As part of the course final project, students have developed a course website providing educational materials for both the general public and producers.  Topics, information, and individual page design was conducted by the students with editing done by myself, Tyler Olsen, and Linda Poppleton.

Spring Semester – 2 Credits

Lecture Tues/Thurs 12:20 – 1:10

Prerequisite

ANSC 2500, ANSC 2210

Course Description

Course will review the current knowledge base of dairy cattle genetics including the genetic regulation of diseases, production, and health traits.  Genomic evaluation scores will be assessed with an emphasis on how to prioritize and balance genetic selection towards long-term sustainability.  Mating strategies will be evaluated for the achievement of goals and impact on both the individual animal and overall herd.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe how marker assisted selection and heritability measurements are used
• Critically evaluate dairy cattle evaluation scores
  • Explain how they are produced and weighted
• Prioritize and balance selection criteria, including both health and production traits, towards species/breed management and long-term sustainability
• Develop mating strategies to achieve producer goals
  • Predict effect of AI within mating strategies
  • Compare and contrast commercial mating programs
  • Apply mating strategies using genomic selection
  • Predict short and long-term effects on population