And the research did continue. Ten years of it, picking up a few awards along the way. This included The Royal Award for Innovation in 2018, for the results Immunity+ was achieving in the UK. In the same year, farmers were given the ability to see the immune status of their females, along with all the usual figures, through our genomic test “Elevate”. Truly ground-breaking stuff.
But everyone wanted a score. What really is the highest Immunity female in their herds and in the stud? Fast forward to August 2023 and the Immunity Health Index was launched, showing Immunity Index and Calf Immunity Index for each sire. All Semex sires received a score bringing the coveted Immunity strategy to life. All animals tested in the future will receive a score. We’re making quite a few dairies happy here!
Every farm who had a female tested via Elevate received a score. In the UK The highest Immunity female is 119 whilst the lowest is 74! The highest calf immunity female is 121 whilst the lowest is 86. Just think of this in terms of the potential to fight off disease.
To get to this point we have been working with 100 herds with impeccable health recording and have analysed 333,616 animals and 168,681 health events.
High Immunity females were analysed against their herdmates, and the results were as follows;
42.6% Less mastitis
41.2% Less lameness
25.3% Less retained placenta
33.4% Less Ketosis
38.2% Less Displaced abomasum
8.9% Less metritis
When young stock were analysed High Immunity females had
33.2% Less pneumonia
32.3% Less diarrhoea
We have also recorded that High Immunity females respond better to vaccinations and have higher-quality colostrum.
One additional finding which is now included within our Immunity Index is we can now identify animals with Nitric Oxide deficiency. Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to be a critical component of immune response, especially the first line of defence known as the Innate Immune response and animals who are Nitric Oxide deficient have a significant Immune disadvantage.
These animals had
46% more mastitis
41% more mastitis
78% more lameness
89% more ketosis
So as mentioned in our last blog, you all want fewer sick cows, and Semex have the genetic solution to help you, one dose at a time.