 Benefits to Dairy Industry
Dairy Research to Benefit Industry
The Dairy CRC is undertaking research in several areas to address issues that face producers and processors of milk, and deliver benefits to them. We aim to provide all players in the dairy supply chain with access to advanced technologies and products.
Particular traits in animals can correlate with patterns in DNA known as genetic markers. Dairy CRC scientists are investigating valuable genetic markers in the dairy cow, including a recently discovered marker highly predictive of milk volume. Using marker assisted selection to breed animals which will produce a higher volume of milk has important implications for on-farm productivity. This mechanism for identifying elite animals has the potential to greatly enhance traditional methods of proving sires or using bloodlines.
Clinical mastitis cases on-farm can cause substantial production losses. High cell counts interfere with dairy product manufacture. Our scientists are investigating the genes associated with susceptibility to mastitis in dairy cows. If cows with a genetic predisposition to develop the condition are identified, specific measures may be undertaken to protect them. Over the long term, cows with these genes can be bred out of herds.
Research is also being undertaken to identify valuable microcomponents in milk and the genes associated with them. If dairy cows produced more of these components in their milk, it could assist farmers to command higher premiums and processors to develop a wide range of health-giving products.
The CRC is also undertaking work in advanced breeding technologies For more information, see Media Releases, Fact Sheets and Newsletters.
For more information or if you have any questions click here to e-mail the Dairy CRC | 
