Grazing strategies and their relationship to traits of milk performance testing in cattle

Summary

Transhumance or droving livestock to other areas during summer months is highly relevant for agriculture in central Europe. It enables the utilization of additional forage areas while reducing the work burden on the home farm and may thus lead to a higher profitability. In this study, as a first step, traits of milk performance testing of cows that had been reared at least partially (as young stock) in extensive transhumance grazing systems, were compared with those of cows that stayed (as young stock) on home farms in Austria (AT), France (FR) and Slovenia (SI). In the extensive systems analysed, transhumance to summer alpine (AT, SI), upland (FR) or Karst pastures (SI) is typically practised. With the exception of SI Fleckvieh, first lactation 305-yields of cows that were partially reared on extensive alpine, upland or Karst pastures were below those that were kept on home farms only. Apart from Holstein cows in FR and SI, SCS was however lower for cows that had experienced mountain pasture during young stock rearing. Further functional traits, i.e. fat-protein-ratio and fertility traits will be analysed.