ARS | Publication request: Genetic Evaluation of Clinical Mastitis in U.S. Dairy Cattle

Submitted to: International Symposium on Genetics of Animal Health
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: April 18, 2005
Publication Date: July 12, 2005
Citation: Cole, J.B., Sanders, A.H. 2005. Genetic evaluation of clinical mastitis in U.S. dairy cattle [abstract]. In: Lamont, S.J., Rothschild, M.F., Harris, D.L., editors. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Genetics of Animal Health, July 13-15, 2005, Ames, Iowa. p. 112.

Technical Abstract: Termination codes are reported at the end of lactation in the U.S. These codes indicate a routine lactation or one of several reasons for culling, including low production, poor reproduction, and mastitis/high somatic cell count. Cases of clinical mastitis (CM) are recorded in on-farm record systems, but are not stored in a national database for use in genetic improvement. The objective of this research was to determine the feasibility of using the mastitis termination code (TC7) as a proxy for sire evaluation of clinical mastitis. Data consisted of terminal lactations from 40,106 Holstein cows calving between January 1, 1998 and January 1, 2004; cows with TC7 were assumed to have CM. (Co)variance components were estimated using a threshold animal model that included terminal lactation number, random herd-year-season and animal effects, and days open. Correlations among sire PTA for CM and yield traits, somatic cell score (SCS), daughter pregnancy rate, and productive life (PL) were estimated using sires with 50 or more daughters. Heritability of CM was 0.02, which is consistent with literature estimates. Correlations between PTA for CM and SCS and CM and PL were 0.35 and -0.09, respectively; all other correlations were non-significant (P < 0.05). The correlation between CM and SCS is lower than reported by participants in Interbull CM evaluations.