The effect of sire and birth year on breeding values and milk production data of Hungarian Simmental cows
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56617/att.7526Keywords:
GBV, Hungarian Simmental, corrected milk productionAbstract
Genomic selection represents the most advanced form of breeding value estimation currently available. In the case of the Hungarian Simmental cattle breed, the genomic selection program launched in 2020 as part of an international collaborative effort. In the process the SNP markers, identified within single-step procedure, and the phenotypic production data of individuals in the population are integrated with pedigree information. Breeders receive genomic estimated breeding values as results three times per year. Owing to the dual-purpose nature of the breed, the following breeding values are estimated: dual breeding value, milk breeding value, meat breeding value, and fitness breeding value. In this study, the authors analyzed data from a large-scale dairy herd. The evaluation included both the genomic breeding values (GBV) of cows and the first-lactation milk yield corrected to 305 days. For animals born between 2010 and 2020, breeding value (89,4 < 101point) and milk production data were compared between birth-year groups. The potential influence of sire origin was also assessed, as the herd included cows sired by Hungarian, German, and Austrian bulls. The average GBV and Milk BV of cows sired by Hungarian bulls were substantially lower than those of cows sired by Austrian (-10 points) and German (-8 points) bulls. In contrast, for 305-day first-lactation milk yield, the ranking was reversed: Hungarian-sired cows produced 986 kg more milk than the Austrian-sired cows and 269 kg more than the German-sired cows on average. Significant differences were found both between the birth-year groups and among sire-origin groups for the evaluated parameters. The results indicate that the phenotypic expression of genomic estimated breeding values is considerably affected by the actual production environment, particularly in the case of first-lactation performance (average 7300 kg, minimum 6855 kg in 2012, maximum value 7863 kg in 2013).
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Copyright (c) 2026 Kovács Ákos Péter,Bene Szabolcs,Kovács-Mesterházy Zoltán,Benedek Zsuzsanna,Polgár János Péter (Szerző)
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