Genetic Base Update 2024

The genetic base represents the “zero point” of genetic indices and is based on data from a specific population of cows born within a certain range of years. With the data release of Tuesday 2 April 2024, cows considered are those born from 2016 to 2018 (3 years).

In Italy, the Frisona breed has a mobile base that is updated every year in April.  In most countries (for example France, Germany, England, Canada), the base is updated annually, while in the United States it is updated every 5 years.

In general terms, a negative variation of the genetic base  highlights an improvement of a certain characteristic.

For example, the Milk base has varied by 135 kg, increasing the population zero value to 11 144,62 Kg of milk at 305 days. In order to correctly read the milk data of a certain animal, it will be necessary to add:

• The value of the population base (11 144,62 Kg)
• Half of the value of the sire
• Half of the value of the dam

The productive data of fat and protein are read in the same way.

Looking at the general trend, there is an increase in milk production in the Italian Holstein population. The selection has also reach excellent results in terms of functional traits: somatic cells are slowly descresing, with a variation of -0.40 on the SCS index. Longevity (-0.62) and ferility (-0.22) have also improved.

Instead, the BCS is still experiencing a continuous worsening, due to the fact that it is not yet considered in the selection programs, even though Intermizoo has been working on it for some years.