Section 02 – Cattle Milk Recording

Introduction

Information about milk production traits is very important for managing and breeding dairy herds. The milk recording process starts with the collection of animal identification, a calving date of milking cows, the amount of milk given and the date with time or time frame of a day. A milk sample may be taken. The obtained milk sample is analysed for milk constituents. The results of the analysis plus the data about milk yield and time of milking are stored in a database. Subsequently a number of parameters, cumulative yields and indices are calculated and stored in the database and, finally, reported to the farmer

This section (2) of the ICAR Guidelines focuses on the milk recording process for dairy cattle.

Definition and terminology

N.B. TO BE REMOVED WHEN OVERALL GLOSSARY IS READY.

A list of important definitions for terms and abbreviations used in these guidelines is provided by Cattle Milk Recording#Definition and terminology

Table 1. Definitions of Terms used in these guidelines.

Term	Definition
24-hour yield	The amounts of milk, fat and protein produced by the individual cow over 24 hours.
Accumulated yield	The amounts of milk, fat and protein produced by the individual cow during an appointed period of time, e.g. a calendar year.
AMS	Automatic Milking System
Average yield	The amounts of milk, fat and protein produced by all cows in the herd in average during the appointed time period.
Expected milk secretion rate	Average milk secretion rate of a cow calculated as grams per minute of a given period of time.
Expected milking interval	Average milking interval of a given time period.
Individual milking	A single act of collecting milk from one cow.
Individual milking yield	The amount of milk produced by a cow in an individual milking.
Interrupted milking	A milking is considered interrupted if the milk secretion rate is less than 80% of the expected.
Lactation	The period from an individual cow’s calving to her dry off or culling (lactation can be incomplete)
Lactation yield	The amount of milk, fat and protein produced by an individual cow during the lactation.
Milk analysis results	The set of milk constituents (e.g. fat, protein, lactose, urea, somatic cell count) in a milk sample analysed by a laboratory.
Milk recording	The whole process of milk data collection described in paragraph 1 of this guideline. This is also known as Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI).
Milk secretion rate	Milk secretion rate of a cow calculated as grams per minute for the milking interval.
Milking interval	The period between two consecutive milkings.
Recorded cow	Any cow in a recorded herd.
Recorded herd	Any herd that is enrolled in milk recording.
Recording	The action of measuring a cow’s milk yield by collecting the data and processing it (e. g. by use of a database). This is also known as testing or test day.
Recording interval	The period between two consecutive recordings.
Recording period	The period between the end and beginning of the recording on a single recording.
Sample position	Position of the sample in the sampling unit.
Sampling	The action of taking a representative sample of a cow’s milk. Sampling is generally attached to a recording.
Sampling unit	A device for the collection of milk samples.
Standard lactation	The period from an individual cow’s calving until her dry off or 305th day since her calving.
Unrecorded milking	A milking is considered unrecorded if the milking interval is longer than expected and milk secretion rate is less than 80% of the expected.
Vial	The vessel containing a milk sample, also known as bottle etc.

Scope

Figure 1 gives a pictorial summary of the main elements of this guideline.

In summary, this section of the ICAR Guidelines covers the milk recording process from the enrolment of a herd for milk recording, through to the delivery of information which a herd owner can use to assist in a range of decisions.

Figure 1. Scope of Section 2 -Dairy cattle milk recording.

Not covered in this section are:

1. Standards and guidelines for ICAR approval of milk recording devices. Please consult Section 11 for this subject.
2. Standards and guidelines for ICAR approval of ID devices. Please consult Section 10 for this subject.
3. Standards and guidelines for preparation of milk samples and for quality assurance of milk analysis. Please consult Section 12 for this subject.
4. Standards and guidelines for in-line milk analysis on the farm. Please consult Section 13 for this subject.

Sub-sections

Enrolment

Recording

Samples

Database

Yield calculations

Reporting

Decisions

Quality control