breeding for better health: challenges and achievements

Breeding for Better Health:

Challenges and Achievements

Siobhán Ring

Animal Health Awareness Day – 28th November 2019

AgTech – it’s in our DNA

Setting the Scene

• Animal breeding and ICBF

• Achievements

• Growing central database – farmers, vets, AHI, DAFM

• Progress to-date

• HealthyGenes Project – genetic evaluations for resistance to bTB & Liver Fluke

• Challenges

• Data – quantity, quality & frequency

• Utilising your opportunity to breed for better health

• Using the breeding values

• Recording health & disease – what would encourage you to record?

“Genetics creates the potential, management realizes the potential, disease destroys the potential”

AgTech – it’s in our DNAAgTech – it’s in our DNA

The ICBF Database• Aim to maximize profit/sustainability for dairy and beef farmers

through genetics/genomics & data integration


How Genetic Evaluations Work

Herd E

Herd D

Herd F

Herds D, E, F: Only pedigree knownHerds A, B, C: Health & Pedigree known

Herd B

Herd A

Herd C

Genetic merit generated for all animals



-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

370

375

380

385

390

395

400

Gen

etic M

erit

Calvin

g in

terval (d

ays)

Year of calving

Breeding and Fertility


On-farm

Genetic

Donagh Berry, Teagasc

• Low heritability

• Many ‘non-genetic’ influences

AgTech – it’s in our DNAAgTech – it’s in our DNAAgTech – it’s in our DNA

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-7

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-4

-3

-2

370

375

380

385

390

395

400

Ge

ne

tic

Me

rit

Ca

lvin

g i

nte

rva

l (d

)

Year of calving

EBI

Donagh Berry, Teagasc

33%-50% improvements in fertility due to

genetics

Despite the Odds


Today’s Cows are Genetically Healthier

3 Times Faster Improvement in Health Traits After Inclusion in EBI (Dairy Breeding Goal)

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-1

0

1

2

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Healt

h S

ub

-In

dex (

€)

Calving Year

+€0.68 improvement/cow/year

Health SI has 4% explicit emphasis in EBI• SCC• Mastitis • Lameness


Expected Herd Prevalence

Health SI Lameness Mastitis

-€10 17% 20%

-€5 15% 18%

€0 13% 16%

€5 11% 13%

€10 8% 11%

€15 6% 9%

€20 4% 7%

Do They Have Less Disease?█ Lameness█ Mastitis

Higher Health Sub-Index = Less Lameness, Mastitis & SCC

(%)

(€)


-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

Gen

eti

c M

eri

t

Co

w s

urv

ival

(%)

Year of calving

On-farm Survival EBV Survival (%)

Today’s Cows are Living Longer

Cows surviving an extra 174 days on-farm through a combination of health & fertility improvements


HealthyGenes Project• 11,000 cows in 68 herds• Assessed for a range of health and disease traits & hoof trimmed

Considerable exploitable genetic variation in all traits

investigated!


Resistance to TB & Liver Fluke

Damage & live fluke

Liver FlukeTB

SICTT, lesion, & confirmed lab TB



Factors Influencing TB & Liver Fluke Infection


Resid

ual In

fection

Incorrect animal identification

Stage of infection

Animal genetics

Exposure to pathogenStocking density

Animal movements

Cattle-cattle

transmission

Testing procedure

Weather

Immune response pathways

Wild

life

rese

rvo

irs Test accuracy

Grazing behaviour

Wildlife-cattle

pathways

Host genetics

Interaction with wildlife

Contiguous herds

Attraction to parasite


Resistance to TB & Liver Fluke

• Jan’19 breeding values for resistance to TB & Liver Fluke launched

• Available for dairy and beef cattle


Data Limiting Genetic Progress in Health

Lameness899,599

bTB1,101,550

Liver Fluke354,380

Calving Difficulty16,072,823

Calving Interval8,032,234

Carcass Weight8,456,818

Mastitis934,890

Gestation5,212,889

Milking Speed7,947,308

Milking Temperment713,460

Stillbirths21,437,312

Milk Yield35,888,755

Survival9,656,319

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

He

rita

bili

ty

Low heritability traits suffer from slow genetic progress where data is limiting

Evaluation Nov’19


0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

TB Liver fluke Mastitis Lameness

Pre

vale

nce

26% reduction

17% reduction

58% reduction

44% reduction

█ Worst genetic merit

█ Best genetic merit

Despite fewer records and low heritability, genetic merit still able to differentiate the best and worst animals


Identifying the Health Status of Your Herd

When choosing bulls for breeding

aim for higher Health SI than herd average

and higher overall index

(EBI)


❶ Log on to www.icbf.com

❷ Search animal (tag/aicode)

❸ View genetic merit (PTA)

• Lower PTA values = healthier animals

Using the Breeding Values –(Selecting Males/Females for Mating)

http://www.icbf.com/


• www.icbf.com

• HerdPlus App

• Complete Paper Health Surveys – due in December

• Text “LAME Jumbo” or “Mast Jumbo” to 089 457 7663

Recording Health and Disease Events



Conclusions• Breeding is a sustainable way of reducing disease, complementary

to current management practices

• The lack of availability of records is a major challenge to achieving

faster improvements

• Record events on www.icbf.com or text “LAME Jumbo” or “Mast

Jumbo” to 089 457 7663

• Use breeding values/genetic merit available for

– Higher € value is better

– Lower PTA values for SCC, Mastitis, Lameness and mortality = less disease

• Increasing importance of health & welfare will resonate in future

breeding goal iterations (beef & dairy)

– Scour, Pneumonia, Johnes, IBR, mortality in later life etc.

– Herd health reports


breeding for better health: challenges and achievements

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