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Summary
- A new and easy method of genetic analysis could save millions for farmers.
- The method calls for taking out a gene variant of a cow or a bull from the herd via Genemark testing platform.
- NZ$16M spent on research and to yield NZ$10 million for farmers across New Zealand.
Research into how to improve cow production has yielded results. With investment in research and development, a new and easy method has been developed, which will save millions for farmers.
Depleting number of cows in New Zealand has been a cause for worry, but the new research into gene analysis technology will support more production with fewer number of cows. Something that will improve the farmers’ profits with fewer number of cows.
Although, 2020 was a year to remember for New Zealand’s dairy industry, with the numbers showing milk production per herd and per cow again at the highest, New Zealand farmers are working hard to keep up with increasing demands to reduce their environmental impact on farm. Farmers are emphasising on the resources as they have to improve the quality of their dairy products.
It is estimated that through the new technology, the farmers could benefit by up to NZ$10M across the country.
Did You Read: Reformative Agriculture and Dairy Space in New Zealand
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), which has been working on improving the cow productivity, said that finally gene technology has led to the improvement in cow production.
LIC scientists, while explaining, said that genetic variants have been made from farmer-owned database of genotyped cows and bulls through farm inspections.
The impact from these variants on the production could be huge. These genetic variants would be the ones where each cow or bull could have two copies. These are also called recessive genetic variants. These variants will be taken out from the herd as this will amount to saving on breeding costs.
It is proposed that these cows will be identified through Genemark. With this method of testing, farmer themselves will be able to discover the genetic variants in their herd and remove them and focus on the rest of the herd.
The scientists at the co-operative feel that if a herd has even a small number of these cows, it could lead to loss in productivity and therefore profits for the farmers.
According to 2019-20 DairyNZ estimates, the total numbers of herds in the country stand at 11,179, and the average herd size is 440. Total number of milking cows today is 4.92 million down from 2016, when it was more than 6 million. There is regional difference as well in the number of herds. While north Island overall has 71.4 % of the cow herd, South Island has only 28.6% of the herds.
LIC will continue to invest in genetic variant spotting and research by using Genemark testing platform.
It is proposed that soon the farmers using the Genemark technology will be notified at no extra cost if their cows are a part of any of these variations.
However, along with this, the farmers have more reason to cheer as the milk prices have been moving upwards since the start of the year. In a recent global auction, the dairy prices moved up by almost 3.9% for all product categories. Farmers benefit through these directly, but its indirect impact is felt on the rural communities.
Related Read: Is China a factor for a steep rise in Dairy products’ prices in NZ?
