Projects per year
Abstract
We hypothesise that at-market sensor technologies can be used to develop proxies for complex traits such as resilience and feed efficiency (FE). This was tested by comparing variables describing sensor data patterns (“curve-parameters”) from resilient or FE cows with non-resilient or non-FE cows. Sensor data included data from weighing scales, activity (steps) and rumination activity from neck collars, and milk production from the parlour or the milking robot. Curve-parameters were calculated for each sensor for each lactation for which data was available and included the mean, standard deviation (std), slope, skewness, and the autocorrelation. Data originated from a Wageningen Research farm, and included data from 1,800 cows with calvings between 1995-2016. During this time frame, there were 98 lactations with sufficient feed intake recordings to compute FE at lactation level (DMI (kg) / milk yield (kg)), and to rank them accordingly. The 1,800 cows that could be ranked according to their lifetime resilience (ability to re-calf in combination with the number of health and insemination events) based on scores for each of the, in total, 5,771 lactations. Subsequently, the 20% or 10% most and least FE or resilient lactations, respectively, were selected. Curve-parameters of these selected lactations were compared. Results imply that using a single sensor, or a single curve parameter, is likely to be insufficient as a proxy for resilience of efficiency. Future research should focus on studying which combination of curve parameters and sensors are most informative as proxy for these two complex traits.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Precision Livestock Farming 2019 |
Subtitle of host publication | Papers Presented at the 9th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming, ECPLF 2019 |
Editors | Bernadette O'Brien, Deirdre Hennessy, Laurence Shalloo |
Publisher | Teagasc |
Pages | 246-253 |
Number of pages | 8 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781841706542 |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2019 |
Event | 9th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming, ECPLF 2019 - Cork, Ireland Duration: 26 Aug 2019 → 29 Aug 2019 |
Publication series
Name | Precision Livestock Farming 2019 - Papers Presented at the 9th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming, ECPLF 2019 |
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Conference
Conference | 9th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming, ECPLF 2019 |
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Country/Territory | Ireland |
City | Cork |
Period | 26/08/19 → 29/08/19 |
Keywords
- Feed efficiency
- Precision livestock farming
- Proxies
- Resilience
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Dive into the research topics of 'At-market sensor technologies to develop proxies for resilience and efficiency in dairy cows'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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GenTORE: Genomic management Tools to Optimise Resilience and Efficiency
1/06/17 → 31/07/22
Project: EU research project
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AF-EU-17007 GenTORE (BO-63-101-003, BO-47-002-014, BO-22.04-006-014)
de Haas, Y. (Project Leader)
1/01/17 → 31/12/22
Project: LVVN project