Collecting functional traits in dairy herds: overview of a program currently running in Italy. Proceedings International Workshop on Genetic Improvement of Functional Traits in Cattle. Breeding Goals and Selection Schemes, November 7-9th, Ede Wageningen, The Netherlands. Interbull bulletin n.23, 123-130.

The national scheme of milk recording in Italy is currently based mainly on the collection of records on milk yield and composition. Recently, increasing attention has been paid also to other traits which are helpful for improving management of dairy herds and for increasing efficiency of breeding schemes. Given this concern, a project for extending the recording procedure to some functional traits has been started in April 1998, enrolling some milk recording agencies of Veneto region. Data are collected by operators of milk recording agencies, and visits to registered herds occur at 4-wk interval. The scheme planned the collection of traits ordinarily recorded in the national scheme (milk yield, fat and protein content, pedigree information, animal identification, calving date, insemination and culling date) and, in addition, of the following “new” traits: i) BCS (Edmonson et al., 1989), mastitis and lameness, recorded on periparturient heifers (since about two months before the expected calving date), lactating and dry cows every 4 weeks; ii) retained placenta and mammary oedema, recorded on heifers and cows at calving; iii) leakage, milkability and temperament while milking, recorded on lactating cows every 4 weeks; iv) reasons for culling, recorded on all culled animals. Training of recording personnel at the start of the project and procedures aimed to improve the standardisation of BCS will be discussed. Moreover, with the aim of encouraging the true participation of farmers, the development of tools for supporting herd management decisions based on analysis and interpretation of BCS data are in progress and will be described. Currently, 88 dairy herds have been enrolled on this project, and 35 operators have been involved in the recording of functional traits. This produced a data base, currently containing nearly 77,600 records from nearly 9,300 Holsteins females, that will be of a value for studying the relations of body reserves status and change during lactation with milk yield, health and fertility.