Organic producers’ preferences regarding
traits important in dairy production
Therese Ahlman1, Anna Wallenbeck1 and Magnus Ljung2
1 Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden,
e-mail: [email protected]
2 Administrative office, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Aim
Conclusions
Investigate organic farmers’
breeding objectives.
 In general, the same traits are considered as
important by organic and conventional dairy producers.
 Longevity is the highest ranked trait in both systems.
 Organic producers desire a higher genetic gain in
disease resistance, including mastitis and parasites.
 Organic producers accept decreased milk production, in
favour of functional traits.
What was done
122 organic and 364 conventional
dairy producers in Sweden
answered a web questionnaire.
Results
Percent of farmers
Which traits do dairy farmers intuitively mention as important in their herd?
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Conventional
Organic
How do dairy farmers rank 15 given traits?
(1 = most important, 15 = least important)
Conventional
Organic
0
1
2
3
4
5
4,2
5,0
6
7
8
8,1
4,8
5,4
7,6
9
10
11
11,8
12
13
14
15
16
13,0
Longevity
Mastitis resistance
Fertility
Milk production
Claw and leg health
Calving ease
Disease resistance
Feed conversion
Roughage intake
Temperament
Lactation curve
Parasite resistance
Beef production
Carcass classification
Methane production
Does desired genetic change differ
between production systems?
(plus = increase, minus = decrease)
Trait
Conv.
Org.
Sign.
Disease resistance
+
++
p < 0.10
Mastitis resistance
+
++
p < 0.05
Parasite resistance
+
++
P < 0.05
Milk production
+
--
P < 0.10
Financed by the Swedish
research council Formas