JDS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 82 No. 7 1449-1458
© 1999 by American Dairy Science Association ®
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cardoso, V. L.
Right arrow Articles by Van Arendonk, J.A.M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cardoso, V. L.
Right arrow Articles by Van Arendonk, J.A.M.

Optimal Replacement and Insemination Policies for Holstein Cattle in the Southeastern Region of Brazil: The Effect of Selling Animals for Production

V. L. Cardoso 1, J. R. Nogueira 1, and J.A.M. Van Arendonk 2

1 Instituto de Zootecnia, Estação Experimental de Zootecnia de Ribeirão Preto, Caixa Postal 206, CEP 14030-670 Ribeirão Preto-São Paulo, Brazil
2 Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences, Animal Breeding and Genetics Group, Wageningen Agricultural University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands

Dynamic programming was used to determine optimal replacement and insemination policies for Holstein-Friesian cattle in the southeastern region of Brazil. Optimal insemination and replacement decisions were determined for two disposal alternatives: selling all cows exclusively for slaughter (A) or selling the cows either for slaughter or to other farmers for production (B). Disposal alternative B reflects the common practice among dairy farmers to sell some of their cows to other farmers at a higher price than the carcass price. In the model, cows were described in terms of lactation number, stage of lactation, calving interval, and milk produced during present and previous lactation. For disposal alternative A, the optimal average herd life was 54.9 mo, corresponding to annual replacement and voluntary culling rates of 21.8 and 4.1%, respectively. For disposal alternative B, the optimal average herd life was 44.0 mo, which corresponded to annual replacement and voluntary culling rates of 27.3 and 10.0%, respectively. In this case, from the total of voluntarily culled cows, 70% were sold to other farmers for production. Sensitivity analyses showed that changes in the disposal value of cows and replacement heifer prices strongly influenced the optimal insemination and replacement policy.

Key Words: replacement • management • dairy cattle • dynamic programming

Submitted on June 11, 1998
Accepted on March 8, 1999




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J DAIRY SCIHome page
A.-M. Heikkila, J. I. Nousiainen, and L. Jauhiainen
Optimal Replacement Policy and Economic Value of Dairy Cows with Diverse Health Status and Production Capacity
J Dairy Sci, June 1, 2008; 91(6): 2342 - 2352.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1999 by the American Dairy Science Association ®.