Economic basis for the Nordic Total Merit Index

Area of Science:

• Animal Breeding and Genetics
• Quantitative Genetics
• Dairy Cattle Production Systems

Background:

• Cooperating countries often apply joint breeding goals for livestock, facilitating cross-border selection.
• The advantage of joint breeding goals depends on shared production environments, which is investigated here.
• Previous research has not fully assessed the feasibility of joint breeding goals across Nordic countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the advantage of a joint breeding goal versus national breeding goals for dairy cattle in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
• To compare the economic values and rank correlations of bulls selected under national and joint breeding goals.
• To determine the feasibility of implementing a common breeding goal for major dairy breeds across these Nordic countries.

Main Methods:

• Economic values for breeding goal traits were derived using an objective bio-economic model for each country's average dairy herd.
• Common Nordic economic values were calculated as the average of trait-specific economic values across the three production environments.
• Rank correlations between bulls selected for national and joint breeding goals were estimated for Nordic Red Dairy Cattle and Nordic Holstein.

Main Results:

• Balanced breeding goals were achieved, with significant economic values for health, fertility, milk production, and longevity traits.
• Estimated rank correlations between bulls selected for national and joint breeding goals were very high for both Nordic Red Dairy Cattle and Nordic Holstein.
• The study found that a joint breeding goal within breed is feasible for Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

Conclusions:

• A joint breeding goal is a viable strategy for dairy cattle in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, given the shared production environments and high rank correlations.
• Implementing joint breeding goals can enhance cross-border selection of elite bulls, potentially improving genetic gain.
• The findings support the harmonization of breeding strategies across Nordic countries for major dairy breeds.