Milk income was consequently greater for elite versus NA (on average +9.5% or +€21,489) cows. Livestock sales were greater (on average +13.2% or +€4,715) for NA compared with elite cows. Baseline net farm profit and net profit/ha at a base milk price of 29.5 cents per liter (3.3% protein and 3.6% fat) were on average €31,156, and €772 greater for elite compared with NA cows across the 3 FT. Greater profitability achieved with elite cows in each of the FT investigated demonstrated the adaptability of high-EBI cows across different levels of feeding intensities in seasonal pasture-based feeding systems. Sensitivity analysis of varying milk price and concentrate cost did not result in a reranking of GG for farm profit. This study clearly demonstrates the power of a suitably constructed genetic-selection index together with a well-considered breeding program to deliver genetics capable of favorable change to farm physical performance and profit over a relatively short duration.A linear programming model that selects the optimal cropping plan and feeds allocation for diets to minimize the whole dairy farm feed costs was developed. The model was virtually applied on 29 high-yielding Holstein-Friesian herds, confined, total mixed ration dairy farms. The average herd size was 313.2 ± 144.1 lactating cows and the average land size was 152.2 ± 92.5 ha. Farm characteristics such as herd structure, nutritional grouping strategies, feed consumption, cropping plan, intrinsic farm limitations (e.g., silage and hay storage availability, water for irrigation, manure storage) and on farm produced forage costs of production were collected from each farm for the year 2017. Actual feeding strategies, land availability, herd structure, crop production costs and yields, and milk and feed market prices for the year 2017 were used as model inputs. buy SU1498 Through optimization, the feeding system was kept equal to the actual farm practice. The linear program formulated diets for each animal group to respect acted on farm, whereas total feed cost (€/100 kg of milk) was greater in the baseline (20.4 ± 2.3) than the optimized scenario (19.0 ± 1.9), resulting in a 6.7% feed cost reduction with a range between 0.49% and 21.6%. This meant €109 ± 96.9 greater net return per cow per year. The implementation of the proposed linear programming model for the optimal allocation of the nutritional resources and crops in a dairy herd has the potential to reduce feed cost of diets and improve the farm feed self-sufficiency.This study aimed to apply the theory of planned behavior to determine the effects of attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms on the intention of dairy farmers toward high-grain feeding. Quantitative data were collected through interviews with 150 dairy farmers in Paraná, Brazil. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. We observed that farmers with a positive perception of grain feeding (attitude) and a positive perception of their ability to increase the use of grains (perceived behavioral control) had higher intention to increase grain feeding. Social pressure (subjective norm) had no effect on the intention to grain feed. These results can contribute to the development of public strategies and policies that encourage the use of high-grain diets in dairy farms.Milking speed (MS) and temperament (MT) are 2 workability traits of great importance in dairy cattle production and breeding. This is mainly due to an increased intensification of the worldwide production systems and greater adoption of precision technologies with less human-cattle interaction. Both MS and MT are heritable traits and thus, genomic selection is a promising tool to expedite their genetic progress. However, the genetic architecture and biological mechanisms underlying the phenotypic expression of these traits remain underexplored. In this study, we investigated the association of >5.7 million imputed whole-genome sequence variants with MT and MS in 4,381 and 4,219 North American Holstein cattle, respectively. The statistical analyses were performed using a mixed linear model fitting a polygenic effect. We detected 40 and 35 significant SNPs independently associated with MT and MS, respectively, which were distributed across 26 chromosomes. Eight candidate genes (GRIN3A, KCNJ3, BOSTAUV1R417, BOSTAUV1R419, MAP2K5, KCTD3, GAP43, and LSAMP) were suggested to play an important role in MT as they are involved in biologically relevant pathways, such as glutamatergic synapse, vomeronasal receptor and oxytocin signaling. Within their coding and upstream sequences, we used an independent data set to further detect or validate significantly differentiated SNP between cattle breeds with known differences in MT. There were fewer candidate genes potentially implicated in MS, but immunity-related genes (e.g., BOLA-NC1 and LOC512672), also identified in other populations, were validated in this study. The significant SNP and novel candidate genes identified contribute to a better understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying both traits in dairy cattle. This information will also be useful for the optimization of prediction of genomic breeding values by giving greater weights to SNP located in the genomic regions identified.Human milk is the main source of nutrition for infants and the transmission of various microorganisms. The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in breast milk allow for the establishment of the gut microflora of infants. In this study, we aimed to assess the probiotic potential of LAB strains isolated from breast milk of healthy Chinese women. Two strains, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (formerly Lactobacillus rhamnosus) LHL6 and LHL7, were selected and identified through morphology observation, Gram staining, and 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis. Using Limosilactobacillus fermentum (formerly Lactobacillus fermentum) CECT5716 as the standard reference strain, the screened strains were characterized for aspects of growth, production of lactic acid and H2O2, antibiotic susceptibility, survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, and tolerance to cadmium (Cd). In de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) broth, LHL6 and LHL7 showed longer lag phases than CECT5716 but higher specific growth rates. For the production of lactic acid and H2O2, LHL7 performed better than LHL6 and CECT5716, indicating better antimicrobial ability.