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Including lameness and mastitis in a profit index for dairy cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

A. W. Stott ,
M. P. Coffey  and
S. Brotherstone
A. W. Stott*
Affiliation:
Animal Health Economics Team, Land Economy Group, Scottish Agricultural College, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK
M. P. Coffey
Affiliation:
Sustainable Livestock Systems, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
S. Brotherstone
Affiliation:
Sustainable Livestock Systems, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
*
†E-mail: a.stott@ab.sac.ac.uk
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Abstract

The objective of this work was to establish economic values (EVs) of mastitis and lameness in order to enhance the current UK dairy profit index (£PLI) by including these health traits. The EVs of traits currently in £PLI were also re-evaluated to account for changes in costs/returns over time and to determine their sensitivity to changes in some of the basic assumptions used in their derivation.

Predicted transmitting abilities (PTAs) for mastitis are not available in the UK. Instead, PTAs for somatic cell count (SCC), which has a strong genetic correlation with clinical mastitis, were used to predict clinical mastitis. Similarly, PTAs for locomotion and (for bulls with no locomotion PTA) the ‘legs and feet’ composite were used to predict lameness.

The EV of mastitis was estimated at £0·83 per percent incidence, giving an index weight for SCC PTA of £0·20. The EV of lameness was estimated at £0·99 per percent incidence, giving an index weight for locomotion PTA of £1·28. The associated index weight for the ‘legs and feet’ composite was estimated to be £1·50. Economic values for all traits (production, lifespan, mastitis and lameness) were found to be sensitive to their associated price assumption but not to price assumptions of other traits in the index or to other production parameters in the model.

Better information is needed on the influence of cow age (parity) on incidence of disease and on the probability of involuntary culling to determine the appropriate balance between the EVs for longevity and health. Currently, 16% of the weight in £PLI is attributable to non-production traits. In our revised index this weight increased to 23%. Even so, selection using this index is still predicted to result in an increase in mastitis and lameness, albeit at a very low rate. This situation may be changed by the introduction of fertility into £PLI and through better information about health traits. Incorporation of consumer preference into £PLI may require traits associated with health and welfare of the cow to receive more weight than their EV would suggest in order to maintain or improve health traits in national selection programmes.

Keywords

dairy cattleselection indexeconomic valueshealth traits
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 80 , Issue 1 , February 2005 , pp. 41 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2005

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