GENOMICS: FIERAGRICOLA LAUNCHES WORLD DATABASE. HOW THE SWISS BROWN COW RESPONDS TO GLOBALISATION

 

Zoosystem. Fieragricola (2-5 February) will host the international Interbull Workshop

 

Appointment at VeronaFiere for scientists and researchers involved in research and application of the latest discoveries in the field of dairy cattle genomics. Debate will also focus on Intergenomics, the maxi molecular survey project that will involve 1 million head of Swiss Brown Cows all over the world to network the results obtained by the top 25 researchers in the sector. The President of Anarb (National Association of Swiss Brown Cow Breeders), Pietro Laterza: "We are among the first to achieve the objective of such a far-reaching network." And the disolabruna® consortium discovers new commercial routes towards Australia and the Far East.

 

Verona, 26 January 2012. Rather than gourmets, the appointment is for experts. Scientists of genomics, the field seeking to analyse the entire genome of animals to establish relationships with their production, reproduction and functional characteristics, have a world appointment for the Interbull Workshop, one of the most important animal farming events at Fieragricola 2012 (www.fieragricola.it).
The meeting is scheduled Thursday 2 & Friday 3 February in the Europa Convention Centre (invitation only). The programme also includes a full-scale revolution, captained for Italy by Anarb, the Italian Swiss Brown Cow Association. Precisely this dairy breed is the focus of activities to create a worldwide database, implemented thanks to sharing information associated with genomics. The genomics project will involve 1 million animals world-wide - about 15% of all Swiss Brown Cows in the world.
"We are focusing on this international collaboration project," says Pietro Laterza, President of Anarb and the European Swiss Brown Cow Federation, "to create a network of scientists whereby the exchange of genotypes for all bulls under control worldwide becomes an effective formula for growth. We are very pleased, since no other livestock breed has hypothesised a world network of this level."
Only a few days ago, Verona saw the go-ahead to proceed with the project, thank to the definitive approval of the project's world management committee. This opens the doors for an exchange of data, analysis and assessments for the best 25 researchers all over the world.
What will the effective developments entail? "Very shortly," said Enrico Santus, Director di Anarb and Secretary General of the European Swiss Brown Cow Federation, "we will have increasingly refined genomic assessments and in the near future we will be able to identify genes or haplotypes (particular genetic combinations) in the animal population that may be useful in improving productive, reproductive and health aspects."
The next frontier, in short, will be the identification of particular combinations in order to select even healthier and long-lived animals.
The disolabruna® brand moves on to e-bay. With the review of the statute of the disolabruna® consortium, the traditional purposes of safeguarding and valorisation are now joined by a commercial purpose. Inasmuch, just before Christmas, as Santus explained, "the first virtual shop was opened on e-bay, with good feedback even among internauts".
Alongside e-commerce, the consortium valorising dairy products made using brown cow milk envisages increased production and a stronger international presence by exploiting e-commerce as well as the dynamic of traditional sales. "The most interesting contacts, Santus added, "currently have not appeared from neighbouring countries but from the Far East and Australia, where the consortium's products are creating an important niche in high quality product distribution chain. This is important recognition for our field."
Currently, members of the disolabruna® consortium process more than 5,400 quintals of milk/month, more than double the volumes 5 years ago, when the project was launched.
These are niche volumes, which in the future may nevertheless require production planning as allowed in the Milk Package approved by Brussels. "This is a positive disposition," says Laterza, "and even if our slice of the market is limited, the possibility of planning without doubt will provide us with more assurances. We are very attentive to all opportunities, to avoid as far as possible the price instability that has historically been an obstacle to results in the field."

 

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