Effects of environment and age of first calving on longevity and production of cattle
PhD Student
Andrew Lean
The longevity of a dairy cow is directly related to the profitability and environmental sustainability of the dairy industry. Based at Sydney, this project will investigate a number of environmental influences on dairy cow longevity, including:
- Age at first calving and its affect on production, health and reproduction; differences between extensive and intensive systems.
- Hormonal and/or metabolomic influences at or around puberty.
- The effect of early breeding and calving on health, production and reproduction in the first lactation.
- Microbial enhancers used in compost barns to improve quality of bedding and its impact on cow behaviour.
- Effects of nutrition and environment on production, health and reproduction of housed cows.
This project involves five studies involving analysis of industry and herd data records, the collection and analysis of blood and feed samples, and controlled clinical trials with different housing systems.
More information:
Ian Lean | ianl@scibus.com.au
