Genetic Trends in the National Herd
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2 min read
This page tracks genetic trends in the national herd, noting improvements in economically important traits. The genetic merit of the national herd has improved or held steady across a range of economically important traits. The traits covered are Breeding Worth, Production Efficiency, Robustness traits, Farmer Opinion traits, Conformation traits and Additional traits. Breeding Worth (BW) and Production Worth (PW) are valuable tools you can use to make sound decisions about breeding, culling, and buying. BW reflects a cow's potential to breed profitable offspring, while PW focuses on a cow's lifelong profit-making ability.
Further reading
Is New Zealand's national herd genetic merit improving?
The genetic merit of the national herd has improved or held steady across a range of economically important traits. These trends reflect the success of targeted breeding programs, better use of genetic evaluation tools, and farmer adoption of high-merit sires. The overall trajectory supports a more profitable and sustainable dairy industry in New Zealand.
National genetic trends for breeding traits
The graphs below show how the genetic merit of cows in the national herd is trending for individual traits.
The colours and abbreviations are as follows:
- Ayrshire = A in yellow
- Holstein-Friesian = HF in blue
- Holstein-Friesian-Jersey crossbred = HFJ in dark green
- Jersey = J in green
The graphs below are updated annually, typically in December; these were last updated December 2025.
Breeding Worth
Over the past decade, the national herd has increased its average Breeding Worth by $20 per year. Holstein-Friesians achieved an annual gain of $22, followed by Holstein-Friesian–Jersey crosses at $21. Jerseys increased by around $16 per year, and Ayrshires recorded a gain of about $10 annually.
Production efficiency traits
Robustness traits
Farmer opinion traits
Body and Dairy Conformation traits
Udder Conformation traits
Additional traits
Explore more tools and resources to help you in your breeding decisions
Additional Resources
NZAEL Criteria for Sire, Cow and Herd Statistics
PDF
Guide
33 KB
This document outlines the criteria for sires, cows, and herds to be included in NZAEL data
Breeding decisions made easy
PDF
Guide
3 MB
A brief guide to Breeding Worth, Breeding Values, Production Worth and Lactation Worth.
Additional links
Animal Herd Averages
/resources/tools/animal-herd-averages/Bull Search
/resources/tools/bull-search/NZ Animal Evaluation
/about-us/dairynz-group/nz-animal-evaluation/Tags related to “Genetic Trends in the National Herd”
