DairyNZ believes creating one animal evaluation index would ensure breeding decisions are made consistently. Photo / Supplied / DairyNZ
DairyNZ believes creating one animal evaluation index would ensure breeding decisions are made consistently. Photo / Supplied / DairyNZ
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DairyNZ says farmers could unlock additional potential profit, by using a single national animal evaluation breeding index that incorporates genomics.
Through its subsidiary, New Zealand Animal Evaluation Ltd (NZAEL), DairyNZ is working to help make that happen.
The industry-good body believed that creating oneanimal evaluation index would ensure breeding decisions were made consistently, DairyNZ chair, Jim van der Poel said.
This single evaluation will be coordinated by NZAEL, which was a credible source of data available to everyone to use, Van der Poel told The Country Sport Breakfast’s, Brian Kelly.
The sector is currently using three Breeding Worth (BW) animal evaluation indexes.
Van der Poel said this created confusion in the sector – and sub-optimal outcomes.
He told Kelly that DairyNZ had world-leading geneticists look into the situation, and they had identified “a real gap in the way that we’re set up at the moment”.
“So NZAEL 3.5 is about us having an industry-wide process where we have one BW and we try to make sure we coordinate all the information both on phenotypes and genotypes to make sure we have the best information we can to make the best genetic gain and select the best bulls.”
Genomics allows for better and earlier predictions of the desirable and undesirable traits of bulls and cows.
Early predictions mean identifying the best bulls sooner, so farmers can make better breeding and culling decisions. These are important in enabling the dairy sector to remain internationally competitive, and for increasing farm profitability and sustainability.
DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand’s genetic gain had remained steady for over 10 years and was falling behind other countries that employed a “whole-industry” genomics approach, Van der Poel said.
“They’ve made more genetic gain than New Zealand has and that’s a problem for us.
“That ultimately means we become less competitive over time because we can’t go anywhere else in the world to actually get the genetics we need because of our unique farming systems, we have to breed them here.
“So, if we’re not set up optimally, then the only people who lose out on that are our farmers.”
Through NZAEL, DairyNZ has proposed an accurate, inclusive and independent operating model that it believes will help the sector achieve a better rate of genetic gain and will fairly reward participants.
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This proposed model will be conducted by NZAEL, the industry-good organisation for animal evaluation that manages the National Breeding Objective (NBO) – to help farmers breed dairy cows that efficiently convert feed into profit.
Van der Poel said a unified, sector-wide approach would help realise the full benefits of genomic information and close the gap between New Zealand and its international competitors.
It could also unlock extra profit for the sector, he said.
“There’s potentially $136 million benefit to dairy farmers per year - and that’s compounding.
“So that’s pretty significant.”
Dairy farmer and sector feedback is being sought on the proposed operating model over the next six weeks.
