Providing the excellent care and environment our animals need to thrive raises the ceiling of how well they can perform. The baseline potential you’re starting from, though, can vary widely depending on the genetics of your herd. Farmers have long used thoughtful selection to elevate that genetic capacity and can now make even more informed decisions with genomic data.
California dairyman Tony Lopes called genomic testing “the best tool we have for future performance” during a webinar put on by the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association. Having an idea of an animal’s potential is invaluable when it could be less expensive to buy replacements compared to raising them. If you spend the money and effort to raise your own calves, you must know you can get more return out of those animals in the long run.
His farm began genomic testing in 2016 when they were overrun with heifers. “At that point, it made a lot of sense for us to use genomic testing as a culling tool,” Lopes said.
Katlyn Allen
May 2, 2024
