Weekly Preliminary Genomic Evaluations Coming This Month
Brattleboro, Vt. (November 5, 2014)…Starting November 11, 2014, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) will begin providing weekly genomic evaluations, to Holstein Association USA and other genomic nominators, for newly tested animals. These weekly evaluations are known as “preliminary” evaluations. Following are some questions that breeders may have about these new evaluations.
When will these predictions be available and how will I receive them?
Preliminary genomic evaluations will be released every Tuesday, starting November 11. CDCB will distribute preliminary evaluation files to genomic nominators (including Holstein Association USA) at 8 a.m. every Tuesday. We will do our best to get the results loaded into our database and distributed as quickly as possible.
Holstein breeders who have tested their animals through Holstein Association USA may access their preliminary genomic evaluations in two ways:
1. Holstein staff will email a spreadsheet containing all of their new animals for that week to producers who have provided us with a valid email address.
2. Preliminary genomic evaluations will also be available in Enlight. If you are not currently an Enlight user, visit www.enlightdairy.com or call 800.952.5200 to learn more and enroll in this free tool today.
This differs from the distribution of monthly interim genomic predictions in several ways; as this is a weekly process, it has been streamlined for efficiency as much as possible. Distribution of monthly interim genomic predictions will continue in the same manner that it has historically. Also note that the preliminary evaluations will only include genomic PTAs—no haplotypes or genetic test results are available until the monthly interim evaluations are processed.
How should these preliminary values be used by dairy producers?
The primary goal of providing preliminary genomic evaluations is to get producers the genomic information to use for on-farm decisions about their animals as quickly as possible. The genomic PTAs provided in the preliminary report do not have reliabilities calculated for them, and approximation was used in the step where genomic values are combined with traditional parent average or PTA. Because of this, these evaluations are not designated as official, and therefore are NOT suitable for publication for marketing purposes, or any other use outside of reporting documents distributed to owners. The preliminary evaluations are highly correlated (0.99) to the interim and official evaluations, but producers may still see fluctuation in values between the preliminary and interim predictions.
How soon can I expect to receive a preliminary genomic evaluation for my animal?
While this will shorten the amount of time it takes for some producers to receive an evaluation, it may not be as immediate as some may expect. Assuming perfect animal ID, parentage, and sample quality, producers should expect a best-case scenario of a 21-day turnaround from the time a sample leaves the farm until a preliminary genomic evaluation is received.
It is possible that, if a producer sends in a group of samples to the lab on the same day, they may not all come back in the same week – breeders should not get concerned if only a portion of their submitted animals come back in one week. Please wait another week or two to see if the rest come through in subsequent weeks before calling to check on the status of a sample.
A large benefit of these more frequent evaluations will be in cases where an animal has a conflict (parentage, etc.) which prevents them from receiving their interim prediction on the monthly schedule. Now, instead of having to wait until the following month to receive an evaluation, the owner of that animal would likely be able to receive an evaluation sooner in one of the weekly evaluations, rather than having to wait until the next month’s run.
Call Holstein Association USA Customer Service at 800.952.5200, or email Customer Service if you have further questions.