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Body condition score (BCS) is to be included as a new trait in breeding worth (BW) from February 2016.
DairyNZ says during the national breeding objective review BCS (specifically late lactation BCS) was identified as an important trait to farmers.
Since then NZAEL, a subsidiary of DairyNZ, has estimated the economic value of BCS as $106.60 per BCS and the rate of improvement in BW could be enhanced via the inclusion of BCS.
The economic value of BCS comes from two main components. Firstly, the reduced costs from a cow maintaining or losing less condition, as opposed to a cow that loses lots of condition in spring and then has to replenish that condition in autumn or winter when feed is more expensive. Secondly, the value of a well-conditioned cow milking well into late lactation, rather than drying her off early for poor condition. These result in an economic value of $106.60 per BCS.
The BCS breeding value is calculated using records collected on two-year-old heifers. These records are collected in early lactation, mostly from CRV and LIC progeny test herds. Raw scores are converted into a day 60 lactation equivalent, and then enter the AE model.
As a result of a recent review (see below) a ‘breed neutral’ adjustment will be implemented into the calculation for this breeding value. This adjustment will come into effect in June 2015.
As for the impact on BW, most bulls will have a shift in BW of +/- 10 BW units.
This is the first in a series of articles from Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Informing New Zealand Beef programme. The seven-year INZB partnership, supported by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries' Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, aims to boost the sector's profits by $460m.
DairyNZ subsidiary New Zealand Animal Evaluation (NZAEL) will update the genetic base used to calculate Breeding Worth (BW) next month.
Over-conditioned cows, those with excess body condition (BCS > 6.0), present unique challenges, especially as they approach calving.
As dairy farmers head into mating with lower cow body condition scores than last season, feeding quality pasture and supplements will be crucial for getting cows in calf and putting milk in the vat.
Body condition scoring (BCS) is the assessment of the amount of fat covering the bones of a dairy cow, regardless of her body size.
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