Selection for feed intake in dairy cattle using genomic selection

There has been long running interest in how feed intake and feed efficiency should be taken into account in breeding decisions (for review Veerkamp, 1998). There is, as yet, no direct selection practiced for feed efficiency or EB using actual feed intake observations. This is primarily because the large resource demand of measuring, particularly, individual feed intake in dairy cows. This makes routine selection in breeding programs too difficult. Genomic selection provides new opportunities, as it allows to combine existing datasets from, for example, research herds in different countries and use these as a reference herd for calibrating a SNP key. Calculations show that a breeding program is realistic using this approach, and several countries work together to achieve an international breeding value for feed intake of dairy cows.