Resilience indicators in Composite Cattle based on water and feed consumption data: genetic parameters and correlations with economically important traits.

• Grant number: 25/21708-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: December 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Genetics and Improvement of Domestic Animals
• Principal Investigator: José Bento Sterman Ferraz
• Grantee: Camila Silva Mussi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Climate change and population growth pose increasing challenges to beef cattle farming, requiring more efficient and sustainable production systems capable of ensuring food security. Animal resilience, defined as the ability of individuals to maintain performance or recover quickly after environmental disturbances, is becoming a strategic characteristic for the future of livestock production. Intense genetic selection focused solely on productivity, although effective, may have altered the adaptability of animals, reinforcing the need to incorporate new robustness criteria into genetic improvement programs. This project aims to identify and evaluate resilience indicators derived from food and water intake in Montana Composto® cattle, using data obtained by automatic monitoring systems. Approximately 5 million food consumption records, 500,000 water consumption measurements, and 500,000 body weight records will be analyzed, in addition to pedigree and genomic information from approximately 1,300 animals in the Montana Composite program. Resilience indicators will be derived from time series of intake, considering variability, autocorrelation, asymmetry, mean square error, and quantile regression. Statistical and genomic analyses will allow the estimation of genetic parameters and correlations with growth characteristics and feed and water efficiency. The hypothesis is that such indicators can be used as effective tools to select more resilient, productive, and adaptable animals. The results are expected to provide scientific evidence that will contribute to the identification of more resilient animals and, consequently, to the strengthening of livestock farming in the face of environmental and market pressures. (AU)