2003 Rex L. Powell Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD Interbull as a Tool for Genetic Improvement

BSCBA Annual Meeting (2) R.L. Powell 2003 INTERBULL  International Bull Evaluation Service  Centre in Uppsala, Sweden  Responsibilities and activities  Steering committee sets policy  General operations by staff  Global service provider

BSCBA Annual Meeting (3) R.L. Powell 2003 Interbull Evaluation Process  National evaluations sent to Centre  MACE combines pedigree and national evaluation data  Estimated genetic correlations applied  Evaluations returned to countries on their own scale  Officiality responsibility of countries

BSCBA Annual Meeting (4) R.L. Powell 2003 Interbull Service Participants Brown Swiss Country Trait Participation Percentage of bulls YieldTypeSCS Germany/Austria  51 Switzerland  24 Italy  12 USA  8 Slovenia  3 Canada  1 France  1 The Netherlands  <1<1 New Zealand  <1<1

BSCBA Annual Meeting (5) R.L. Powell 2003 Numbers of Countries per Bull

BSCBA Annual Meeting (6) R.L. Powell 2003 Genetic Correlations with USA CountryProteinStature France Canada.94 Italy The Netherlands Germany/Austria.89 Switzerland Slovenia.87 New Zealand.77

BSCBA Annual Meeting (7) R.L. Powell 2003 Example Bull “Kiwi” Country Daughters Genetic Correlation NumberPercentage New Zealand14475%0.77 USA4925%1.00 Interbull Breeding Value in the US = 26% New Zealand daughters 57% USA daughters 17% Pedigree Source: Dr. Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin

BSCBA Annual Meeting (8) R.L. Powell 2003 Example Bull “Bratwurst” Interbull Breeding Value in the US = 45% German daughters 40% USA daughters 15% Pedigree Source: Dr. Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin Country Daughters Genetic Correlation NumberPercentage Germany9472%0.89 USA3728%1.00

BSCBA Annual Meeting (9) R.L. Powell 2003 Example Bull “Meatball” Country Daughters Genetic Correlation NumberPercentage Italy7837%0.91 New Zealand7938%0.77 USA5125%1.00 Interbull Breeding Value in the US = 34% Italian daughters 12% New Zealand daughters 42% USA daughters 12% Pedigree Source: Dr. Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin

BSCBA Annual Meeting (10) R.L. Powell 2003 Top 50 Bulls for Yield (USA) Based on Interbull Evaluations CountryMilkProteinFat Germany/Austria81921 USA Italy14117 Switzerland935 France010 Canada000 The Netherlands000 New Zealand000 Slovenia000 Top-50 Bulls with US Sires Source: Interbull, May 2003

BSCBA Annual Meeting (11) R.L. Powell 2003 Use of Reliability  Measure of accuracy how much not  Guides how much to use a bull, not whether to use a bull  Minimum restricts the number of bulls  Limiting bulls limits progress

BSCBA Annual Meeting (12) R.L. Powell 2003 Effect of Minimum REL on Number of Bulls and Mean EBVP Minimum REL Number of Bulls Loss in EBVP 1 (all) For the top 50 US PTAP Bulls, May 2003 Source: Interbull, May 2003

BSCBA Annual Meeting (13) R.L. Powell 2003 Effect of Minimum PTA on Number of Bulls and Mean NM$ Minimum PTA Number of Bulls 1 Loss in NM$ 2 None550 PTA PL > 0400 PTA SCS < PTA Fat% > 0340 PTA Protein% > All of the above Among US active AI bulls, May Among the top 6 US NM$ bulls, May 2003 Source: USDA, May 2003

BSCBA Annual Meeting (14) R.L. Powell 2003 Study Objective Do foreign data (Interbull evaluations) aid in prediction of future national evaluations?

BSCBA Annual Meeting (15) R.L. Powell 2003 Sources of Added Data NATIONAL NowEarlierNATIONAL Data Best Predictor?

BSCBA Annual Meeting (16) R.L. Powell 2003 Assumptions  Current national evaluation is what we want to predict  Part-whole correlations between national evaluations and between national and Interbull evaluations

BSCBA Annual Meeting (17) R.L. Powell 2003 Data Sources  Interbull PTA that included foreign daughters from February 1999  Concurrent US-only (national) PTA  May 2003 national PTA  REL  90%  Addition of  50 daughters between national evaluations  All expressed on US scale, and current US base

BSCBA Annual Meeting (18) R.L. Powell 2003 Data Included Number of bulls: 24 % US daughters in Interbull evaluation Average: 28% Median: 22% Range: 1 – 97% Average REL Feb 1999 Interbull: 94% Feb 1999 national: 89% May 2003 national: 97%

BSCBA Annual Meeting (19) R.L. Powell 2003 Correlations with February 2003 National PTA February 1999 PTA TraitInterbullNational Milk Fat Protein.94.74

BSCBA Annual Meeting (20) R.L. Powell 2003 Differences From February 2003 National PTA February 1999 PTA InterbullNational Average Absolute Differences Milk (lb) Fat (lb) Protein (lb) February 1999 PTA InterbullNational Average Absolute Differences Milk (lb) Fat (lb) Protein (lb) SD of Differences Milk (lb) Fat (lb) Protein (lb)2.77.9

BSCBA Annual Meeting (21) R.L. Powell 2003 How to Use Interbull Evaluations  All data on the same scale  Use reliability properly (how much to use a bull, not whether to use a bull)  Use appropriate indexes when possible

BSCBA Annual Meeting (22) R.L. Powell 2003 Conclusions  Interbull provides a useful tool Increases the bull pool Improves accuracy  Beware of truncation selection  Array of evaluated traits is expanding

BSCBA Annual Meeting (23) R.L. Powell 2003 Websites  Publications & bulletins  Evaluation summaries  Documents (including presentations)  Downloadable files – top bull lists  Public access to all evaluations on the US scale, national and Interbull