Monks Communication
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
page 1 of 2
Newsletter Grab from ADHIS
(the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme)
Embargoed: until Wednesday 11 April 2012
HEAD: More data, more reliability, more confidence (380 words)
Dairy farmers can have more confidence than ever in the Australian Breeding Values (ABVs)
released in April by the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS), as their evaluation is
based on more data than ever before.
Daniel Abernethy, ADHIS General Manager said the reliability of ABVs had steadily improved since
they were first introduced almost 30 years ago.
“The amount of genomic data available has doubled in the past year, due to the addition of DNA
samples from more proven bulls and the Dairy Futures CRC 10,000 Holstein cow genome project.
More data means improved reliability and that means farmers can have more confidence in
ABVs,” Mr Abernethy said.
Recently, bull companies, resellers and individual farmers have actively contributed DNA samples
from bulls of all ages and covering a diverse range of pedigrees. The increase in available data
does mean that some bulls will move in their rankings, particularly young bulls.
“As we get more information from genotyping and from herd testing, a bull’s ABVs can move. The
April 2012 ABVs are a more accurate reflection of his genetic merit.”
The reliability of ABVs based on genomic testing – ABV(g)s – for young bulls will increase on
average by 8% for production traits and 4-7% for other traits in the April 2012 ABV release.
“The easiest way to identify bulls to suit your particular breeding objective is to refer to the Good
Bulls Guide, which is updated with each ABV release. Dairy farmers can choose any bull in the
Good Bulls Guide with confidence that it will improve the genetic merit of their herd,” he said.
The latest edition will be available from mid April from www.adhis.com.au and the printed version
will be sent directly to farmers.
Xhead: Further advances
Data from the 10,000 Holstein cow genome project is expected to provide further advances in
genetic evaluation of the Holstein breed.
David Nation, Chief Executive Officer of the Dairy Futures CRC said the project had delivered a
significant step up in the reliability of genomic based breeding values from the genotyping of
10,000 well-recorded Holstein cows.
“Further improvements in the use of genomics will arise from completion of the Jer-nomics
project for the Jersey breed, research into entire DNA sequences of dairy cattle, and new traits
such as feed conversion efficiency,” Dr Nation said.
Monks Communication
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
page 2 of 2
For more information contact Michelle Axford at ADHIS ph (03) 8621-4240 or email
maxford@adhis.com.au.
ENDS
Media contact: This media release has been issued by Monks Communication on behalf of ADHIS. Contact Monks Communication for inquiries
about photos and interviews or to have your contact details removed or updated on our distribution list:
Lee-Ann Monks ph (07) 5450 0946 mob 0419 349 244 email: media_releases@monkscom.com.au
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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.