The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan held a working meeting with Irish colleagues on the development of a program for dairy cattle breeding
Today, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan held a working meeting on the project "Development of a scientifically-based concept of the general system of breeding work with dairy cattle at the republican level." The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan - Minister of Agriculture and Food of Tatarstan Marat Akhmetov, Deputy Minister Nazip Hazipov, Head of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Department of Animal Breeding in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Rishat Zaripov, Director of the Irish company "Sustainable Food System Ireland" David Butler , as well as representatives of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Tatarstan interregional veterinary laboratory and agricultural enterprises of the republic.
Tatarstan is the first region in Russia that began in 2018 the comprehensive work on the implementation of the republican breeding program and the development of an index of breeding value for dairy cattle breeding. This index will include a number of criteria that are most significant for dairy cattle in Tatarstan, such as reproduction, milk productivity (fat and protein content), disease resistance, productive longevity, etc., which will accurately determine the economic feasibility of reproduction of a particular animal. Analysis of phenotypic and genomic data will allow conducting targeted reproduction of cows with the best indicators of breeding and economic value in Tatarstan, and will increase the efficiency and profitability of animal husbandry in the republic. This was told by the deputy director of the agrolaboratory of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Roman Kulikov.
Also during the meeting, the Institute's specialists reported on the results of the first year of the pilot project, based on the leading experience of colleagues from Ireland. “To analyze the entire volume of available data (pedigrees, phenotypes and genotypes of animals), 2,000 cows and bulls from farms of the republic of various breeds were selected. The study showed that within the same breed of animals, animals have different indicators of productivity, from high to low. In addition, animals obtained from the same parents also have different breeding value, depending on the inherited set of genes. Genomic research allows making decisions on the economic feasibility of reproduction and culling, ”said Olga Grigorieva, project coordinator and specialist at the Skolkovo Institute.
The director of the Irish company, David Butler, said that there are 140,000 farms in Ireland, most of them are dairy. “In 1998, we began to maintain a database on livestock. In 2003, we developed and implemented our own Irish breeding index. Using scientific and economic data, we estimate the profitability of each animal. Now the index consists of 7 indicators that predict in monetary terms the income for lactation from a particular cow. The introduction of such a system has allowed to raise the breeding efficiency by 50%. This allows us to conclude that from 30 to 50% of profits in dairy cattle breeding depends on genetics, ”David Butler shared his experience, noting that it is important for Tatarstan to create its own economic index depending on the development strategy of the region.
Representatives of the leading agricultural enterprises of Tatarstan expressed a keen interest in the breeding work carried out in the republic and the experience of colleagues from Ireland, saying that they were already looking for similar solutions for their farms.
At the end of the meeting, Marat Akhmetov noted: “Tatarstan is the number one subject for milk production. Dairy cattle breeding should bring decent profit to the republic. It is planned to carry out a comprehensive work on the improvement of genetics and animal feeding.”