Genetic Improvement of Feed Utilisation in Cattle and Pigs

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

The project aims to improve the efficiency of feed utilisation in cattle and pigs in order to keep pace with the expected growth of the Norwegian population, to reduce our reliance on foreign food/feed ingredients, to reduce green-house-gas emissions, and to reduce feeding costs, which currently constitute ~70% of the total costs, and are spiraling upwards. To achieve this the project focusses on: (1) feed/energy intake since this is a simpler to improve trait than feed efficiency and its closer related to the bio-economy of animal production; (2) the large scale recording of feed/energy intake of animals under practical circumstances by Infrared and Near-Infrared spectroscopy; and (3) by modelling feed intake data over time, developing genomic breeding value estimates and optimizing feeding rations the project results will be directly applicable in practice. The project focusses on the genetic improvement of feed efficiency since genetic improvements are cumulative, in the sense that a genetic improvement of feed efficiency of 2% per year yields a 20% more efficient animal production sector over a period of 10 years. A multidisciplinary, international project team has been built that contains expertise on genetics, animal nutrition, the biology of animal production practices, and spectroscopy. The project incorporates the relevant industry partners to ensure that the research activities will have a commercial impact.