Improving "low input" dairy cattle production systems

Summary

Thanks to developments in DNA sequencing technology, in recent years a growing amount of information on the genetic make-up of livestock animals have become available. This information, typically in the form of panels of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), has been used in farm animals populations – usually specific breeds - to map QTLs and, more recently, to estimate genome-wide breeding values (GEBVs) to be used in the so-called genomic selection schemes. Not much attention has been paid to differences between animals farmed in different environments, such as intensive or rural production systems. Research and applications have so far focused on high input farming, due mainly to the larger available populations and the greater commercial interest. Within sub-project 1 of the Low Input Breeds (LIB) project, we aim at investigating the methodology, scope and applications of genomic selection of dairy cattle reared in low input and organic farms, particularly in rural and mountainous areas of Europe.