Producer breeding objectives and optimal sire selection.

Area of Science:

• Animal Breeding and Genetics
• Agricultural Economics

Background:

• Dairy breeding programs aim to balance multiple producer objectives.
• Producer priorities significantly influence genetic gain and breeding costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the impact of producer objectives on sire selection strategies.
• To determine optimal breeding weights based on producer priorities.

Main Methods:

• Online survey of dairy producers to rank breeding objectives.
• Development of a multiple-objective integer program for mate selection.
• Analysis of sire portfolio impact based on objective prioritization.

Main Results:

• Maximizing net merit yielded $306-$310 merit with 6.99%-10.45% inbreeding.
• Minimizing inbreeding resulted in 6.11%-6.60% inbreeding and $274-$301 merit.
• Minimizing semen cost led to $27 cost with 10.68% inbreeding.

Conclusions:

• Producer objectives substantially impact sire portfolio selection.
• Balancing net merit, inbreeding, and cost is crucial for effective breeding.
• Tailoring breeding goals to producer priorities optimizes outcomes.