The critical role of genetics in long-term sustainability on-farm

Sustainability is high on every dairy producer’s agenda, whether that’s maintaining income, supporting the environment, or farming in a way that meets consumer expectations.

Each of these three prongs need to be satisfied for a business to thrive – especially with the transition from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

And while making better management decisions may be the obvious route to improving sustainability, those who overlook genetics are missing a piece of the jigsaw, which can have a profound and long-term effect on business survival.

© AHDB

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics at AHDB, says the right focus on genetics has been proven to increase economic sustainability on a permanent basis.

“For most UK producers, this means selecting bulls on AHDB’s principal breeding index, Profitable Lifetime Index [£PLI]. The focus on all the components which influence profitability means breeding for £PLI will increase economic margins – by more than £30,000 a year for the average heard.”

This index has been formulated to increase profitability from milk, fat and protein production, but also through its strong emphasis on health and fertility, and through lower cow maintenance costs.

When first launched, £PLI was formulated to raise margins by £1 for every £PLI point. However, three studies conducted over the past 24 years have shown its value to be far higher.

In the most recent study, the value of each £PLI point was found to be £1.58 per year in real farm accounting situations.

This demonstrates that breeding alone can increase the margin for a 150 cow (average sized) herd by £30,099 per annum if it’s in the UK top 10% for £PLI (average PLI £197), compared with the same sized herd of average genetic merit (PLI £70), based on 2021 prices and costs.

Genetic sustainability for block calving herds

For those producers who don’t run an all-year-round calving system, there are two alternative genetic index options.

These are the Spring Calving Index (£SCI) for those calving in a tight block in spring and placing a heavy reliance on grazed grass, and the Autumn Calving Index (£ACI) for those block-calving in autumn, and therefore more reliant on winter feeding.

“Each of the three AHDB indexes has been formulated to increase commercial dairy producers’ margins, with each farmer advised to pick the index which most suits their system,” says Marco.

Environmental sustainability

The emphasis farmers place on economic sustainability also has knock-on effects on environmental sustainability as the two are intrinsically linked.

“This applies to genetics, just as it does to management practices, as by selecting either £PLI, £SCI or £ACI to improve financial margins, a producer will also see environmental benefits,” says Marco.

Financially efficient cows also make the least environmental impact, whether that’s through having less down-time through sickness or converting each unit of input more efficiently into production.

EnviroCow

However, those who are keen to target environmental sustainability even more specifically, now have use of AHDB’s new genetic tool EnviroCow which was launched in 2021.

Reflecting the importance of genetics in improving environmental credentials, EnviroCow includes measures of feed efficiency as well as lifespan, milk production and fertility.

Marco explains: “Current estimates indicate that each year, genetics can contribute around a 1% reduction in carbon for every kilogram of milk produced, which suggests that using the best bulls could lead to a significant reduction in the dairy industries carbon footprint, and contribution in reaching its goal of Net Zero.”

Getting your herd report

Whatever the breeding goals, Marco advises all producers to be conscious of their own herd’s genetic potential.

“The easiest way to keep on top of genetic progress is for producers to sign up to receive their Herd Genetic Report which is available to milk-recorded producers free of charge through AHDB.

The report gives a Predicted Transmitting Ability [PTA] for every animal in the herd for each individual trait, and also identifies its £PLI, £SCI and £ACI.

By grouping according to lactation number, it also gives a clear snapshot of the genetic progress the herd is making over time.

Marco concludes: “Once you benchmark your herd you can precisely target genetic progress, and it’s important to remember that unlike any changes to management, improvements made through breeding are cumulative and permanent, creating a more efficient and sustainable herd for you and future farming generations.”

Have comments or questions about this article? Contact us at info@ahdb.org.uk