TRENDS IN DAIRY-CATTLE BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT

Trends in dairy cattle breeding and management are determined by the frame conditions of the market and increasingly also by political and consumer orientated restrictions. The milk market will still be formed for unknown times by the quota regulations. However, more flexible regulations for the quota tranfer can be expected. Due to the surplus production the milk prices will be determined mainly politically with a handycap for butter fat. For the beef market no positive outlook can be expected. Among the restrictions the claim for the health status of dairy cows will have an aggravating meaning, because only milk from healthy cows can be sold. Healthy means cows with less than 400 000 somatic cells per ml milk. Therefore the functional traits like udder health, legs and claws, fertility and longevity must deserve more attention than hitherto. New biotechnical opportunities should be utilized, however, they will not make conventional breeding methods useless. The management is aiming at a reduction of the production cost per kg milk, and in this herd size plays no important role. However, additional environmental regulations can, as a rule, in larger herds easier been observed than in smaller herds.