NZ's biggest-ever animal research project, to measure feed conversion efficiency in dairy cows, is being conducted at the Westpac Taranaki Agricultural Research Station, Whareroa. The two-year trial is costing $5 million and will evaluate 1000 animals in a controlled feeding environment. They will be measured for efficiency in converting feed into liveweight gain and milk production and (in a separate location) methane gas emissions. An identical trial is being run simultaneously in Australia reports the Taranaki Daily. The project results from dairy industry strategists identifying feed conversion efficiency (FCE) as a primary route to improved productivity. FCE is not part of the Breeding Worth calculation and has never been scientifically trialled. Early indications are that some animals require up to 10% less feed than others to maintain condition and put on weight. The scientists believe those animals will also produce milk just as efficiently. The project manager, DairyNZ senior scientist Kevin Macdonald, Hamilton, says the aim is to match efficiency to DNA, via semen from bulls bred from those animals. He hopes to find a genomic marker for the FCE trait, so that future identification can be based on a blood test. "We know which cows produce the most in our herds but we don't know which are the most efficient," he says. "Currently the biggest producer may just eat a lot more. Some humans eat little and still put on weight, some eat as much as they like and remain slim; we think cows may be the same. Certainly it's been found in beef cattle and chickens. "If you know which are the most efficient cows you may manage them differently and we know the FCE differences can be as great as 15% in beef cattle.".
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