ARS | Publication request: Reliability of Genomic Evaluation of Holstein Cattle in Canada

Submitted to: Interbull Annual Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: December 28, 2008
Publication Date: January 28, 2009
Citation: Schenkel, F.S., Sargolzaei, M., Kistemaker, G., Jansen, G.B., Sullivan, P., Van Doormaal, B.J., Van Raden, P.M., Wiggans, G.R. 2009. Reliability of Genomic Evaluation of Holstein Cattle in Canada. Interbull Annual Meeting Proceedings. Uppsala, Sweden, Jan. 26–29, 8 pp.

Technical Abstract: Researchers in Canada and the United States have been collaborating to develop and implement genomic evaluations aiming to fully integrate them into their national genetic evaluations for dairy cattle in 2009. A total of 44 Canadian traits were analyzed for 12,913 Holstein animals. For 43 out of 44 traits, the observed reliability of genomic predictions based on both domestic and official data sets was higher than the reliability of parent average (PA). The gain in reliability over PA was more pronounced when bulls from other countries were included. For production traits the average gain was 0.29 using all bulls and 0.16 points using only domestic bulls. For type traits the average gains were 0.18 and 0.12 points, respectively. Including additional bulls in the future will result in even larger gains in reliabilities.