Conformation traits associated with milk yield and composition of Holstein cows

The association between type conformation systems and milk (PL), fat (PG) and protein (PP) production was evaluated through the correlation between conformation traits (CC) and genetic value predictions for milk (HTPL), fat (HTPGK) and protein (HTPPK) of Holstein cattle, to determine the extent to which CC influence animal production. The study included 31,711 CC, 87,871 PL, 65,593 PG and 43,717 PP records. The CC were grouped into four general systems: structure and capacity (SEC), legs and hooves (SP), udder (SU) and haunch (SA). The effect of end point (FP) classes on PL, PG and PP levels was also evaluated through analysis of variance. HTPL had a correlation of 0.28 with SU, 0.17 with SA, 0.08 with SP and -0.05 with SEC (P< 0.001). The correlations of HTPGK and HTPPK with the different systems were low, highlighting those found with SU, 0.15 and 0.21 (P<0.001), respectively. The phenotypic associations and correlations of genetic values reported in this study suggest that selection of cows by CC can modify milk, fat and protein production.