Breed structures in Australian dairy herds

Breed structures of Australian dairy herds over time were described for a large subset of milk-recording herds. The focus for this study was to describe the use of crossbreeding by dairy farmers, specifically proportions of herds using crossbreeding, whether they were using two-breed or three-breed crossbreeding systems, and how herd-breed structures changed over time. The most common breed structure in Australian milk-recording herds between 2000 and 2013 was two-breed crossbreeding (39% of herd-years). The next most common breed structure was purebred (35%). Over the period studied, the proportion of herds that were purebred decreased, while the proportion of herds that were crossbreeding increased (particularly three-breed crossbreeding herds). Herd-breed structures and changes over time varied with region and with the herd's calving system. There were also considerable changes in breed structure within herds, including herds changing breed structure before reverting back to their original breed structure. These results indicate that breed structures in milk-recording dairy herds in Australia are dynamic, and that farmers have commonly employed crossbreeding strategies.