New dairy genetic evaluations were released last week to help producers make better breeding, culling and other management decisions. Almost 80 million dairy cows will receive updated evaluations for 50 individual traits and four selection indexes. Globally, the U.S. is seen as a leader in genetics, primarily due to the collaboration between dairy producers and organizations that serve those producers and have been tracking data since 1895.

The Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) helps lead this effort and touts the importance of farmer involvement in such efforts.

This year’s CDCD priority research areas include:

1. Mobility and hoof health traits;
2. Milking speed;
3. Resistance to Johne’s disease;
4. Boosting feed efficiency data, and
5. Mitigating methane emissions.

Read more on these priorities and ongoing efforts in dairy genetics here.