Introduction: To meet the needs of a growing population and ensure a sustainable future, the livestock industry must work to produce more milk and meat using fewer resources. Improving feed efficiency is crucial, as feed represents the largest input cost on farms and directly impacts greenhouse gas emissions.
Solution: EcoFeed® is a genetic selection index that offers a lasting and cumulative solution to improve feed efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating cattle who produce milk and meat with less feed, less methane, and less water.
How it works: Just like humans, cattle inherit genes from their parents that influence not only their size and appearance but also their productivity, metabolism, and even health. For decades, farmers have leveraged these genetic differences to breed cattle with enhanced productivity, leading to dairy cows today producing over three times the milk they did in 1950. EcoFeed® is a genetic index that identifies differences in an animal’s DNA that contribute to their feed efficiency and methane production. Being uncorrelated with other genetic traits, EcoFeed® enables farmers to improve feed efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously enhancing key traits such as milk and meat production.
On-Farm Implementation:
Today, farmers evaluate a combination of genetic indices based on their breeding objectives and market demands to identify elite sires and dams that will pass on desirable traits to the next generation. EcoFeed® is available for STgenetics®’ sires and for females via DNA testing, enabling farmers to seamlessly incorporate it into their existing selection criteria.
Involving no additional costs or changes to standard farming practices, EcoFeed® is an accessible and cost-effective solution for farmers worldwide.
Economic and Environmental Impact: If farmers in North America used the top 1% of EcoFeed® sires to breed the top 35% of EcoFeed® dams, the next generation of dairy females could save an estimated $3.5 billion in feed costs and cut CO2e emissions by more than 23 million tons over their lifetime.
Conclusion: Given that genes are permanent and passed from one generation to the next, EcoFeed® provides a lasting and cumulative solution for farmers to enhance profitability while promoting sustainable milk and meat production. EcoFeed® genetics are good for you, good for cows, and good for the planet. EcoFeed® – sustainability is in our DNA.
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