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OptiScore Project Overview
Profitable dairy farming requires both good farm management practices and high quality cattle. Particular genetic traits can be selected and bred for, such as those related to milk yield, health and welfare. In conventional dairy farming, however, the focus has been on selecting highly productive animals. This has led to adverse effects on other traits such as welfare and fertility. In addition, high productivity traits may not be desirable for dairy cows in an organic system where management practices may be significantly different.The outcome of the OptiScore project will be new sensor application protocols that will enable the routine and objective assessment of a range of heritable traits in dairy cattle under diverse environmental conditions. This will have significant consequences for dairy cow breeding programmes, with particular relevance to those geared towards organic production conditions.
