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Received: February 28, 2026

Revised: March 16, 2026

Published: March 30, 2026

 

This article presents the results of research on the milk production of Swiss cows under year-round grazing conditions in open pastures. The study was conducted at the private enterprise “Agro-Novoselivka 2009” in the Kharkiv District, Kharkiv Region.

It was found that Swiss cows, thanks to their high biological adaptability and good acclimatization capacity in the new environmental conditions of eastern Ukraine, exhibited a gradual increase in live weight with age characteristic of this breed, from 391.4±27.5 kg during the first lactation to 586.2±22.8 kg during the second. The duration of lactation was within acceptable limits and amounted to 332.4 days for the first lactation, which is 2.1% longer than for the second.

It was demonstrated that the milk productivity of Swiss cows was quite high and even exceeded the average indicators for European countries. During the second lactation, milk yield per cow was significantly higher by 7.2% (P < 0.05) compared to the first and amounted to 8,810 ± 284.6 kg. However, the milk yield coefficient for cows in their first lactation was, conversely, significantly higher by 39.8% (P < 0.01) compared to the second lactation and amounted to 2,101,0.

It has been determined that milk from Swiss cows is the most suitable for processing and cheese production due to its high fat and protein content. In the experimental cows, the first lactation milk was found to have a high fat content (4.55%) and protein content (3.62%), which is 2.4% and 1.1% lower, respectively, compared to the second lactation. The same trend was observed in milk fat and protein production, which amounted to 410.3±16.7 kg and 322.6±13.2 kg during the second lactation, which is significantly higher by 9.6% and 8.4%, respectively, compared to the first lactation.

Analysis of the lactation curves revealed that they met general standards and were characterized by relative stability. The highest monthly milk yield in both the first and second lactations was observed in the third month (998 and 1048 kg), with a sharp decline in the fifth month and a drop of up to 64% from the maximum value by the ninth month.

Year-round housing of Swiss cows in open pastures over two lactations with high productive qualities demonstrates the feasibility of applying this housing method in agricultural enterprises in Eastern Ukraine during the revival of dairy cattle farming.

 

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