Interesting article, i would avoid the dna too.

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Redgully

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https://www.wired.com/story/brazils-plans-for-gene-edited-cows-got-scrappedheres-why/

Just not knowing where it would lead to, and knowing what we already have available is good enough, i would avoid dna enhanced genetics.
 
Okay, there are some polled holsteins available as well as some polled jerseys. Have had a couple of polled jerseys born and they have done as good as any of the horned ones. I think that they could achieve some of what they were wanting just by using the already available polled breeds. The "red breeds" meaning Sweedish and Norweigen Reds, Montbeliarde, and Normande all have a very high rate of polled animals. A montbeliarde or normande crossed on a holstein gives you a very beefy, easy keeping cow that milks good and has high butterfat. It was all the rage for awhile, and I honestly liked the cross alot. All the ones I know of born on a couple of dairies using the semen AI were polled.
 
Gene editing is the way of the future, but the future isn't here yet. If the FDA would indicate that they're willing to approve genetically modified animals for consumption in the US the big money would get involved and the research would move faster.
 
Buck Randall said:
Gene editing is the way of the future, but the future isn't here yet. If the FDA would indicate that they're willing to approve genetically modified animals for consumption in the US the big money would get involved and the research would move faster.

But is it really necessary?
 
TennesseeTuxedo said:
Buck Randall said:
Gene editing is the way of the future, but the future isn't here yet. If the FDA would indicate that they're willing to approve genetically modified animals for consumption in the US the big money would get involved and the research would move faster.

But is it really necessary?
It's not necessary, but few things in life are. The dairy industry definitely has more at stake, though.

The tail docking ban a couple years ago really opened a lot of eyes around here. It's a matter of when, not if, dehorning and disbudding are banned as well. It will be too difficult to completely eliminate horns in the next couple of decades the natural way. The major breeds don't have enough naturally polled bulls available (and none of them top the breed for productivity), and crossbreeding just doesn't work for most commercial dairies.
 
The dairy industry is battling low prices, right? Supply and demand, well the demand hasn't changed all that much, but lets keep upping the supply so no one can make a living... increasingly more productive cows (to absurdity) is only going to make it worse.
Meanwhile with people already skeptical (rightfully or not), we're not going to do ourselves any favors by alienating customers
 

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