Assessment of breeding work in dairy cattle breeding in farms of the Russian Federation

According to the results of the annual breeding report in the Russian Federation, 25 breeds of dairy cattle were tested, the total number of cows amounted to 1169.59 thousand heads. The Holstein breed (black and mottled) is the most widespread on the territory of the Russian Federation, its number is 720,560 head or 61 % of the total number of cows. The dairy productivity of cows in the Russian Federation in 2023 amounted to 8.772 kg, which is 471 kg more than in 2022 and 3.821 kg more than in 2010, however, their productive longevity decreased by 0.48 calving, and is 3.12 calving. The most widespread breed in the territory of the Russian Federation is the holstein breed (black and mottled), its number is 720.560 heads. According to the results of 2023, an average yield of 9834 kg was obtained for the holstein breed, with a fat content of 3.90 % with a protein content of 3.32 %. However, the term of economic use of cows of this breed is significantly lower in comparison with other breeds bred in the Russian Federation. The breeding farms of the Russian Federation maintain a sufficiently high breed diversity of cattle, with high breeding value, however, every year the total number of animals of many gene pool breeds decreases markedly and against their background there is a significant increase in animals of the holstein breed. We think that one of the main tasks for modern cattle breeding is the preservation of gene pool breeds for the organization of targeted breeding work in dairy farming.