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News

CDCB delivers the latest news on genetic improvement, research and U.S. evaluations through its monthly newsletter, dairy media, and events.

CDCB Producer Exchange Connects the Industry

CDCB

April 4, 2025

On the eve of the April 2025 triannual evaluations, CDCB held its first Producer Exchange in Reno, Nev., in conjunction with the Western Dairy Management Conference. The event brought together dairy farmers, scientists, and industry collaborators to discuss the role genetics plays in a profitable farm operation — plus how new traits and research will continue to benefit producers.

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What Role Does Inbreeding Play in Genetic Base Changes?

John Cole

April 3, 2025

Genetic base changes include both corrections for observed genetic trends in the population and adjustments to account for future inbreeding. After the April 2025 base change, observed changes in Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for individual animals may not match the base change values as closely as they have in the past. This is not due to any errors in the evaluation. It reflects Expected Future Inbreeding (EFI) changes in the population that are larger than they’ve been in the past.

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CDCB Evaluation Changes: April 2025

CDCB

February 25, 2025

Updates for the April 1, 2025, CDCB evaluations include the every-five-year base change, revision to the merit indexes, Breed Base Representation (BBR) reference population update and normalization of type trait reliability calculations in non-Holstein breeds.

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Introducing Net Merit 2025

CDCB

January 31, 2025

The Lifetime Net Merit (NM$) index by CDCB ranks dairy animals based on their combined genetic merit for economically important traits. The 2025 NM$ update revises some methods to estimate trait values and many income and cost variables, such as milk prices, feed requirements, and reproductive options. The 2025 revision does not include genetic evaluations for any new traits.  

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10M Animal Genotypes in National Cooperator Database

CDCB

December 21, 2024

A remarkable milestone – 10 million animal genotypes in the National Cooperator Database – was recorded on December 14 as 2024 was winding down.

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National Dairy Genetic Index Update, Base Change Set for April 2025

CDCB

December 20, 2024

Two significant updates will be implemented in the April 2025 dairy genetic evaluations published by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) – a revision to the lifetime merit indices and a genetic base change. The CDCB Board of Directors approved these revisions at their December 18, 2024 meeting.

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December 2024 CDCB Evaluations: What’s New?

CDCB

November 1, 2024

The CDCB and USDA AGIL team describes changes implemented for the triannual genetic evaluations on December 3, 2024, including updated calculations for Residual Feed Intake, integration of foreign evaluations with the new Rear Teat Placement in Brown Swiss, and exclusion of some crossbred animals in Net Merit $ trends.

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New Logo Adds Transparency to Dairy Cattle Genetic Evaluations

CDCB

October 2, 2024

The U.S. dairy industry will see a new symbol with genetic evaluations – Powered by CDCB – when the information is provided by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB). Use of this mark increases transparency in genetic evaluations, helping producers connect the quality and sources of information they use for breeding and management decisions.

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CDCB Connection

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