Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. June 2025 issue
      2. May 2025 issue
      3. April 2025 issue
      4. March 2025 issue
      5. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      6. February 2025 issue
      7. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      8. January 2025 issue
      9. December 2024 issue
      10. November 2024 issue
      11. October 2024 issue
      12. September 2024 issue
      13. August 2024 Issue
      14. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      15. July 2024 Issue
      16. Cereals Supplement
      17. June 2024 Issue
      18. May 2024 Issue
      19. April 2024 Issue
      20. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      21. March 2024 Issue
      22. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      23. February 2024 Issue
      24. January 2024 Issue
      25. December 2023
      26. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      27. November 2023
      28. October 2023
      Featured

      June 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltJune 2, 2025
      Recent

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025

      May 2025 issue available now

      May 1, 2025

      April 2025 issue available now

      April 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Dairy

    Bottom line boost for dairy genetics

    John SwireBy John SwireNovember 3, 20212 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Tim Harper

    The economic value of the UK’s chief breeding index Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) is worth £1.58 in pre-tax profit for every point of PLI, according to new analysis.

    For a typical 150 cow, top 10% £PLI herd, that equates to an additional margin of £30,099 per year.

    The study combined data from Promar International, milk recordings and AHDB’s genetics figures to examine the income and costs on dairy farms which are influenced by genetics.

    Marco Winters, AHDB head of animal genetics, said: “We’ve long known that animals with better genetics have a huge impact on a farm’s bottom line. This study clearly shows the benefits of effective breeding policies over recent years.”

    The AHDB-commissioned study, undertaken by Promar, used their Farm Business Accounts data to look at the performance of 410 black-and-white herds representing over 104,000 cows.

    A Genetically Influenced Margin (GIM) was created to explore the financial factors influenced by cow genetics, such as milk, calf and cull sales income and feed, herd replacements, vet and med, AI and semen costs.

    “Assuming there is no relationship between genetics and any other costs, this will translate directly through to pre-tax profit,” says Promar consultant, Tim Harper, who undertook the analysis.

    Herds were grouped based on their £PLI, with the top 25% of herds earning a margin of £1,818 per cow/year compared with average herds at £1,670 and the bottom 25% £1,529.

    The improved financial performance of the higher genetic merit herds was due to the increased value of milk sales, amounting to an extra £283 per cow/year. However, this was partially offset by the use of concentrate, costing an extra £121 per cow/year.

    “Good herd management clearly has an influence, but the role of genetics is unambiguous and gives farmers more confidence when making breeding decisions,” says Mr Harper.

    £PLI is AHDB’s within breed genetic index designed for UK dairy farmers with all year round calving herds and represents the additional profit a high £PLI bull is expected to return from each of its milking daughters over her lifetime compared to an average bull of £0 PLI.

    Dedicated breeding indexes are also available for spring block calvers (£SCI) and autumn calvers (£ACI).

    Farmers can benchmark their herd’s £PLI using AHDB’s Herd Genetic Report (ahdb.org.uk/herd-genetic-reports) which is available for all producers who are fully milk recording.

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleMastenbroek CT12 crawler truck to make its debut at Midlands Machinery Show
    Next Article Make sure input costs are insured as prices continue to rise
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    Red Tractor opens consultation for tiered pig standards

    April 30, 2025

    Lely introduces the Vector MFR Next

    April 3, 2025

    Palm-free fat supplement helps dairy farms to cut CO2

    March 31, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Industry responds to government spending review

    June 11, 2025

    Cefetra Group acquired by First Dutch

    June 11, 2025

    Cheffins to auction historic machinery collection

    June 11, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.