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Selective Breeding to Support Sustainability Goals

alternative practice names:

Genetic Selection; Selective Breeding; Genetic Improvement Plan

Genetic selection in dairy cattle has been a cornerstone of industry progress for centuries. Knowledge of specific traits, their heritabilities, and genomic evaluations is now readily available, allowing for selection focused on improved health, fertility, productivity, and efficiency. This targeted approach can significantly enhance dairy outcomes and sustainability over time. Fertility programs (e.g., estrus synchronization, heat detection, early pregnancy detection, and/or re-syncing of non-pregnant cows), semen selection, and embryo transfer have further enhanced breeding programs, enhancing the potential returns from high-merit semen, progeny testing, and raising elite young stock.


Strategies for improving production, feed efficiency, health, and fertility traits include:


  • Mating to higher-merit sires: Using semen from higher-merit sires ensures that desirable traits are passed on and preserved.

  • Selection of higher-merit females: Selecting higher-merit females for bearing replacement offspring uses parent averages or genomic evaluations.

  • Embryo transfer techniques: Embryo transfers from younger animals can amplify the number of offspring from the herd's elite females and shorten the generation interval.


Farms can further lower their environmental footprint by breeding for traits such as feed efficiency, exemplified by the Feed-Saved (FSAV) trait, which optimizes feed consumption relative to milk production and body metrics, ultimately conserving resources and reducing manure production. Additionally, while not yet fully feasible, selective breeding to lower enteric methane emissions holds promise for long-term reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) output through genetic selection.


While genetics is a significant driver of improvement, it is not the only factor that impacts performance. Environment, including management practices and maintaining optimal animal health and care, also plays a significant role. Nonetheless, when the goal is continuous improvement across multiple aspects of the dairy farm, genetic selection remains a powerful tool for driving progress.

When used, in what regions in the U.S. is the practice found: 

Northwest, West, Upper Midwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast

FARM SIZE 

When used, typically found on farms of the following sizes:

All Sizes

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Practice Benefits 

Higher solids and feed efficiency: The potential benefits of increasing genetic progress are substantial, particularly in the areas of fat and protein production and, therefore, feed efficiency. 


Higher yields: Higher yields of the most valuable milk components can increase profitability and reduce environmental impact intensity. 


Diversified revenue opportunities: Some herds appreciate the opportunity to market elite breeding stock when they are able to produce offspring of the highest genetic merit, creating an opportunity for diversified income.

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Implementation Insights

Site-specific or Farm-specific requirements 

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In most cases, there are no specific site or farm requirements.

Required Capital Expenditures (CapEx)

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  • Facility upgrades: Operations incorporating more intensive embryo transfer work into their genetic progress plan will need to invest in more sophisticated animal restraints and working areas for veterinarians and technicians.

Required Operational Expenditures (OpEx)

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  • Genetic evaluations: Utilizing genomic evaluations for breeding decisions involves the cost of testing as well as the labor required to collect and process samples. 

  • Elite semen: Higher-quality or elite semen, which is often used to enhance genetic outcomes, typically comes with a higher price tag.

  • Embryo transfer: Expertise in embryo transfer, provided by veterinarians, incurs costs based on market rates for their professional services. 

Implementation Considerations

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  • Reproductive performance: The success of genetic selection techniques relies heavily on a solid foundation of reproductive performance. Herds that undertake high-intensity genetic improvement programs typically have already achieved excellent reproductive performance. As they adopt more advanced techniques and increase selection intensity, the associated implementation efforts generally follow a predictable and incremental pattern, reflecting their established reproductive success.

  • Trait-specific considerations: There are several trait-specific considerations within a breeding program when pursuing sustainability goals:

    • Feed-saved trait (FSAV): The FSAV trait is a measure used in dairy cattle breeding to identify animals that produce the same amount of milk with lower feed intake. It combines residual feed intake (RFI), which reflects the efficiency of converting feed into milk, and maintenance requirements based on body weight and body condition. The goal is to improve the efficiency of feed utilization, thereby reducing feed costs and environmental impacts, such as methane emissions, without compromising milk production. It should be noted that feed efficiency is a polygenic trait influenced by numerous genes, environmental factors, diet, and the rumen microbiome, making it challenging to predict and improve. Furthermore, the trait's heritability and expression can vary significantly across different environments and diets, complicating its genetic selection.

    • Selective breeding for reduced enteric methane production: This practice leverages the genetic variability within herds to produce animals that emit lower levels of methane during digestion. Research indicates that while the heritability of methane production varies between species and even within herds, selecting animals based on their genetic predisposition for lower methane emissions can lead to permanent and cumulative reductions in methane output. Currently, it is not possible to implement selective breeding for reduced enteric methane on a large scale. The tools and methods available for methane measurement are still being refined, and more research is needed to develop reliable, cost-effective solutions that can be widely adopted by commercial breeders. Thus, while the concept is promising, the industry is still in the development and testing phase before it can be broadly implemented.

  • Measurement challenges: Accurate and consistent measurement of methane emissions is difficult, requiring expensive equipment like respiration chambers or less precise methods like sniffers. Current methods like sniffers and infrared sensors have limitations in accuracy and precision, requiring further development to be viable for large-scale genetic evaluations. 

  • Genetic variability: Methane emissions have a heritable component, but the genetic variation is influenced by environmental factors, making it complex to isolate the genetic traits for selective breeding.

  • Correlation with other traits: Methane production is correlated with traits like milk yield and feed efficiency, so selecting for low methane could inadvertently affect these economically important traits. For example, it is possible that selecting for low methane production—without understanding its relationship to other traits—could inadvertently result in selection for animals with low feed intake and low milk production or other deleterious impacts on productivity.

Financial Considerations and Revenue Streams

There are no federal cost-share programs or conservation funding for this practice.


FINANCIAL RESOURCES, TOOLS, AND CASE STUDIES

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Environmental Impacts

MAY REDUCE FARM GREENHOUSE GAS FOOTPRINT

Improving breeding programs has led to healthier, more productive animals with better feed conversion ratios. Although these animals may consume more feed, increasing methane emissions, their higher productivity reduces methane emissions per unit of product. For example, total U.S. milk production increased by 59% from 1944 to 2007, even though the number of cows decreased by more than 50%. This is primarily due to an astounding 400%+ increase in milk production per cow. These changes are due primarily to genetic improvement and nutrition (Capper et al., 2009).

  • Selective breeding for reduced enteric methane: The potential environmental benefits of selective breeding for reduced enteric methane are significant due to the potential for permanent and cumulative reductions in methane emissions, a potent GHG. Selecting animals that naturally produce less methane directly contributes to lowering the overall GHG emissions. Additionally, because this strategy is genetically based, the reductions in methane production can be sustained over generations, leading to long-term environmental benefits. 

  • Selective breeding for feed efficiency: This trait can lead to significant reductions in feed consumption across a herd by selecting cows that require less feed to produce the same amount of milk. This not only lowers the environmental footprint of dairy farming by reducing the land, water, and energy needed to produce feed but also decreases GHG emissions, particularly methane, associated with feed digestion and manure management (Pryce et al. 2025; Ruban & Danshyn 2024).


See the research highlights below:

  • Stepanchenko et al. (2023) found that lactating dairy cows with low CH₄-yield phenotypes (LM) produced significantly less CH₄ per day and per unit of dry matter intake compared to high CH₄-yield cows (HM) without differences in milk production, composition, or body weight between the groups. However, LM cows had lower fiber digestibility and a different rumen fermentation profile, with a higher proportion of propionate and lower acetate-to-propionate ratio, likely linked to the higher abundance of specific rumen bacteria associated with propionate production. 

  • Kamalanathan et al. (2023) found that all three commonly used CH₄ traits (daily CH₄ production, CH₄ yield, and CH₄ intensity) were heritable and were potential candidates for a selection program. 

  • Haas et al. (2021) estimate that by putting economic weight on CH₄ production in the breeding goal, selective breeding can reduce the CH₄ intensity even by 24% in 2050.

REFerences

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Alignment with FARM Program

This practice is not included in the FARM program.

Contents

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We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights. 

We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights. 

Contents

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Practice Overview

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Practical Insights.png
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Research Results.png
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Genetic selection in dairy cattle has been a cornerstone of industry progress for centuries. Knowledge of specific traits, their heritabilities, and genomic evaluations is now readily available, allowing for selection focused on improved health, fertility, productivity, and efficiency. This targeted approach can significantly enhance dairy outcomes and sustainability over time. Fertility programs (e.g., estrus synchronization, heat detection, early pregnancy detection, and/or re-syncing of non-pregnant cows), semen selection, and embryo transfer have further enhanced breeding programs, enhancing the potential returns from high-merit semen, progeny testing, and raising elite young stock.


Strategies for improving production, feed efficiency, health, and fertility traits include:


  • Mating to higher-merit sires: Using semen from higher-merit sires ensures that desirable traits are passed on and preserved.

  • Selection of higher-merit females: Selecting higher-merit females for bearing replacement offspring uses parent averages or genomic evaluations.

  • Embryo transfer techniques: Embryo transfers from younger animals can amplify the number of offspring from the herd's elite females and shorten the generation interval.


Farms can further lower their environmental footprint by breeding for traits such as feed efficiency, exemplified by the Feed-Saved (FSAV) trait, which optimizes feed consumption relative to milk production and body metrics, ultimately conserving resources and reducing manure production. Additionally, while not yet fully feasible, selective breeding to lower enteric methane emissions holds promise for long-term reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) output through genetic selection.


While genetics is a significant driver of improvement, it is not the only factor that impacts performance. Environment, including management practices and maintaining optimal animal health and care, also plays a significant role. Nonetheless, when the goal is continuous improvement across multiple aspects of the dairy farm, genetic selection remains a powerful tool for driving progress.

Practices and technologies

Selective Breeding to Support Sustainability Goals

alternative practice name:

Genetic Selection; Selective Breeding; Genetic Improvement Plan