A reliable youngstock survival index

Breeding calves that survive and thrive to reach maturity is essential for a profitable dairy business. You can achieve this with the NTM’s Youngstock survival index (YSS) – one of the newest traits in NTM, added in 2016.

The Youngstock Survival Index describes the genetic ability of the bulls’ offspring to survive from birth to maturity. Bulls with high indices for YSS breed offspring with good survival in the rearing period.

The correlation between YSS and NTM is 20% for VikingHolstein, 28% for VikingRed and 33% for VikingJersey. That means that when NTM improves by 1 index unit, YSS for Holstein cows will improve by 0.20 units.

Youngstock survival index

Nordic farmers have collected youngstock survival data for over 25 years, starting with Denmark in 1998, Sweden in 1999, and Finland in 2004. Thanks to the extensive data available, we have a highly reliable index for youngstock survival.

Breeding values for youngstock survival are based on farmer registrations of calves' mortality in the early and late rearing periods.

Youngstock survival index includes breeding values for:

Early rearing period (heifers), 1-30 days
Late rearing period (heifers), 31-458 days
Early rearing period (bulls), 1-30 days
Late rearing period (bulls), 31-184 days

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