How big data created the modern dairy cow - Works in Progress Magazine
What do cryogenics, butterfat tests, and genetic data have in common? They’re some of the reasons behind the world’s most productive dairy cows. Here's how it all started.
No matter where you are in the world, there’s a good chance the milk or cheese you’re buying is the product of the US dairy industry. Even if it didn’t come from American cattle, the cow that produced the milk could well have been inseminated by an American bull. The United States has been the world’s largest supplier of cattle genetics since at least 1992. In 2022, the US exported $295 million in bovine semen, 47 percent of the world’s exports. Few countries even come close to this market share: the next biggest exporters are Canada at 14 percent and the Netherlands at seven. Get the print ma
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