A simple procedure for obtaining approximate interim cow solutions from an animal model

Area of Science:

• Animal breeding and genetics
• Dairy science
• Quantitative genetics

Background:

• Individual animal mixed models are computationally intensive.
• Frequent breeding value evaluations are crucial for timely dairy farm management decisions.
• Existing methods can delay access to updated genetic information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a computationally efficient procedure for rapid, approximate breeding value estimation in dairy cows.
• To enable producers to obtain updated estimates as soon as new data becomes available.
• To facilitate earlier breeding and management decisions in dairy production.

Main Methods:

• Developed an algorithm based on solving a system of two equations for immediate approximate estimates.
• Updated solutions only for cows with records in progress.
• Assumed negligible impact of changes in related animals' evaluations on the target cow's evaluation.
• Did not reestimate herd-year-season effects.

Main Results:

• The new procedure provides approximate breeding value estimates quickly as new information arises.
• Updated evaluations showed slightly higher correlations (.027 to .064) with later full evaluations compared to previous methods.
• The computational cost of applying the algorithm is minimal.

Conclusions:

• The developed algorithm offers a practical solution for frequent, approximate breeding value updates in dairy cows.
• This method supports earlier and more informed breeding and management decisions for dairy producers.
• The slight gains in accuracy are achieved with insignificant computational cost.