April is bringing changes to dairy cattle genetics. Two significant updates will be implemented in the April dairy genetic evaluations published by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding. These are: a revision to the lifetime merit indices and a genetic base change.
CDCB is an organization responsible for genetic evaluations of dairy cattle and goats in the U.S. Industry Relations Manager Katie Schmitt says the base change could influence breeding decisions on the farm. This is because it raises the average for desirable traits.
She says in the last five years, the U.S. dairy herd has improved in several ways, including milk production (pounds of milk produced) and length of milk production (how many months a dairy cow can produce.)
These merit index values, along with the 49 individual selection traits and composites produced by CDCB, will be expressed on an updated genetic base relative to dairy cows born in 2020. In the U.S., this update occurs every five years to best align selection tools with the current dairy herd. Final base change values will be shared with the April 2025 evaluation release.
The genetic index adjustment will raise the economic weight of certain traits, Schmitt explains.
The following table shows the expected relative value of economically rooted weights of traits in the revised April 2025 Net Merit $ formula, compared to weights in the current formula. Calculations indicate little reranking of most animals.
Stay up to date on changes: https://uscdcb.com/
