Dairy is one of Canada's most important industries, contributing roughly $19 billion to the country's GDP in 2025. As climate change and shifting consumer expectations reshape agriculture, dairy producers need cows that stay productive, healthy and fertile under changing conditions. This project developed genomic tools to help breed for that resilience, while strengthening the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Canada's dairy sector. 

Building better selection tools 

Researchers identified new fertility indicators tied to estrous expression and embryo survival and expanded disease resistance evaluations to include traits for fertility disorders, Johne's disease, calf survivability and key calf health challenges like diarrhea and respiratory illness. They also grew the reference populations used for environmental traits, such as feed efficiency and methane emissions, and studied how all these traits interact with each other and with environmental conditions. 

To support this work, the team built new data systems and bioinformatics pipelines that let farm data flow directly to national partners, including Lactanet, which handles genetic evaluations, milk recording and herd information for Canada's dairy industry. This gave national databases richer phenotype data from activity monitors, herd management software and on-farm health monitoring.  

An animal’s environment can influence DNA methylation causing genes to function differently (epigenetics). This can affect reproduction, growth, development and other important traits. Researchers identified epigenetic differences between cows with health challenges and more resilient cows. This epigenetic data, along with genetic evaluations, support the development of diagnostic tools and management strategies to improve animal health and resilience. 

Results now in use 

This work led to several tools that are already part of the national genetic evaluation system: 

• New single-step genomic evaluations for resilience traits 

• Canada became the first country to introduce an official methane efficiency genomic evaluation for dairy cattle 

• New Health and Welfare and Environmental Impact sub-indices, now built into Lactanet's Lifetime Performance Index (LPI), the tool breeders use to rank cattle on production, health, fertility and longevity 

Farmers and breeding organizations can now use these tools to select animals that are healthier, more efficient and better suited to future conditions. 

Economic and social research 

A complementary research stream quantified the value of resilience traits to farmers and consumers, modelled the return on investment of new technologies, and helped identify breeding priorities that balance industry needs with public expectations for sustainable food production. 

What's next 

The project's results helped secure follow-on funding for a national initiative supporting the Canadian dairy sector's Net-Zero Pledge by 2050. That project will build on the genomic tools, datasets and partnerships established here, integrating genomics and nutrition to build a practical roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from dairy production.