Production Improvement

Interested in increasing your farm’s milk production? Check out our special section Focus on: Estimated Breeding Values. Broken link? Something out of place? Please email hello@dsana.com for assistance!

• Using DSANA’s Production Improvement Program (PIP & EBVs) at Green Dirt Farm – 2019 – Eliza Spertus, Green Dirt Farm.  A presentation on how Green Dirt Farm sheep dairy has used the PIP/EBVs to make culling and breeding decisions that help balance other performance records.

• Using EBVs for Our Breeding, Selection, and Culling Decisions – 2019 – Quincy Wool Parker, Meadowood Farms.  A presentation on Meadowood Farms’ breeding program and how they collect data for and use EBVs to make breeding decisions.

• What Can Testing Do For You? – 2019 – Chris Tucker, Rocky Mountain DHIA.  A presentation on the Dairy Herd Improvement Association that goes over what might cause high SCC and why you want a low SCC, why you should test your milk components, and what Rocky Mountain DHIA (RMDHIA) reports show.  It also goes over how to collect and send samples for testing.

• Milk Production Comparisons: Domestic & F-1 Yearlings from the Imported French Semen – 2019 – Laurel Kieffer DSANA Production Improvement Project, Tom Clark DSANA Genetic Improvement Committee, Mike Thonney Professor of Animal Science Cornell University.  A presentation that demonstrates the differences in milk production from the first F1 ewes born from imported French Semen.  It incentivizes both the semen importation program and DSANA’s Production Improvement Program.

• Using the numbers: How performance recording contributes to genetic gain and econimic opportunities in sheep dairying - 2018 - One of the world’s leading sheep geneticists explains the principles of genetic selection, and how performance records can become tools for genetic improvement in dairy sheep operations.  How the heritabilities of desirable traits in dairy sheep, such as milk yield, fat and protein percentages, somatic cell counts, and lactational persistence, can be used to generate EBVs (Estimate Breeding Values).  How genetic gain in these traits can impact farm profitability.  The correlation between changes in milk yield and changes in component percentage.  How to understand, interpret, and apply an individual animal’s genetic evaluation from Genovis.

• Dairy Sheep genetic improvement project - 2018 - DSANA provide members with performance testing and genetic analysis for their flocks, via milk yield measurements and component sampling, through Genovis’ genetic evaluation service.

• Update on Sheep Genomics & Genetics - 2016.Christian J. Posbergh & Heather J. Huson. An overview of DNA based tests like genomics & parentage testing. Includes a look at genomic based EBVs and their potential application to dairy sheep.

• Estimating Breeding Values for Sheep: Estimates of Genetic Parameters & Trends in a Crossbred Population of Dairy Sheep - 2016. Thomas W. Murphy & David L. Thomas. Using the flock & research from the University of Wisconsin Spooner Reasearch Station to look at the basic concepts of a genetic evaluation program, the impact of non-genetic effects on dairy ewe performance and the formulation of estimated breeding values.

• Implementation of Genetic Evaluation - 2016. George R. Wiggans - Guidelines for utilizing a genetic improvement program as exemplified by the American Dairy Goat Association's model for producing EBV's, includes steps required by the farm and the association.

• A Genetic Evaluation Program for Dairy Sheep in Canada: Preliminary Results from a Project in Quebec - 2016. Johanne Cameron & Larry Schaeffer. An in-depth look at the development of the Gen-Ovis program, why it exists and it's goals.

• Estimated Breeding Values Do Predict Future Performance - 2015. Thomas W. Murphy. An overview of Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) answering the questions: What are they? How do you use them? And do they work?

• Milking Machine Design for Sheep, 2011, Beate Maassen-Francke. An in depth look at vacuum pumps, milk lines an all other parts of a ilk machine to ensure the most efficient and productive way of milking sheep.

• SIRE REFERENCING PROGRAM - 2010 - Claire Mikolayunas, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Discussion on creation of a template for milk production records for dairy sheep and genetic merit for ewes and rams

• MILK RECORDING AND GENETIC IMPROVEMENT - 2010 - David L. Thomas and Yves M. Berger, Department of Animal Sciences and Spooner Agricultural Research Station, University of Wisconsin-Madison. In Depth look at milk recording processes and other genetic traits like udder conformation. 

• FERMENTABLE FIBER FOR FEEDING DAIRY SHEEP - 2009 - Michael L. Thonney and Douglas E. Hogue. Department of Animal Science, Cornell University. A new feed formulation approach (the"Dugway Nutritional Plan") was developed to provide an effective method of feeding ruminants and to overcome some limitations of traditional systems.

• SARDINIAN CHEESE PRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF SHEEP MILK RESEARCH - 2007 - Claire M. Mikolayunas and Yves M. Berger, University of Wisconsin-Madison,, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. A review of sheep milk research from Sardinia

• Non-nutritional strategies to improve lactation persistency in dairy ewes - 2005 - Pulina. The ideal lactation curve has a high peak and a flat trend after the peak. The authors cover the economic importance of persistency and factors that influence it, including physiological, systemic, and local factors, genetics, lambing season, lactation number, number of lambs born, weaning system, milking frequency, udder morphology, stress, and udder health. They conclude with the practical implications of improving persistency.

• How to graze dairy sheep and supplement their diets in order to improve production - 2005 - Pulina. Balancing the diet of grazing sheep has some different challenges than for housed sheep. This article states that high yields are possible from grazing ewes, explains the factors affecting pasture intake and diet selection, shows how to balance diets for grazing lactating ewes, and ends with a summary of grazing  methods.

• Evolution of milk production at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station between 1996 and 2004 - 2005 - Berger. This is a summary of how milk production has grown substantially and consistently year on year at the Spooner farm since its first season in 1996., and some of the factors behind it.

• Comparison of East Friesian and Lacaune breeds for dairy sheep production in North America - 2004 - Thomas. The authors review a study comparing the East Friesian and Lacaune breeds for breeding, lamb performance and milk production performance.

• Udder morphology and effects on milk production and ease of milking in dairy sheep - 2004 - Rovai - In this detailed article, the authors review udder and teat anatomy, the heritability of morphological traits, how to evaluate morphology and machine milkability, and the trade-off between production and morphology.

• Breeds of sheep for commercial milk production- 2004 -Berge. Choosing a breed is a big decision for a new producer. There is no "best breed". It is a matter of knowing your preferences and finding the best match. Yves Berger reviews some breeds in the North American context.

• Milk testing, calculation of production, and adjustment factors - 2004 -Berger. Improving milk production by selection of ewes requires high-quality milk production data and techniques to estimate production from individual test days and adjust it for age and other factors. This paper summarises the equipment needed, animal identification, how and when to do the testing, and how to calculate production figures.

• Nutritional strategies to improve lactation persistency in dairy ewes - 2002 - Cannas. Scientists from Sardinia discuss lactation persistency, how it is measured or defined, and the nutritional and non-nutritional factors that affect it via limiting late-lactation milk production.

• Milk composition and cheese yield - 2002 - Wendorff. Milk comprises approximately 85% of the cost of making cheese, so its composition is important. This is a summary of milk composition in relation to making cheese, covering breed, season/lactation stage, management system, milk quality, milk storage, ewe nutrition, genetics, and the effect of milk composition on cheese yield.

• Economics of winter milking for medium to large dairy sheep operations - 2002 - Berger. In this article, Yves Berger looks at winter milking for larger operations looking to make better use of their large capital investment by having ewes lamb in the spring, autumn and winter. He covers the implications of winter lambing and milking (e.g., feed and labor), and does a budget analysis.

• DNA markers for aseasonality and milk production in sheep - 2002 - Mateescu. Aseasonality refers to sheep whose fertility is less seasonal. Strong seasonality limits the rate of genetic gain. At the time, little was known about genetic markers for aseasonality and production. The authors summarise a study they will run to  identify genes via two methods: finding specific genes associated with aseasonality and production, and whole-genome screening.

• Comparison of East Friesian and Lacaune breeding for dairy sheep production systems - 2001 - Thomas. This is a summary of a study comparing East Friesian and Lacaune performance in a Wisconsin setting. There were no large differences in performance, but some small differences in lamb growth and fertility and milk production were found. However, cross breeding of the two breeds may be the best approach because of the hybrid vigour that results.

• New developments in the genetic improvement of dairy sheep - 2001 - Arranz. The authors review selection schemes in dairy sheep and their progress, breeding programs in Europe, selection criteria other than milk yield, developments in reproductive techniques, and molecular tools for sheep breeding.

• Is machine stripping necessary for East Friesian dairy ewes?- 2001 - McKusick. Machine stripping, where the cups are left on the ewe after flow has stopped and the udder is massaged to remove any remaining milk, was shown to increase the volume of milk harvested but also prolong milking time. The ewes that were not machine stripped did not have higher somatic cell counts or shorter lactation lengths.

• The effect of growth rate on mammary gland development in ewe lambs: a review - 2001 - Tolman. In the absence of research specific to dairy sheep, the authors review the literature on the effect of nutrition on mammary development in young female ruminants, and effects on lactation performance.

• Group breeding scheme: a feasible selection program - 2001 - Berger. Yves Berger gives some useful background on the principles of genetic selection for desirable traits and why you might fail due to choosing the wrong traits, too many traits, or having too small a pool of animals to select from. He explains what a group breeding scheme is (a group of producers with a common selection goal where breeding stock is selected and shared among the members of the group).

• Can the ovary influence milk production in dairy ewes?- 2001 - McKusick. Between milkings, milk is ideally released from the mammary tissue into the cistern. The researchers theorised that a ewe's hormonal status, in relation to her ovaries, might affect the release of milk. They confirmed that ewes that have ovulated produce more milk, especially when there have been multiple ovulations. The practical implications require invetigation.

• Milk storage within the udder of East Friesian dairy ewes over a 24-hour period - 2001 - McKusick. Ideally, milking ruminants store milk in the cistern between milkings to minimise the negative feedback caused by distended mammary glandular tissue. This study reports how milk is stored in the udders of dairy ewes between milkings, and the quality (somatic cell count, fat and protein content) of alveolar and cisternal milk fractions, and the impact of milking frequency on where milk is stored and how much is yielded at milking.

• The effect of three times a day milking at the beginning of lactation on the milk production of East Friesian crossbred ewes - 2000 - de Bie. Ewes milked 3 times a day from parturition produced 12.6 liters more milk (15%) during the first 30 days than the ewes milked 2 times a day, but their fat and protein concentrations were lower and there was no difference in somatic cell count. When they were switched from being milked 3 times to 2 times a day, production and fat and protein concentrations reverted to the same as ewes milked 2 times a day from the start. These effects and the economic return depended on the percentage of East Friesian genetics.

• Dairy sheep nutrition - 2000 - Cant. The authors briefly discussed the impact of lamb suckling and milking frequency during early lactation on milk production, the importance of nutrition in managing energy balance in early lactation and therefore milk production, the primarily hormonal cause of the mid-late lactation decline in production  (and that nutrition cannot change that but poor nutrition will still limit milk production), daily energy and protein requirements, and how to calculate nutritional intakes from pasture and supplements.

• Physiological factors that modify the efficiency of machine milking in dairy ewes - 2000 - McKusick. This paper introduces the concept that machine milking efficiency may be a more useful assessment of an individual ewe than simply milk volume and should be considered in future genetic selection programs. High machine milking efficiency can be defined as getting the maximum amount of milk that is rich in total solids in the shortest amount of time possible with the least amount of physical intervention by the milker, without any negative effects on udder or ewe health. The authors discuss the factors in early lactation (e.g., lamb suckling), between milkings (e.g., udder morphology), and during milking (e.g., manual stripping) that can alter efficiency.

• Preliminary observations on milk flow and udder morphology traits of East Friesian crossbred dairy ewes - 2000 - McKusick. Enrolling 72 East Friesian ewes, several milk flow, time, and volume metrics were collected with milk flow sensors, and udder morphology and rumination were visually assessed. The authors present their findings.

• Factors affecting milk traits and udder health in East Friesian milk sheep - 2000 - Scharch. Milk samples were taken from all ewes in a flock of 40 East Friesian ewes every 14-35 days through lactation. This study reports on their production, milk quality, and udder health statistics and the effects of number and stage of lactation, number and weight of born and weaned lambs, and ewe body weight on milk yield, composition, and udder health.

• Design and implementation of a genetic improvement program for Comisana dairy sheep in Sicily - 2000 - Pinelli. The Comisana breed is the second most important breed in Italy after the Sarda, but, at the time of writing, lacked a systematic genetic improvement program. In this paper, the authors desribe the program that has been developed to improve the Comisana in Siciliy, how the program was progressing, and some expectations for future progress.

• Development of a computerized dairy record keeping system - 2000 - Buschbeck. In 1999 the Ontario Dairy Sheep Association and the EweByte sheep flock recording system received a grant from the CanAdapt Small Projects Initiative to develop a record keeping system for dairy sheep. Dr Buschbeck presents the capabilities of the new milk module that was added to EweByte and other capabilities that were still under construction at the time.

• Heard Health Management and Record Keeping for Dairy Sheep. - 1999 - Regli.  Overview of good health management including mastitis and need for record keeping.

• Farm Adapted Breeds-Crossbreeds. Ghia. 1999 Author discusses concerns with genetics and non-standard record-keeping in industry. Focuses on how milk yield increased at Ewetopia Dairy in Vermont.

• Technical Note - Accuracy of the Waikato Milk Meter Jar - 1999 - Berger Academic review of testing efficiency of Waikato milk meters.

• Rumen-Protected Bypass Fat for Dairy Ewe Commercial Milk Production. - 1999 - McKusick/berger/thomas.  Academic review of research on increasing fat supplementation and weaning systems.

• Milk and Lamb Production of East Friesian-Cross Ewes in Northwestern Wisconsin - 1998 -Thomas/Berger/McKusick Continuation of research on advantages/disadvantages of crossbred East Friesian ewes, progeny and milking abilities.  

• Ewe Management for Improved Milk Yield and Quality - 1997 - Marnet. Academic review of how milk yield can be improved through attention to milking systems and udder management

• Early Experimental Results for Growth of East Friesian Crossbred Lambs and Reproduction and Milk Production of East Friesian Crossbred Ewes. - 1997 - Berger/Thomas  Continuation of research regarding E Friesian crossbred ewes and lambs

• Opportunities for Genetic Improvement of Dairy Sheep in North America- 1996 - Thomas - Overview of the beginnings of genetic improvement in dairy sheep in Wisconsin

• Practical Aspects of Sire Referencing - 1996 - Porksen -  Shows how using breeding values and artificial insemination have improved a suffolk flock in England

• Sheep Sire Reference Schemes - New Opportunities for Pedigree Breeders and Lamb Producers  - 1996 - Simm/Wray - Overview of sire referencing schemes (breeding values and AI) in England

• The Why and How of Sire Referencing - 1996 - Simm/Wray - Overview of sire referencing schemes (breeding values and AI) in England

• Growth and Reproduction of 1/4 East Friesian Lambs -1996 - Thomas/Berger Continuation of project using 1/4 E Friesian lambs, focusing on growth and reproduction.

• Genetic improvement of dairy sheep in Europe - 1995 - Barillet - Academic overview of genetic improvement of dairy sheep in Europe. Discusses AI breeding programs and expected gains

• Sheep Dairying in France  - 1995 - Barillet - Historical overview of Dairying in France Shows importance of milk recording and AI