The Select Sires Podcast

Breeding for Better Health: How Zoetis Wellness Traits Are Helping Build the Next Generation of Productive Cows

• Select Sires • Season 2 • Episode 22

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On this episode of The Select Sires Podcast, host Ethan Haywood is joined by Brenda Fessenden, precision animal health technical services lead at Zoetis, for a deep dive into the science and strategy behind wellness trait selection. From calf health to cow longevity, Brenda walks us through how Zoetis is leading the charge in precision animal health and how producers can use these tools to create healthier, more profitable herds.

Welcome to The Select Sires Podcast, talking Your Success, Our Passion. Starting in three, two, one.

Ethan Haywood

Hello and welcome back to The Select Sires Podcast. I'm your host, Ethan Haywood, and today we are very excited to be talking about the Zoetis wellness traits. Here to join us and lead us through the conversation is Brenda Fessenden, Precision Animal Health Technical Services Lead for Zoetis. Brenda, thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us today.

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, thank you, Ethan, for inviting me. 

Ethan Haywood

When we talk about extending cow longevity, these Zoetis wellness evaluations are such an important part of the conversation. But tell us, how did you end up in this area and space within the dairy industry? Did you grow up always knowing you wanted to improve the health genetics of dairy cattle or what did your pathway look like? 

Brenda Fessenden

So I grew up on a dairy farm in Southeastern Minnesota. So really enjoyed that, loved helping my dad and siblings and mom do different dairy farming tasks. I went to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and got my bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science. And kind of at the end of my master's, I missed being closer to dairy producers, honestly. I was really in a kind of a lab-based situation. So I was looking for something where I get to work with dairy producers more. And that's where I actually found a job within global genetics tech services at the time within Zoetis. So when that job came up to kind of work on data analysis for dairy producers, highlighting genetics, I jumped at it and I was lucky enough that Zoetis hired me. And now I've been with Zoetis just over ten years, kind of moving through the tech service team as that team has evolved and moved from solely genetics to actually precision animal health. So that's kind of how I landed here at Zoetis. And I've been lucky enough that now my husband and I actually dairy farm on the farm where I grew up with my parents and our three kids. So that's kind of been my path and how I get to work in the dairy industry today. 

Ethan Haywood

Fantastic journey and we really appreciate your balance of understanding the research and the science as well as getting what our dairy producers are going through every day because you're going through it with your family as well. And now that your role has advanced and I really like the term precision health when looking at dairy cattle, what all does your current role entail and how does that tie into some of the research that we're going to talk about today? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, so within precision animal health, we kind of have two buckets, if you will. We have genetics and then we have advanced analytics. And that advanced analytics is combining genetics with additional information, environmental, herd level, whether about the cows. So we kind of have those two different buckets or products, if you will. And then within each of those, there's kind of three big areas that within tech service and me personally get to support. So it is product development and life cycle. And that's kind of what we're talking about here today, all right, we have a genetic evaluation for health, what's the next step in it? How do we make it better? You really kind of assess what is the product we've put in the producer's hands and how we make it just a little bit better. So that's kind of a product development and life cycle bucket. Then we do a lot of applied research. And so that is there again, we have a prediction, but we need to make sure it works right. We need to really have confidence in our data. And so that is going now into DairyComp backups, working with dairy producers and taking those predictions and comparing them back to real cow performance. So a lot of that, and then our third bucket or the third area of responsibility, we just lump under value added services. And so that is really working with individual dairy producers, in saying, okay, what are the strengths and opportunities of your genetics program? How are genomics being used? How can they be used a little bit better? So maybe you get a more return on your investment and things like that. So that's kind of the three big areas that I get to work with within Zoetis and then within dairy producers. 

Ethan Haywood

Three really large areas and it's fun to see them intersect in the ways that they interact. And a lot of it is built around these genetic evaluations. And so what does the process look like? As Zoetis say, we believe we need to breed healthier cattle with more longevity and we want to identify those traits and find a way to make a prediction model. What does that process look like before we get to the point where we can use these STAs to make breeding decisions? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, that is a great question. And one of the things I'm so lucky about here at Zoetis is we have a really powerful team of research and development team members of that team have been working on bringing health predictions for dairy to our dairy producers for many, many years. So it was really exciting for some of the members of that team. That really was kind of the feather in their cap when they were able to do that. So right. Years of research happening there of gathering the right cow performance data from herds throughout the U.S., running it through the different genetic evaluation models, bringing the single step evaluation, University of Georgia, getting that incorporated in and really getting that so it could run in a commercial setting. So that's really many of the things R&D is doing. And then they pull in our genetic evaluation team of we have quantitative geneticists that are running this, that are experts in that. And that's really kind of how we take that cutting edge science that R&D is able to do and get it onto a broad scale of now we can turn it on and we can deliver it not only to our U.S. dairy producers, but to dairy producers around the globe. So they really built that pipeline. It took a huge amount of effort from my very talented colleagues. And then in tech service, once they've done all of the hard work, then it's kind of we get to play a little bit. Now we get to have access to that data. And like I said, we get to make sure that, hey, yeah, this really works. If producers use it, it is really telling them information about who's going to have a higher likelihood of disease and who will not. 

Ethan Haywood

And so you build this really powerful data pipeline, get it set up and working within the industry. And then how does data continue to feed back into that pipeline once we're using these models to improve their accuracy? 

Brenda Fessenden

And that is an excellent question because of the huge amount of importance on the continual data feeding in. And so that is, we have a variety of herds that collaborate with Zoetis, and so they are continuing to provide their cow performance data back into the system. And so with that three times a year, with each official evaluation in April, August, and December, fresh cow performance data is being included into the genetic evaluation and that keeps it robust. That keeps it so the next generation of animals that are genomic tested have a really strong evaluation behind them, and those predictions are working well. 

Ethan Haywood

One of the primary traits that we focus within our breeding programs and within our marketing strategy, because we believe it's so important for the future of the Holstein and Jersey populations, is mastitis resistance. So let's look at that trait, for example, and explain when I am looking at a genomic test for a heifer or for a bull, and I see 100 or 105 for Zoetis mastitis resistance. What does that mean within looking at leveraging that data? 

Brenda Fessenden

You have an animal and her mastitis STA is 100. That means she is average, right? That 100 is the breed average or to the base, right? That is the base average. And so if you have an animal with 105, that's excellent. The way to interpret these is the higher STA, the better. She's going to have a lower risk of mastitis when compared back to her herd mates. So we like to see those higher numbers. And when we talk about the STAs, when you think about kind of the spread, the standard deviation is five. So if you've gone from a heifer that has a STA of 100 to an STA of 105 you've moved one whole standard deviation. So now we're looking at animals in the top 15% for the breed. So that's right. Just to kind of give you that flavor of moving from 100 to 105. That's kind of the group she's moving into, if you will. 

Ethan Haywood

And then we look within the dollar value of the entire population. Some studies are citing mastitis costs can be from $200 to $500 per case. You know, moving that one standard deviation within a herd, that can be an incredible number. Do you see these evaluations versus the herd analysis that you do? I know Zoetis is very good at putting together quartile analysis. Do you see a large spread within the herds for these traits? 

Brenda Fessenden

You know, so when we think about the STAs frequently they're ranging from 70 to 120, right? With 70 being a cow with a very high risk of disease and 120 being she has a very low risk of disease compared back to her herd mates. When we think about ranking those animals and the mastitis incidents that we're seeing in the worst genetic group, and the best genetic group, there's generally a 50% reduction in actual mastitis incidence in that best group when it's compared back to the worst. And so that obviously has a big impact on the economics when we're seeing that reduction in disease. 

Ethan Haywood

That's an extremely powerful correlation and really interesting to see the spread that can be present within the herds that are providing the same environment and genetics is really the only difference amongst these cows and their susceptibility. In the past with mastitis, Somatic Cell Score has been a large driver for trying to select for milk quality and hopefully gaining mastitis resistance. But when we look at the CDCB trends, maybe we're not seeing the progress made that we wanted before we rolled out some mastitis specific traits. What do you see as the correlation between Somatic Cell Score and Zoetis mastitis measurement? Is it powerful? Is there benefit in looking at both of these traits combined? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, there definitely is a relationship between the mastitis predictions and Somatic Cell Score. However, we do believe that there is value in selecting for both. And the reason why is because they're not capturing the exact same thing, right? If mastitis really is looking at, okay, what is her risk of that clinical case? And then that Somatic Cell Score, right, is keying in on that milk quality component. And so with that, because they are different and because there is economic value to both of those different things, that's why we do feel that there is value to continuing to select for both. We're really trying to understand precision animal health. And so for us, that is an opportunity for these two different things. How can we hone in on two different goals, if you will? 

Ethan Haywood

Another trait that we're really focusing on within our breeding programs at Select Sires is lameness. And I think the measurement of lameness by Zoetis is really novel and really interesting and continues to be in the front of our minds as we are looking at extending cow longevity making these mature cows last longer within their herds and it's really a unique evaluation. Tell us a little bit about the lameness trait and what do you expect those STAs to look like and what have you seen within herds? 

Brenda Fessenden

So one of the things that's nice about the different health traits is because we've standardized all of them and turned them into STAs, when you become comfortable with one, kind of like the look and feel of it, it really applies to all of them. So what I mean by that is the range is really similar across all of the different Zoetis health traits. So when it comes to lameness there again, we're looking at a spread of roughly. And with that there, again, the higher your STA value, the lower risk she has of experiencing lameness over the course of her life compared back to her herd mates with that average centered on 100 STA points. So that's kind of the spread, the look and the feel, if you're actually looking at your own genomic results or looking at bull sheets and looking at their genetic merit. And with that, we kind of experienced the same if you will, of when we're seeing a 10 STA point difference between two groups, it roughly is that that lameness incidence level is about 50% lower in that best genetic group. 

Ethan Haywood

Within our lineup and the data we see, Zoetis lameness has a positive correlation with productive life and a positive correlation with livability, two things we're really trying to extend within cows, but then not the same correlations with foot and leg composite throughout the industry. So what is your comparison or your feeling as far as looking at physical leg and foot features compared to lameness resistance? 

Brenda Fessenden

One of the things that I really like about my job and about what I get to do in the dairy industry is it's so cool to see the science that has come before where we are today. And then think about what's coming in the future. And the reason why I say that is when we think about foot and leg composite that was developed before we had direct predictions for lameness. When that was what we were able to measure, that was the tool in our toolkit. So fast forward, numerous years. And using that cow performance data, right, those events where dairy producers, herds people are looking at the cows and saying, yes, she is lame. Using that data set is how we were able to create this lameness prediction. And so to me, it really is the next step on that path of here's the newer tool that was developed with better data, stronger data behind it. And that's why we now have this direct prediction looking specifically at whether she was lame or not. And with that, right, I think that is why it correlates a stronger to productive life and to livability and those longevity traits, because it was developed right with that direct cow performance data saying, Hey, she was lame, and kind of combining all of that. So we do see it as having a stronger relationship with productive life and with livability. And that's right. That's so important. If our cows are going to stay longer and longer it is because they are productive and healthy, right. And have all the qualities they need to continue to be in that slot in the barns.

Ethan Haywood

A trait that is very modern. And as you said, the next step in evaluating and predicting for something that is so important to our industry from a cow wellness aspect, from a survivability aspect, and from a profitability aspect. Another trait and index that is really a makeup of three different traits that we've been focusing on within our breeding programs because we continue to hear and hear from our producers that we're using more beef on dairy semen. The heifer population domestically is much smaller, and so we need healthier calves that grow faster, get sick less often, and survive better. And so we've put wellness focus on calf wellness dollars and the three traits that make up that economic index. Can you tell us a little bit about the three different traits that make up this index and what their weightings look like for Holsteins versus Jerseys? 

Brenda Fessenden

The three traits that are in the index are calf scours, calf respiratory disease, and calf livability. And one of the things that is really important to us is that we have separate indexes designed specifically for Holsteins and specifically for Jerseys. Those cattle are behaving differently. They have different needs, different strengths. And so that's why we truly do have different indices that are meant to target each of the different breeds. So on the Holstein side of things, kind of the breakdown of that calf wellness dollar index is, is on calf scours, is the emphasis is on calf respiratory disease and the remaining 33% is on calf livability. And the emphasis and how the index is designed is really driven by the impact of these three different traits on profitability during calf life. That's really what drives how the index is designed is what that relationship is between each trait and then profitability. And for Jersey, right, it is designed the same way as far as the emphasis in the index is really being driven by profitability. So for Jersey, the calf wellness index has 42% emphasis on scours, 18% emphasis on respiratory disease, and then 40% emphasis on livability on calf livability. And when we think about how we design that and how we try to understand what the impact is on profitability, the incidence levels of these three different, these two diseases or calf death are part of what drives that. And so that's really why we see some of that shifting and the index is different between the two different breeds. 

Ethan Haywood

Fantastic. You know, calf wellness and lameness and mastitis are three really big key traits that we've identified that we want to help push the cattle breeds forward in. We want to try and give ample opportunity to our producers to have different novel lines of genetics with positive traits for these three areas to be able to improve their herds and improve the industry. In addition to those, you guys have a plethora of other traits. Rattle off, what are some of these other traits that you guys are providing information on? It seems like it's half the bull page these days. 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, there are quite a few. The R&D team, like I said, they are wizards, always figuring out another thing that we can select for through genetics. So you've hit on some of my favorites. Some additional traits that we have when we think about the transition period are mitritis, retained placenta, ketosis, displaced abomasum. Then we also have several that we kind of call fertility traits. So we have cystic ovaries, twinning and abortion that are really important for us also to look at. And I believe if I'm not forgetting anybody else, we have a cow respiratory disease trait as well. And so that, I believe that kind of rounds out the majority of the Zoetis proprietary traits, in addition to those calf wellness traits and mastitis and lameness. 

Ethan Haywood

And I think it's so helpful for Zoetis to have such a diverse portfolio of traits so that whatever the strengths or weaknesses are within your own operation, you can address them. When you're doing genetic consulting, do you typically start out by looking at goals or starting out looking by maybe reverse engineering some of the herd health data to determine where maybe this herd needs to focus? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, I always like to, especially when I'm first working with a herd, I always feel like I should speak almost none, right? I should be very quiet and they should just talk to me. And so that's always how I like to start it is definitely having them share what their goals are, what their objectives are and what their pain points are, right? Those things might be different a little bit of what their goals are and then what their true pain points are. And so having them kind of share that. And then taking a look into their data, right, and then kind of coming all back together to say, look, here are different options. What are you interested in? How can we help? But that's really finding out what's important to that individual dairy producer. Because as you know, everybody has different goals and everybody has things that they're really passionate about and where they want to move their herd. 

Ethan Haywood

The argument would be for some of these traits, there's so many different health traits to improve that maybe these are things that I should just be managing around. Maybe I just need to treat my cows more and try and fix these problems rather than striving for them genetically. What is the advantage of pushing genetically for profitability or for cow health for these traits in particular? 

Brenda Fessenden

One of the things that is so cool, I think, is that genetics is another toolkit. We never say stop doing excellent management practices and just do genetics, right? That's never the message. It always is, let's improve from two angles or let's improve from three angles. So that's kind of always what I'm sharing with producers and other members of the industry is while you are also improving your fresh cow pen or whatever it may be also be thinking long-term and be thinking, okay, I can use genetics as my tool or as one of my tools to be thinking about how to improve that next generation. So for me, it always is let's use both of these things. Let's use numerous avenues to improve our herds and improve the dairy industry. 

Ethan Haywood

I really like hearing the use of both. Those are the producers that we believe are going to be uber successful in the future are the ones that are great, both genetically and management wise, and can tie that together and see the additive effect of those gains. As a producer sorting through bulls and trying to make sense of this data, all of the Zoetis wellness traits are available for every bull that Select Sires distributes on the Select Sires website. How do I attain that information on my female cattle if I'm interested in leveraging that data? 

Brenda Fessenden

So Zoetis has a platform called Enlite that is in collaboration with the Holstein Association. So this is going to be an online platform that you log into. It's going to have all of your genomic tested animals. There's different functionality in there to make it easier for you to sort animals filter to specific breeding groups, things like that. So it would be an excellent avenue for our Jersey breeders as well. We have the exact same functionality in a platform we call SearchPoints. So that's really how I would encourage dairy producers to kind of access and look at some of that. In addition to the fact that your genomic results can go directly into your herd management software. If you're using DairyComp, Bovasynch, PCDart, DHI Plus, they can feed right into your management software. You can get out on breeding lists, whatever lists you may need. So you really can turn this data into an action. So I think we all know that if you want to see the progress, we need to turn data into an action. 

Ethan Haywood

Zoetis continues to diversify the amount of information that they are providing and the detail within that information, the number of traits available and the accuracy of those calculations and predictions. Where do you see the future of precision animal health and what else are we going to do to make a better cow for industry in the next decade? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, that is a great question. It's a fun one. I think there are different traits that will continue to be developed, right? We're thinking about different hot topics of different dry matter intakes, improving those, developing new, right, different greenhouse gas, different stewardship, sustainability traits, different ways that we can use genetics as a tool, right, to help us improve or help the dairy industry thrive and be strong. So I think those are some of the things that will be coming in the future. As well as from kind of a precision animal health standpoint is genetics being a backbone when we think about these different technologies that are coming, different predictions that, like I said, are including cow performance information and genetics, kind of that next level of predictions that we can use to help manage our cattle. 

Ethan Haywood

Well, thank you so much for your time today, Brenda. If you could give producers who are just starting to look at this data, and it's a little bit overwhelming how many different STAs are listed out on a bull page, if you could give them one piece of advice in starting to select for a healthier and longer living, more productive bovine animal, what would that piece of advice be? 

Brenda Fessenden

Yeah, I think what I would tell them is, is really make sure you know what your herd goals are, right? Like you said, of longer live, productive, kind of however that nuance may be for that farm. And then instead of focusing on all of the pieces of information on that, on that bull sheet in your genomic results, whatever it may be, just key in on maybe one selection index, dairy wellness profit would be one that would have the health traits included. And if you are interested in some secondary traits that, so really instead of looking at all of the pieces of information, really zero in on the handful of pieces of information and a selection index that helps you achieve your herd goals. I think that makes it very actionable and much easier to actually incorporate into a farm system. 

Ethan Haywood

Well, fantastic. Brenda, thank you so much for your time today. And thank you for the hard work that all of the Zoetis family teams do in order to continue to provide more resources and more precision for our dairy farmers here domestically and internationally. Thank you so much to our listeners for taking the time to listen. And if you'd like to learn more about different health traits offered, please feel free to check them out on selectsires.com through the bull search app, as well as several articles within our blog area that really break down which traits we are selecting for within our genetic pools and why we believe those are of importance. Stay tuned for next time to hear more on The Select Sires Podcast.