Nordic Holstein population with lower inbreeding How does inbreeding develop in the era of genomic selection? A recent study shows how the Nordic Holstein population could keep levels of inbreeding constant after shifting to the genomic era. I n 2020 the World Holstein Frisian Federation (WHFF) collected information about the development of inbreeding coefficients for cows and heifers from 26 countries worldwide, including Den- mark, Sweden, and Finland. This information is collected in a presentation, which should had been given at the planned WHFF World Congress in August 2020 but is available on the WHFF website instead. The increases in inbreeding level (% units) per year are shown for dif- ferent birth year periods of females for some of the largest Holstein popu - lations in the world and the three Nordic Holstein populations. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) recommends that increases in inbreeding level should be less than 1% per generation. That means that if the generation interval for dairy cattle today is four years, then annual increases in inbreeding should be below 0.25% units per year to meet that recommendation. 4
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