Last December, breeding for a healthier herd got a little easier with the release of proprietary breeding values for Subclinical Ketosis (SCK), Metritis (MTR) and Foot Health (FH). These values were published individually and incorporated into the Ideal Commercial Cow (ICC$) index. Developing new and reliable innovative traits – like SCK, MTR and FH – takes both a lot of data and a lot of data analysis expertise. GENEX, which is part of Cooperative Resources International (CRI), relies on the CRI International Center for Biotechnology (ICB) for data housing and analysis. The ICB is the hub of CRI research and development headquartered in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. With stateof-the-art facilities and a highly skilled team of research scientists, the ICB is dedicated to improving animal health, reproduction and productivity through research, education and the application of new technologies. These efforts are further enhanced through collaboration with universities and other scientists.
Through the ICB, GENEX and other brands of CRI are able to capitalize on the latest research to further establish themselves as industry pioneers through continued advancement in andrology, embryology, endocrinology, genetics, stem cells and information management.
Proprietary Health Traits The GENEX proprietary health traits – SCK, MTR and FH – were developed by ICB research scientists. They calculated the SCK breeding values, which enable producers to breed for cows that transition better and have lower incidence of ketosis, using data from KetoMonitor®, a management tool monitoring herd ketosis prevalence through layering of milk-based diagnostics and individual cow data. (KetoMonitor® is available from AgSource Cooperative Services and was developed in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Dairy Science and School of Veterinary Medicine.)
During their data analysis, the ICB research scientists also found that cows with subclinical ketosis have 3.4-8.2 pounds lower peak milk yield, up to 18,000 higher somatic cell count, 5-7% lower first service conception rates, 5-8% higher cull rates and 3-4% higher risk for displaced abomasum (DA). The research scientists developed MTR and FH based on analysis of CRI’s research database, which contains over 8.5 million cows and more than 42 million recorded health events. As a genetic selection tool, MTR helps producers manage the cost and impact of metritis in future generations, and FH leads to cows with fewer foot health issues.
On the Horizon Additional proprietary traits are on the horizon. GENEX understands that producers are facing more complex problems and the need to obtain useful information to make more informed decisions is paramount. In collaboration with ICB researchers, GENEX will continue to provide innovative traits, products and services to meet the needs of members and customers.
CRI ICB Areas of Expertise Reproduction Genetics Animal health Data analysis Stem cells Other related scientific fields
HORIZONS
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