Breeding cows for organic milk production

Scientists from Aarhus University are set to investigate the possibility of developing special breeds of cows that are better suited to organic milk production.

The project, SOBcows, is the result of new genomic selection technology that makes it possible to determine a cow’s genetic potential from a blood sample.
Aarhus University states that the overall aim of the project is to increase the volume and profitability of organic milk production by:

1) Adjusting the breeding stock and production animals to organic production systems. The knowledge gained from genomic selection is here utilized in order to establish organic breeding lines based on the existing Danish dairy breeds.

2) Providing sustainable methods for an organic niche production based on animals with specific genetic characteristics and animals from the native Danish dairy cattle breeds.

Overall, the project hopes to strengthen the credibility of organic dairy production as animals from the organic lines will have a higher genetic level with respect to health and welfare traits relative to the conventional lines.