Genetic Improvement of Feed Efficiency in Dairy Cattle

TY - BOOK

T1 - Genetic Improvement of Feed Efficiency in Dairy Cattle

AU - Stephansen, Rasmus Bak

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The work presented in this PhD dissertation entitled “Genetic improvement of feed efficiency in dairy cattle” was conducted at the Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics (QGG) at Aarhus University from August 2021 to August 2024. The thesis is submitted with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Graduate School of Technical Sciences at Aarhus University. The research was supported with funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme - GenTORE - under grant agreement No 727213 and the CFIT project (9090-00083B), funded by the Innovation Fund Denmark. Parts of the research was conducted in collaboration with the research unit Animal Genetics and Integrative Biology at INRA, France.The research in this thesis assesses the quantitative genetic aspects of feedefficiency in dairy cattle, and developed novel statistical models that dairy breeders world-wide potentially can adopt to improve their environmental and economic sustainability. It was studied how new statistical models, developed on a unique worldwide research dataset and validated on data from a state-of-the-art 3D camera-based system, can improve individual dairy cow feed efficiency through genetics, without compromising dairy cow productivity andanimal welfare. The new research findings contribute to the quantitativegenetic understanding of feed efficiency, showing that feed efficiencychanges genetically within and across lactations, highlighting the importanceof full productive lifetime recording. Furthermore, the research showed howfeed efficiency could be improved without compromising productivity andanimal welfare, and potentially be a climate gas mitigation path to explore.

AB - The work presented in this PhD dissertation entitled “Genetic improvement of feed efficiency in dairy cattle” was conducted at the Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics (QGG) at Aarhus University from August 2021 to August 2024. The thesis is submitted with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Graduate School of Technical Sciences at Aarhus University. The research was supported with funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme - GenTORE - under grant agreement No 727213 and the CFIT project (9090-00083B), funded by the Innovation Fund Denmark. Parts of the research was conducted in collaboration with the research unit Animal Genetics and Integrative Biology at INRA, France.The research in this thesis assesses the quantitative genetic aspects of feedefficiency in dairy cattle, and developed novel statistical models that dairy breeders world-wide potentially can adopt to improve their environmental and economic sustainability. It was studied how new statistical models, developed on a unique worldwide research dataset and validated on data from a state-of-the-art 3D camera-based system, can improve individual dairy cow feed efficiency through genetics, without compromising dairy cow productivity andanimal welfare. The new research findings contribute to the quantitativegenetic understanding of feed efficiency, showing that feed efficiencychanges genetically within and across lactations, highlighting the importanceof full productive lifetime recording. Furthermore, the research showed howfeed efficiency could be improved without compromising productivity andanimal welfare, and potentially be a climate gas mitigation path to explore.

M3 - Ph.D. thesis

BT - Genetic Improvement of Feed Efficiency in Dairy Cattle

ER -