Australian dairy farmers can now use breeding to help reduce their farm's greenhouse gas emissions.
DataGene has introduced a new standalone breeding index called the Sustainability Index included in its August release of Australian Breeding Values.
This third Australian breeding index will fast-track genetic gain for greenhouse gas emission intensity reduction.
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The Sustainability Index ranks bulls according to their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase milk production while also considering other vital profitability traits.
The Sustainability Index is one of many tools dairy farmers can use to achieve the industry's commitment of a 30 per cent reduction in the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions on-farm by 2030.
DataGene stakeholder relations specialist Peter Thurn said breeding for reduced greenhouse gas emission intensity didn't mean compromising on other traits that underpinned on-farm profitability.
"The Sustainability Index is highly correlated with the Balanced Performance Index (BPI); the top bulls on one, will be highly ranked on the other," he said.
"It's just a difference in weighting, and with the Sustainability Index the weighting of feed saved and survival has tripled compared to the BPI.
"Looking at it from a financial perspective, the trade off in BPI over the next 25 years - if you select on the Sustainability Index instead - is about $1 a year for Holsteins and it's even less for Jerseys."
There are two ways to tackle greenhouse gas emissions on a dairy farm - reduce the total or gross emissions-or reduce the emission intensity.
The Sustainability Index focuses on reducing emission intensity, that is, decreasing the amount of carbon emitted relative to milk production.
This is calculated by dividing the amount of carbon emitted by the amount of milk produced.
"The reduction in emission intensity is achieved through a combination of dilution and increased efficiency, higher milk production from longer lived, more feed efficient cows means more milk per tonne of carbon, " Mr Thurn said.
"Reducing emissions intensity is a more practical approach as it does not diminish productivity whereas a gross approach could lead to less productive and ultimately less profitable cows."
To fast-track genetic gain for lower greenhouse gas emissions, breed replacements from animals that rank high on the Sustainability Index.
"Like any index, you can add a range of other traits to assist you to breed the type of cow you want in your herd," Mr Thurn said.
"A good way to do this is to use DataGene's Good Bulls App or DataVat (datavat.com.au)."
South-west Victorian dairy farmer Tim Humphris said he was looking forward to using the Sustainability Index in conjunction with other on-farm practices to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from his 550-cow herd.
As a member of DataGene's genetic evaluation standing committee, Mr Humphris had a sneak preview of how the Sustainability Index works.
He said the Sustainability Index addressed the need for a combination of animal longevity and production to reduce emissions intensity.
But he won't be relying on breeding alone to improve his farm's sustainability.
"It's a combination of management overlayed with genetics that's going to drive the change," he said.
