How Does the ABS Health Index Compare to DWP$?

Publish date: 2.7.25 

The short answer is they don’t compare. While the ABS Health Index and DWP$ have similar components or jobs, they are not the same. Comparing these tools would be like trying to compare apples to oranges. In this blog, we will examine the ABS Custom Index and ABS Health Index (AHI) as well as Zoetis’ Dairy Wellness Profit Index (DWP$), Wellness Trait Index (WT$), and Calf Wellness (CW$) to ensure you are comparing apples to apples. 

When studying the ABS Custom Index, ABS Health Index, and Dairy Wellness Profit Index, make sure you are comparing:  

• ABS Custom Index to Dairy Wellness Profit Index (DWP$) 
• ABS Health Index to Wellness Trait Index (WT$) and Calf Wellness (CW$) 

Let’s dive in deeper to understand their differences. 

ABS Custom Index Versus DWP$ 

Most indexes available in the marketplace today are fixed, meaning they cannot be customized to your specific herd needs. That’s why we suggest using a Custom Index to give you the power and flexibility to customize trait selection based on your milk market, herd health, facilities, and management style.  

The most valuable thing a Custom Index provides you with is the control to choose the traits that matter to you and place an appropriate weighting. In this method of genetic selection, we aren’t telling you what type of cow you need to create. You design the exact cow that works best in your system with a Custom Index and create more profit by focusing on how you get paid for your milk. A Custom Index allows you to make genetic progress in areas that matter to you.  

On the other hand, there is the Dairy Wellness Profit Index. Zoetis developed this tool to bring together their Wellness Trait and Calf Wellness indexes and other CDCB traits into one simplified metric—one of the only characteristics that Custom Index and DWP$ share.  

Unlike a Custom Index, DWP$ is a fixed index with a one-size-fits-all approach, meaning the same pressure is applied to everyone. Its design locks you into what Zoetis believes is the right cow for your system. The type of cow selected is already decided for you and is based on U.S. economic decisions, not your herd, milk market, facilities, or management style. DWP$ limits you in terms of customization to your specific wants, needs, or goals.  

To demonstrate this with an example, DWP$ has 47% of its emphasis on health and longevity. As a reference, HOUSA TPI has an emphasis of 14% on health and longevity, while CDCB’ NM$ has a 25% emphasis and will be updating in April 2025 to 24%. Do you need that much emphasis on health and longevity or should more emphasis be placed on yield, efficiency, and fertility? We aren’t here to tell you that you do or don’t, but the makeup of the index is something you should be aware of.  

Let’s be clear. We are not saying that DWP$ doesn’t allow producers to make genetic progress because it most certainly does. We are saying that it is a fixed weighting, allows for no customization, and is based on U.S. conditions. Thus, when choosing a selection tool, you must ask yourself, “Do you want to be told what kind of cow to create, or do you want the flexibility to design a cow that works best in your dairy?” 

To jump into the health and wellness part of the discussion, we need to distinguish between AHI, WT$, and CW$.  

Comparing ABS Health Index to WT$ and CW$ 

Your cows’ health greatly influences your sustainability and success. We understand that various factors, including genetics, affect an animal’s health. Today, you might examine and include many disease-related traits in your genetic plan that predict the animal’s susceptibility to disease. With all the unique health events, making a sound decision can be confusing and overwhelming for producers. 

That exact producer challenge led us to develop AHI, which combines eight related and highly correlated health events into a single simple metric based on overall impact. Unlike other health and wellness indexes, ABS gives you flexibility through a Custom Index to control the amount of emphasis for health traits in your genetic plan.  With AHI being comprised of mastitis, metritis, heifer survival, ketosis, retained placenta, twinning rate, displaced abomasum, and milk fever, it is an easy-to-use tool that simplifies selecting for cow and calf wellness.  

ABS analyzes millions of animal records from thousands of commercial herds in more than 20 countries and six continents, and we keep gathering new information to validate our genetics and services. With an average herd size of 1,500 cows, the database supporting AHI offers more confidence and lower noise than smaller data sets.   

DWP$ also includes tools that assist in selecting cow and calf wellness. The difference is described by two different indexes, WT$ and CW$. While this does simplify your selection process, there are two metrics to look at—rather than being neatly tied up into one tool like AHI. DWP$ also has a fixed emphasis on WT$ and CW$. 

WT$ focuses on the value of cow wellness traits—mastitis, lameness, metritis, retained placenta, displaced abomasum, ketosis, and respiratory disease. The index approximates the potential profit contribution of those wellness traits only. It supports selection to reduce the risk of disease in dairy females.  

CW$ is a selection index that emphasizes the importance of calf wellness traits like calf livability, respiratory disease, and scours. It assesses the differences in expected lifetime profit associated with the risk of calfhood diseases and early death losses. The index supports selection to reduce the risk of disease in young replacement females.  

Tools for Your Genetic Selection 

Custom Index, AHI, DWP$, WT$, and CW$ are all tools that are available to monitor the productivity and health of your herd. AHI, WT$, and CW$ are tools proven to reduce the number of cows in the sick pen, whereas Custom Index and DWP$ are tools proven to help dairy producers make genetic progress.  

However, two tools—Custom Index and AHI—stand out from a simplicity and flexibility standpoint and zero in on the traits that matter most to you. With these tools, you make your own decisions and aren’t told what your herd should look like. No herd is average, so why would you base your genetic selection on tools and genetics that are based on what is best for the national herd average? Use the tool that allows you to make genetic progress in the areas that matter most to you!   

We know health is crucial at a dairy because it directly affects milk production, reproductive success, animal welfare, veterinary costs, and overall sustainability. By focusing on health, you can maximize productivity, ensure high-quality products, and uphold the values that are important to consumers and our industry.  

To manage disease-related traits on your dairy with one simple metric and maximize profitability, contact your Genetic Advisor or complete the form below.