Review: Selecting for improved feed efficiency and reduced methane emissions in dairy cattle

Løvendahl, Peter; Difford, Gareth Frank; Li, B.; Chagunda, M. G. G.; Huhtanen, Pekka; Lidauer, Martin; Lassen, Jan; Lund, Peter

doi:10.1017/s1751731118002276

Cited by 108 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Both the methane and the metabolizable energy of the diet depend on the digestion process in the rumen-an increased digestion can provide more nutrients for the animal metabolism, as well as increased enteric methane production when roughage diets are consumed. In the review of Richardson and Herd [41], digestibility was assumed to account for 10% of the variation in RFI on average in beef cattle, while Lovendahl et al [42], in their review of dairy cattle, concluded that between-cow variation in digestibility alone was too small to explain the observed variation in feed efficiency. Nonetheless, higher digestibility of DM or NDF was found in low-RFI as compared to high-RFI cattle in the studies of McDonnell et al [15] and Oliveira et al [17] with beef cattle and Olijhoek et al [43] with dairy Holstein cows.…”

Section: Calculated Growth and Methane Efficiency Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emission of Beef Heifers in Relation with Growth and Feed Efficiency

Renand

Vinet

Decruyenaere

et al. 2019

Animals

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Simple Summary: For sustainable meat production, beef farmers must make the best use of grass and roughage while limiting the carbon footprint of their herds. The genetic improvement in feed efficiency and enteric methane production of replacement heifers is possible if the recorded phenotypes are available. Intuitively, the relationship between the two traits should be negative, i.e., favorable, since the energy lost with the methane is not available for heifer metabolism. The measurement of feed efficiency requires several weeks of feed intake recording. The enteric methane emission rate can also be recorded over several weeks. The two traits of 326 beef heifers from two experimental farms were measured simultaneously for 8 to 12 weeks. The correlations between roughage intake, daily gain, and methane were all positive. The enteric methane emission rate was positively related to body weight, daily gain, and dry matter intake. The relationship with feed efficiency was slightly positive, i.e., unfavorable. Therefore, the two traits should be recorded simultaneously to evidence low-emitting and efficient heifers. This study also showed that replacing the feed intake recording with the carbon dioxide emission rate appeared potentially beneficial for selecting these low-emitting and efficient heifers.Abstract: Reducing enteric methane production and improving the feed efficiency of heifers on roughage diets are important selection objectives for sustainable beef production. The objective of the current study was to assess the relationship between different methane production and feed efficiency criteria of beef heifers fed ad libitum roughage diets. A total of 326 Charolais heifers aged 22 months were controlled in two farms and fed either a grass silage (n = 252) or a natural meadow hay (n = 74) diet. Methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission rates (g/day) were measured with GreenFeed systems. The dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), CH 4 and CO 2 were measured over 8 to 12 weeks. Positive correlations were observed among body weight, DMI, ADG, CH 4 and CO 2 . The residual feed intake (r wg DMI) was not related to CH 4 or residual methane (r wi CH 4 ). It was negatively correlated with methane yield (CH 4 /DMI): R p = −0.87 and −0.83. Residual gain (r w iADG) and ADG/DMI were weakly and positively related to residual methane (r wi CH 4 ): R p = 0.21 on average. The ratio ADG/CO 2 appeared to be a useful proxy of ADG/DMI (R p = 0.64 and 0.97) and CH 4 /CO 2 a proxy of methane yield (R p = 0.24 and 0.33) for selecting low-emitting and efficient heifers.

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Section: Calculated Growth and Methane Efficiency Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emission of Beef Heifers in Relation with Growth and Feed Efficiency

Renand

Vinet

Decruyenaere

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…A positive RFI value means feed intake is greater than expected and indicates an inefficient animal, whereas a negative value means intake is less than expected and indicates a more efficient animal. Research on methods to estimate RFI, the biological basis of its variation, and its utility in genomic selection of dairy cattle continues to evolve since Koch et al (1963) first introduced RFI as an estimate of metabolic efficiency of growing beef cattle (e.g., see reviews by Berry and Crowley, 2013;Connor, 2015;Løvendahl et al, 2018). Implementation of genomic selection for improved (reduced) RFI in dairy cattle has been proposed (Gonzalez-Recio et al, 2014;Pryce et al, 2014;VandeHaar et al, 2016), although present accuracy of genomic breeding values is generally low (≤0.4), in part due to limited availability of RFI phenotypes from genotyped individuals (Pryce et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the optimal period length and stage of growth or lactation to estimate residual feed intake in dairy cows

Connor

Hutchison

Cole

2019

Journal of Dairy Science

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Residual feed intake (RFI) is an estimate of animal feed efficiency, calculated as the difference between observed and expected feed intake. Expected intake typically is derived from a multiple regression model of dry matter intake on energy sinks, including maintenance and growth in growing animals, or maintenance, gain in body reserves, and milk production in lactating animals. The best period during the production cycle of a dairy cow to estimate RFI is not clear. Here, we characterized RFI in growing Holstein heifers (RFI Growth ; ~10 to 14 mo of age; n = 226) and cows throughout a 305-d lactation (RFI Lac-Full ; n = 118). The goals were to characterize relationships between RFI estimated at different production stages of the dairy cow; determine effects of selection for efficiency during growth on subsequent lactation and feed efficiency; and identify the most desirable testing scheme for RFI Lac-Full. For RFI Growth , intake was predicted from multiple linear regression of metabolizable energy (ME) intake on mid-test body weight (BW) 0.75 and average daily gain (ADG). For RFI Lac-Full , predicted intake was based on regression of BW 0.75 , ADG, and energy-corrected milk yield. Mean energy intake of the least and most efficient growing heifers (±0.5 standard deviations from mean RFI Growth of 0) differed by 3.01 Mcal of ME/d, but the groups showed no difference in mid-test BW or ADG. Phenotypic correlation between RFI Growth and RFI of heifers estimated in the first 100 d in milk (RFI Lac100DIM ; n = 130) was 0.37. Ranking of these heifers as least (mean + 0.5 standard deviations), middle, or most efficient (mean-0.5 standard deviations) based on RFI Growth resulted in 43% maintaining the same ranking by RFI Lac100DIM. On average, the most efficient heifers ate 3.27 Mcal of ME/d less during the first 100 DIM than the least efficient heifers, but exhibited no differences in average energy-corrected milk yield, ADG, or BW. The correlation between RFI Lac100DIM and RFI Lac-Full was 0.72. Thus, RFI Growth may serve as an indicator trait for RFI during lactation, and selection for heifers exhibiting low RFI Growth should improve overall herd feed efficiency during lactation. Correlation analysis between RFI Lac-Full (10 to 305 DIM) and subperiod estimates of RFI during lactation indicated a test period of 64 to 70 d in duration occurring between 150 to 220 DIM provided a reliable approximation (r ≥ 0.90) of RFI Lac-Full among the test periods evaluated.

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“…Pour des femelles laitières, si les approches basées sur la CMJR semblent également pertinentes, elles nécessitent de longues périodes de mesures d'ingestion pour prendre en compte la dynamique de la lactation, même si les travaux récents montrent que les mesures en milieu de lactation sont les plus représentatives de l'ensemble du cycle. Le modèle de calcul des CMJR pour les vaches laitières utilise le lait et la composition du lait, le poids et de façon moins systématique les variations de poids ou d'état corporel pour tenir compte des variations des réserves (Løvendahl et al, 2018). L'utilisation de ces indicateurs montre une variabilité importante de la CMJR dans la plupart des espèces.…”

Section: Comment Mesurer L'efficience Alimentaire Des Animaux Dans Ununclassified

“…En pratique, la sélection permettrait de gagner de l'ordre de 10 % sur la consommation d'aliments pour des animaux en croissance, mais probablement moins sur les femelles laitières. La faible corrélation entre l'efficience calculée en début de lactation et celle observée sur toute la lactation (Fischer, 2017 ;Løvendahl et al, 2018). D'autres approches analogues basées sur la production résiduelle au lieu de l'ingestion résiduelle ont été proposées à partir de modèles destinés à expliquer la production (lait ou gain de poids) à partir de variables décrivant l'ingestion et le poids de l'animal.…”

Section: Comment Mesurer L'efficience Alimentaire Des Animaux Dans Ununclassified

Intégrer les changements d’échelle pour améliorer l’efficience des productions animales et réduire les rejets

Faverdin

Milgen

2019

INRA Prod. Anim.

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L’élevage est soumis à des défis considérables pour s’adapter au problème de compétition sur les ressources, notamment alimentaires, et aux problèmes environnementaux. L’amélioration de l’efficience de conversion des ressources alimentaires en produits animaux est une voie importante susceptible de répondre simultanément aux deux enjeux. Cette revue définit cette notion d’efficience en la plaçant dans le cadre plus global du triangle de la performance : pertinence, efficience et efficacité. Elle montre l’importance de mettre en perspective ces questions d’efficience alimentaire des animaux en abordant la question du changement d’échelle. Dans les secteurs de production de viande et de lait, elle fait le point sur les travaux conduits pour améliorer l’efficience à la fois par la sélection d’animaux capables de mieux transformer les aliments en produits animaux et par une conduite alimentaire plus précise et mieux équilibrée. Elle évoque les principales avancées pour réduire les émissions à risques pour l’environnement. Raisonner l’efficience alimentaire et les émissions de rejets à l’échelle de l’animal pour la production de lait ou de viande offre des perspectives de progrès importants, mais ne garantit pas toujours une amélioration de l’efficience à une échelle plus globale ni une réduction des impacts sur l’environnement. Il faut donc bien prendre soin de vérifier que les stratégies proposées sont efficaces et permettent d’atteindre les objectifs recherchés avec des indicateurs appropriés. La prise en compte des effets du changement d’échelle pour améliorer la performance globale est un vrai nouveau défi pour la recherche.

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Review: Selecting for improved feed efficiency and reduced methane emissions in dairy cattle

Cited by 108 publications

References 79 publications

Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emission of Beef Heifers in Relation with Growth and Feed Efficiency

Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emission of Beef Heifers in Relation with Growth and Feed Efficiency

Defining the optimal period length and stage of growth or lactation to estimate residual feed intake in dairy cows

Intégrer les changements d’échelle pour améliorer l’efficience des productions animales et réduire les rejets

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