RobustMilk
Roel Veerkamp, 10 October 2016
Overview RobustMilk
 April 2008 – April 2012
 EU contribution € 2,970,036
 Partners
● Wageningen Livestock Research, The Netherlands
● Teagasc Moorepark, Ireland
● Gembloux Agricultural University, Belgium
● Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Sweden
● Wageningen University, The Netherlands
● SRUC, UK
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Objectives
 To develop new practical technologies to allow
breeders to re-focus their selection to include milk
quality and dairy cow robustness and to evaluate the
consequences of selection for these traits taking
cognisance of various milk production systems
 Robust cows
● Healthy, fertile, long-living cow
● The capacity to handle environmental disturbances
in commonly accepted, economic and sustainable
farming systems
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Specific objectives
 Common database research herds
 Phenotypic tools (MIR)
 Statistical tools dealing with GxE
 Genomic tools (statistics and QTL)
 Integrate and disseminate knowledge on the
consequences of selection practices on robustness and
milk quality.
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Achievements
 Common database:
database and protocols, but also an
acceptable “way of working”: gDMI initiative and ICAR
working group Feed&Gas.
 Phenotypic measurements tools: An agreement for fatty
acids between countries, feed intake measured using
MIR
 Statistical tools GxE delivered. Impact relatively low in
cattle (yet)
 Genomic tools: Statistics multitrait genomic prediction,
GxE; Research herds got genotypes  stimulation
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Dissemination
 35 popular press
 35 conf. > 89 abstracts
 >39 peer-reviewed papers
 2011 Interbull Meeting: 9
by RobustMilk
 EAAP in Bratislava (2012)
19 contributions
 A special issue with 6
papers: Journal Advances
in Animal Biosciences
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What was not achieved
 QTL
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Lessons learnt/challenges
 Open atmosphere;
people enjoyed the project: need to
build a team of partners. Common goals, respect, open
communication …
 No direct industry partners, but very close links and also
applied orientation present…
 RobustMilk was a breeding ground for innovation
 Created an European momentum in cattle breeding, and
is continuing today; MIR, feed intake, GHG. Rest of the
world was following on this subject
 Keep lead and momentum at EU level
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