Four new genetic indexes are to be launched to help farmers breed dairy cows with better health, welfare and efficiency.

The four new indexes are for calf survival, carcase quality, lameness and feed efficiency, and they will be added to the existing Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) routinely published by AHDB Dairy.

Each of the four PTAs has been developed through the use of huge datasets of information on cattle, ranging from calf survival data from the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) to carcase weights and grades from abattoirs across the UK.

Marco Winters, AHDB Dairy head of animal genetics said: “Dairy cattle have come a long way since the advent of genetic evaluations and are now far superior in many ways to those of the past. Cows’ milk production and functional conformation have greatly improved, and many health and fitness traits have made significant strides too.

“These four new traits for 2018 build on that progress and address some of the pressing issues the industry faces today. Farmers want to know which dairy bulls breed calves with good survival, which daughters are less prone to lameness and which will more efficiently convert their feed into milk.

“Producers will also value the addition of carcase traits, particularly if they are rearing pure- or cross-bred dairy beef.

“By addressing health traits through breeding as well as management, farmers are improving the welfare and fitness of their dairy cattle and will enhance their ease of management in the long term.”

The new evaluations will begin to be released with the April 2018 index run and continue thereafter through the year. Notification and further information will be supplied to dairy producers before each index’s launch to assist them in using these evaluations in the most beneficial way for their own business.