Genomic testing helps you make the best decisions for your future by providing estimates of the true genetic potential of your animals — as soon as they’re born.
Genomic testing increases your herd’s profitability through:
• Increased genetic gain. Genomic profiles provide the accuracy of progeny tests based on 20 milking daughters, while traditional parent averages equate to seven daughters. Expected gains in net merit add tremendous value to dairy herds.
• Parentage verification. Parentage errors are found in approximately 15% of animals tested.
• Management of inbreeding. Avoid negative effects of inbreeding by managing your inbreeding coefficient — even without pedigree knowledge.
• Confident mating decisions. With production and type traits identified early on, you can match your heifers’ genomic profiles with bulls to improve your herd.
• Dairy beef production. Breeding genetically inferior heifers to beef bulls provides value from those heifers, and keeps inferior genetics from entering your herd’s gene pool.
• Sexed semen. Identify the best replacement females using genomics, and breed them to sexed semen sires.
Use Genomics for Maximum Profitability
Raising a heifer is expensive. With current milk prices, it is estimated a cow must produce over 32,000 pounds of milk before it has covered your initial investment. Using Igenity Dairy, poor performing animals can be identified, culled, or reprioritized.
Comprehensive Geomic Solutions
Igenity® Dairy is the most comprehensive genomic profile available, yet provides highly accurate, cost-effective results. Genomic testing uses tissue, blood, or hair samples to produce information on a heifer’s potential for key traits.
The samples are genotyped at NEOGEN®’s Genomics Operations — the world’s leading animal genomics laboratory.Working with the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, your calf’s genomic data will be compared to thousands of other cattle with known production traits. NEOGEN provides this information to you in a very understandable format. Once you have the results, you can sort and rank heifers based on the criteria you choose.
Advantages of the Igenity Dairy Genomics Programme:
- Eliminate uncertainty when it comes to replacement heifer selection.
- Gives you an accurate picture of your calves’ genetic potential
- Easily identify and reprioritise underperforming animals for maximum profitability
- Improve the rates of genetic progress
- Allows you to make better mating decisions
“Invisible Cows” – Cows that do not draw attention to themselves which are productive, healthy and low maintenance. Keeping and breeding from these animals ensures that the farm remains profitable now and in the future. Identifying these “Invisible Cows” using parent averages gives you less than 30% reliability. Igenity gives you up to 80% reliability by using genomic information to help identify these “Invisible Cows” in your heard.