Title: Sustainable cows are the way to a better economy, welfare and climate (Long live the dairy cow)
Funded by: GUDP
AU project manager: Postdoc Rasmus Bak Stephansen, Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics.
Collaboration partners:
Project period: 1 Juli 2025 - 30 June 2029
Funding amount: Total project costs: DKK 10,128,296. Total amount applied for: DKK 8,835,156
Project description
The purpose of this project is to achieve better economics, increased welfare and a lower climate impact by extending the lifespan of Danish dairy cows by 6 months. This extension will increase profits by DKK 257 per yearling cow in 2030, which corresponds to a total economic gain of DKK 20.5 million for Danish cattle farming per year. The primary green effect of the 6-month lifespan extension will be around 160,000 tons of CO2eq. (92,000 tons in 2030 and 68,000 tons in 2035). The project is based on weight records from the advanced vision technology, CowFIT, which can determine the weight of the milking cows in an entire farm several times a day. Weight data is combined in the project with production data from the Cattle Database and, using advanced statistics and artificial intelligence, advanced models are developed that provide farmers with decision support in their daily lives. Decision support that farmers can use to optimize both management and breeding work on their farms. The project will deliver in 3 areas:
1) Further development of the CowFIT system
2) Management tools that help farmers make better decisions during critical periods of the cow's life. This includes decision-making regarding insemination or release, as well as a basis for optimizing feeding plans.
3) Genetic tools that are integrated into the established breeding value assessments and thus have an impact on a very large proportion of Danish dairy farms.
