EN
The aim of the study was to estimate the genetic parameters of milk fat-to-protein ratio in the first three lactations of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows. Data included 104 875 test-day records of 6299 cows calving from years 2000–2012. Genetic parameters were estimated with a multitrait random regression model using the Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling. The linear model for fat-to-protein ratio and milk traits (milk yield, lactose percentage, milk urea concentration) included fixed herd-test-day effect, fixed regressions within age at calving by season of calving subclasses, and random regressions for additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. All regressions were modelled using fourth-order Legendre polynomials. The average daily heritability of fat-to-protein ratio ranged from 0.24 to 0.31. Fat-to-protein ratio was negatively genetically correlated with milk yield for almost every day in milk in each lactation, with means of −0.52, −0.24 and −0.05 in the first, second and third lactations, respectively. Average genetic correlations of fat-to-protein ratio with lactose percentage and milk urea concentration were rather low or close to zero (−0.08 to 0.10) except for the genetic correlation with milk urea content in the second lactation (0.32). The results suggest that fat-to-protein ratio is a heritable trait and might be used in the selection of Polish Holstein-Friesians assuming that the relationship between fat-to-protein ratio and economically important traits will be investigated.