Production performances and herd book of simmental and holstein friesian cattle in central Serbia

Abstract

Central Serbia has a long tradition of cattle farming and, as a hilly-mountainous area it favors rearing of dual purpose Simmental breed, and to a lesser extent, Holstein-Friesian dairy breed. The first Herd Book of Serbia was founded in 1935. The high quality breeding animals registered are under the control of production performance properties. According to expert report of the Institute for Animal Husbandry and the results of the implementation of the breeding program in 2018 in the territory of Central Serbia, there were a total of 153.979 quality breeding animals of Simmental and 16509 quality breeding animals of Holstein-Friesian breed in the main herd. Both breeds are of national interest and are included in the breeding-selection program for dairy cattle that are implemented through the cooperation of breeders and breeding organizations in the field. In Central Serbia, there are 157 registered breeding organizations involved in breeding and livestock recording activities. In this paper, data of the Head breeding organization in cattle farming, the Institute for Animal Husbandry, as well as reports issued by the same entity each year were used. A tabular analysis and a five-year trend are presented according to: the number of recorded animals, primiparous females in linear evaluation, the realized yield of milk, milk fat and protein, as well as the trend of the number of bull dams in the population. Based on the analysis of the results of work on cattle breeding and selection, it can be concluded that some progress has been made in milk production of both breeds. It is important to emphasize that there is a significant effect of mentioned factors on the productivity of entire cattle population in Central Serbia. Systematic work on the breeding and selection of cattle is an important work that should be carried out in high quality, continuously and appropriately in order to achieve maximum effects in cattle production.