Livestock and Fisheries Development Program Announces Plans to Boost Cow Milk Production

The National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program has announced concrete plans to increase cow's milk production over the next five years by utilizing genetic improvement techniques and bioinformatics. The initiative will rely on genomic profiling to select the best genetically improved cows to achieve tangible results that will help supply the market with higher-yielding dairy production.

 The program said that genomic profiling could improve herd productivity by about 25% to 90% of the current stock through genetic selection of cows carrying traits associated with high productivity and strong health.

 The program also expects genetic improvement testing to reduce the incidence of hereditary diseases and production-related issues by up to 60% by excluding animals carrying genes linked to chronic conditions.

 According to data from the program, cow milk productivity in the Kingdom varies among dairy companies depending on herd management, nutrition, and other genetic improvement factors. The number of dairy cows in the Kingdom is estimated to be around 250,000, with an average annual milk yield of over 11,000 tons, equivalent to about 30 to 35 kilograms per day per cow.