Genetic Improvement

Benchmarking Health Traits Genetically: What Slovak Holstein Data Reveal About Selection OpportunitiesA first look at the genetics of mastitis, claw disease, metritis and ketosis in Slovak Holsteins shows both the promise and the limits of selecting for health.
Genomic Testing Heifers: When It Pays and When It Doesn't for Commercial Holstein OperationsTesting every heifer is not automatically profitable; the payoff depends on what you already know and what you will do with the answer.
Haplotype Analysis and Recessive Traits: What Holstein Breeders Need to Screen ForFertility haplotypes and a short list of recessive diseases can quietly cost you pregnancies, and matings are where you control them.
Heat Tolerance as a Breeding Goal: Preparing for a Warmer Climate Without Losing ProductionHeat tolerance is heritable, but the research shows it pulls against yield, so selection needs a plan.
Mid-Infrared Methane Prediction and Production Traits: What It Means for ManagementMilk spectra already collected at test day can estimate methane, and the genetics look more compatible with productivity than many people feared.
The Future of the Holstein: Will Heat-Tolerant Genetics Reshape the Breed?The breed has changed before, and a warming climate is now one of the pressures on its next chapter.