Frozen straws containing their semen are of great value to U.S. and overseas dairy producers who seek to improve their herds. The main focus in genetics is currently on bulls because they are a source of an unlimited number of offspring. Cows can calve only a limited number of times. The United States has long been recognized as a world leader in dairy genetics. Furthermore, the U.S. dairy livestock sector's productive and innovative artificial insemination technologies and accurate recordkeeping have catapulted U.S. genetics to the top.
Genetic materials are an increasing force in today's international livestock commerce.
Thus, the National Association of Animal Breeders and USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service have worked hard to promote U.S. breeding lines overseas. As a result, more than 95 percent of the herds in leading dairying nations can trace their genetic lineage to bulls from the United States. But recently, as Canada, The Netherlands, France and other key dairy leaders began to build their herd quality, they also grew more globally competitive in animal genetics. Out of the competition came a worldwide call to collect dairy data on an international scale. Data collection began in 1983 as a cooperative project of the European Association for Animal Production, the International Dairy Federation and the International Committee for Animal Recording.