Geno improves cattle health and fertility with innovative breeding

Livestock production is increasing rapidly due to population growth, rising incomes, and changes in dietary habits. Global consumption of fresh dairy products is projected to increase by 1 per cent per capita per year in the period 2020-2029, with global milk production to reach 997 metric tons by 2029.

However, farmers face significant sustainability challenges relating to animal welfare, antibiotic use and emissions from dairy production. These issues can be mitigated by breeding healthier, more productive cattle.

Geno offers selected and high-value genetics in the form of dairy bull semen from Norwegian Red cattle for breeding and crossbreeding. The Norwegian Red breed has been selected for a broad breeding objective, with a particular emphasis on health and fertility.

As details of all Norwegian Red cattle in Norway have been recorded in a comprehensive registry since the 1960s, Geno’s breeding solutions benefit from decades of robust, accurate breeding data.

Furthermore, Geno uses precise gene sequencing to map the exact genetic composition of its breeding animals. This gives Geno’s genetics and semen high accuracy and reliability values for over 90 traits for health, yield, fertility, growth rate and feed efficiency.

Dairy cattle bred from Geno’s Norwegian Red stock score high on measures of health and animal welfare. Because the cattle are less susceptible to disease, farmers can reduce the use of antibiotics. This is one reason why Norway has one of the lowest rates of antibiotic use in livestock production in the world.

Healthier cattle also mean higher feed efficiency and higher yield, reducing the costs and environmental footprint of each unit of dairy produced.

Moreover, Norwegian Red cattle can be used as a dual-purpose breed producing both high-quality milk and meat. This provides two protein sources from the same amount of feed and resources, further reducing the environmental impact of each head of cattle.

In addition, Norwegian Red tend to have a longer productive lifespan than most modern dairy breeds.

The global animal genetic products market is expected to reach some USD 7 billion by 2026. Geno delivers breeding solutions to farmers worldwide. The company has a particularly strong market presence in the UK and the US, with significant exports to Asia, mainland Europe and South America.

Geno’s mission is to breed for better lives. Geno is a member of NCE Heidner Biocluster, Norway’s national cluster for bioeconomy and sustainable food production.