The FastBreeders Project

Thinking ‘outside the milking parlour’ led to improved sustainability and productivity in four Scottish dairy farmers’ herds through the collaborative FastBreeders project.

The initial idea has evolved to become the first ever genomic index for crossbred cows.

SAOS’s Hamish Walls was involved in the project at its inception in 2017 and SAOS’s current Chairman, Rory Christie, was one of the dairy farmers involved.

What is it?

FastBreeders uses genomic and phenomic data to develop a selection tool for dairy cattle. (Phenomics looks at an organism’s observable traits, or phenome, to understand how genes and the environment shape its characteristics.) 

Traditionally, cattle breeding was mainly based on a bull’s qualities. The FastBreeders’ idea takes a more scientific approach to cow selection, collecting data and creating genetic profiles of the animals that perform best, and worst, in a particular farm’s production environment.

Data collected includes factors such as milk yield, foot health, weight, and milk quality. The data is then used to establish which bull is best for which cow - the ultimate in match making! The data has also been used to develop a ‘SNP key’, which is based on a reference group of animals and can be described as a ‘prediction equation’ to translate DNA tests into actionable breeding values.

The SNP key – which didn’t exist for crossbred dairy cows before FastBreeders – is then used to predict the breeding value of another genotyped animal. This can be used to make improved young stock selection based on known genomic values and has resulted in a more sustainable production system.   

Why?

The FastBreeders dairy farmers are looking to increase the speed at which genetic advantage could be realised to maximise efficiency, profitability and cow health on their farms. They were also keen to reduce the barriers associated with crossbreeding (FastBreeders includes mainly Jersey, Friesian and Holstein cross cows) where the lack of genomic breeding values has historically been a blocker.   

Who did we work with?

Rory Christie was the driver of the project, along with Graham Armstrong and Charlie Russell. A fourth farmer, Michael Kyle, joined at a later stage. All four farm in the south-west of Scotland, operate in a similar climate, and use the spring calving system. The farmers approached SAOS’s Hamish Walls for help and Mike Coffey, Head of Animal Breeding and Genomics at SRUC, was brought in to lead the project.

How did SAOS help?

True to its co-operative roots, SAOS’s primary role in the FastBreeders project was to bring everyone together; introducing Mike Coffey from the start of the project was paramount to its success, as was the application for funding through the Scottish Government’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) which SAOS put together for the group.

Impact

FastBreeders has had notable impact: 

• Milk yield continues to improve, with one farm recording yields of around 6,000 litres from 1t of concentrate
• The findings from the FastBreeders project helped inform work to help farmers in Africa with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - see more at: Breeding Success: How Better Cows Led to Better Grades
• AHDB recently launched a service for genetic evaluations for herds using crossbreeding
• The project won Scottish Land & Estates’ Innovation in Farming award in 2022
• The SRUC Alumni Innovation Award was presented to Rory Christie in 2026 for leading this pioneering work.