Economic aspects of the formation of the breeding base of dairy cattle in Russia
The development of modern, competitive animal husbandry is impossible without creating the solid breeding base. The best example of recent years is the revival of domestic pig industry based on the creation of breeding and genetic centers and on investments in development of own reproduction. Along with selection and breeding work aimed on improving all useful economic features of breeds, an equally important task for breeding enterprises is the production of pedigree young animals. At dairy cattle breeding, the cultivation of heifers is primarily the creation of base for industry development at qualitatively new level. As the cows at dairy farming are accounted under fixed assets, then breeding heifers is the «production of the means of production» from an economic point of view. The need to increase breeding resources is due to the strategic tasks facing Russian dairy cattle breeding in the near future, which are import substitution at domestic market with the main dairy products of mass demand and reducing import dependence on breeding animals.