Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (aipl): Objectives and Operation

Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (AIPL): Objectives and Operation

Where AIPL Fits In

• Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the main research arm of USDA (8,000 employees with 2,000 scientists at >100 locations)

• Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) is the largest center (1,900 employees and volunteers with 325 scientists)

• Animal and Natural Resources Institute (ANRI) has 13 Laboratories and 3 support units

• AIPL has a staff of 18 with 5 scientists

Mission of ANRI

• Conduct research and develop technology transfer programs that ensure high quality and safe food while protecting the natural resource base and the environment

• 369 Federal employees

• 107 are scientists

Mission of AIPL

• Genetically improve efficiency of dairy animals for yield (milk, fat, protein) and fitness (longevity, mastitis resistance, reproduction, conformation)

Objectives for 2002 - 2008

• Maintain, enhance, and expand development of a national dairy database of identification (domestic and foreign animals), production (yield, milk composition), fitness (conformation, longevity), reproduction (dystocia, fertility), and health (mastitis, disease resistance) traits to support research on dairy animal genetics and management

• Provide data to stakeholders and other researchers submitting proposals compatible with industry guidelines

Objectives continued

• Improve the accuracy of genetic evaluations for yield traits through inclusion of additional data, appropriate weighting of deviant data, and improved methodology

• Identify and adapt appropriate statistical tools for analysis of complex dairy pedigrees and develop bioinformatic tools to automate data processing in support of quantitative trait locus detection, marker testing, and mapping methods

Objectives continued

• Improve genetic rankings for overall economic merit by development of evaluations for additional traits (calving ease with maternal effects included, fertility, other health and management variables) and by determining more precisely the economic values of traits in the index through improved profit functions from updated incomes and expenses associated with each trait available for selection

Objectives continued

• Characterize dairy industry programs and practices (milk record-keeping associations, breed registry societies, artificial-insemination organizations) to document status and changes in data collection and use and in phenotypic and genetic trends (evaluation summaries and stability)

Genetic Evaluations

• Traits

• Yield (milk, fat, protein, component percentages)
• Fitness (productive life, somatic cell score, conformation for breeds other than Holstein, calving ease)

• Bulls and cows

• Quarterly (February, May, August, November)

• Released in United States and >40 other countries

Additional Industry Interaction

• Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding

• Regional research projects

• Interbull

• Industry committees

• milk recording, breed registry societies, NAAB, American Dairy Science Association)

• Coordination of uniformity of formats for data exchange

Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding

• Representatives from PDCA, NAAB, and DHI

• Participation by USDA and universities as resource organizations

• Promotion of genetic improvement through collaboration and cooperation

• Development of consensus list of research needs, and prioritization of these (high, medium, low)