New website launched as one-stop-shop for US Dairy Genetic info

NAAB announces the launch of a new website – www.usacattlegenetics.com – established from an industry-wide group effort to provide both domestic and international audiences with a one-stop-shop for comprehensive information on US dairy genetics.

Throughout the last decades, the United States has positioned itself as the world leader in dairy cattle genetics. Through the availability of many superior AI sires, markets in every continent have been developed and matured for US frozen bovine semen. Improvement of US dairy cattle genetics results from close collaboration of multiple dairy sectors which are connected in a system where performance data flows into genetic and genomic evaluations using standardized animal identification coding.

The US continues to improve dairy cattle genetics, genomics and reproductive technology, as well as add new traits and update selection indices to provide current and relevant genetic information to producers worldwide. With the

continual evolution and rapid adoption of genomics, clear and neutral information on the changing US dairy genetic evaluation system has not been easily accessible for interested domestic and international audiences. While a large proportion of the new www.usacattlegenetics.com site covers the genetic evaluation and complements information from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, this new website extends across dairy sectors and addresses US phenotypic data collection, animal identification, semen straw coding, genomic selection, and breed specific indices and characteristics of the main US dairy breeds. The website, thereby, offers accurate answers to commonly asked questions such as:

• ‘How do I request a US evaluation on my cow/bull and what does it cost?’
• ‘What is the NAAB dairy cross reference database?’
• ‘What is a PTA/EBV/STA?’
• ‘What is the difference between USA and 840 as country codes’
• ‘What are the published haplotypes and recessives per breed?’.

As US dairy genetics continue to evolve using the latest scientific and technological tools, www.usacattlegenetics.com will be updated regularly to provide all interested stakeholders with the neutral information needed to keep utilizing US dairy genetics for genetic ambitions in both the USA and abroad.

Any questions and feedback on www.usacattlegenetics.com may be sent to info@usacattlegenetics.com .