Genetic base cow update
Each year, the genetic merit of the national herd improves. To reflect this improvement and the positive progress of our sector, we are updating the genetic ‘base cow’ (the genetic reference point for all dairy cattle in New Zealand), from June 20th. The new base cow will be younger, meaning that herd Breeding Worth will drop by approximately $185 as we move from a 2005 to a 2015 born animal. There will only be minimal re-ranking of herds, cows and bulls as a result. The change in BW is near identical across all animals. Follow the link to find out more about the change.