Provide farmers with a bull selector tool to identify available sires that are consistent with their breeding goal
The tool helps to identify the most complementary match between the chosen sires and females in the herd to maximise the chance of producing high genetic merit offspring but also a more consistent herd. Both genetic (based on progeny) and genomic (based on DNA analysis) selection are important and provide complementary information. The milk heritability is 40% but environmental factors (in the broad sense) are also important. The breeder must decide which characteristics of his herd/cows he wishes to improve (max 5 on more than 40). Each characteristic is weighted to obtain an overall score per bull and propose the best sire for insemination. He must also consider the characteristics of his females and their pedigree. Progeny must be checked for further selection. There is no guarantee of inheriting good genes but generational accumulation of selection effects would be appear with time. The inbreeding can reinforce positive traits but the breeder need to be careful about defects and limit the inbreeding into his herd. The tools are generally interconnected between countries and organisms but the indexes are calculated in different ways according to the aim of the herd specificity and the improvement strategy. At the end, the breeder has to know his herd and objective to definite his criteria with the advice of technician or vet. It takes time for coding and selection) and money for semen and the genomic analysis. The breeder has the choice to improve in tree topics: production characteristics, morphological characteristics and functional characteristics.
Resilience for Dairy
Completed | 2021-2024
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland