As part of the Dual Breeding- phase 2 project, a new genetic index was developed for the Grigio Alpina breed for a character related to animal welfare: this is thegenetic index for Longevity.
Functional longevity represents the ability of a cow to remain in the barn for a long time, escaping voluntary rebreeding decided by the farmer (due to disease, low milk production or fertility). This index is obtained from the length of an animal’s career from the first calving corrected for the milk productivity expressed by the cow over the career (using the genetic index for milk).
This way of expressing longevity makes it possible to identify animals, which, in addition to being more productive, are animals that do not get sick easily and have regular fertility, so they are individuals with a better overall welfare situation that last longer on the farm, thus reducing replacement costs. It is therefore an animal welfare indicator with a strong impact on the economics of animal husbandry.
For bulls, the genetic index is published along with a brief descriptive report in the PSRN Genetic Indexes section 10.2
