NTM – Nordic Total Merit

Nordic Total Merit (NTM) includes all economically important traits for RDC (Nordic red breeds), Holstein and Jersey in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. NTM is based on unique registrations and targeted at milk production within these countries.

The relative weights for included traits and their correlation to NTM affect the expected economic progress in each trait (click the picture to get it bigger):

NTM is a balanced breeding goal that aims for healthy, fertile, well producing and long-lasting cows with good conformation. Several trait groups are weighted together based on economic values (see NTM – weight factors) that is the result of thorough economic calculations and national breed association’s expectations to future production conditions and price relations.

Making the breeding decisions based on NTM gives progress in all important traits (see Correlations between NTM and sub-indices). With NTM you are breeding for improved profit. One NTM-unit is worth approximately 10 Euros extra per cow in one year.

NTM and all other breeding values calculated by NAV can be found for all bulls with a Nordic herdbook number on NAV Bull Search and the genetic trends for NTM and included sub-indices can be studied on the genetic trend page.

Read more about NTM in the description of data and genetic models.

More about NTM: