BREEDING & GENETICS
I
The pillars of sustainability
n 1814, New Zealand’s number one sector started with dual-purpose Milking Shorthorns. Demand for butter grew globally, so NZ brought in Jersey genetics and butter became our largest export. The demand shifted to protein, and Holsteins became the solution. Now with animal welfare and anti-microbial pressures, it’s again time to bring in new solutions from abroad. As we look into the future of our industry and megatrends happening overseas, sustainability and efficiency are often at the roots of the discussion. But what are the pillars of sustainability for NZ? Mastitis In NZ, the opportunity of managing mastitis through genetic strategies is one key to our industries future. The cost of mastitis impacts the bottom line of every farm. DairyNZ estimates the industry loses $180 million a year to treatment and production losses and Fonterra measured clinical mastitis at 11% within their suppliers. “Our goal, by 2030 New Zealand will not need antibiotics for the maintenance of animal health and wellness”, NZ Veterinary Association (NZVA) says. Despite NZVA’s goal, mastitis resistance has no direct breeding value in NZ. International genetics offer the possibility to rapidly decrease the need for antibiotics through robust breeding values for mastitis resistance, helping reach the NZVA goal.
weeks of mating. Currently, we average 66%. DairyNZ’s NZAEL Farmer Survey highlighted that the farmer’s key area of concern is udder conformation and fertility, with a majority of stakeholders believing fertility is underweighted in NZ. Across the world grazing indexes typically weigh fertility four to five times higher than NZ, to account for its importance in seasonal calving.
and lifetime efficiency (total lifetime production). Focusing on maintenance efficiency can produce cows with a shortened total lifetime production. A cow with a higher live weight may produce less per kilogram of live weight, but may produce more per kilogram of food, and/or last an extra lactation, therefore, her overall efficiency could be higher.
Polled Fonterra’s Animal Wellbeing Plan includes polled as a key genetic strategy. The polled genetic progress around the world has opened up exciting opportunities for NZ dairy farmers, to include polled in their genetic selections.
Dairy-beef A solution for improved sustainability and a profitable return. Beef+Lamb NZ reports that 52% of beef production comes from dairy and dairy beef cross animals in 2021. Dairy-beef has significant efficiency benefits compared to traditional beef production. With a growing number of trials, proven results and the innovative development of the dairy-beef coordinator role, dairy beef solutions are quickly becoming the future of the beef industry.
Total Feed Efficiency NZ is focused on maintenance efficiency, but total feed efficiency is measured in three parts: maintenance efficiency (ms/kg of live weight); metabolic efficiency (ms/kg of food);
Udders NZ Animal Evaluation Limited’s (NZAEL) Farmer Survey returned both udder conformation and health at the top of the list of traits farmers want to see prioritised. The NZ Index (NZI) puts significant emphasis on the improvement of udder overall. Fertility One of the key pillars of a profitable dairy farm. The NZ target is to achieve a 78% pregnancy rate in the first six
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The daughter of high ranking NZI sire, Joppolo PP is a prime example of good udder conformation.
DAIRY FARMER
March 2022
