Which genetic traits can be used to breed cows that can deal with heat stress?
The phenotypic performance of a cow is a combination of a lot of different factors, like environment, housing, feed, but also their genetic level. Genetics are responsible for 10 – 20% of the performance of a cow. Nowadays, there are many different traits to select and improve. Therefor it is very important that farmers know which traits are most relevant for them and when breeding, farmers should always look at their long-term goals. Heat stress is a temporarily disturbance, which could have a huge effect on the health of an animal. Animals with health problems do not only create more work for farmers, they are also less efficient.
