Tulinova OV, Romanova EA.

Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2026. Vol. 109. No. 3. Р. 141-159.

doi: 10.33284/2658-3135-109-3-141

Original article

Exterior assessment of regional populations of the Holstein cattle in the Russian Federation

 

Olga V Tulinova1, Elena A Romanova2

1,2 Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding – Branch of the LK Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Tyarlevo, Russia

1 tulinova_59@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5704-4420

2splicing86@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-4225-5533

Abstract. A study was conducted assessing the exterior of the Holstein first-calving cows (n=1,434) from 29 breeding herds in five regions of the Russian Federation. Of the 19 listed defects, the most common is a high tail, the share of which in the Leningrad population is 6.7%, in the Kirov population - 29.5%, in the Nizhny Novgorod population - 18.2%, and in the Pskov population - 14.3%. There were significant positive genetic correlations between muscularity (MS) and body strength (BS) (rg=+0.702; P≤0.001), BS and trunk depth (TD) (rg=+0.614; P≤0.001), BD with milk forms (rg=+0.609; P≤0.001), sulcus udder and the width of the hind lobes (rg=+0.856; P≤0.001), the attachment of the anterior lobes of the udder and their length (rg=+0.648; P≤0.001), and negative ones between rear legs side view (RLSV) with foot angle (rg=-0.752; P≤0.001) and RLSV with rear legs rear view (rg=-0.603; P≤0.001). Heritability coefficients for exterior traits were high at the sacrum (0.38), rump angle and width (0.43 and 0.30), udder depth (0.45) and teat length (0.37). Solving the BLUP mixed model equations revealed improvements in some conformation traits across years from 2021 to 2026. Regionally, the highest number of best EBV values ​​for conformation traits were observed in first-calving cows from the Leningrad and Kirov regions. Seven sire bulls (n=20 daughters) were identified with high reliability of estimates from Rel=0.411 for the location of the anterior teats to Rel=0.771 for the length of the teats. The maximum number of desirable ratings was observed in bull No. 6; bulls No. 3 and No. 4 were mostly considered neutral, and bulls No. 5 and No. 7 predominantly showed negative ratings for almost all exterior characteristics.

Keywords: cows, bulls, Holstein breed, exterior assessment, correlation, EBV, BLUP, exterior profile

Acknowledgments: the work was performed in accordance to the plan of research works for 2023-2026 RRIFAGB (No. 124020200029-4).

For citation: Tulinova OV, Romanova EA. Exterior assessment of regional populations of the Holstein cattle in the Russian Federation. Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2026;109(3):141-159. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.33284/2658-3135-109-3-141

References

  1. Kulikova SG, Narozhnykh KN, Gart VV, Kamaldinov EV, Petrov AF, Efremova OV. The effect of sire’s genotype on body depth in Holstein daughters. Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2025;108(4):106-118. https://doi.org/10.33284/2658-3135-108-4-106
  2. Dudiy MA, Timofeev ZO, Svyatogorov NA. Study of exterior characteristics of Holstein cattle. Agricultural Economics. 2024;1:40-42.
  3. Voskresenskiy SB, Lukonina ON, Safina GF, et al. Yearbook on breeding work in dairy cattle breeding on farms of the Russian Federation (2024). Lesnyye Polyany: FGBNU “Federal State Budgetary Institution "All-Russian Research Institute of Breeding”; 2025: 274 p.
  4. Conte AF, Nedashkovsky IS, Sermyagin AA. Development of selection indices for assessing the breeding value of sires based on the exterior traits of their daughters. Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2026;109(1):27-42. https://doi.org/10.33284/2658-3135-109-1-27
  5. Lefler TF, Adushinov DS, Boyarina OA. Linear assessment of Holstein cows exterior under Canadian methodology. Bulletin of KSAU. 2025;8(221):156-165. doi: 10.36718/1819-4036-2025-8-156-165
  6. Mulyavka KK, Ovchinnikova LYu. Evaluation of sires by the body type conformation of daughters in the conditions of a breeding farm. Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2022;105(4):59-70. https://doi.org/10.33284/2658-3135-105-4-59
  7. Rules for assessing the physique of daughters of bulls producing dairy and meat breeds. SNPplem (approved by the Department of Livestock Husbandry and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Russia dated June 14, 1996). Coll. legal and regulatory acts to the Federal Law “On Livestock Breeding”. M.: VNIIplem; 1996:160-188.
  8. Rozhnetsov AL. Assessment of the exterior body features of first-calf cows depending on their linear affiliation in the collective farm "Prigorodny". Current Issues in Improving the Technology of Production and Processing of Agricultural Products. 2019; 21:347-350.
  9. Sermyagin AA, Zinovieva NA. Genetic and genomic prediction of breeding values of Russian black-and-white and Holstein bulls. Achievements of Science and Technology in the Agro-industrial Complex. 2019;33(12):77-82. doi: 10.24411/0235-2451-2019-11216
  10. Tyapugin SE, Gerasimova EV, Myshkina MS, Kozlova NA, Bogolyubova LP, Semenova NV, Lukonina ON. The current state of dairy cattle breeding in Russia. Dairy and Beef Cattle Breeding. 2025;3:7-11. doi: 10.33943/MMS.2025.98.35.002
  11. Dunin IM, Amerkhanov KhA, Shichkin GI et al. The state of dairy cattle breeding in the Russian Federation. Yearbook on breeding work in dairy cattle breeding on farms of the Russian Federation (2018) . Lesnyye Polyany: FGBNU “All-Russian Research Institute of Breeding”; 2019:3-16.
  12. Telezhenko E. World trends in Holstein breeding. Genetics and Animal Breeding. 2014;2:38-39.
  13. Truhachev VI, Zlydnev NZ, Selionova MI. Dairy cattle breeding of northern Europe: strategies, methods, results (part 1). Dairy and Beef Cattle Breeding. 2016;4:2-5.
  14. Berry DP, Ring SC, Kelleher MM. Linear type trait genetic trends in Irish Holstein-Friesian dairy animals. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research. 2022;61(2):322-331. doi: 10.15212/ijafr-2022-0105
  15. Hu H, Mu T, Ma Y, Wang X, Ma Y. Analysis of longevity traits in holstein cattle: a review. Front Genet. 2021;12:695543. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.695543
  16. Kőrösi ZJ, Bene SA, Bognár L, Szabó F. Heritability and trends in selected udder traits and their  relation  to  milk  production  in Holstein-Friesian cows. Animals (Basel). 2025;15(9):1276. doi: 10.3390/ani15091276
  17. Korösi ZJ, Bognár L,  Bene S,  Szabó F.  The  role  of  the  conformation  of  Holstein cows  in the sustainability of milk production. Chemical Engineering Transactions. 2024;114:745-750. doi: 10.3303/CET24114125
  18. Long M, Wang B, Yang Z, Lu X. Genome-wide association study as an efficacious approach to discover candidate genes associated with body linear type traits in dairy cattle. Animals (Basel). 2024;14(15):2181. doi: 10.3390/ani14152181
  19. Maskal JM, Pedrosa VB, Rojas de Oliveira H, Brito LF. A comprehensive meta-analysis of genetic parameters for resilience and productivity indicator traits in Holstein cattle. J Dairy Sci. 2024;107(5):3062-3079. doi: 10.3168/jds.2023-23668
  20. Medeiros GC, Ferraz JBS, Pedrosa VB, Chen SY, Doucette JS, Boerman JP, Brito LF. Genetic  parameters  for  udder  conformation  traits  derived  from  Cartesian  coordinates  generated  by robotic  milking  systems  in  North  American  Holstein    J  Dairy  Sci. 2024;107(9):7038-7051. doi: 10.3168/jds.2023-24208
  21. Nazar M, Abdalla IM, Chen Z, Ullah N, Liang Y, Chu S, Xu T, Mao Y, Yang Z, Lu X. Genome-wide association study for udder conformation traits in Chinese Holstein cattle. Animals (Basel). 2022;12(19):2542. doi: 10.3390/ani12192542
  22. Oliveira Junior GA, Schenkel FS, Alcantara L, Houlahan K, Lynch C, Baes CF. Estimated genetic parameters for all genetically evaluated traits in Canadian Holsteins. J Dairy Sci. 2021;104(8):9002-9015. doi: 10.3168/jds.2021-20227
  23. Williams M, Sleator RD, Murphy CP, McCarthy J, Berry DP. Re-assessing the importance of linear type traits in predicting genetic merit for survival in an aging Holstein-Friesian dairy cow population. J Dairy Sci. 2022;105(9):7550-7563. doi: 10.3168/jds.2022-22026
  24. Xue X, Hu H, Zhang J, Ma Y, Han L, Hao F, Jiang Y, Ma Y. Estimation of genetic parameters for conformation traits and milk production traits in Chinese Holsteins. Animals (Basel). 2022;13(1):100. doi: 10.3390/ani13010100

Information about the authors:

Olga V Tulinova, Cand. Sci. (Agriculture), Leading Researcher Laboratory of Genetics and Cattle  Breeding,  Russian  Research  Institute  of  Farm  Animal Genetics and Breeding — Branch of the L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, 55a Moscow highway, Tyarlevo, St. Petersburg, 196601, tel.: +7-921-305-80-06.

Elena A Romanova, Researcher Laboratory of Genetics and Cattle Breeding, Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding — Branch of the L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, 55a Moscow highway, Tyarlevo, St. Petersburg, 196601, tel.: +7-960-250-18-98.

The article was submitted 28.04.2026; approved after reviewing 26.06.2026; accepted for publication 14.09.2026.

Download