Shropshire Farming Talk: A simple piece of animal ear tissue is a mine of information
Today’s technology allows us access to a wealth of information from a simple piece of animal tissue, which can be taken during routine ear-tagging.
This tissue sample can be used for two different types of tests, either BVD or DNA. Information provided can therefore be used to help manage both herd health and breeding decisions.
Each year it is estimated that BVD costs the industry around £61 million per year, equivalent to between £13 to £31 per cow in Great Britain (Source: BVD Free England).
For dairy farms, the impact of BVD can be arguably greater than for beef farms, due to the impact on fertility, decreased milk output, aborting calves, and poor offspring.
Identification and removal of BVD infected animals is essential to eradicating this disease from cattle herds. Through ARC, purchasing of BVD tag and test starts from just £3.80 per pair of tags, with testing carried out through the CIS laboratory.
A DNA sample can be used in genomic testing to help inform breeding decisions through genomic testing, as well as verifying parentage.
Traceability within the food chain has become more important and for purchasers of cows, the assurance of correct parentage is important in for example mitigating the risk of inbreeding.
The ability to verify parentage via genomic testing is also important for certain categories of animals being registered in Herd Books, for example ET's and males.
The main role of genomic testing is to use the information to provide an estimate of the animal’s genetic merit. Farmers can use this data to make more accurate decisions, about which animals to keep as replacements and whether to mate them to sexed, dairy or beef semen.
Our DNA tags start from just £2.20 per pair, with genomic testing for females at £24.50 per test. Forward-buying discounts are available to bring this cost down to £22.05 per test.
Alongside this, our free genomics portal at genomics.nbdc.uk/ allows users to access genomic results of pedigree Holsteins and Friesians, regardless of the provider of the test.
Approved Registered Cattle provides Holstein UK members with access to a wide range of tissue testing official ear tags. For further information, either visit approvedregisteredcattle.com or call 0345 8734210.
Naomi Lewis, Marketing, Events & National HYB Coordinator at Holstein UK
