Short communication: The beef merit of the sire mated to a dairy female affects her subsequent performance

peer-reviewedMuch of the research to date on dairy × beef matings has focused only on the greater revenue attainable from these beef-cross calves. The objective of the present study was to quantify the mean effect on cow performance following the birth of calves differing in beef merit; all calves were born without calving assistance. Beef merit in the present study was based on the breed of the sire but also its genetic merit for carcass weight and conformation. The cross-sectional study used up to 346,765 calving events from 230,255 Holstein-Friesian cows in 3,604 herds. Performance traits of interest were those associated with milk production, including somatic cell count, as well as female reproductive performance. Sire breed was associated with all yield traits, somatic cell count, and both pregnancy rate and the interval from calving to first service; no association existed with either submission rate or number of services. Relative to a Holstein-Friesian sire, the mean 305-d milk yield (in kg) was 45.22 (standard error, SE = 4.0), 62.0 (SE = 36.8), 65.4 (SE = 9.6), 101.1 (SE = 31.6), 36.7 (SE = 4.9), 51.5 (SE = 10.7), 53.3 (SE = 31.5), and 43.3 (SE = 23.4) less for cows that gave birth to Angus-, Aubrac-, Beligan Blue-, Charolais-, Hereford-, Limousin-, Saler-, or Simmental-sired calves, respectively. Service sire accounted for only 1% of the phenotypic variation in all 3 milk production traits when fitted as a random effect in the model. The regression coefficients of phenotypic milk, fat, and protein yields on sire (of calf) predicted transmitting ability for carcass weight were −1.84 (SE = 0.17), −0.10 (SE = 0.01), and −0.08 kg (SE = 0.01), respectively. The respective regression coefficients on sire (of calf) predicted transmitting ability for carcass conformation (scale of 1 to 15; 1 = poor and 15 = excellent) were −23.46 (SE = 1.81), −1.20 (SE = 0.08), and −1.05 units (SE = 0.06). The biological significance of the sire breed effects or the measure of sire genetic merit on the reproductive traits was either not different from zero or biologically small. Although statistically significant associations existed between sire beef merit and both milk and reproductive performance of the mate, the actual size of the associations was biologically small

Short communication: Animal-level factors associated with whether a dairy female is mated to a dairy or beef bull

peer-reviewedWhen serving a female, the producer must decide whether to mate her to a dairy or beef bull. Tools assisting in this decision could be a useful component of the decision process. A database of 2,283,100 artificial inseminations from 806,725 dairy females was used to investigate what factors were associated with servicing a given female to a beef bull. The probability of being inseminated with a beef bull increased with each service and as the breeding season progressed. An older cow had greater odds of being served with a beef bull, as did cows that calved later in the year, had recently experienced dystocia, were a longer time calved, or were of a poor overall genetic merit compared with herdmates. Cows with low somatic cell count in the previous lactation compared with herdmates were less likely to be mated to a beef bull, as were cows that yielded relatively higher milk solids in the previous lactation. Relative to a first-parity cow, the odds of a fifth-parity cow being mated to a beef bull were 1.35, whereas those of a tenth-parity cow were 2.11. The odds of a female in the worst 10% for total genetic merit being mated to a beef bull were 2.90 times those of a female in the top 10%. Although dystocia was associated with the likelihood of being mated to a beef bull, the actual likelihood did not vary much by level of dystocia experienced. Relative to the first service, the odds of the third and fifth services being to a beef bull were 2.23 and 3.71, respectively. These probability estimates can form the back-end system supporting decisions on mating type for a female within a sire mating advice system but also in risk analysis of farm management

Quantifying genetic differences between exported dairy bull calves and those sold for domestic beef production

peer-reviewedSelection bias is introduced when selection among individuals exists but the information used to inform that selection decision is not considered in downstream genetic evaluations. Genetic evaluations are undertaken in several countries for carcass-related metrics in prime cattle; no consideration is generally taken for animals that are harvested at a younger age for veal production and thus do not express the prime carcass phenotype. Although no veal industry exists in Ireland, dairy calves are routinely exported to continental Europe for veal production. The objective of the present study, based on a cross-sectional analysis of calf export data, was to determine quantitatively if genetic variability exists in whether purchased dairy-bred bull calves are immediately exported or retained within the country for domestic production. Also of interest was whether such a genetic difference was associated with differences in carcass weight, conformation score, and fat score in prime cattle relatives. Editing criteria were imposed to consider only Holstein-Friesian bull calves. Post-editing, the fate of 43,890 Holstein-Friesian bull calves (<100 d of age) was available; variance components for the binary phenotype (sold for export or not) were estimated using both linear and threshold animal models, and genetic correlations with carcass traits from 56,366 prime cattle were estimated. The heritability (standard error) of whether or not a calf was exported was 0.04 (0.01) on the linear scale and 0.07 (0.02) on the threshold scale. Although no explicit maternal genetic effect was detected, the proportion of the phenotypic variance due to maternal effects was 0.03 to 0.07. The genetic correlation (standard error) between the export phenotype with carcass weight, conformation score [scale 1 (poor) to 15 (excellent)], and fat score [scale 1 (thin) to 15 (fat)] in prime cattle was 0.002 (0.12), −0.25 (0.12), and −0.32 (0.11), respectively. The low heritability of the calf export phenotype and lack of a strong genetic correlation with carcass metrics suggest that other calf features might be greater determinants of the eventual fate of the calf. Accounting for the export phenotype in genetic evaluations of carcass traits in prime cattle had a negligible effect on the estimated breeding values for carcass merit

Linear type trait genetic trends in Irish Holstein-Friesian dairy animals

peer-reviewedThe objective of the present study was to investigate the genetic trends of 18 subjectively scored linear type traits describing animal morphology, as well as udder, teat, feet and leg conformation. The analysis was undertaken using 2,932,700 Holstein-Friesian females born in the Republic of Ireland between the years 2000 and 2020, inclusive. The results indicate that Holstein-Friesian females have progressively become shorter in stature as well as shallower (i.e. body depth) and less angular. The reduction in genetic merit for stature score since the year 2004 was, however, only observed in non-herdbook-registered heifers. Furthermore, the reducing score in body depth (i.e. narrower) and angularity (i.e. less angular) was approximately twice as fast in non-herdbook-registered heifers as it was in herdbook-registered heifers. Differences in the genetic merit of the body-related traits for calves born versus those that became cows only existed prior to 2010 with little biological differences thereafter; this observation was common across most of the linear type traits. Genetic merit for locomotion in non-herdbook-registered animals has deteriorated over the 20-yr period, while the foot angle over that period is becoming lower; no such trends were observed for the herdbook-registered animals. Large differences not only in the trends themselves, but also in the mean genetic merit for udder traits existed when comparing herdbook-registered calves versus non-registered calves. In conclusion, genetic merit for many of the traits evaluated has trended relatively consistent in a given direction, albeit the cumulative change in genetic s.d. units per traits over the 20-yr period was very small

Cross-sectional analyses of a national database to determine if superior genetic merit translates to superior dairy cow performance

peer-reviewedVarious studies have validated that genetic divergence in dairy cattle translates to phenotypic differences; nonetheless, many studies that consider the breeding goal, or associated traits, have generally been small scale, often undertaken in controlled environments, and they lack consideration for the entire suite of traits included in the breeding goal. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to fill this void, and in doing so, provide producers with confidence that the estimated breeding values (EBV) included in the breeding goal do (or otherwise) translate to desired changes in performance among commercial cattle; an additional outcome of such an approach is the identification of potential areas for improvements. Performance data on 536,923 Irish dairy cows (and their progeny) from 13,399 commercial spring-calving herds were used. Association analyses between the cow's EBV of each trait included in the Irish total merit index for dairy cows (which was derived before her own performance data accumulated) and her subsequent performance were undertaken using linear mixed models; milk production, fertility, calving, maintenance (i.e., liveweight), beef, health, and management traits were all considered in the analyses. Results confirm that excelling in EBV for individual traits, as well as on the total merit index, generally delivers superior phenotypic performance; examples of the improved performance for genetically elite animals include a greater yield and concentration of both milk fat and milk protein, despite a lower milk volume, superior reproductive performance, better survival, improved udder and hoof health, lighter cows, and fewer calving complications; all these gains were achieved with minimal to no effect on the beef merit of the dairy cow's progeny. The associated phenotypic change in each performance trait per unit change in its respective EBV was largely in line with the direction and magnitude of expectation, the exception being for calving interval. Per unit change in calving interval EBV, the direction of phenotypic response was as anticipated but the magnitude of the response was only half of what was expected. Despite the deviation from expectation between the calving interval EBV and its associated phenotype, a superior total merit index or a superior fertility EBV was indeed associated with an improvement in all detailed fertility performance phenotypes investigated. Results substantiate that breeding is a sustainable strategy of improving phenotypic performance in commercial dairy cattle and, by extension, profit

Choice of artificial insemination beef bulls used to mate with female dairy cattle

peer-reviewedUnderstanding the preferences of dairy cattle producers when selecting beef bulls for mating can help inform beef breeding programs as well as provide default parameters in mating advice systems. The objective of the present study was to characterize the genetic merit of beef artificial insemination (AI) bulls used in dairy herds, with particular reference to traits associated with both calving performance and carcass merit. The characteristics of the beef AI bulls used were compared with those of the dairy AI bulls used on the same farms. A total of 2,733,524 AI records from 928,437 females in 5,967 Irish dairy herds were used. Sire predicted transmitting ability (PTA) values and associated reliability values for calving performance and carcass traits based on national genetic evaluations from prior to the insemination were used. Fixed effects models were used to relate both genetic merit and the associated reliability of the dairy and beef bulls used on the farm with herd size, the extent of Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbreeding adopted by the herd, whether the herd used a technician insemination service or do-ityourself, and the parity of the female mated. The mean direct calving difficulty PTA of the beef bulls used was 1.85 units higher than that of the dairy bulls but with over 3 times greater variability in the beef bulls. This 1.85 units equates biologically to an expectation of 1.85 more dystocia events per 100 dairy cows mated in the beef × dairy matings. The mean calving difficulty PTA of the dairy AI bulls used reduced with increasing herd size, whereas the mean calving difficulty PTA of the beef AI bulls used increased as herd size increased from 75 cows or fewer to 155 cows; the largest herds (>155 cows) used notably easier-calving beef bulls, albeit the calving difficulty PTA of the beef bulls was 3.33 units versus 1.67 units for the dairy bulls used in these herds. Although we found a general tendency for larger herds to use dairy AI bulls with lower reliability, this trend was not obvious in the beef AI bulls used. Irrespective of whether dairy or beef AI bulls were considered, herds that operated more extensive Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbreeding (i.e., more than 50% crossbred cows) used, on average, easier calving, shorter gestationlength bulls with lighter expected progeny carcasses of poorer conformation. Mean calving difficulty PTA of dairy bulls used increased from 1.39 in heifers to 1.79 in first-parity cows and to 1.82 in second-parity cows, remaining relatively constant thereafter. In contrast, the mean calving difficulty PTA of the beef bulls used increased consistently with cow parity. Results from the present study demonstrate a clear difference in the mean acceptable genetic merit of beef AI bulls relative to dairy AI bulls but also indicates that these acceptable limits vary by herd characteristics

Are subjectively scored linear type traits suitable predictors of the genetic merit for feed intake in grazing Holstein-Friesian dairy cows?

peer-reviewedMeasuring dry matter intake (DMI) in grazing dairy cows using currently available techniques is invasive, time consuming, and expensive. An alternative to directly measuring DMI for use in genetic evaluations is to identify a set of readily available animal features that can be used in a multitrait genetic evaluation for DMI. The objectives of the present study were thus to estimate the genetic correlations between readily available body-related linear type traits and DMI in grazing lactating Holstein-Friesian cows, but importantly also estimate the partial genetic correlations between these linear traits and DMI, after adjusting for differences in genetic merit for body weight. Also of interest was whether the predictive ability derived from the estimated genetic correlations materialized upon validation. After edits, a total of 8,055 test-day records of DMI, body weight, and milk yield from 1,331 Holstein-Friesian cows were available, as were chest width, body depth, and stature from 47,141 first lactation Holstein-Friesian cows. In addition to considering the routinely recorded linear type traits individually, novel composite traits were defined as the product of the linear type traits as an approximation of rumen volume. All linear type traits were moderately heritable, with heritability estimates ranging from 0.27 (standard error = 0.14) to 0.49 (standard error = 0.15); furthermore, all linear type traits were genetically correlated (0.29 to 0.63, standard error 0.14 to 0.12) with DMI. The genetic correlations between the individual linear type traits and DMI, when adjusted for genetic differences in body weight, varied from −0.51 (stature) to 0.48 (chest width). These genetic correlations between DMI and linear type traits suggest linear type traits may be useful predictors of DMI, even when body weight information is available. Nonetheless, estimated genetic merit of DMI derived from a multitrait genetic evaluation of linear type traits did not correlate strongly with actual DMI in a set of validation animals; the benefit was even less if body weight data were also available

Momentum Distribution in Nuclear Matter and Finite Nuclei

A simple method is presented to evaluate the effects of short-range correlations on the momentum distribution of nucleons in nuclear matter within the framework of the Green's function approach. The method provides a very efficient representation of the single-particle Green's function for a correlated system. The reliability of this method is established by comparing its results to those obtained in more elaborate calculations. The sensitivity of the momentum distribution on the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the nuclear density is studied. The momentum distributions of nucleons in finite nuclei are derived from those in nuclear matter using a local-density approximation. These results are compared to those obtained directly for light nuclei like $^{16}O$.Comment: 17 pages REVTeX, 10 figures ps files adde

Parity Violating Measurements of Neutron Densities

Parity violating electron nucleus scattering is a clean and powerful tool for measuring the spatial distributions of neutrons in nuclei with unprecedented accuracy. Parity violation arises from the interference of electromagnetic and weak neutral amplitudes, and the $Z^0$ of the Standard Model couples primarily to neutrons at low $Q^2$. The data can be interpreted with as much confidence as electromagnetic scattering. After briefly reviewing the present theoretical and experimental knowledge of neutron densities, we discuss possible parity violation measurements, their theoretical interpretation, and applications. The experiments are feasible at existing facilities. We show that theoretical corrections are either small or well understood, which makes the interpretation clean. The quantitative relationship to atomic parity nonconservation observables is examined, and we show that the electron scattering asymmetries can be directly applied to atomic PNC because the observables have approximately the same dependence on nuclear shape.Comment: 38 pages, 7 ps figures, very minor changes, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The nuclear energy density functional formalism

The present document focuses on the theoretical foundations of the nuclear energy density functional (EDF) method. As such, it does not aim at reviewing the status of the field, at covering all possible ramifications of the approach or at presenting recent achievements and applications. The objective is to provide a modern account of the nuclear EDF formalism that is at variance with traditional presentations that rely, at one point or another, on a {\it Hamiltonian-based} picture. The latter is not general enough to encompass what the nuclear EDF method represents as of today. Specifically, the traditional Hamiltonian-based picture does not allow one to grasp the difficulties associated with the fact that currently available parametrizations of the energy kernel $E[g',g]$ at play in the method do not derive from a genuine Hamilton operator, would the latter be effective. The method is formulated from the outset through the most general multi-reference, i.e. beyond mean-field, implementation such that the single-reference, i.e. "mean-field", derives as a particular case. As such, a key point of the presentation provided here is to demonstrate that the multi-reference EDF method can indeed be formulated in a {\it mathematically} meaningful fashion even if $E[g',g]$ does {\it not} derive from a genuine Hamilton operator. In particular, the restoration of symmetries can be entirely formulated without making {\it any} reference to a projected state, i.e. within a genuine EDF framework. However, and as is illustrated in the present document, a mathematically meaningful formulation does not guarantee that the formalism is sound from a {\it physical} standpoint. The price at which the latter can be enforced as well in the future is eventually alluded to.Comment: 64 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Euroschool Lecture Notes in Physics Vol.IV, Christoph Scheidenberger and Marek Pfutzner editor