Modeling Lactation Curves in Dairy Cattle
Summary
Modelling lactation curves in dairy cattle involves the quantitative description of milk yield over the course of a lactation period, typically 305 days. Such curves capture key phases: the rising phase to peak yield, the plateau or maintenance phase, and the decline or persistency phase. Empirical models like the Wood gamma function have long provided simple parametric fits, while more recent approaches introduce perturbation terms to account for health or environmental events. Data-driven methods, including quantile regression and machine-learning frameworks, now exploit high-frequency recordings from automatic milking systems to tailor curves at individual and herd levels. Applications range from precision livestock farming and management optimisation to genetic selection for enhanced yield stability. By integrating statistical and computational advances, researchers aim to predict total yield, identify deviations early and support decision-making across diverse production systems worldwide.
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Modeling Lactation Curves in Dairy Cattle publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in modeling lactation curves in dairy cattle across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Lactation curve: The graphical representation of milk yield plotted against days in milk, describing production dynamics.
Peak yield: The highest daily milk output attained during the lactation.
Persistency: The rate of decline in milk yield following the peak phase, indicating stability.
Wood model: A three-parameter gamma function commonly used to fit lactation curves.
Perturbed lactation model: An extension of standard curve models that incorporates terms for yield deviations due to stressors.
Quantile regression: A statistical technique that estimates specified quantiles of the response distribution, useful for robust curve fitting.
Piecewise linear regression: A method that approximates a curve by connecting linear segments at critical transition points.
References
- Comparison of 3 mathematical models to estimate lactation performance in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science (2024).
- A Vector Representation of Lactation Curves for Dairy Cows. Agriculture (2022).
- Heterosis in the lactation curves of Girolando cows with emphasis on variations of the individual curves. Journal of Applied Animal Research (2019).
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