Once the new Net Merit (NM$) formula gets implemented this August, dairy farmers from across the U.S. and around the world will have the opportunity to breed more feed-efficient cows.
Ag Sciences receives donor support for Millennium Scholars Program
Susan Bedsworth
May 06, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The Penn State Millennium Scholars Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences has received a generous increase in support thanks to philanthropic gifts from two of the college’s alumni.
Paul Heffner pledged an estimated $1 million estate gift to benefit the Paul Heffner Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences, which he created in 2010. First preference for the scholarship has been denoted for Millennium Scholars students. Duane Norman and his wife, Roslyn W. Norman, endowed the H. Duane and Roslyn W. Norman Millennium Scholars Scholarship through a $100,000 gift through the University’s now concluded Educational Equity Matching Program, securing a 1:1 match through the program.
New Net Merit index to be unveiled in August
This August’s genetic evaluations will feature an updated Net Merit (NM$) index. According to the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, the traits that will be added to the index include Feed Saved and Heifer Livability.
While Heifer Livability is also important, Feed Saved represents the biggest advancement. Feed Saved will allow producers to breed for more feed-efficient cows, improve dairy sustainability, and save on feed costs, the largest expense item on most U.S. dairies, according to Joao Durr in his article, “Two new genetic traits coming in December. Due to the extensive costs associated with gathering data to calculate Feed Saved, the trait will only be available in the Holstein breed for the time being.
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
The National Association of Animal Breeders has launched a new website, which was established from an industry-wide effort to provide both domestic and international audiences with a one-stop shop for comprehensive information on U.S. dairy genetics.
Improvement of U.S. dairy cattle genetics results from close collaboration of multiple dairy sectors which are connected in a system where performance data flows into genetic and genomic evaluations using standardized animal identification coding. The U.S. continues to improve dairy cattle genetics, genomics and reproductive technology, as well as add new traits and update selection indices to provide current and relevant genetic information to producers worldwide. With the continual evolution and rapid adoption of genomics, clear and neutral information on the changing U.S. dairy genetic evaluation system has not been easily accessible for interested domestic and international audiences.