The value proposition for using genomics to confirm parentage in Australian dairy systems

Abstract: To facilitate uptake of female genomic testing, this study sought to estimate and quantify the impact of sire pedigree errors in cow populations. In a sample of 1,863 genotyped females, 26% of females had sire pedigree inconsistencies. The most frequent of these were nominating either unknown or incorrect sires. The additional value correcting pedigree added to GEBV-based heifer selection only represented a small percentage of genomic testing benefits, though this increased as the proportion of females with pedigree errors increased. In a separate scenario, heifers incorrectly identified as either herd replacements, or cull animals due to errors in sire pedigree were expected to cost between $AU 84-253 in lost lifetime profit per mis-identified heifer. While numerically the impact of parentage errors was small, given their importance to farmers, developing value propositions for confirming parentage with genomic testing could help increase female genomic testing and improve genetic progress.