Experiences in selecting on a total merit index in the Austrian fleckvieh breed

Abstract

Spotted cattle breed is the most common breed in Austria. Austrian Spotted cattle breed is bred as a dual purpose breed for more than 100 years. The breeding objective has changed over the time according to the different economic importance of the traits and according to the different possibilities in using estimated breeding values (EBVs) for selection. Since 1998 the breeding objective is defined as the aggregate genotype of production traits and functional traits. All economically important traits are combined according to their economic weights in the total merit index (TMI). The TMI is calculated by combining the EBVs of all traits using a selection index procedure. The index weights (b-values) are estimated depending on the reliabilities of the EBVs and are therefore different from animal to animal. Considering the intensive international exchange of semen from the best bulls, the cooperation in the breeding programs and the similar economic situation in agriculture the breeding organizations of Germany and Austria decided to make a joint across-country evaluation for all traits. Since November 2002 breeding values for all traits and as a logical conclusion the TMI are evaluated jointly. The result is a high acceptance of the EBVs and the TMI by the farmers because of smaller changes of the breeding values for national and foreign bulls between consecutive evaluations. The realized economic gain in the different traits is very close to the expected economic gain. In the last 10 years on average 88.2 % of the economic gain were realized in the milk traits, 4.2 % in the beef traits and 7.6 % were realized in the fitness traits.