Mate allocation
Farmers need to identify specific traits they want to improve, and these objectives should align with the farm's production system and market demands. Periodic adjustment of sire selection strategy is necessary to ensure making progress toward the objectives. Present selection criteria encompass including milk, reproduction, conformation, management and health traits. In the near future, feed efficiency, methane emission, heat tolerance, immunity, reproductive efficiency, reduced water usage, temperament, stress response, and adaptability to robotic milking into our selection process can be incorporated. The economic, technological and market environment can be different in different farms. Software tools are available for calculating customized indices using farm economic data. This information can be used to rank available sires according to the customized index. Available pedigree, genomic (SNP) and phenotypic information for males and females with the breeding objectives and economic information can be used to allocate sires to cows with the assistance of softwares which employ built-in linear programming tools to optimize both the level of inbreeding and the genetic (economic) gain for the farm. It also allows for the specification of the number of females assigned to each bull. Genetic lines may perform better under specific conditions, so choosing animals that thrive in a specific climate and production system.
Resilience for Dairy
Completed | 2021-2024
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland