Farm Liaison Officer, Sarah Taylor, has been discussing options to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with dairy farms across South-West England and South Wales, with breeding emerging as one of the most popular early choices across her region.
She has found that interest in data-driven breeding decisions is growing, with many farmers recognising the value of genomic information to guide future herd development.
A key focus is supporting them to make better use of the data they already hold, from milk recording and liveweight records through to existing genomic testing data. For others, it is about implementing genomic testing for the first time.
Dairy farmer Russell Morgan at Graig Olway said: “We’ve decided to concentrate on genetics and our breeding policy to better understand and make use of genomics data to drive efficiency and speed up genetic improvement within our herd. We’ve got a huge amount of data relating to our cows and need to make better use of it”
AHDB’s Herd Genetic Report (HGR) will be a valuable tool to help farmers understand the genetic profile of their herd and where improvements can be made. By combining this with new or historic genomic data, they will be able to identify traits that contribute to greater efficiency and reduced GHG output, while also supporting productivity, fertility and cow longevity.
Each farm will work closely with AHDB’s Breeding Team to review their HGR and discuss priorities, including the EnviroCow Index which highlights animals with lower predicted lifetime methane emissions per litre of milk. A small 1 point improvement in a herd’s EnviroCow score means they will produce 10% less methane, consume 10% less feed and produce 33% more fat and protein in their lifetime. These conversations will help farms set clear goals, whether that is breeding fewer but better replacements, improving feed efficiency or developing cows better suited to their specific system.
The types of farms involved vary from high-yielding, all-year-round housed herds to Autumn block-calving calvers and cross-bred herds. Some are already collecting genomic data but have not yet used it to full advantage, while others are at the start of their genetic journey. A few are transitioning to new breeding service providers or technologies, offering an ideal opportunity to review their strategies and ensure future breeding decisions align with their environmental and production goals.
Alongside breeding work, many of these farms will carry our feed wastage assessments linking in with the project’s ‘optimising feed formulation’ mitigation option. By aligning feed efficiency data with genetic information, farms will gain a clearer picture of how breeding decisions can influence both productivity and environmental impact.
Sarah said: “It’s been really encouraging to see how enthusiastic farmers are about getting involved in this work. There’s a real appetite to make better use of data, not just to boost performance but to make a genuine difference for the future. By bringing together genetic insight and on-farm information, we’re helping build herds that are productive, efficient and more environmentally responsible. It’s a really positive step forward.”