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This is a cow!
but it is not just a cow.
It is a high technology cow
which is extremely healthy as well as extremely productive.
Having to feed 9 billion people in 2050
we need to have a lot more of these cows
which have been produced in Denmark since 2008.
The cows in the cowshed here at Aarhus University’s research centre AU Foulum
are the results of a technological breakthrough
called genomic selection.
The breakthrough came with a DNA chip like this.
On the basis of a single chip we can study the chromosomes
of 24 animals directly using a blood or tissue sample.
We take the sample with a pair of pliers like this
- it’s like having your ears pierced…
you have the ear of the cow here and when you push the levers
you collect a sample in this small tube.
The sample is then studied in a lab.
The samples are analyzed at the Aarhus University spin off company Genoskan,
in order to find the best and healthiest breeding animals
based solely on their chromosomes.
The unique thing is that today breeding animals are selected entirely on the basis of this analysis,
which enables us to have healthier animals and increased productivity.
Prior to 2008 things were different.
Scientists had to wait for a potential breeding bull to sire 120 daughters and then wait and see
if the daughters turned out to be healthy and productive dairy cows.
Genomic selection saves five years of breeding work.
and scientists expect a 50% rise in productivity.
Traditional breeding has been relatively efficient
but we expect a 50% increase in genetic progress in cattle breeding with these technologies.
Some of this progress is related to health traits in the animals
because an area in which we do not yet have so much information is one in which we have more to gain.
Genomic selection is also starting to be applied in other production animals and plants
with increased efficiency and agricultural productivity to be expected.
The introduction of genomic selection in pig breeding programs is already well advanced
and large projects are also spreading the technology to grains and grasses.
The big question is if this technology
can be spread to the rest of the world, including developing countries,
thereby mitigating food scarcity.
It can be spread to countries which have an infrastructure
that allows them to carry out these analyses.
In our research group we collaborate with people in China, India and Brazil.
These countries already have a relatively well organized structure
are able to implement these technologies
and use the information in breeding
It is certainly worthwhile to spread the technology because we know
that in the near future we need to feed many more people
and produce the food we eat and the milk we drink
in much more efficient ways without destroying the earth