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

A list of important definitions for terms and abbreviations used in these guidelines is provided by Table 1.

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.
Average yield	The amounts of milk, fat and protein produced by all cows in the herd in average during the appointed time period.
Lactation	The period from an individual cow’s calving to her dry off or culling (lactation can be incomplete)
Milk recording	The system that contains the whole process described in paragraph 1 of this guideline. This is also known as Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI).
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.
Sampling	The action of taking a representative sample of a cow’s milk. Sampling is generally attached to a recording.
Standard lactation	The period from an individual cow’s calving until her dry off or 305th day since her calving.
Vial	The vessel containing a milk sample, also known as bottle etc.