Episode 310 -Faster Cows, Faster Parlors: New Genetic Evaluations for Milking Speed - UMN Extension's The Moos Room

In this Labor Day episode, Brad highlights the history of the holiday in the U.S. and Canada before diving into a brand-new genetic evaluation for Holstein dairy cattle: milking speed. Released in August 2025, this trait provides an objective way to measure how quickly cows milk—expressed in pounds of milk per minute—with the Holstein breed average set at 7 lbs/min.

Brad explains how this evaluation was developed using parlor sensor data (not robot milking systems) from over 165 herds and 43,000 cows, making it more accurate than traditional subjective scoring methods used in other breeds. With heritability at 42%, milking speed is a promising selection tool for improving parlor efficiency and labor use.

The episode also covers:

• How milking speed correlates with traits like somatic cell score and mastitis.
• The range of variation in bulls and what that means for selection decisions.
• Why milking speed isn’t yet included in the lifetime merit index.
• Practical implications for farmers considering faster vs. slower milking cows.

Brad wraps up by reflecting on how this new tool could impact herd management at the Morris research herd and encourages producers to watch for milking speed in future bull proofs.

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