EnviroCow

EnviroCow reflects the important role genetics and breeding play in improving the environmental efficiency of milk production. Incorporating cow lifespan, milk production, fertility and Feed Advantage, EnviroCow is one of the first genetic indexes in the world to focus solely on breeding cows for their environmental credentials.

EnviroCow is expressed on a scale of about -3 to +3, where the highest positive figures are achieved by bulls which transmit the best environmental credentials to their daughters. These will be cows which are predicted to create the least GHG emissions in their lifetimes for each kilogram of solids-corrected milk they produce.

The pie chart below shows the breakdown of the individual weightings of traits in EnviroCow

EnviroCow impact

Breeding to improve EnviroCow by just 1 point results in a herd that produces 10% less methane, consume 10% less feed and produce 33% more fat and protein in their lifetime.

AHDB article: Further information on the impact of EnviroCow

Interbull article: The EnviroCow index and its impact on the UK dairy industry's carbon footprint