Breeding for higher production and components
Feed efficiency
We have a unique breeding value for feed efficiency based on real feed intake data. Breeding for feed efficiency can save up to 10% on feed costs.
Production
Production
Good production with high components
- Breeding for higher production and components
- 10% higher milk revenues
- 45% higher lifetime production
Production
A farm’s income depends on the quality, the amount of milk produced and the percentage of solids in the milk. Good milk production with a high percentage of fat and protein and a low somatic cell count is therefore crucial. High lifetime production is essential for efficient production and a low environmental impact.
CRV has a long tradition of focussing on good milk production with a very high fat and protein content. And CRV cows not only produce a phenomenal amount of milk solids, also their lifetime production is unrivalled.
CRV, leading in production
CRV is leading in production and we offer several solutions:
- Top ranking sires of various breeds who pass on high (lifetime) production and excellent components
- The mating advice programme SireMatch to breed cows with a higher production and components
- The genomic herd management solution HerdOptimizer Go that makes herd management easy and allows you to select animals with the highest genetic level for production and components
CRV production and components facts
- More than 90% of cows in the Netherlands take part in a milk recording system
- CRV cows* have one of the highest fat and protein percentages in the world with 4.3% fat and 3.6% protein (2019) and 730kg combined fat and protein
- CRV has placed an intensive focus on breeding for components since 1975
- At culling, cows in the Netherlands note a lifetime production that averages 31,553kg of milk, with 1,371kg of fat and 1,120kg of protein (2019)
- More than six CRV cows* per day reach the exceptional milestone of 100,000kg of milk production
- Over the past 60 years, a total of 37,777 cows in the Netherlands have achieved the production of 100,000kg of milk
- The Dutch cow Big Boukje (Cash x Labelle x F16 x Tops) was the first cow in the Netherlands to smash the magical 200,000kg milk barrier
- Lactose has already been measured routinely at milk recording for over 15 years. CRV was the first company to introduce a breeding value for lactose and include it in the Dutch production index
- Production is part of the CRV Efficiency index, a unique index that helps to breed highly productive cows that convert feed efficiently into milk and achieve high lifetime production
*In the Netherlands
Breeding for higher production and components
Besides breeding values for milk production (kg) and components (kg and %), CRV also developed the unique Dutch production index, or Inet, which expresses the total economic value for milk, fat and protein yield (in euros). The breeding values for the number of kg of lactose, kg of fat and kg of protein are combined in this single figure, which also takes the costs for feed (concentrate) into account.
Production and components proven in practice
Practical research was performed among 100,490 cows on 900 farms. The results revealed that the 25% best performing cows for CRV Efficiency performed substantially better on milk production and fat and protein content. Another study involving culled cows revealed that the 25% best performing cows for CRV Efficiency had an almost 50% higher lifetime production.
The best cows also had a significantly higher genetic level for production and CRV Efficiency. Breeding for production thus pays off in practice!
More information
Interested in production or would you like more information? Find a representative in your region or request more information via our contact form.
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Longevity
CRV has a long tradition of focussing on high lifetime production and longevity, with several solutions. Read all about our building block longevity.
CRV Health
CRV Health helps you breed trouble-free, easy-to-manage cows with excellent longevity.