University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign animal scientists are set to deliver a potential game changer for subsistence farmers in Tanzania: cows that produce up to 20 times the milk of indigenous breeds. The effort, published in Animal Frontiers, marries the milk-producing prowess of Holsteins and Jerseys with the heat, drought, and disease-resistance of Gyrs, an indigenous cattle breed common in tropical countries. Five generations of crosses result in cattle capable of producing 10 liters of milk per day under typical Tanzanian management, blasting past the half-liter average yield of indigenous cattle. It will be worth it if they’re better accepted.”But some aspects of Tanzanian cattle management will have to change to realize the full potential of the improved genetics. In other words, tropical genetics could be inserted into our already high-yielding cattle to better withstand heat, drought, and disease.