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LIC Test-Day Model Research Team
- Position:
- Test-Day Model Research Team
- Field:
- Genetic evaluation system for dairy cattle
- Organisation:
- LIC
The LIC Test-Day Model Research Team are the inaugural recipients of the Kudo for Agricultural Science, sponsored by Hamilton City Council.
Team leader Dr Bevin Harris and team members Dr David Johnson and Dr Anne Winkelman make up the LIC Test-Day Model Research Team, which was responsible for the scientific development and implementation of a national genetic evaluation system for dairy cattle, employing the ‘test-day model’.
The team developed new genetic evaluation software that provides increased accuracy and new information about lactational persistency breeding values for somatic cell count (SCC) and has allowed herd testing organisations the ability to provide single-sample products for their clients.
There has been a high degree of uptake amongst New Zealand dairy farmers.
The benefits to dairy farmers from increased accuracy of the milk production traits from the test-day model has been estimated to be worth $2.5 million accumulated net income, which equates to $137 million ($38 million in the Waikato) over 10 years.
The benefits of having test-day model somatic cell count breeding value in the Breeding Worth Index has been estimated to be worth $1 million accumulated net income or $55 million ($15.4 million in the Waikato) over 10 years.
The test-day model is the most complex and largest genetic evaluation system in the world. The model currently processes 16 million animals with 130 million herd test records, solving over 420 equations for milk volume, milk fat, protein and SCC every three weeks.
Follow this link to the Kudos website to see the 2007 Award winners: www.thekudos.org.nz/2007winners.html
This article is based on information current in 2008.