BREEDING cows to fit the environment could become easier for farmers across Australia with the release of an Australian Breeding Value for heat tolerance.
The latest release of ABVs from DataGene includes the world-first heat tolerance ABV.
DataGene chief executive officer Matt Shaffer said, although environment and management conditions had a big impact on a cow’s response to the heat, genetics also played a role.
“Advances in genomics allowed the Dairy Bio team to identify gene markers for heat tolerance,” he said.
“The heat tolerance ABV allows farmers to identify animals with greater ability to tolerate hot weather with less impact on production.”
Dairy Bio is a joint initiative between the Victorian government and Dairy Australia, with additional support from the The Heat Tolerance ABV was developed with funding from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Farmers can breed for improved heat tolerance by using bulls with a high Balanced Performance Index and a heat tolerance ABV of greater the 100.
The reliability of the Heat Tolerance ABV is 38 per cent, in line with the newer generation of genomic-only traits, but is expected to improve as more data becomes available.
Heat tolerance is linked favourably with fertility and unfavourably with production.
“If breeding for heat tolerance, look for the exceptional animals that are strong for both BPI and heat tolerance,” Dr Shaffer said.
Shane Gardiner manages a 250 cow herd for the Lorebeck Partnership in Mount Gambier and said this could aid his decisions.
“Heat tolerance is something we can breed in our cows for free so why not?” he said. “Like all genetic traits, it will be permanent and cumulative.”
