Farmer case study from ADHIS
(the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme)
Head: Simple success
The Fielding family at South Riana, have bred one of Australia’s top dairy herds using the
Australian Profit Ranking (APR) as the sole selection criteria.
Ranked number 30 in the country for APR, the Fielding family’s interest in breeding is purely
commercial. Their approach is extraordinarily simple, effective and affordable.
Stephen Fielding dairies with his father, Robbie, and brothers, Darren and Michael. Their 320-cow
herd calves in the spring, producing 480-500kg milk solids per cow per year (6500-7000
L/cow/year).
“We all take an interest in herd genetics and discuss the season’s choices before ordering straws,”
Stephen said.
About half the straws purchased are from proven bulls and the rest are progeny test bulls.
“We choose the six bulls with the highest APR offered by our semen company.
“By choosing bulls with top APRs we know we are breeding for the bottom line: profit.
For joinings to proven bulls, the Fieldings’ cows are matched to individual bulls following the
recommendations of their semen company’s corrective mating program. This ensures they avoid
inbreeding. Straws from proven bulls are used first, then progeny test straws are used randomly
over the remaining cows.
The Fieldings accept the reliability of progeny test bulls can be lower than for proven bulls, but this
risk is offset by their higher genetic potential.
For example, the Fieldings used Delsanto as a progeny test bull and are already milking one of his
daughters.
“She’s one of the best cows in our herd. Progeny testing gives us access to better bulls a couple of
years before they come on the market as proven bulls,” he said.
The Fieldings have achieved their herd’s high genetic merit on a modest budget.
“As a commercial operation, we don’t allocate a huge budget to semen purchases. Even though
we choose bulls with high APRs, the straws are usually in the $25-35 price range. The progeny test
straws are less, representing very good genetic value for money.”
Their approach has seen the genetic merit of the herd improve steadily over time (see graph).
Michelle Axford from the Australian Dairy Herd Improvements Scheme (ADHIS) said the Fieldings’
experience demonstrated the effectiveness of the APR as a selection tool.
The APR was developed as a single breeding value to reflect the traits of cows that influence dairy
herd profitability in Australia.
“The Fieldings’ herd is a good example of the improvements that can be achieved by selecting
bulls on the basis of their APR. It’s an incredibly powerful and simple breeding tool,” Mrs Axford
said.
The easiest way for farmers to compare bulls on the basis of APR is to use the Good Bulls Guide
which is published twice a year.
All the bulls listed in the guide are good bulls, and meet the requirements for APR and reliability.
The Good Bulls Guide includes bulls from every company and from both Australia and overseas.
Bulls are grouped according to popular breeding objectives such as profit, type, production,
longevity and mastitis resistance.
“You can choose any bull in the Good Bulls Guide with the confidence you will be improving the
genetic potential of your herd,” Mrs Axford said.
For more information contact Michelle Axford, ADHIS Project Leader, Genetics Learning Package,
ph 0427 573 330 email maxford@adhis.com.au or www.adhis.com.au
ADHIS is an initiative of Australian Dairy Farmers’, that receives the majority of its funding from
Dairy Australia through the Dairy Services Levy.
ENDS
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res file by automatic email adhisFielding@monkscom.com.au
Caption: Stephen Fielding and his
family have bred one of the top dairy
herds in Australia, based on genetic
merit.
Genetic Trend for Profit
R&D Fielding
200
100
0
APR (Profit $) -100
-200
-300
-400
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Year of Birth Holstein Cows
Caption: Forty years of consistent selection decisions has resulted in a steady increase in the genetic merit
of the Fielding’s herd for profitability.
About ADHIS (background information for media)
The Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) is an initiative of the Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) to assist genetic improvement in the
dairy industry. ADHIS maintains a national database of performance and pedigree details for individual dairy animals. The data base is used to
generate Australian Breeding Values (ABVs) which indicate a cow or bull’s potential genetic merit (ie it’s breeding value to a dairy herd).
Genetic gain has increased significantly since 1983 when farmers began utilising ABVs. Each year the genetic merit of artificially bred cows is
increasing, worth about $9.40/cow/yr in extra profit. The value of these gains to the industry is approximately $20 million per year. ADHIS is partly
funded by farmer levies through Dairy Australia.
ABVs and ABV(g)s are produced for a variety of traits including milk yield and composition, workability and survival as well as profitability. Updated
ABVs are released twice a year (April and August) for use by dairy farmers and artificial breeding companies. ADHIS also releases ABV(i)s for
foreign bulls three times per year (January, April and August).
ADHIS is an initiative of Australian Dairy Farmers’, that receives the majority of its funding from Dairy Australia through the Dairy Services levy.