A new report says Jerseys continue to be the number one breed for productive life. According to the American Jersey Cattle Association:

Based on the August, 2006 USDA genetic summaries, Jersey continues to be the leader for Productive Life (PL) among the six dairy breeds evaluated in the United States (including Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein and Milking Shorthorn).

Data published by the USDA Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (AIPL) show that for cows born in 1997, Jerseys have the longest productive life of 34.4 months, or 1,048 days. A total of 36,669 Jersey cows were included in the evaluation. By comparison, the weighted average Productive Life for 659,675 cows of the other five breeds and born in 1997 is 28.5 months, or 869 days.

For more information on the calculation of Productive Life, see the “Documentation” section of the AIPL website.