How to breed towards lucrative milk components to handle the milk base

Because of a long-term decline in fluid milk consumption and increasing consumer preferences for plant-based milk, the demand for raw milk has shrunken. Add the covid19 crisis to the mix and the demand is even lower. Dairy operations that directly sell their raw milk to processors were already held to a milk base, as the processing company can sell only so many products. Some US dairy coops have also installed a milk base price for their dairies. Other US dairy coops are expected to follow soon.

A milk base will directly influence dairy farm profits if the dairy farm produces more milk than is requested with the milk base. The obvious answer to this challenge is to shift focus from milk quantity to milk quality. To creating premium milk instead of much milk. Premium milk is milk with high component percentages. It is called premium milk, as it commands a better milk price. Today, fat and protein are the most lucrative milk components - real moneymakers. Increasing these milk components is therefore a goal of many farmers, especially when they are or anticipate being confronted with a milk base price.

Firstly, because of the decline in fluid milk consumption, cheese and butter manufacturing drives raw milk demand. Secondly, a processing company profits when farmers can consistently sell them milk that matches the profile of the processed end product - whether it is high butterfat, low fat or high protein. This is because a match in milk components will result in increased processing efficiency and a higher product yield at a lower finished cost. This is worth a price premium. That’s why, today at least, the milk components fat and protein are the main drivers of cow milk profit.

At CRV, we’ve seen that farms can increase cow milk profit by breeding for specific milk components. They each became profitable and were able to stay economically sound despite the introduction of a milk base price and plummeting milk prices during the pandemic. For instance, we’ve seen heifers from elite sires producing 0.48% more fat and 0.41% more protein. That increased the farmers milk revenue with $233,20 per lactation. That’s $23,320 more cow milk profit per 100 cows per lactation.

The dairy production sector continues to segment into premium and specialized products. That’s why in the future, demand and supply of milk with specific milk components or ratios will create milk price premiums. Dairy farms can differentiate their milk based on micronutrients, f.i. used for high-spec infant formula or prescription dietary supplements. Or even milk that is different at the genetic and molecular level, like is the case with A2 milk and kappa casein. A2 milk only contains A2-type beta-casein proteins that are easier to digest. Kappa casein is a milk protein that results in higher cheese yields. Working genetics into their breeding programs allows farms to be able to supply milk that is easier to process in these specialized products in exchange for a premium price. Of course, a closer collaboration and a more direct long-term relationship with milk processors will keep this genetic strategy profitable.

Breeding towards higher components in milk is the most sustainable and cost-effective way to achieve milk price premiums and withstand financial issues from the introduction of a milk base price. How does that work? You need to know the genetic predispositions of cows and bulls to produce (daughters generating) higher milk components and make a good match. The heifer that is born will produce slightly more milk with increased butterfat and milk protein percentages. In one generation, the results are a slightly higher average milk production per cow per day that generates more profit. Every generation, milk components like fat and protein can be increased every generation, which accumulates to extraordinary percentages.

1. The key to vast and fast genetic progress towards better milk components is knowing which cows to breed with or not and which bulls to breed with. Luckily, genomic tests provide reliable data that simplifies these decisions. Because millions of genomic markers are mapped, we have been able to identify thousands of SNP’s (single nucleotide polymers) that correlate to specific phenotypic expressions. This means that genomic tests can predict the genetic potential of cows and bulls across several criteria, such as milk component percentages.
   a. CRV genetically tests its sires on those genomic markers, and tests for verification purposes also their offspring.
   b. CRV also genetically tests the cows and heifers on the farm. In the last few years, the costs of these tests have dramatically decreased from $200 to just $30-50 per cow.
2. Then, CRV ranks the milk cows on the predictions for specific breeding values - basing their priority on the business goals of the farm. This ranking enables the herd manager to determine a heifer’s genetic potential for producing milk components before it enters the milking herd. He now can easily decide which calves should be kept for replacement purposes and which can be sold for beef.
3. CRV recommends the herd manager which heifers to keep or to cull. If the results of a genomic test suggest that the potential performance of a calf in the milking herd is enough of a benefit to the farm goals to offset the cost of raising it, the calf should be raised into the milking herd. If not, the calf can be sold. This means he can keep only the heifers that will produce a lucrative milk component ratio and easily maintain the optimal size of their milking herd.
4. CRV timely advises the herd manager on breeding matches - which cows to breed with which bulls.

CRV is here to help you breed a healthy and efficient dairy herd that produces a lucrative milk components percentage. CRV lets you take advantage of genetic technologies and proven breeding practices by offering top quality dairy genetics, smart breeding management apps and personal advice on breeding strategy and dairy herd management. CRV experts know exactly how to select the right breeding goals, identify genetically superior milk cows, breed towards those goals, and calculate and monitor your return on investment.

Since 1795, CRV improves milk production by optimizing breeding practices at dairy farms. Not only do CRV cows produce a phenomenal amount of butterfat and protein, their feed efficiency and lifetime production is also unparalleled.