Genetics and Profit
Herd Statistic
Average Profit per Cow per Day
Average Profit per Cow per Year
Lifetime Profit Index (LPI)
EBV Milk (kg)
EBV Fat (kg)
EBV Protein (kg)
EBV Conformation
EBV Mammary System
EBV Feet & Legs
EBV Dairy Strength
EBV Rump
Profit ($ per day)
4
Lifetime Profit Index (LPI) has been the primary genetic selection tool in Canada since its introduction
in 1991. While its components have evolved over the
years, its main objective has remained unchanged: it
aims to identify bulls and cows that are expected to
transmit superior genetics to their progeny, which
make them more profitable.
Milk-recording agencies provide various measures
of individual cow profitability. The most common
is profit per day of life, which is accumulated from
birth to the most recent test day. Since cows only
start generating milk revenue after first calving, first
lactation animals have higher accumulated costs
(i.e., rearing) compared to revenue, which translates to a negative profit value. As cows continue
to produce milk from lactation to lactation, their
value for profit per day of life increases. At the herd
level, profit values per cow per day can be averaged
to reflect the overall profitability of the herd.
A recent analysis conducted by Canadian Dairy
Network in cooperation with Valacta (the milk-recording agency in Québec) examined the association
between herd average profit per cow and the genetic
potential of the herd for various traits. The graph
on the right shows the relationship between herd
average LPI and profit for each of the 4,000 herds
in the study. The regression line indicates that, on
average, for every 100-point difference in LPI at the
herd level there was an increase in profit per cow per
year of $50 (13.7¢/day). The scatter around the line
2
1
0
-1
-2
-1000
-500
0
500
Herd Average LPI
1000
1500
is due to environmental (e.g., management) effects
on performance.
In the table below, the herds are grouped into five
categories according to their profit per cow per day.
Average profit values vary from zero for herds in the
bottom 20th percentile (0-19) to $1.84 per cow per
day for herds in the top 20th percentile (80-99). On
a yearly basis, this superior group of herds earns
$672 more profit per cow compared to the poorest
group and more than double the $333 per cow per
year profit of the average herd.
The table also presents herd average LPIs and
Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for various
production and type traits within each profit
category. For all of these traits, there is a clear,
positive relationship between genetic merit and
profit. This means that producers who select sires
and cows for higher LPI or higher genetic merit for
production and type traits will be more profitable
compared to herds with lower genetic merit.
source: Brian Van Doormaal, Canadian Dairy Network
80 - 99
Top 20%
$1.84
$672
394
327
10.3
10.6
5.1
3.8
3.1
3.6
2.9
3
Percentile for Profit
60 - 79
40 - 59
20 - 39
Mid 20%
$1.25
$455
243
215
7.5
7.2
3.9
2.8
2.5
2.6
2.3
$0.91
$333
160
170
5.7
5.9
3.1
2.2
2.2
1.9
1.8
$0.58
$210
61
85
4.0
3.4
2.5
1.6
1.9
1.4
1.5
0 - 19
Low 20%
$0.00
$0
-69
-29
0.7
-0.1
1.6
0.9
1.4
0.7
1.1
© Western Dairy Digest, Fall 2006