Robust approach to modern breeding

摘要

The need to breed robust dairy cows capable of maintaining high levels of productivity at minimum cost over long and trouble-free lives has never been greater. Holstein UK's Research and Development manager Lucy Andrews explains how a new project is addressing this need. Economic pressure is forcing dairy herds to increase in both scale and intensity. At the same time, those very pressures are putting an increasing premium on minimising costs associated with poor health and reduced lifespans, Then couple that with the growing diversity of UK systems - from organic to housed regimes - and you'll see that the adaptability of our stock is being increasingly tested, Under these conditions, producers should be looking to breed the sort of cows most capable of thriving under the rigors of modern dairying while being adaptable enough to suit the needs of the widest range of production systems.