Controlled part of the Holstein breed population in Ukraine

Abstract

Goal. To study the dynamics of the breeding stock of Holstein cattle, to assess the level of its dairy productivity and reproducibility during the studied period (2002–2024). Methods. They used statistical and analytical methods, monitored the main breeding characteristics obtained from official sources (the State register of breeding subjects in animal husbandry, the Catalog of bulls of dairy and dairy meat breeds for reproduction of breeding stock). Results. The main criteria affecting the development of the breed can be considered the number and range of the population. It was established that the breeding stock of the Holstein breed du­ring the studied period increased from 22 thousand to more than 199 thousand cows. As for the area of distribution of the breed, this was 16 regions of Ukraine, but the largest number of breeding animals was concentrated in Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava, and Khmelnytskyi regions. Confirmation of the widespread use of the Holstein breed in production was its share in the breed structure, which for the specified period increased from 4 to 56%. Positive changes occurred in the dairy productivity of cows. So, if at the initial stages of observation the average level of milk yield did not exceed 6 tons, then already during 2023 and 2024 it was more than 10 tons. Analysis of milk productivity of classified cows by lactation confirmed the positive dynamics of its level in all indicators. In 2024, the average yield of the firstborn was 9545 kg, and full-aged animals — 10,516 kg at a high fat content. Wide variability in reproduction parameters was established. Conclusions. The number of cows with a yield of more than 10 tons for the highest lactation (10,437 animals) made it possible to select potential mothers of future bulls with high breeding value. At the same time, the widely branched genealogical structure of the Holstein breed (1133 bulls of 24 lines) created opportunities for custom mating.