Testing of different strains of Friesian cattle in Poland I. Milk performance of F1 paternal Friesian strain crosses under intensive feeding conditions

This paper deals with a part of the project on testing of 10 Friesian strains in Poland, organized with international co-operation. From large F1 populations tested in the field, 400 pregnant heifers (40 per strain) were chosen randomly and divided between two experimental farms, where they were kept under intensive and controlled feeding. Milk production and conformation characteristics were studied. The average first lactation milk yield was 4970 kg, with 3.97% butter-fat and 3.54% protein. The range of difference between the strain means for milk yield was about 1000 kg. The strains of Holstein-Friesian type (U.S.A., Canada and Israel) were best for milk yield, while the highest compositional quality tended to be in the strains from Dutch and New Zealand sires. Holstein-Friesian type strains were generally heavier and larger.