Effective Utilisation of Genomics

Abstract

A simple and effective process for developing and implementing genetic improvement has been developed through R&D and implementation: define goals, collect appropriate records, evaluate candidates, and select and mate the best candidates. These steps interact - goals define what should be recorded, recording influences likelihood of selection of candidates, genetic change may change the goals, etc. In the BLUP era, steps were at the same time linked quite tightly, in that animals with records comprised most or all the candidates. As genomic methods are implemented this linkage can be partly or completely broken, which raises important questions about coordination of the recording and selection effort. In single enterprise or vertically integrated operations, this coordination should be straightforward, but in multi-enterprise, unintegrated systems such as those characterising beef production world-wide, this is not the case. Some possible approaches to achieving this coordination are considered, and differences due to within- or across-country perspectives, and possible solutions, explored. Management of breeds is expected to require significant innovation in organisational structure and procedures in the genomics era.