Choosing and Sampling Dairy Sires: Future Needs for Better Sampling Methods

Choosing among dairy sires is a two stage process of selection. First, young bulls must be chosen on the promise of their pedigree. Secondly, these young bulls must be progeny tested accurately to perform the second stage of the process of selection. Therefore, any consideration of foreseeable future needs for better sampling methods necessarily must be restricted to those ideas that may be useful in improving the accomplishment of the progeny test. Since the theory of evaluation of the progeny test has been thoroughly developed and can be found in many standard textbooks, my purpose here will be to explore some of the present and future problems and possibilities in application of the progeny test. What types of progeny testing systems will be needed? Why are they needed? Where will they be performed? By whom? How? There are answers to some of these questions, but others must wait for the necessary research.