The dairy cattle improvement industry in the United States has recently undergone a major change as it relates to genetic and genomic evaluation services. As with most countries, genetic evaluation services in the United States began as a responsibility and activity of the federal government. More specifically, for several decades now, the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (AIPL) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has received and processed data from various sources across the U.S. into a national system, conducted research on a vast array of important topics, established genetic evaluation systems for many traits and computed routine evaluations for bulls and cows in all dairy cattle breeds that were delivered to the industry organizations and producers. During the course of the past few years, the dairy cattle improvement industry in the  United States has been restructured commencing with the release of the April 2013 genetic evaluations.

New Governance Model for Genetic Evaluation Services

The final steps of a lengthy process of consultation and planning were realized in late 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. Officially, the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) is now responsible for delivering genetic and genomic evaluation services for all dairy cattle breeds in the United States. Similar to the governance model of Canadian Dairy Network (CDN), the CDCB is led by a Board of Directors that has representation from the national breed associations, the milk recording and data processing centres as well as the A.I. sector. During an initial transition period that may be up to two years in duration, the researchers and staff at USDA-AIPL will assist in the calculation and delivery of genetic evaluation services. The main focus for USDA-AIPL into the future will be continued research and development in support of the national genetic evaluation services controlled by the industry stakeholders through the CDCB.

Financing U.S. Genetic Evaluation Services

Due to the privatization of genetic evaluation services to the industry, the business plan for the CDCB needed to include a plan for financing such important activities. As a consequence, the Board of Directors of the CDCB approved a fee structure that had two main principles; (a) that fees would be applied to genotyped animals and (b) that the applied fees would consider the degree to which the herd owner or A.I. organization contributes  pedigree and performance data to the national genetic evaluation system. Simply stated, herdbook registered animals in the United States that are milk recorded and type classified already contribute valuable data to
current and future genetic evaluation services relative to foreign animals that may be genotyped within the North American system. Although the CDCB fee structure is rather complex and detailed, the most important fact to Canada is that a fee is now payable for every animal (male or female) for which the Canadian owner wishes to have a genomic evaluation in the United States with its associated GTPI and/or Genomic NM$ (Net Merit). For Canadian breeders, regardless of the breed, Holstein Canada intends to act on their behalf and collect the required fees from those interested in receiving a U.S. genomic evaluation and provide the associated payment to the CDCB. The process for achieving this goal is currently under development at Holstein Canada with completion expected in the near future.

Screening Based on GLPI

In Canada, official genomic evaluations including the GLPI are released by CDN on a monthly basis for all newly genotyped females and Holstein Canada generates a printable genomic evaluation report that is made available electronically to the animal’s owner. For males, the same process is used but the resulting genomic evaluations delivered to the bull owner are unofficial and therefore not presented on the CDN or breed association web sites. Whether it is a genotyped male or female, breeders in Canada will then need to decide if they want to pay for receiving a U.S. genomic evaluation, which would normally arrive the following monthly release. To assist in this decision-making process, CDN and Holstein Canada collaborated in a study to relate GLPI values for Holsteins in Canada to their GTPI value in the United States. The results of this analysis can serve as a means for screening which animals are worthwhile paying to receive a U.S. genomic evaluation including GTPI and Genomic NM$.

Figure 1 is a plot of the GTPI and GLPI values in April 2013 for Canadian Holsteins, which includes nearly 31,000 animals. The correlation of genomic evaluations on each side of the border is 93% so knowing the GLPI of an animal in Canada provides an excellent indicator of the level of its GTPI in the United States. For example, if an animal has a GLPI of 2800, then following that line up in the graph will show that it crosses the solid dark line very close to 2000 on the GTPI scale, which means they are essentially equivalent on average. The actual data points show, however, that among all animals with 2800 GLPI, the range in their GTPI is slightly broader. In terms of confidence intervals, 90% of the animals will have a GTPI that is within ±150 GTPI points from the predicted level indicated by the dark solid line regardless of their GLPI in Canada. For the example above, this means that 90% of all animals that have a GLPI of 2800 will have a GTPI value between 2150 and 1850 (i.e.: 2000±150).

Another way of analyzing the same data is presented in Table 1, which shows the probability that an animal’s GTPI surpasses specific levels depending on its GLPI value. For example, a heifer or young bull with a GLPI that rounds to 3200, has a 1% chance of reaching a GTPI of 2500 or higher and an 8% chance of surpassing 2400 GTPI. As one considers lower GTPI levels, the probability of reaching it increases to a point where there is a 97% chance that an animal with 3200 GLPI reaches at least 2100 for GTPI and it is essentially certain that they will surpass the 2000 GTPI mark.

In United States, there are two main official national indexes for ranking animals, which include the TPI calculated by the USA Holstein Association and Net Merit (NM$) for all breeds, as calculated by USDA-AIPL. Similar to the analysis above done for GTPI, the association between GLPI and Genomic NM$ can also be examined. Figure 1 shows the plot of these values in April 2013 for genotyped Canadian Holsteins, which shows a high correlation of 85%.

Given the different scale used for Net Merit compared to TPI in Holsteins, Table 2 presents the resulting probabilities associated with reaching specific levels of Genomic NM$ in the United States based on the animal`s GLPI in Canada.

Summary

The calculation and delivery of genetic evaluation services in the United States has gone through a significant change with the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) taking over the responsibility commencing the April 2013 release. This transition away from federal government services also required the establishment of a fee structure, which has been directly linked to the provision of genomic evaluations for dairy cattle males and females, both domestic and foreign. Given the strong association between GLPI and GTPI values, Canadian breeders can screen animals based on their GLPI in order to identify those for which they wish to pay the fees to receive a genomic evaluation in the United States, including GTPI and Genomic NM$.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) signed the Nonfunded Cooperative Agreement (NFCA) on March 27. This NFCA allows for the transition of genetic evaluation calculations, maintains the industry cooperator database and focuses USDA-Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory’s (AIPL) mission on research. For 30 months, several dairy industry representatives, including individuals from artificial breeding organizations, dairy breed associations, milk recording organizations, dairy record processing centers, private industry, universities and USDA-ARS, collaborated to create this agreement that addresses the future of dairy cattle genetic evaluations and management benchmarks.

For its new role, CDCB retained an interim team with extensive dairy cattle genetic evaluation experience. Duane Norman, retired AIPL research leader, will lead the team and Leigh Walton, a long-time AIPL data analyst, will manage the information technology. This team will work in cooperation with current AIPL staff to produce the April 2013 genetic evaluations and release genomic information. This is part of the 24-month transition plan outlined in the NFCA.

Beginning with the April 2013 dairy cattle genetic evaluations, genomic evaluations may be obtained on bovine males and females. CDCB announced its fee schedule (available at: www.cdcb.us), which will be collected as part of the genotyping testing costs, with fee revenue being used to help offset costs related to producing genetic evaluations, maintaining the database and providing management benchmarks.

Founded in 1986, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding is a broad-based and multiple-entity organization that formalized in 1999 with articles of incorporation. CDCB strives to ensure quality dairy cattle data, which are available for scientifically validated genetic and genomic evaluations.

For further information, contact Duane Norman at duane.norman@cdcb.us; CDCB Chair Ole Meland at omeland@accelgen.com; or CDCB Vice Chair Jay Mattison at jmattison@dhia.org.

The fee schedule for genomic evaluations was released March 22 by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), which has taken over the task of providing genetic evaluations from the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, USDA.CDCB fees are charged in addition to the initial cost of animal genotyping and cover the ongoing expenses of calculating and distributing monthly genomic evaluations and official summaries published three times each year, in April, August and December. Fees are determined by the DHI herd code or country of origin, and are lowest for owners providing the most data or information of greatest value to the CDCB Cooperator Database.

All owners will pay genomic evaluation fees for genotyped bulls. An additional fee will not be assessed for the majority of genotyped females.All required female fees and initial male fees will be collected by the nominator (the American Jersey Cattle Association is an approved nominator). These fees are charged only for the first genotype submitted for each animal.For the initial fee, genotyped U.S. males will receive a genomic evaluation monthly, but will not be on any lists past 15 months of age unless the A.I. service fee is paid. Foreign genotyped males will receive evaluations monthly up through 15 months of age, after which the A.I. service fee must be paid to obtain additional genomic predictions.

• the low-density GGP 8K test, priced at $38 per animal in REAP herds and $48 per animal for all others, plus required female fee or initial male fee;

• the GGP 80K test, successor to the 50K chip, for $100 per animal in REAP herds and $115 per animal for all others, plus required female fee or initial male fee; and

• optional add-on tests for BVD-PI, horned/polled gene, and casein A2, fees determined by when tests are requested and processed.

Order genotyping services by calling 614/322-4482, by email, or online. Please note: Online ordering is not available for male genotyping.

Insemination data provided to CDN by the major A.I. organizations in Canada and Canadian DHI partners since 2001 was recently analyzed.  Here are the trends in market share for Holstein bulls by age.

Trend in Sire Usage by Age Category at Insemination

Source: Canadian Dairy Network

After more than twenty years with the Lifetime Profit Index (LPI) as Canada’s national genetic selection index, Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) has decided to adjust the scale of expression for all dairy breeds in conjunction with the April 2013 genetic evaluation release. The CDN Board of Directors took this action following more than a year of consultation with the various breed associations and industry partners. The April 2013 implementation of the revised LPI scale of expression also includes an update of the standard deviation values for fat and protein yields in the formula in addition to the annual genetic base adjustments.

New LPI Scale

Since its beginning in 1991, the Lifetime Profit Index (LPI) has helped breeders and A.I. organizations rank bulls, cows and heifers to optimize selection and mating decisions, which translates to high rates of genetic progress for traits of importance. Effective April 2013, the scale for LPI values in each dairy breed will be half of what it has been. In order to maintain the level of LPI for the highest progeny proven bulls, a “constant” will be added to the formula For the Holstein breed, the “constant” will be 1700 points as presented in Table 1, which includes all breeds. This change in scale has no impact on how animals in each breed rank although reducing the range will create more animals tied at some LPI values.

Table 1: LPI “Constant” by Breed and its Partitioning Across Components

Why Change the LPI Scale?

Figure 1 graphically shows the impact of this change in the scale of expression for LPI in Holsteins. LPI values for progeny proven Holstein sires have exceeded the range from -3000 to +3000 points in recent years. This is expected when the scale has an average near zero and the standard deviation is approximately 750 LPI points since the most extreme values would normally be four standard deviations above and below the average (4 x 750 = 3000). This very wide range is unique to Canada and the national selection index in most countries is expressed on a much narrower scale. For example, compared to 750 LPI points in Canada, the standard deviation for TPI in the United States is 235 points and most European countries use a scale with a standard deviation of less than 100 points.

Adding a “constant” in the formula establishes the average value among progeny proven sires. This concept is similar to the approach used in the TPI formula for years, which currently includes a constant value of 1832. The use of 1700 for Holsteins in April 2013 will translate to a higher “constant” once the genetic base in Canada is adjusted in April 2014, which will allow for a direct comparison of LPI values over time within each breed.

From a producer perspective, there is another major reason why CDN decided to halve the scale of LPI values in each breed while maintaining the level of the highest progeny proven sires. Such a change to the LPI scale of expression essentially eliminates negative values, which has been a major concern expressed by breeders regarding LPI values for older cows in their herd that have been very profitable during their lifetime. At the other end of the scale, the new LPI scale will reduce the perceived superiority of genomic young sires compared to progeny proven bulls as well as the top heifers compared to elite cows.

Interpretation of LPI

LPI values do not have a specific unit of expression and the main purpose is to rank bulls, cows and heifers according to the genetic selection strategy in each breed. Animals with a higher LPI are expected to produce progeny that will be more profitable over their lifetime, relative to lower ranking animals. This concept of superiority remains unchanged with the new scale of expression for LPI values in Canada. Based on a CDN study for Holsteins conducted in 2006, every 100-point difference in the average LPI at the herd level translated to an increase of $50 in profit per cow per year, which accumulates from year to year. With the new LPI scale effective
April 2013, this result makes interpretation even easier for Holsteins. Every point increase in the average LPI of a herd now translates to a parallel increase of one dollar profit per cow per year for the lifetime of the daughter.

Updating Production Standard Deviations

Within the LPI formula, the genetic evaluations for each trait must first be adjusted to a common scale of expression. This is achieved by dividing the evaluations for each trait by the appropriate standard deviation, which makes the evaluations for all traits directly comparable and ensures the desired weight is applied to each trait included in the formula. Over the course of time, CDN geneticists have seen a change in the standard deviation of production proofs within each breed. The rescaling of LPI values in each breed also provides CDN with the opportunity to update the standard deviations for production traits, as presented in Table 2. Other than Milk Yield, the revised standard deviations for these traits affect the LPI formula in each breed.

Summary

Effective April 2013, the scale for expressing LPI values in each breed is halved compared to the previous range. Top progeny proven sires maintain their LPI level while the highest young genomic bulls and heifers experience some reduction. Older cows with negative LPI values move up such that essentially all animals in each breed receive positive LPI values. Previous studies relating LPI to profit of daughters remain relevant with the new LPI scale of expression until CDN conducts an updated analysis in the near future.

Author: Brian Van Doormaal, CDN
Date: March 2013fSource: Canadian Dairy Network

On Thursday, December 20, 2012, the Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) Board of Directors met at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel near the Toronto airport. The following is a summary of recommendations and decisions stemming from that meeting.

• The CDN Board of Directors approved the minutes of its meetings held in conjunction with the 2012 Industry Forum and accepted the minutes of the 17th Annual General Meeting for circulation to the members and delegates. As follow-up to those meetings, CDN management will implement the new service fee structure for genotyped privately owned males and provide extension information required for proper communication to Canadian breeders. An important detail associated with this new service structure is that all males must be registered in the breed association herdbook and genotyped with the 50K panel (or equivalent) prior to CDN releasing any genomic evaluation, whether the DNA was submitted by the bull owner or an A.I. organization.
• In addition to the new policies at CDN due to the open access to male genomic evaluations starting April 2013, the CDN Board also received a thorough update on the status of discussions in the United States relative to the transition of responsibilities for dairy cattle genetic evaluations from the federal government (USDA) to the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), expected to be official by March 2013. This change in service delivery in the United States will mean that additional fees will have to be paid by Canadian breeders and A.I organizations in order to receive a US-based genomic evaluation such as a GTPI.
• In terms of new initiatives, the Board of Directors commended management for establishing two major agreements for the benefit of the organization and the industry in general. The first is an agreement with Pfizer Canada that provides direct financial support towards the genotyping of up to 2,800 Holstein bulls that already have an official progeny proof and LPI in Canada. The second initiative is an agreement between Holstein UK, Holstein Canada and CDN that provides a full portfolio of genotyping and genomic evaluation services for Holstein in the United Kingdom. In addition, the partners in the North American Genomics Consortium signed an agreement with Viking Genetics in Denmark for the exchange of genotypes for progeny proven Jersey bulls in an effort to increase the size of the reference population for Jersey genomic evaluations in Canada, United States and Denmark.
• After considering the past GEB recommendations regarding changes to LPI in all breeds, and the lengthy time frame required to finalize and introduce changes to the specific formula per se, the Board of Directors directed management to implement the October 2011 recommendation to halve the scale of LPI in all breeds while maintaining the level for the highest progeny proven bulls, effective as soon as April 2013. CDN will provide parallel listings for the December 2012 genetic evaluation release to each breed association for their respective input on the desired level of LPI to be attained by the highest progeny proven sire.
• The Board of Directors reviewed and approved the summary of actions and recommendations from the Genetic Evaluation Board meeting held in October 2012, including various enhancements effective the December 2012 release. These include an improved method for imputation of low density genotypes, a modified procedure for deregressing bull proofs for the estimation of genomic evaluations, a change to create consistency in Reliability values for domestic and MACE evaluations for Indirect Herd Life, the release of the first official genomic evaluations for the Ayrshire breed, the introduction of Body Condition Score as a newly evaluated trait in all breeds, and the separation of Top Heifer by GPA LPI into two lists for those 9 months and older versus calves that are younger than 9 months. A key recommendation discussed in detail and supported by the Board was the importance of conducting research and developing methods to reduce potential biases in genetic and genomic evaluations for bulls not randomly used in Canadian dairy herds, including genomic young sires. Support was also given towards the ongoing research in the areas of mastitis resistance, hoof health and non-return rate semen fertility evaluations.
• Given the federal government announcement on December 7, 2012 to launch the Growing Forward 2 Programs effective April 1, 2013, the CDN Board of Directors received details related to five projects approved by the DairyGen Council for funding within the Dairy Research Cluster 2 initiative led by Dairy Farmers of Canada. If approved, the industry contribution through CDN of $1 million over five years is eligible for up to $3 million in matching support from AAFC. The Board of Directors approved the proposed projects for funding and also accepted the DairyGen recommendation to support another proposal conditional that it is accepted for matching support by NSERC.
• The Board reviewed and approved the summary of actions and recommendations from the Industry Standards Committee meeting held in November 2012, which included an updated Terms of Reference document and various topics to be addressed at its next meeting.
• As done annually, the CDN Board of Directors reviewed the membership and terms associated with members of the Genetic Evaluation Board (GEB), the DairyGen Council and the Industry Standards Committee. It was duly approved by the Board that all qualifying persons whose terms were completed at the end of 2012 would be reappointed for another term starting 2013. Outside of this decision, the Board approved the nomination from Canadian DHI that Ian Rumbles be substituted by Dr. Robert Moore on the DairyGen Council. The approved members of these CDN advisory committees for the year 2013 are appended to this summary with one producer appointment for the GEB yet to be named.
• The Board of Directors discussed correspondence received from the Canadian Goat Society and agreed to examine options for integrating the dairy goat sector into the structure and services provided by CDN. Management will consult with the key players involved with genetic improvement programs for dairy goats in Canada and prepare a proposal for future presentation to the Board of Directors.
• Financially, the Board of Directors reviewed the report of revenue and expenses for the 2012 Industry Forum held in Kelowna, British Columbia, which realized a net deficit of $7,151 to be absorbed within the CDN budget. For the current CDN fiscal year, projections after eight months of activity show operational revenue up 0.5 percent and associated expenses down by 2.5 percent from budget. Therefore, the expected bottom line shows a net deficiency of approximately $41,000 instead of the budgeted amount of $80,000. The Proven SireGenotyping Project with Pfizer Canada, which is new to Special Projects for the year, balances $225,000 on both the revenue and expense side. Management presented a preliminary budget for 2013-2014 that includes the new service fee structure for genotyped bulls that are privately owned. The CDN Board agreed to aim for a neutral budget in terms of operational revenue and expenses, both estimated at nearly $1.75M after allowing for growth in staff numbers.
• As the co-host for the 2013 Dairy Cattle Improvement Industry Forum, CIAQ announced that it will be take place at the Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix, Quebec from September 16-18, 2013.
• The next CDN Board of Directors meetings will be held as follows:
  • Friday, March 22, 2013 at the Delta Hotel in Guelph, Ontario,
  • Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at Dairy Farmers of Canada, Montreal, Quebec
  • Monday, September 16, 2013 in Charlevoix, Quebec

For further clarification regarding the above decisions, please feel free to contact any member of the CDN Board of Directors or the management staff.

Effective April 1st, 2013, there will be open access to breeders for genotyping any herdbook registered male, as has been the case since November 2008 for cows and heifers. Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) and  Holstein Canada have collaborated to achieve maximum efficiency and ease to Canadian producers and A.I. organizations.

Underlying Principles

When considering the multitude of options for allowing open access to genotyping bulls in Canada, the CDN Board of Directors agreed on some key underlying principles. First and foremost, it is understood that genomics will continue to have a major impact on genetic selection programs and this technology should therefore be widely available and actively encouraged. Secondly, the Canadian genetic evaluation system is highly recognized nationally and internationally so the availability of GLPI values must be promoted. Lastly, for the past 15 years genetic evaluation services in Canada have been totally industry funded (80% by A.I.
organizations and 20% by breed associations) so equity in fees must be maintained between A.I. versus privately owned bulls.

Genotyping Procedures and Fees

Holstein Canada currently provides genotyping services for heifers and cows in the Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Ayrshire breeds. Genomic tests currently available include (a) the basic “Low Density” (known as LD) panel with 6,000 SNPs, (b) an upgraded low density panel (known as LD-Plus or LD+) with 9,000 SNPs including the test for red coat colour in Holsteins plus various genetic recessive tests, and (c) the standard 50K panel with roughly 50,000 SNPs. Fees to Canadian producers for these three genotyping services are currently $45 for LD, $60 for LD+ and $135 for 50K, while an additional fee of $15 applies for foreign animals requested to be genotyped through Holstein Canada.

Effective April 1st, 2013, Holstein Canada will also accept genotyping requests for males with the procedures and fees being identical to those established for females. In addition, the current policy (excluding the GenoID program) that only animals registered in the herdbook can be genotyped will also be extended to males. Breeder owned bulls born in Canada must be genotyped through the Holstein Canada service for   inclusion in genomic evaluations in Canada and optionally the United States, whereas bulls born in the United States must be genotyped through services in that country. Males from countries outside of North America may also be genotyped through Holstein Canada with applicable fees.

Official Status and Publication of Genomic Evaluations

For genotyped females in Canada, the ongoing practise will continue such that CDN will freely release an official genomic evaluation including GLPI at the time of the first monthly release that includes their qualifying genotype with an automatic update at each subsequent official genetic evaluation release in April, August and December of each year. For females, the official status of their genomic evaluation means it will appear openly on the CDN and breed association web sites and can be used broadly in accordance with the Canadian Dairy Industry Publishing Code of Ethics.

On the male side, attaining official status for their GLPI will require the payment of a fixed rate fee to CDN, which equates to the average cost per bull that AI member organizations are expected to be paying for CDN genetic and genomic evaluation services. Therefore, once a privately owned young bull is genotyped through the Holstein Canada service and the associated fees including herdbook registration are paid, then CDN will provide to Holstein Canada the Canadian-based genomic evaluation details including its GLPI. For Holstein breeders, the Genomic Evaluation Report will be electronically posted on the owner’s Member internet account for access and printing and regularly updated until the bull reaches 12 months of age. For bull owners for other breeds, Holstein Canada will provide the same report to the respective breed association for passing along to the owner. It is important to note that such genomic evaluations will not be considered official in the CDN database and will therefore not be displayed on the CDN web site nor included on listings or transferred to breed associations for presentation on pedigrees, etc. The main purpose of providing such an “unofficial” genomic evaluation for genotyped bulls is to allow the owner to make decisions related to marketing, sale to an A.I. organization, private semen collection and promotion or even culling, depending on the superiority or inferiority of the young bull.

In the case whereby the private owner of a genomically tested young bull reaches an agreement with an A.I. member organization of CDN and the control of marketing rights is transferred to that A.I. organization, no additional payments to CDN are required by the breeder. The CDN genetic and genomic evaluation fees for such bulls will ultimately be covered by the A.I. organization that is a member of CDN. If no agreement is reached with an A.I. member organization of CDN and the owner wants an official GLPI and associated genomic evaluation in Canada, then payment of the established fee, which has been set at $7,500 per bull, must be received by CDN prior to the bull reaching 12 months of age. For privately owned bulls that surpass 12 months of age without payment of the CDN fee for official status, the provision of all genomic evaluation
services will cease and only traditional Parent Average values will be available for official documents and web site queries. For genomically tested bulls that reach three years of age without having more than 20 registered daughters born in Canada, CDN will officially release their Canadian-based genomic evaluation including GLPI at all subsequent official genetic evaluation releases in Canada.

Situation in the United States

Discussions within the dairy cattle improvement industry in the United States indicate an expected transition of genetic and genomic evaluation calculations away from the federal government (USDA) and towards an industry organization. This privatization of such services in the United States will also come with associated fees that are expected to be applied to genotyped bulls, cows and heifers. Therefore, also effective in early 2013 will be the implementation of a new fee structure in the United States for breeders and A.I. organizations to receive GTPI values and other associated genomic evaluations. For Canadian breeders, this
will mean a change to procedures for receiving a GTPI value for genotyped females and males through Holstein Canada but it is intended that Holstein Canada and CDN will continue collaborating to make this process as efficient and easy as possible.

Summary

The CDN Board of Directors has established a new fee structure applicable to breeder-owned young bulls that can be genotyped through Holstein Canada services starting in April 2013. To encourage as much male and female genotyping as possible in Canada, the fees applicable to females will be extended to registered males. Resulting GLPI values and associated genomic evaluations will automatically be made available to the bull owners on an unofficial basis until the bull reaches 12 months of age. For bulls without a transfer of ownership and/or semen controlling rights to an A.I. organization member of CDN, a payment of $7,500 must be received by CDN prior to the bull reaching 12 months of age in order for the GLPI and genomic evaluations to be officially released by CDN on its web site and transferred to the breed association for official pedigrees and other documents or queries.

For more check out the articles section of the CDN website.

The Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) met in Madison, Wis., Oct. 7-8, 2012. Following extensive industry discussion and planning, CDCB is moving forward ensuring the future leadership position for the U.S. dairy industry in genetic evaluations and management benchmarks.  Through collaboration within the U.S. dairy industry, CDCB’s plan will uphold the U.S. gold standard in developing and delivering high quality dairy genetics and management tools to dairy producers.

Meeting discussions centered on the proposed Business Plan and Cooperative Agreement, which had previously been available to the industry for comment. The proposed Business Plan and industry comments were presented to CDCB for discussion. After review, CDCB endorsed the proposed Business Plan as a roadmap for the new structure, with CDCB agreeing to a conference call in late October to review follow up refinements and changes. CDCB directors agreed to seek recommendations from assigned working groups for three specific areas in the Business Plan relating to: 1) bylaw changes, 2) Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (PDCA) quality certification of type, and 3) delivery of genomic evaluations for males beyond 15 months of age.

The latest draft of the Non-funded Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) along with industry comments were presented to the CDCB. The Council’s directors authorized Chair Ole Meland to work with USDA-ARS on the final version and sign the Cooperative Agreement as ARS has indicated they are intending to do before the end of December 2012.

CDCB also considered proposed changes to the organization’s bylaws, which will enable CDCB to move forward on the new course.  CDCB is working with its legal counsel in revising the governance structure outlined in the bylaws.  The revamped CDCB bylaws will incorporate:

• remain a not-for-profit organization;
• four member sectors – artificial insemination (National Association of Animal Breeders); dairy record providers (Dairy Herd Information Association); breed registry associations (PDCA); and dairy record processing centers;
• allied industry can organize and come forward as a sector for non-voting advisory directors.

Each sector association will have three voting directors and allied industry may have up to two non-voting directors. A mechanism for allied industry to move to voting status will be provided in the future.

After in-depth discussion by CDCB, there is broad industry agreement for the new structure and direction to serve the best interests of U.S. dairy producers.

For further information, contact Ole Meland, CDCB Chair, email: omeland@accelgen.com or Jay Mattison, CDCB Vice Chair, email: jmattison@dhia.org