Producing functional cattle which perform well and thrive in our farming systems is the focus of the third conference session at this year’s BCBC conference in January

Improved herd health for increased fertility was the priority for a pilot project by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC). Its Red Meat Development Programme supports beef farmers to work closely with vets on proactive animal health planning. This presentation will give a vet’s view on the work carried out and the take away learnings that can benefit others in the sector.

Eric Fontanillas, of IngenomiX in France, will explain how the company evaluated the calving-first heat interval (CFHI) in Limousin cattle. The company used accelerometer collars to detect first heat in Limousin females in research on 35 farms over four years. The evaluated heritability, together with the great variability of the phenotype, allowed IngenomiX to set up a genomic selection programme for CFHI on the Limousin breed.

Results from a KTIF project ‘Feeding for fertility in the suckler herd’ will be presented by Dr Lorna MacPherson. Lorna is Senior Dairy Consultant with SAC Consulting based in Aberdeen. She will outline how the project in eastern Scotland monitored the nutritional status of cows over the spring calving period in 2020.

Prof Phil Garnsworthy will open the session for Dairy Day with his presentation on fertility, efficiency, and sustainability of dairy herds. While high-yielding herds might perform better from a feed efficiency and environmental impact point of view, poor fertility can offset those gains leading to premature culling and higher replacement rates. Phil is Professor of Dairy Science at the University of Nottingham’s School of Biosciences and the recipient of this year’s Sir John Hammond Award.

Breeding for efficiency has a big impact on the profitability of a dairy farm, say Dutch dairy farmer Wietse Duursma and Pieter van Goor, Senior Researcher with genetics company CRV. Their presentation will explore how feed savings can improve farm profitability and how data can help improve feed efficiency. They will outline the findings from CRV’s collection of daily individual feed intake from more than 2000 dairy cows across five commercial farms since 2017.

See the complete programme for this year’s conference and book tickets here

BCBC would like to thank CRV for sponsoring speakers Wietse Duursma and Pieter van Goor to attend the conference