, it was planned to cover the Simmental breeding stock with Montbeliards (a French breed related to the Simmentals of Ukraine, but without the above-mentioned genetic defects). At the second stage, they wanted to cover the Simmental-Montbeliarde crosses with a red-motley Holstein, which, by the way, except for the color at that time, was no different from a black-motley Holstein and was chosen only because it did not “spoil the shirt” of the final hybrids that were planned to be bred in himself, having by that time received stud bulls with the same blood and evaluating them by the quality of their descendants. Unfortunately, this never happened, but an unplanned absorption crossbreeding began with, at best, black-and-white Holsteins, at worst, red-and-white or Simmentals of origin from different European countries. In the early 90s, in breeding work with cattle, we plunged into a regime of genetic chaos, in which there are no masses of cattle with similar genetic traits, and it is almost impossible to identify cows of the bull-producing group, much less reliably evaluate them based on the quality of their descendants.
Ukrainian Simmentals (with proper rearing of replacement young stock) are relatively large. In breeding herds, animals of two body types were distinguished: the first - with a bias towards dairy and meat and the second - towards meat and dairy.
Dairy-meat animals are relatively high-legged, with a well-developed deep and flat chest. The withers are sharp. The middle part of the body is proportional, with a well-defined “milk triangle”. Muscularity is satisfactory, limbs are strong and correctly positioned.
Animals of the second type are also large and proportionally built. The body is very deep and voluminous, with rounded and wide ribs. They are squat, with well-developed muscles. The skin is thick and fluffy. The most common colors are fawn-pied and fawn. There are red-and-white animals. But all of them have white heads and underbelly. The horns, hooves, nasal planum and tongue are light waxy in color. The head is large, wide in the frontal part. The neck is short and muscular. The udder of Ukrainian Simmentals is round or cup-shaped. Among the defects of the udder, the most common are tucked front quarters, closeness of the rear quarters, and weak suspensory ligament. A significant proportion of cows are not sufficiently adapted to machine milking, which is started prematurely.
Neither Simmental queens nor bulls are inferior in reproductive ability to animals of other breeds. Literary sources note that the fertility of Simmental cows decreases as their productivity increases. This is a universal biological feature that is also characteristic of animals of other breeds. In terms of ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and their fertilizing ability, Simmental bulls are also not inferior to producers of other (especially specialized dairy) breeds, and sometimes (without selection for milk production) even surpass them.
Purposeful breeding work with Simmentals in Ukraine began much earlier than with many other breeds.
Montbéliarde breed
France ranks first among the EU countries in beef production. It has the largest number of cattle - 20.6 million heads. In this country, livestock farming is carried out in humid, mid-altitude mountainous regions such as the Jura and the northern foothills of the Alps. These areas have favorable conditions for the production of dairy products, allowing France to occupy one of the first places in the world in the production of high-quality cheeses (Gruper, Comté, Emental) and butter. The most common dairy breed here is the Montbeliarde.
It was bred by crossing the local Red Alsatian breed with Swiss Simmentals, using directed selection and selection under conditions of improved feeding of local animals. It belongs to the Jurassic branch of cattle (descending its ancestry from Bos Frontosus), from which the Pie Rouge group of breeds (red-and-white) originates. It was officially recognized in 1883 at the World Agricultural Exhibition in Paris. At the same time, the first stud book of this breed began. Montbéliardes are common in most areas of France. Currently, the total number of cows is about 700 thousand heads, 383 thousand of which are monitored for milk production.
Montbéliardes are distributed in Europe (Holland, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland), as well as in the world (USA, Canada, Latin America), and are represented in all climatic zones. This breed is used for breeding - both in purity and for crossing with local breeds (in Israel they are used for crossing with Holsteins). The popularity of the breed is explained by the animals’ excellent ability to adapt to any conditions, all housing systems and get the maximum benefit from roughage and available space on the farm.
The Montbéliarde breed is a real alternative to highly specialized dairy breeds. These are strong, unpretentious animals. Average productivity indicators are 7697 kg of milk in 305 days with a fat content of 3.89% and 3.45% protein. The breed also has excellent meat properties, widely recognized by culinary professionals. Carcasses with improved hindquarters contain tender, juicy red meat, which is in greatest demand among buyers.
The average daily gain of young bulls is 1200–1300 or more grams per day, depending on the feed ration. Carcass quality (slaughter yield): for cows 52-54%, for bulls 56-58% without excess fat. The live weight of Montbeliarde bulls ranges from 900–1200 kg, adult cows – 650–750 kg. The height of bulls at the withers is 144-150 cm, cows - 135-140 cm.
Montbeliards, like Simmentals, are large animals with a strong skeleton and well-developed respiratory, circulatory, musculoskeletal and other body systems, which provides them with a fairly long period of production use under various conditions of detention (according to French experts, the productive period reaches 10 and more years).
Cows of the Montbeliarde breed have a wide sternum, straight and long, well-muscled back and hindquarters, a massive skeleton with strong joints and well-positioned limbs. Color ranges from solid red to red-motley, while the legs and underbelly are always white. The head is also white, but red is allowed around the eyes (glasses) and on the cheeks. Polymastia is inherent in the breed; it often manifests itself in the case of crossbreeding. Fairly light coloring of the hooves and mucous membranes.
The udder is well attached, cup-shaped, high and wide in the back, with well-defined ligaments and veins, the bottom of the udder is horizontal, located clearly above the hip, the arches are regular cylindrical in shape, medium in size, located in the middle of each quarter of the udder and look slightly inward.
French breeders have worked for many years to improve the quality of Montbeliard milk, suitability for double machine milking and ease of calving (heavy calvings are observed much less frequently in them than in Simmentals). Diseases such as ketosis and displaced abomasum are also not inherent in this cattle, and limb diseases and mastitis do not pose big problems. As for reproductive ability, they are not inferior to other dairy breeds. The average age of first calving is 28-32 months with an average pregnancy duration of 289 days and an intercalving period of 389 days.
The high adaptive ability of Montbeliarde breed animals is evidenced by their regular export to Central and North Africa, the countries of the Middle East and Latin America, where they can withstand hot and arid climates well and easily adapt to housing and feeding conditions. Also, many of them are exported to North America.
In 1972-1976, 49 bulls and 191 heifers of the Montbéliarde breed were brought to Ukraine from France. The animals were placed at the breeding farms "Trostyanets" in Chernihiv and "Stary Kovray" in Cherkasy regions. The introduced Montbeliards easily acclimatized and made good use of pastures. In live weight at all ages, purebred Montbeliarde bulls and heifers were not inferior to their Simmental peers. With double milking, Montbéliarde heifers during the first lactation were ahead of first-time Simmental heifers by 397-894 kg of milk in terms of milk yield, and by 16-18 kg in terms of the amount of milk fat obtained.
In addition, they were distinguished by stable lactation, while their Simmental counterparts began to noticeably reduce productivity in the 5th–6th month after calving, and some self-started.
According to the results of statistical experiments at the Trostyanets breeding farm, the intensity of milk production of first-born Montbéliarde females with an 18-liter daily milk yield was 1.55 kg/min, with the second calving - 24 kg/day and 1.83 kg/min, respectively. In Simmental females, the milking intensity in the first lactation was 1.31 kg/min. with milk yield 14.4 kg, in the second - 1.43 kg/min. with a milk yield of 20 kg per day.
The use of Montbeliarde bulls in the commercial farms of the Khristinovsky district showed that the resulting first-generation estate cows were superior to Simmental cows in milk yield. They are better adapted to machine milking, their udders are mostly cup-shaped, the average length of the nipples is 7 cm, and the diameter is 2.3 cm. The intensity of milk production in crossbreeds was 1.3, and in Simmental milks - 0.97 kg per minute.
Due to all the listed advantages of Montbeliarde breed animals, at the first stage they were used to improve Simmentals and breed a new intrabreed type as part of the state program “Simental-1”. Later, Montbeliarde bulls, together with Holsteins, were used to create the Ukrainian red-and-white dairy breed.
The beginning of the 80s of the last century was revolutionary in terms of selection for Montbéliardes in France. From 1981 to 2007, the productivity of cows of this breed increased by more than 40% without changing milk fat content (3.86–3.89%) and milk protein content (3.27–3.42%). During this time, this breed became the second largest in France.
Thus, the characteristics of the Montbeliarde breed indicate that it is now one of the best dairy and meat breeds in the world (high milk productivity and quality of milk and meat, ease of care, significant milking intensity, fertility and long-term productive use), respectively, it can be guaranteed to be used as an improvement breed.
Experts, in particular S. Efimenko and M. Gavrilenko, believe that the most promising improvement breed in terms of preserving the valuable qualities of Simmentals could be the Montbéliarde (preferably based on a double infusion of blood), which would make it possible to increase the manufacturability of the animals' udder and, thanks to this, increase their productivity; in addition, this would allow switching to double milking without loss of productivity.