The NAV Dairy Cattle Workshop was held on 20 January in Copenhagen, bringing together stakeholders for discussions on NAV’s strategy 2026–2028, the upcoming NTM revision, and current Nordic research in methane emissions and climate-smart breeding. The workshop also included updates from EBE and breed-group discussions on proposed weights of Saved Feed in NTM. Workshop presentations are available via the link below.
NAV Dairy Cattle Workshop 2026 – Presentations
Saved feed was included in the Nordic Total Merit (NTM) in 2020 for all breeds. With the introduction of new saved feed index in February 2025, its weighting in the NTM for Holstein has been adjusted. The new weight for saved feed is 0.18, more than double the previous value of 0.08. For NTM, 10 index units in saved feed will change NTM by one unit. A bull with 110 in saved feed will increase NTM by one unit according to the changed weight for saved feed.
The introduction of the new saved feed index has also changed the correlation between NTM and saved feed, not only for Holstein but for all breeds. The updated NTM correlations can be found on NAV homepage.
In February 2025 evaluation, a new Saved feed index was introduced. The new index is based on dry matter intake (DMI), production (ECM) and weight change. The interpretation of the index remains the same: higher index values indicate lower feed intake. One index corresponds to a reduction of 15-20 kg in dry matter intake per lactation. There is a low correlation between the old and the new index for saved feed which means a large reranking between animals for the saved feed index. Since Saved feed is included in NTM there will also be a minor effect on NTM.
Read more about the new Saved feed index: