Dairy producers and genetic enthusiasts are invited to participate in the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) Industry Meeting on November 2, which will focus on feed efficiency, genetic selection and impacts on sustainability. Meeting participants will have an early opportunity to understand the collaborative data collection, genetic methodology and expected results for the new trait, Feed Saved, being launched by CDCB with the December 1 genetic evaluations.
This annual meeting – the sixth for CDCB – will be held virtually on Monday, November 2, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST. Attendees may register here to participate via Zoom.
With feed generally accounting for one-half of total dairy farm costs, the ability to genetically select for feed efficiency has been a long-time goal.
“There is tremendous potential to improve feed efficiency through genomics and genetic selection,” said João Dürr, CDCB Chief Executive Officer. “It’s a ‘win-win’ for producers and for dairy customers who expect more sustainable milk and animal proteins. Genetic selection for Feed Saved can improve farmer profitability and help reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of the dairy industry. We can make the same amount of milk with less feed and fewer natural resources to produce that crop.”
Along with Feed Saved, CDCB will introduce Heifer Livability and six new genomic type traits on December 1.
The November 2 meeting will be opened by CDCB Chair, Neal Smith of the American Jersey Cattle Association. Three renowned geneticists – Dr. Kent Weigel, Dr. Paul VanRaden, and Dr. Kristen Parker Gaddis – will start the conversation with brief presentations on the research, data collection, genetic methodology, and expected results for the new Feed Saved trait. Weigel, VanRaden, and Parker Gaddis will then answer audience questions on a panel moderated by Dr. John B. Cole of USDA’s Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory (AGIL).
Dr. Frank Mitloehner will share insights on consumer and dairy customer expectations, connecting the approaches that dairy producers and processors are utilizing for continuous improvement in environmental impact.
Mitloehner will be joined by Corey Geiger, Lloyd Holterman and Dr. Juan Tricarico in a panel discussion to unpack the improvement opportunities through genetic selection, productivity gains and other approaches. Corey Geiger is Managing Editor of Hoard’s Dairyman, President of Holstein Association-USA, and a current member of the CDCB Board of Directors. Lloyd Holterman is Chair of the CDCB Producer Advisory Committee and owner of Rosy-Lane Holsteins, recipient of a national award in April 2020 for Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability. Juan Tricarico is Vice President of Sustainability Research at Dairy Management Inc., Rosemont, Ill.
The agenda for the November 2 meeting (2-4 PM EST) is as follows:
- Welcome, Neal Smith, CDCB Chair
- Genetics of Feed Efficiency, Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Feed Saved Methodology, Paul VanRaden, USDA AGIL
- Feed Saved Results, Kristen Parker Gaddis, CDCB Geneticist
- PANEL AND Q&A: New Feed Saved Trait
Kent Weigel, Paul VanRaden, and Kristen Parker Gaddis, moderated by John Cole, USDA AGIL - Sustainability Expectations for U.S. and Global Dairy, Frank Mitloehner, University of California-Davis
- PANEL AND Q&A: Importance of Genetic Tools to Improve Sustainability of Dairy
Frank Mitloehner, Corey Geiger, Lloyd Holterman and Juan Tricarico, moderated by João Dürr, CDCB - Closing Remarks, João Dürr, CDCB CEO
All dairy producers, industry members and genetic enthusiasts are invited to register here for the November 2 meeting. Questions about CDCB or the industry meeting can be directed to CDCB Chief Operating Officer, João Dürr.
S-S-I- Legacy Method is the new #1 gPFT bull in the Italian August 2020 index run is at gPFT 4700. Gen RAVE is one of the highest debutants this index run in the official Italian ranking, he is a bull which is in the Top 10 of many other rankings: Rave is a RIO x FINDER x RACER and he is the #10 gPFT bull in Italy with gPFT +4488. Sound System is very strong on the 1st position in the Italian daughter proven PFT ranking with PFT +4193, more than 300 points higher than the #2 PFT.
AOT Silver HELIX is not only the #1 daughter proven GTPI bull in the breed (4/20 GTPI +2997) he is also the #1 daughter proven RZG bull (RZG =159). The Top 5 daughter proven sires based on RZG are followed by the international bulls Silver son Griff (RZG 158), the 2 Supershot sons Topshot and Windmill (RZG 157) and the Spring son AltaMarlon. The Gazebo son Gladius from the German AI Rinder Allianz leads the ranking for genomic RZG bulls at RZG 169, followed by Genosource Captain at RZG 168, this Charl son is as well the #1 GTPI bull in the USA (4/20) at GTPI +3059 / NM $ 912. The international sire of sons Gen RAVE increased 2 RZG points up to RZG 163.
We can see in Figure 1 that the rate of difficult births to Holstein heifers has decreased substantially over time. This is exciting news -selection for better genetics and improvements in calving management practices have resulted in less dystocia and fewer stillbirths! Cows and calves are healthier, and producers obtain more realized income from investing in better genetics.
The spread (variation) in the data will decrease, too. Figure 2 shows the distribution of traditional PTAs (without genomics) for sire calving ease in Holsteins for April and August. The differences between the two curves are very clear. In April most Holstein bulls fell between 4% and 12% for SCE. Come August, most Holstein bulls will range from 1 % to 4% SCE. The range of all calving traits will decrease for both Holstein and Brown Swiss, and there will be fewer bulls with extreme PTAs. Changes to the genomic PTAs will be very similar.
Producers that have used a hard PTA cutoff for calving traits, along with a selection index, can stop using that selection threshold to exclude undesirable bulls. The selection index will ensure that the calving traits are given proper emphasis when ranking bulls.
