Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving
Cows mobilize body reserves during early lactation, which is reflected in the milk fatty acid (FA) profile. Milk FA can be routinely predicted by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and be, thus, used to develop an early indicator for bodyweight change (BWC) in early lactating cows in co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-10-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/1958 |
| _version_ | 1797549963380523008 |
|---|---|
| author | Franziska Dettmann Daniel Warner Bart Buitenhuis Morten Kargo Anne Mette Hostrup Kjeldsen Niels Henning Nielsen Daniel M. Lefebvre Debora E. Santschi |
| author_facet | Franziska Dettmann Daniel Warner Bart Buitenhuis Morten Kargo Anne Mette Hostrup Kjeldsen Niels Henning Nielsen Daniel M. Lefebvre Debora E. Santschi |
| author_sort | Franziska Dettmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cows mobilize body reserves during early lactation, which is reflected in the milk fatty acid (FA) profile. Milk FA can be routinely predicted by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and be, thus, used to develop an early indicator for bodyweight change (BWC) in early lactating cows in commercial dairy farms. Cow records from 165 herds in Denmark between 2015 and 2017 were used with bodyweight (BW) records at each milking from floor scales in automatic milking systems. Milk FA in monthly test-day samples was predicted by FTIR. Predictions of BWC were based on a random forest model and included parity, stage of lactation, and test day milk production and components (fat, protein, and FA). Bodyweight loss was mainly explained by decreased short-chain FA (C4:0–C10:0) and increased C18:0 FA. The root mean square error (RMSE) of prediction after cross-validation was 1.79 g/kg of BW (R<sup>2</sup> of 0.94). Model evaluation with previously unseen BWC records resulted in reduced prediction performance (RMSE of 2.33 g/kg of BW; R<sup>2</sup> of 0.31). An early warning system may be implemented for cows with a large BW loss during early lactation based on milk FA profiles, but model performance should be improved, ideally by using the full FTIR milk spectra. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:22:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3fd869e18b204b898daae611c51d5568 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:22:30Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fd869e18b204b898daae611c51d55682023-11-20T18:20:19ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-10-011011195810.3390/ani10111958Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after CalvingFranziska Dettmann0Daniel Warner1Bart Buitenhuis2Morten Kargo3Anne Mette Hostrup Kjeldsen4Niels Henning Nielsen5Daniel M. Lefebvre6Debora E. Santschi7Lactanet, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3R4, CanadaLactanet, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3R4, CanadaCenter for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, DenmarkCenter for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, DenmarkSEGES, 8200 Aarhus N, DenmarkRYK, 8200 Aarhus N, DenmarkLactanet, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3R4, CanadaLactanet, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3R4, CanadaCows mobilize body reserves during early lactation, which is reflected in the milk fatty acid (FA) profile. Milk FA can be routinely predicted by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and be, thus, used to develop an early indicator for bodyweight change (BWC) in early lactating cows in commercial dairy farms. Cow records from 165 herds in Denmark between 2015 and 2017 were used with bodyweight (BW) records at each milking from floor scales in automatic milking systems. Milk FA in monthly test-day samples was predicted by FTIR. Predictions of BWC were based on a random forest model and included parity, stage of lactation, and test day milk production and components (fat, protein, and FA). Bodyweight loss was mainly explained by decreased short-chain FA (C4:0–C10:0) and increased C18:0 FA. The root mean square error (RMSE) of prediction after cross-validation was 1.79 g/kg of BW (R<sup>2</sup> of 0.94). Model evaluation with previously unseen BWC records resulted in reduced prediction performance (RMSE of 2.33 g/kg of BW; R<sup>2</sup> of 0.31). An early warning system may be implemented for cows with a large BW loss during early lactation based on milk FA profiles, but model performance should be improved, ideally by using the full FTIR milk spectra.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/1958decision supportFourier-transform infrareddairy herd improvementbodyweight lossmachine learning |
| spellingShingle | Franziska Dettmann Daniel Warner Bart Buitenhuis Morten Kargo Anne Mette Hostrup Kjeldsen Niels Henning Nielsen Daniel M. Lefebvre Debora E. Santschi Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving Animals decision support Fourier-transform infrared dairy herd improvement bodyweight loss machine learning |
| title | Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving |
| title_full | Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving |
| title_fullStr | Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving |
| title_short | Fatty Acid Profiles from Routine Milk Recording as a Decision Tool for Body Weight Change of Dairy Cows after Calving |
| title_sort | fatty acid profiles from routine milk recording as a decision tool for body weight change of dairy cows after calving |
| topic | decision support Fourier-transform infrared dairy herd improvement bodyweight loss machine learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/1958 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT franziskadettmann fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT danielwarner fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT bartbuitenhuis fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT mortenkargo fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT annemettehostrupkjeldsen fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT nielshenningnielsen fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT danielmlefebvre fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving AT deboraesantschi fattyacidprofilesfromroutinemilkrecordingasadecisiontoolforbodyweightchangeofdairycowsaftercalving |