BSAS paper 31
Increased gain with the same inbreeding in UK Holsteins
A study to determine the current rates of inbreeding and to assess the potential of using optimised selection procedures in the UK dairy herd, has been undertaken by Sustainable Livestock Systems, SAC, Bush Estate, Midlothian (Kearney, Wall and Villanueva).
Pedigrees were extracted from the Holstein UK database and inbreeding coefficients calculated for nearly 7.5m animals born from 1940 to 2002.
Breeding values used for optimised selection were for production (£PIN) and production plus longevity (£PLI).
Results show that the rate of inbreeding has increased in the UK Holstein population over the last decade, but it has yet to reach critical levels.
Optimised selection appears to represent a promising selection tool for increasing genetic gain at the same rate of inbreeding or for reducing the rate of inbreeding at the same genetic gain. Using this technique would allow faster genetic improvement and inbreeding to be managed before it became a problem in the UK.
The paper was given at the British Society of Animal Science Annual Conference, 5-7 April, York.