Breeding to reduce emissions in milk production

Genetics and breeding are a valuable link to the environmental efficiency of milk production. 

Through breeding choices, it has been estimated that the UK dairy industry could reduce the carbon dioxide equivalent for every kilogram of milk produced by around 1% each year.

Achieving this could be done through taking account of feed conversion (including body size), production, lifespan and fertility in breeding choices as all these have a bearing on a dairy cow’s carbon footprint.

Breeding for these traits not only gives permanency to those environmental gains, but the effect also accumulates as the traits pass to successive generations of dairy cows. Over 20 years, this could cut emissions by 20% per kilogram of milk.

Breeding cows that can produce milk in a way that reduces their impact on the planet has obvious benefits for the environment, and there are cost advantages for milk producers too.

The better a cow’s feed conversion efficiency, the less feed she will consume to produce a litre of milk. Selecting for lifetime feed efficiency will cut feed use and reduce a farm’s carbon footprint.

Genetics that score well on feed advantage will reduce the amount of feed needed to produce milk. As efficiency increases, the emission intensity of milk production decreases.

Longer lifespans, better fertility and productivity, all built into the EnviroCow index, play an important part too. Lifespan, for example, cuts costs by reducing replacement rate and heifer rearing costs.

As Envirocow incorporates these traits it benefits productivity efficiencies and that means it should be a mutually beneficial for cost of production and for reducing emissions intensity.

AHDB’s EnviroCow genetic index, among the first of its kind, shows which bulls will transmit the best environmental credentials to their daughters. The index incorporates cow lifespan, milk production, fertility and feed advantage.

Use EnviroCow alongside the UK’s main profit breeding indexes (e.g. Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI)) to select dairy bulls. This lets farmers focus on traits that suit their specific goals.

By balancing economic and environmental breeding targets, cows can produce milk with lower emissions. The advantages will kick in as soon as those calves are born and affects the milking herd as soon as they freshen.

Decide how many replacement heifers your herd needs. Choose the best cows to breed your replacements from.

If you milk record, you can get a herd genetic report. If not, consider genomic testing as, by collecting genetic records of individual animals besides the phenotypic data, and feeding this into the animal’s breeding index and the breeding goal development, the genetic gains achievable in each generation can be accelerated.

That means the improvements will be achieved more quickly.

Use sexed semen to breed replacements from your best cows.

This accelerates genetic gains and improves carbon efficiency by almost eliminating the production of male dairy calves, leading to a more profitable and environmentally efficient herd.

Use good quality beef genetics on the rest of the herd.

Incorrect breeding choices can have a damaging and lasting effect on herd performance. Take the time to make considered breeding choices to advance the profitability and carbon footprint of your herd.

This project aims to improve the nutritional qualities and nationwide health benefits of cow’s milk. Boosting health benefits at population level, by improving nutrient levels at source versus fortification, omega-3 supplements etc. Using the Epigenomics-driven platform, EPIHERD, novel data-driven insights will be provided to help dairy farmers optimise the nutritional quality of the milk they produce.