and more ability to continue to produce milk at
near peak levels throughout the lactation are
expected to have higher milk yields per lactation.
Lactation patterns could be different
among individuals or groups of cows, and cows
that produce similar amounts of milk may not
necessarily have similar lactation patterns (Wood,
1969; Grossman et al., 1986; Koonawootrittriron
et al., 2001). The lactation pattern (IY, PY, DTP