What NOT to look for in advertisements for genetics

Dr. Rex Powell *, Dr. Martin Sieber **, and Ms. Suzanne Hubbard *

* Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA

** National Association of Animal Breeders, P.O. Box 1033, Columbia, Missouri 65205, USA

A talented marketer can write an appealing advertisement for even a mediocre product. Beyond largely meaningless words (such as "outstanding animal with a deep pedigree" or "improve your milk check with a bull from us"), any facts presented may avoid what you should really be looking for - estimates of genetic merit for traits of economic interest. Companies advertise what they have to offer and naturally do not call attention to any deficiencies. Some advertisements claim to compare countries as sources of genetics but fail to present any data on genetics. Statements that emphasize average phenotype or trends may be true, but they are NOT the information in which you should be interested when making breeding decisions for your herd.

Phenotype or genotype?

Even if truly comparable average national yields existed, what value would their comparison have? National yields are phenotypic measures, which include the effects of many environmental factors, and are NOT genetic values. Although genotype affects phenotype, about 70% of the differences in production even within a herd are due to environment or management and only 30% are due to genetics. Differences across herds are due even less to genetics. Comparisons based on phenotypic measures make no sense when official genetic information is readily available for individual bulls.

When you buy semen, embryos, or cattle, recognizing the difference between phenotype and genotype is important. For example, only the genetic part of semen can be frozen and comes in the plastic straw that you buy. You are not buying the feeding, housing, veterinary care, or any other management practice that was provided to the daughters or other relatives of a bull.

Trend

If the improvements in country A over 10 years are greater than those in country B, does that mean that the cows or bulls in country A are better than those in country B? No! Advertisements for some companies or countries only emphasize where they were in the past and how they have improved rather than where they are today. Consider the situation of a poor student who has over time improved to average and has shown more progress than the top student who continues to be outstanding. The improver still is only average, whereas the other student has always been and remains outstanding.

Whether the trend described in an ad is phenotypic (such as 305-day average actual milk yields) or genetic (such as breeding value of cows), emphasizing progress is often a strategy used by those trying to catch up. Nearly every country in the world is currently improving the genetics of its dairy cattle population more rapidly than the United States, because those countries are starting with animals of lower genetic merit and are using U.S. genetics to improve the merit of their animals. Beware of marketers and advertisements that can only stress trend, but not current level, especially if the measure is phenotypic.

What you should look for

Instead of using phenotypic averages or trends to compare countries, a more meaningful measure to compare is the estimated genetic merit of bulls from various countries on the same scale for traits of interest. After all, you are buying genetics from individual bulls, not national statistics. The International Bull Evaluation Service ( Interbull) in Sweden calculates evaluations for yield traits on many different country scales, and you can use those evaluations even if your country does not currently participate in Interbull evaluations. International evaluations for conformation (type) traits will also be available soon. If you really want to find out how bulls from different countries compare, look at the Interbull results on any one country scale. Choose one that has familiar terms and definitions for genetic expressions and units (such as PTA pounds or BV kilograms).

Clever advertising attracts our attention, but be careful to identify the content so that irrelevant numbers and misleading statements do not influence your breeding decisions.