Abstract
In the Polish project, aimed at comparing the genetic value for milk and meat production of 10 Friesian strains, the following countries have participated: the U.S.A., Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, New Zealand and Poland. Semen from 388 young, unproven AI bulls was used to inseminate Polish Friesian cows in 70 state-owned commercial herds. The relationship among bulls used in the project is presented. The AI results as well as involuntary losses of calves and young stock are described. In total, 24 846 F 1 and 5353 R 1 (backcross) calves were born alive. The results provide evidence on the variation in growth among strains. The Holstein strains (American, Canadian and Israeli) were generally the fastest and Friesian (European and New Zealand) strains grew more slowly. Among the European strains, the German was outstanding, being closely related to American Holsteins. In semi-intensive feeding conditions, the extreme strain differences were small, amounting to 3–6% in liveweight and 4–5% in daily gain. The crossbreds from Holstein sires differed in type compared to other strains. They were higher in the withers and deeper in the chest.
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