Dairy Breeding with Martin Raftice - Farm Walk And Talk

Dairy breeding at Kildalton College has a focus on increasing the EBI (Economic Breeding Index) of the college dairy herd. Here for the Farm Walk and Talk with AgriAware dairy lecturer Martin Raftice explains the advantages of improving EBI both for environmental and economic reasons
Greenhouse gas emissions are of major concern in agriculture. Emissions from agriculture include: Methane (CH4); Nitrogen (N20) & Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Methane is the largest contributor with 64% of the total.
At farm level, dairy farmers are using EBI (Economic Breeding Index) to breed more efficient, profitable cows. The EBI allows farmers to:
1 - Deliver higher milk solids from grazed grass.
2 - Improve dairy cow fertility which leads to longer lactations and reduces replacement rates.
The ultimate goal of a dairy farmer is to produce more efficient and profitable cows and also produce cows that produce less greenhouse gas emissions.