Examination of Effect of Breed on Sustainability of Dairy Cattle Production

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of breeds on the sustainability of dairy cattle production. for this purpose cultural energy input and output analysis, an indicator of sustainability, was conducted. in the study, data from 24 dairy cattle farms located in burdur, isparta, konya, izmir, afyonkarahisar, aksaray, kırşehir and spanning october 2017-september 2018 were obtained. holstein and simmental breeds, the most common breeds raised in turkey, were chosen as the animal material. considering the requirements, 10 holstein farms, 7 simmental farms and 7 mixed farms (%60 holstein %40 simmental) were selected. during the visits to the farms, following data were collected: monthly lactating cow number, milk yield, ration amount, ration compositions, electricity consumption, water consumption, diesel consumption, number of workers and working hours, feed consumption, monthly analysis results of milk fat, milk protein and lactose values. cultural energy used for feed for cows was calculated by multiplying each ingredient with corresponding values of ingredients from literature. transportation energy was also included in the analysis. total cultural energy expended was similar for holstein and mixed group and it was higher from that of simmental (p<0.05). cultural energy expended for feed constituted more than half of the total cultural energy and it was similar for all groups. cultural energy expended per kg milk and energy efficiency for protein were similar for simmental and mixed group and these were higher than that of holstein breed (p<0.05). energy use efficiency was the best for holstein (p<0.05), and simmental and the mixed group had similar energy use efficiency. as a result, cultural energy use efficiency differed among breeds and in terms of sustainability this should be considered for policymaking.