Selection on feed intake or feed efficiency: A position paper from gDMI breeding goal discussions

Authors

  • Roel Veerkamp Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre Wageningen UR Livestock Research

Keywords:

cattle, genetic evaluation, feed intake, feed efficiency, genomic selection

Abstract

The widespread use of genomic information in dairy cattle breeding programs has opened up the possibility to select for novel traits, especially for traits that are traditionally difficult to record in a progeny testing scheme. Feed intake and efficiency is such a difficult to measure trait. In February 2013, the co-authors discussed how information on DMI should be incorporated in the breeding decisions. The aim of this paper is to present the overall discussion and main positions taken by the group on four topics related to feed efficiency: i) breeding goal definition; ii) biological variation in feed utilisation; iii) optimal recording of feed intake and predictor traits; and iv) unwanted correlated responses and validation

Author Biography

Roel Veerkamp, Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre Wageningen UR Livestock Research

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Published

2013-08-14

Issue

No. 47 (2013): Proceedings of the 2013 Interbull meeting

Section

Articles

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