Analysis of some cattle farms focused on milk production

This study was conducted in the municipalities of Pale and Sokolac on a sample of 30 Simmental and Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle farms. Farm size, land area, number of household members, average milk fat content, protein content and total milk production per dairy cow were analyzed. Slight variations were observed due to the same climatic conditions and the same technology and breeding method used. The slightly higher milk fat percentage in Simmental cows is their breed characteristic.


Introduction
Cattle breeding and the milk production sector are very important for the satisfaction of human nutrition needs and the production of animal proteins in every country around the world.Cattle production is the most important segment of livestock production i.e. an indicator of the overall development of the result in other values, such as certain categories of costs, total costs, the market value of production, financial results, the level of labor productivity, the coefficient of efficiency, profitability level and others.
The aim of this research was to determine whether there are differences in production characteristics between Simmental and Holstein Friesian cattle breeds.

Materials and methods
To obtain a highly precise description of both dairy farm structure and the characteristics of dairy production systems, and to assess possibilities for improving milk production and farming conditions, survey-based research was conducted, targeting selected farms.The survey was carried out in the municipalities of Pale and Sokolac.The sample consisted of 30 farms including Holstein Friesian and Simmental cattle.The following characteristics were analyzed: number of household members, number of dairy cows in the herd, total land area, average annual milk yield per dairy cow, average milk fat content, protein content, and total annual production per dairy cow without premium.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for the specified characteristics.Measures of central tendency and measures of variation were used.The following indicators of variations were used: the minimum, the maximum, the variation interval, standard deviation and the coefficient of variation.Data were processed using methods applied in specific fields of research.Results are presented as tables.

Results and Discussion
Breeding of cattle having combined production traits on small farms housing a small number of animals is practiced under various moderately intensive conditions which are dominant on farms in the Republic of Srpska.Dairy cattle production has traditionally been one of the most important segments of livestock production in the Republic of Srpska.
Natural resources of the Republic of Srpska provide the following development opportunities: mountainous areas, combined ox type, meat-milk and meat types; lowland areas, type of cattle for milk production, milk-meat type, and fattening cattle for meat production (Table 1

Indicators of farm size
Agricultural land is the basis for dealing with livestock production.In the Sarajevo -Romanija region, agricultural land covers 79,887 ha, accounting for 38.66% of the total area (Table 2).Herd size of Holstein Friesian cattle farms ranges from 5-12, and the size of Simmental herds from 3-12.Standard deviation for Holstein-Friesian cattle farms is 2.30, while variation for Simmental farms is 2.55.Households differ in total land area, ranging from 2.63 to 40.63 (Table 2) and from 2.91 to 15.94 (Tables 3  and 4).131 Variations in milk and milk yield depend on a range of factors, including genetics, stage of lactation, daily variation, type of diet, age, udder health and season, among others (Atil et al., 2001).According to Barnes et al (1990), in Switzerland, the milk production of Simmental cattle in 1999 was 5,502 kg, with 4.02% fat and 3.28% protein.The average milk yield of Holstein Friesian cattle in Israel in 2004 was 11,200 kg per cow, 3.54% fat and 3.08% protein (ICBA, 2004).Krupa et al. (2005) also found higher milk fat (4.10%) and milk protein (3.35%) percentages in Slovakian Pied cattle.Moreover, in three herds of Czech Fleckvieh cows, Wolfová et al. (2007) andJílek et al. (2008) found milk fat percentage of 4.05%, 4.28% and 3.86%, respectively, and milk protein percentage of 3.42%, 3.45% and 3.24%, respectively.Low milk protein levels are frequent due to the low ration protein and/or energy level (Wolfová et al., 2007).
The average milk production in European countries for Simmental cattle is significantly higher than in the Sarajevo-Romanija region and the Republic of Srpska.Milk yield in Germany for Simmental breed in 1994 amounted to 5,404 liters (Fedderson et al., 1995) andin Switzerland 5,171 liters (Schimtz-Hsu, 1995).Simmental cattle in Slovenia makes up around 47% of the breed structure, and the average milk yield in 2006 was 5,340 liters (Cook et al., 2009).The average milk yield in 2007 in Serbia was 2,663 liters (Bozic et al., 2009), in Croatia 3,555 liters (Kovacic andBožić, 2009), in the Czech Republic 7,365 liters (Bosco et al. 2009) andin Poland 4,400 liters (Szajner, 2009).Chaunan and Hayes (1991) found a phenotypic correlation between milk production traits of Holstein Friesian cows.The relationship between milk production and milk fat was medium to very positive 0.73 ± 0.004, between content and yield of milk fat 0.38 ± 0.007, and the correlation between milk yield and fat content was negative -0.31 ± 0.007.

Conclusion
The results suggest the following: slight variations in terms of production capacity between Simmental and Holstein-Friesian cattle were determined, indicating the homogeneity of conditions and production technology; Simmental cows had a higher percentage of butterfat, while milk production was higher in Holstein Friesian animals.
The main characteristics of the dairy sector in the Republic of Serbia at the primary level include small-scale production, especially in upland areas; low average yields on small-scale farms due to the fact that low productive crosses of different breeds are reared (used for milk and meat production), and high costs of production.Improvement in production parameters for small and medium-sized dairy farms can be achieved through quantitative genetic research.Genetic progress must be oriented to improving profitability by reducing production costs, specifically by increasing animal productivity.The use of sustainable milk production systems would increase milk yield and recover dairy cattle production.

References
A t i l , H . , K h a t t a b , S .Y a k u p o g l u , C ., (2001).Genetic analyses for milk traits in different herds of Holstein Friesian cattle in Turkey.Journal of Biological Science, 1: 737-741. ).

Table 2 .
Indicators of descriptive statistics for the size of farms producing Holstein Friesian cattle

Table 3 .
Indicators of descriptive statistics for the size of Simmental cattle farms

Table 4 .
Indicators of descriptive statistics for the size of Holstein Friesian and Simmental cattle farms

Table 5 .
Indicators of descriptive statistics for the production characteristics of Holstein Friesian cattle farms

Table 7 .
Indicators of descriptive statistics for the production characteristics of Holstein Friesian and Simmental cattle farms