During times of tight margins, those in agriculture find ways to become more efficient.
The dairy industry has enhanced productivity by using genomic technology to identify top-performers within the herd — and amplify elite genetics.
What if you could extend the most productive years of a cow’s life? And add one or two more lactations from a mature cow?
Dr. Dan Weigel, Research Director from the Zoetis Outcomes Research Group, explains.
“How many of our cows today reach sixth lactation? Not that many. When we extend cow’s herd life, we get an extra six months in milk. That’s at that peak time when they’re at their very, very best mature milk production.
A cow’s productive life is estimated as part of the Dairy Wellness Profit Index offered by Zoetis through its Clarifide Plus genomic test.
The company recently conducted a field study on nearly ten years’ worth of genomic data — analyzing how the index estimates compared to real-world performance.
“When we compare the best 25 percent to the middle, to the bottom 25 percent, we see some pretty big differences If you’re evaluating dairy cows, one of the first things you want to look at is lifetime production for milk, fat and protein. And we see on energy corrected milk, in our larger study, we see about four pounds more milk per day over the course of their lifetime for the best 25 percent versus the lower 25 percent.”
How did cows achieve that additional production? By remaining in the herd 200 days longer, Weigel explains.
“We know that dairy cows reach their peak productivity in third, fourth lactation, right? We’re keeping another six months of their herd life during that peak productivity, that really moves the needle. Across their whole lifetime, they average four pounds more milk, and they do it for another 200 days.”
Overall, Weigel says the Dairy Wellness Profit Index proved to be an accurate source for identifying the herd’s best performers.
Armed with this information, the nation’s dairy farmers can make greater progress — and profit — on their operations.
“The U.S. Registered Holstein, she’s the envy of the world, right? The amount of progress we’ve made, taking that large population and having so many animals on test and doing the type evaluations…they are just phenomenal. Going forward, the future looks even brighter.”
Visit their website, HolsteinUSA.com, to learn more about genomic technology in dairy cattle.
Source: kmaland.com
