Australia

BETTER COWS | BETTER LIFE CRV4ALL.COM.AU

NEW INDEXES:

BETTER LIFE HEALTH & BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCYCRV has introduced two new indexes; Better Life Health and Better Life Efficiency. With these indexes, farmers will now be able to breed specifically for an efficient, easy-to-manage herd of cows that stay healthy as they age. Both indexes are expressed as percentages, which makes it easy to see the effect that farmers can expect from a given bull.

BETTER LIFE HEALTH

BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCY

Australia

BETTER LIFE HEALTH Herds are becoming larger, cattle farmers have a

wider range of job responsibilities, and therefore

there is great demand for a trouble-free herd.

With Better Life Health, a healthier, trouble-free, and easily

manageable herd can be bred. The treatment of individual

animals takes considerably less work and you can focus on herd

management.

BREEDING BETTER COWS FOR A BETTER LIFE

Better Life Health is the percentage of healthier animals

compared to the population average. The index uses the

following breeding values: udder health, claw health, birth ease,

calving ease, viability, and daughter fertility.

The higher the number, the higher the percentage of healthy

animals compared to the population average. The advantage

of the use of bulls with a high score for health is that the herd

is easier to manage and that cows reach a higher average age.

BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCYEfficiency is one of the most important factors for

modern breeding. Better Life Efficiency contributes

to a better use of feed and to lower feed costs. It

is an indicator for the efficiency of the dairy cow to

convert feed into milk during her lifetime.

For the calculation of Better Life Efficiency, milk production and

longevity are the most important

ADVANTAGES:

5% ADDITIONAL HEALTH

IN A BULL

2% FEWER DISEASES IN

DESCENDANTS

SAVING 92 DOLLARS IN A COW’S

LIFETIME

RETURNS ON A HERD

OF 1,000 ANIMALS:92,000 DOLLARS

factors. Body weight, calving interval, persistency and rate of

maturity are also included in the calculation.

The higher the score the higher the efficiency. Daughters with

high efficiency produce more milk per pound of feed. A bull with

a score of +5% gives you an economic advantage of $295 - in the

lives of its daughters.

ADVANTAGES:

5% ADDITIONAL EFFICIENCY

IN A BULL

AN ADDITIONAL 1500 LBS OF MILK IN DESCENDANTS

AN ADDITIONAL 295 DOLLARS OF MILK REVENUE IN A COW’S LIFETIME

RETURNS ON A HERD OF

1,000 ANIMALS: 295,000 DOLLARS

CRV is dedicated to supporting farmers to manage and breed ‘better cows for a better life’. Breeding better cows can be applied in

a few ways. To illustrate this, CRV has introduced two new indexes: Better Life Health and Better Life Efficiency. With these indexes,

farmers are now able to breed specifically for an efficient, easy-to-manage herd of cows that stay healthy as they age. Both indexes

are expressed as percentages, which makes it easy to see the result that farmers can expect from a given bull.

BETTER COWS | BETTER LIFE

CRV4ALL.COM.AU

Australia CRV4ALL.COM.AU

BETTER LIFE HEALTHThe CRV Better Life Health index indicates the extent to

which a bull contributes to a healthier herd. A high score

means that a bull’s progeny will have a low rate of health

incidents such as mastitis, lameness, difficult births or

reproductive problems.

Advantages of incorporating the Better Life Health index

into your breeding program include:

– Healthier cows

– Fewer treatments/decreased veterinary bills

– Easier-to-manage cows

The Better Life Health index is expressed as a percentage;

the higher the percentage, the higher the percentage of

healthy animals as compared to the population average.

Traits factored into this index include CRV Management

traits such as udder health, fertility, hoof health, calving

ease and calf vitality.

A look at some of CRV’s top bulls

CRV’s latest star, Chevrolet, excels in calving ease, fertility,

vitality, udder health and hoof health giving him a BLH

score of 5%. As a general rule, 75% of cows are healthy,

meaning they have no or very few health incidents. Bulls

pass on half of their genes to their progeny; a daughter of

Chevrolet will be 1.9% healthier than daughters of a bull that

scores 0%.

⊲ 5% / 2 = 2.5% * 75% = 1.9% HEALTHIER

A bull with a score of +5 % generates a financial gain of $95

per cow per year in an average herd.

BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCYThe CRV Better Life Efficiency index will help to reduce

feed costs as well as improve the utilization of natural

resources. It indicates the extent to which a bull contributes

to more efficient milk production. The more energy

converted into milk, the better it is for efficiency.

Advantages of incorporating the Better Life Efficiency

index into your breeding program include:

– Better utilization of feed

– Lower feed costs

– Lower cost per pound of milk

The Better Life Efficiency index is expressed as a

percentage; the higher the percentage, the higher the

efficiency.

Traits factored into this index include milk production

and longevity, as well as CRV Management traits such as

persistency, maturity rate, fertility and weight.

A look at some of CRV’s top bulls

Popular CRV bull, Hunter, is very high for milk pounds, with

high longevity, calving interval, maturity, body weight and

persistency giving him a BLE score of 10%. On average,

cows use 58% of their energy intake for milk production

and 42% for their daily needs. Bulls pass on half of their

genes to their progeny; a daughter of Hunter will be 2.9%

more efficient than daughters of a bull that scores 0%.

⊲ 10% / 2 = 5% * 58% = 2.9% MORE EFFICIENT

As a general rule, productivity combined with longevity

leads to high efficiency. A bull with a score of +5 %

generates a financial gain of $335 per cow life in an

average herd.

CRV’s commitment to sustainability

CRV’s Health and Efficiency indexes are closely connected

with economics. A healthier cow means that farmers have

to carry out fewer individual treatments on animals. Fewer

treatments have a positive effect on cow welfare and save

on costs. It is also likely that a healthier cow will live longer,

which means a higher lifetime production and lower costs

per pound of milk.

The Better Life Health and Better Life Efficiency

percentages for all of CRV’s Holstein bulls can be found

in the Dairy Guide as well as in the Sire Directory on our

website at www.CRV4all.us.

CRV InTROdUCES nEW BREEdInG VaLUESthe better life Health and better life efficiency indexes as

they currently stand are very inclusive, giving dairyman a

tool to help breed for a healthier and more efficient herd. in

order to create the best possible tool for dairyman, crv has

developed two new breeding values that will be included

in the indexes starting in december 2014: Feed intake and

Ketosis.

FEEd InTakEFeed intake is an important trait for dairy farmers because

of the economic importance and the availability of feed

sources. Having this trait included in the better life efficiency

index will now allow producers to have a complete look at

how well a cow will turn feed into milk.

genomic predictions for feed intake are estimated based

on feed intake data that has been collected on about 3,000

cows in several herds in the netherlands. these genomic

predictions are combined with predictor traits such as milk,

fat and protein yield and body size traits, resulting in a

breeding value for feed intake.

the breeding value for Feed intake was developed at

wageningen University and research center by Professor

roel veerkamp and his team.

Feed intake is expressed as kg dry matter intake per day

and represents that average dry matter intake during the

first three lactations. as it is all about breeding a herd that is

productive, long-lasting and efficient, it is important to look

at all of these traits. For this reason, crv has added Feed

intake into better life efficiency.

kETOSISKetosis is one of the most common diseases in the first part

of the lactation. in the first 60 days post-partum, dairy cows

often have an energy deficit which can lead to metabolic

disorders such as ketosis. Ketosis can have a negative

effect on milk production and reproduction that can result

in economic losses due to increased culling and increased

veterinary costs.

the Ketosis breeding value is based on the ratio of fat

and protein percentage in the milk and on the level of milk

acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate of milk recording records

in the netherlands. research has shown that these traits are

good indicators of ketosis.

about 12% of cows have ketosis in the first 60 days of their

lactation. the heritability of ketosis is 20%. Ketosis has

considerable genetic varation which enables to select for

cows with less ketosis.

the breeding value for ketosis will be added to better life

Health. adding Ketosis to better life Health will enable dairy

farmers to even better breed for cows that are healthy and

trouble-free

BREEdInG VaLUES In pRaCTICEStarting from december 2014, Feed intake and Ketosis

values will be published on all of crv’s Holstein bulls and

included in the better life indexes. below is a look into how

some of crv’s top bulls rank for the new breeding values.

Bull ketosis BV Feed Intake BV

debutant-red 100 3.09

Ubrox 103 1.69

danno 99 3.15

cricket 108 2.16

rocky 99 2.59

atlantic 103 2.17

For Ketosis, a higher number indicates a lower incidence of ketosis with

100 being the average. The absolute value of Feed Intake by itself does

not tell the whole story. When combined with other traits such as milk

production, one can begin to see how efficiently a cow will turn feed

into milk.

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