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Dairy farmers who want to breed for improved fertility and workability will be keen to see the latest Australian Breeding Values (ABVs), released this week (Mon 15 April) by the Australian Dairy
Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS).
Daniel Abernethy, ADHIS general manager, said the new fertility ABV was expected to increase the average reliability of the trait by 6-10%, depending on the breed.
“The result is many more bulls with fertility ABVs and overseas bulls with fertility ABV(i)s than in the past. This is something farmers have been asking for, and an exciting outcome of collaborative research by ADHIS and the Dairy Futures CRC,” he said.
The new model is a better indicator of the fertility of a bull’s daughters because it draws upon the data for several traits that are related to fertility including lactation length, mating and pregnancy data. Some bulls will re-rank as a result of the improvements.
The Good Bulls Guide, which will be mailed direct to dairy farmers this month, now includes a dedicated list of bulls sorted on their Fertility ABVs, making it easier than ever to select bulls for improved fertility.
The April ABV release will also give farmers more bulls with workability ABV(i)s to choose from.
Workability ABV(i)s include temperament and milking speed.
This is the first time workability ABV(i)s have been available for overseas proven bulls with few daughters in Australia.
Mr Abernethy said it was a significant development in enabling farmers to make improved selection decisions using these traits.
For 30 years, ADHIS has continually improved the genetic evaluation system to ensure the latest technology and information is incorporated into ABVs to benefit farmers. These changes are part of this continuous improvement process.
The Good Bulls Guide can be downloaded from www.adhis.com.au
from 15 April.
For more information contact Michelle Axford at ADHIS ph (03) 8621-4240 or email maxford@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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(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 (April, August and December).
ADHIS is an initiative of Australian Dairy Farmers’, that receives the majority of its funding from Dairy Australia through the Dairy Services levy.