WHEN it comes to selecting bulls to use over their herds, dairy farmers will have more choice when three new breeding indices become available with the April ABV release.
The new indices were announced at the Australian Dairy Industry Council annual breakfast, held in in Melbourne recently.
Daniel Abernethy, Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) general manager, said three indices were aligned with farmers' differing breeding priorities; and developed following an extensive review process which involved direct farmer input on trait preferences and breeding philosophies.
"It was clear from farmer feedback that while farm profit was a national breeding objective certain farmers placed more emphasis on different traits when making bull selection decisions. This finding supported the introduction of multiple indices," Mr Abernethy said.
The three indices are: the Balanced Performance Index, Type Weighted Index and Health Weighted Index.
"While all three indices include traits that influence profitability, the focus on profitability and achieving desired gains for particular traits differs," Mr Abernethy said.
"The Balanced Performance Index, achieves the National Breeding Objective of increasing farm profit and will align to the breeding priorities of most Australian dairy farmers. In addition two extra breeding indices have been developed to meet the needs of those farmers whose breeding philosophies put increased emphasis on type or health," he said.