- The U.S. dairy herd is 1% larger today but produces 19.2% more milk and 32.2% more butterfat.
- The industry’s Net Merit index, a proxy for cattle genetic progress on sustainability, shows that a cow produced by combining the best-known genes would be three times more sustainable based on improved genetics than the top Holstein bull on the market today.
- The introduction of genomics in 2008 has significantly improved milk, butterfat, and protein production, cow health, and cow longevity.
- The average genetic gain from 2000 to 2004 was $13.50 per year for marketed Holstein bulls.
- By 2010, genetic improvement leapt forward, more than doubling from $36.90 per year from 2004 to 2009 to the $83.33 annual genetic gain from 2010 to 2022.
- This six-fold improvement equates to a $329 million annual net gain when extrapolating this $70 annual gain per female across the annual U.S. dairy heifer calf crop.
- This development greatly enhances sustainability by generating more nutrition with less inputs.
- The aggregate gain since 2010 would be $4.28 billion when calculating the full genomic impact.
- This means the U.S. dairy industry needs fewer dairy cows each passing year to supply the same amount of milk to serve the domestic market or has transformed new growth in milk, butterfat, and protein into dairy products to deliver nutrition to international customers.
- ABS Global and Genus recently built a solar project at one of the world’s largest AI facilities, a bull barn in Wisconsin, housing 480 elite AI bulls.
- The complex includes a lab for processing bull semen, which accounts for nearly half of all sales in the U.S.
- This sexed semen product allows dairy farmers to use beef semen on dairy cows, reducing the number of replacements and generating more immediate revenue from dairy-beef cross calves.
- Research indicates that beef-dairy crossed calves are approaching the same efficiency as beef cattle and are 30% more efficient at converting feed to beef than Holstein steers.
- The combined amount of carbon saved by the solar panels’ production of electricity for the facility over 10 years is less than the carbon savings from just one month of genetic progress from future offspring of the facility’s 480 bulls.
- The genetic gain on offspring is measured by more production, better health, and longer cow life via the Net Merit Index.
- The impact for dairy processors is significant, with butterfat and protein production from Holstein cows improving annually by 0.46% and 1.23% annually in the genomic era.
- Genomic testing is making significant inroads as more females get tested each year, leading to less methane production, a reduced carbon footprint, and less feed for each additional unit of milk.
- By August 2023, CDCB received its 8 millionth genomic test, with 93% of genomic tests run on female dairy animals.
- The genetic super cow is not in sight, with the dairy community only 24% of the way to breeding the perfect Holstein cow.
- Genomic science can identify new traits that will help reduce methane production and carbon footprint, with the “feed saved” trait being the tip of the iceberg.
In the past 15 years, dairy farmers have been using genomic science to select cattle traits that improve productivity and support sustainability. The U.S. dairy herd today is 1% larger than in 2008 but produces 19.2% more pounds of milk and 32.2% more pounds of butterfat. The dairy industry still has room to grow more efficient through genomics. The industry’s Net Merit Index (NM$) shows that a cow produced by combining the best-known genes would be three times more sustainable based on improved genetics than the top Holstein bull on the market today.
Genomics has been the most important reason for improvements in milk, butterfat, and protein production, cow health, and cow longevity. The average genetic gain from 2000 to 2004 was $13.50 per year for marketed Holstein bulls. By 2010, genomic testing became commercially viable in the United States, genetic improvement leapt forward, more than doubling from $36.90 per year from 2004 to 2009 to $83.33 annual genetic gain from 2010 to 2022. This profound development greatly enhances sustainability, as new Holstein bulls entering active A.I. service father offspring that generate $83.33 in combined gains that enhance sustainability-related metrics.
Genetics has become a significant factor in the economic development of dairy farming, with research showing that beef-dairy crossed calves are approaching the same efficiency as beef cattle and are 30% more efficient at converting feed to beef than Holstein steers. This improvement in feed conversion and fewer days on feed prior to harvest yields a net carbon footprint reduction and reduced methane emissions. ABS Global found that the combined amount of carbon saved by the solar panels’ production of electricity for the facility over 10 years is less than the carbon savings from just one month of genetic progress from future offspring of the facility’s 480 bulls.
The impact of genomics on dairy processors has been significant, with butterfat and protein production improving annually by 0.46% and 1.75% annually in the genomic era. Commercial dairy farms have started to test more heifer calves at birth to determine those animals that would make the best replacements by making the best use of resources. Since 2020, it has taken less than 12 months to accumulate an additional 1 million genomic tests, with estimates indicating that 20% to 25% of the U.S. dairy heifer calf population is being tested annually.
However, genetic improvement is not yet reaching its ceiling, with only 24% of the dairy community being close to breeding the perfect Holstein cow. Genomic science can identify new traits that will help reduce methane production and carbon footprint, with the “feed saved” trait being the tip of the iceberg.
For the full story visit: Dairy Cattle Genomics is Quietly Improving Sustainability
