Breeding goals for dairy breeds national and international

Breeding goals for dairy breeds have always included functional traits besides milk production traits. Effective genetic progress was mainly achieved for production traits, because of availability of good selection parameters from milk recording and genetic evaluation. Until the recent past breeding goals for functional traits were followed mostly indirectly by selecting for conformation traits. Only during the past decade genetic evaluations and direct selection for the main functional traits were introduced internationally; e.g. by adding them to the total merit indices. Within this process Germany was leading the way. The results of this change in breeding policy are already obvious e.g. positive trends for productive life of dairy cows in Germany. For other functional traits which were introduced recently like daughter fertility corresponding trends are to be expected in the next years. Within times of globalisation of dairy breeding - especially for Holsteins - Interbull conversion for functional traits plays a major role in this process.