Author
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Powell, Rex |
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Submitted to: Dairy Genetics National Workshop Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 3/29/1998 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Routine evaluations of dairy bulls for yield traits by the International Bull Evaluation Service (Interbull) are increasingly accepted. However, acceptance is not universal. A comparison of Interbull evaluations with national evaluations showed that Interbull's use of foreign data aided in the prediction of later national bull evaluations. The benefits from including foreign data were larger for countries that historically have imported rather than exported semen. However, the recent increase in importation of European semen into North America means an increase in the importance of foreign data worldwide. A wider acceptance of Interbull evaluations is justified, and Interbull services and activities are expected to improve and to expand. The funding for these advancements will come in part from an increase in the country fees that support the Centre and in part from the efforts of the National Association of Animal Breeders and USDA. Sires of the top Holstein bulls around the world tend to be from the United States. However, the spread of U.S. genetics means that the genetics of other countries has improved to where their individual bulls are competitive with the best in the United States. The challenge for the U.S. dairy industry is to improve various aspects of its overall genetics program so that the United States can continue to be looked to as a source of top genetics. Technical Abstract: Routine bull evaluations of yield traits by the International Bull Evaluation Service (Interbull) are increasingly accepted. However, acceptance is not universal. A comparison of Interbull evaluations with national evaluations showed that Interbull's use of foreign data aided in prediction of later national bull evaluations. The benefits from including foreign data were larger for countries that historically have imported rather than exported semen. However, the recent increase in importation of European semen into North America means an increase in the importance of foreign data worldwide. Wider acceptance of Interbull evaluations is justified, and Interbull services and activities are expected to improve and to expand. The funding for these advancements will come in part from an increase in country fees to support the Centre and in part from efforts of the National Association of Animal Breeders and USDA. Sires of the top Holstein bulls around the world tend to be from the United States. The spread of U.S. genetics means that the genetics of other countries has improved to where their individual bulls are competitive with the best in the United States. Country representation for the top bulls differs by the national scale and by trait. Although the United States nearly always had the largest number of top bulls, for some country-trait combinations, only a third of the top 100 bulls were from the United States. The challenge for the U.S. dairy industry is to improve various aspects of its overall genetics program so that the United States can continue to be looked to as a source of top genetics. |
