Breed for better feed efficiency

The world has put you and your cows under serious scrutiny – you’re asked to produce sufficient food and be more sustainable, all while staying in business.

What if you could easily breed more feed-efficient and climate-friendly cows without compromising your farm’s profits? With the Saved Feed Index, you can do just that.

Find out which bulls will give you the best-performing cows – more feed-efficient, with high production and good health and fertility. As a bonus, your herd’s methane emissions per kg ECM milk decrease by around 20%.

Decrease in feed consumption

In the table below, you can see the effects of breeding for improved feed efficiency. See how many kilos of DMI you can save per year, depending on the size of your herd.

By including the Saved Feed Index in your breeding strategy, you can literally save tons in feed. Breed the next generation of high-yielding, trouble-free and efficient cows.

Daughters of two bulls with a difference of 20 index units in the Saved Feed Index will have a difference in dry matter intake (DMI) of 70-100 kg per lactation.

Decrease in feed consumption – kg DMI per year – of bull daughters with an EBV of 120.

	VikingHolstein	VikingRed	VikingJersey
100 cows	16,400	19,600	13,400
200 cows	32,800	39,200	26,800
500 cows	82,000	98,000	67,000
1,000 cows	164,000	196,000	134,000

Find the best bulls for your herd

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