1. 2004 R. L. Powell, A. H. Sanders, and H. D. Norman Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD rlpowell@aipl.arsusda.gov Country bias in international dairy bull evaluations

2. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (2)R. L. Powell 20042005 MACE Evaluation Process  Interbull combines yield evaluations from 27 national Holstein bull populations.  Estimated genetic correlations between evaluations from different populations are applied.  Results are reported on the scale of each participating country organization.

3. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (3)R. L. Powell 20042005 Investigation of Country Bias  Full brothers are expected to have the same genetics on average.  Full brothers with daughters in different countries should have the same MACE evaluations (on average).  Do full brother evaluations reveal country bias?

4. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (4)R. L. Powell 20042005 Data  May 2005 Interbull evaluations of Holsteins for milk, fat, and protein yields, and SCS  Eligible bulls  ≥1 eligible full-brother  Daughters in only one eligible country  Eligible countries  Represented in ≥25 multi-country families  18 countries for yield  15 countries for SCS

5. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (5)R. L. Powell 20042005 Data BullsFamilies YieldAll families24,65210,191 Multi-country families 99163598 SCSAll families22,8429022 Multi-country families 94893283

6. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (6)R. L. Powell 20042005 Multi-Country Families Home Country Families Home Country Families YieldSCSYieldSCS Australia8554Italy237223 Canada641628Japan763754 Czech Rep.121  New Zealand4439 Denmark505485Poland70  France11621089South Africa3230 Germany939845Spain215207 Gr. Britain468432Sweden4844 Hungary6754The Netherlands637599 Ireland159  United States16311596

7. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (7)R. L. Powell 20042005 Ties Between Countries Home Country Ties Home Country Ties YieldSCSYieldSCS Australia12278Italy328302 Canada773751Japan979959 Czech Rep.153  New Zealand5548 Denmark646595Poland81  France14811364South Africa4842 Germany11761036Spain302280 Gr. Britain650582Sweden5449 Hungary8266The Netherlands802736 Ireland232  United States19781910

8. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (8)R. L. Powell 20042005 US Ties to Other Countries Home Country Ties Home Country Ties YieldSCSYieldSCS Australia3220Italy51 Canada337333Japan491490 Czech Rep.11  New Zealand15 Denmark5651Poland6  France476473South Africa88 Germany140 Spain5857 Gr. Britain109104Sweden  Hungary1815The Netherlands154153 Ireland16  United States19781910

9. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (9)R. L. Powell 20042005 Model  Full-brother family (absorbed)  Country of bull daughters  Analysis of MACE evaluations on the US scale  Difference between evaluations based on foreign daughters and those based on domestic (US) daughters  Evaluations on several other country scales also analyzed

10. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (10)R. L. Powell 20042005 Results  Overall significance for country differences on all country scales for yield traits  Overall, no significance for SCS  For SCS, South African bulls significantly disadvantaged on all scales

11. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (11)R. L. Powell 20042005 Results for US-Scale Evaluations Countries with evaluations more favorable (blue) or less favorable (pink) than those from USA (P<0.05) MilkFatProteinSCS AUS ESP GBR JPN DEU FRA ITA AUS ZAF GBRAUS GBR ZAF DEU JPN ZAF AUS=Australia; DEU=Germany; ESP=Spain; FRA=France; GBR=United Kingdom; ITA=Italy; JPN=Japan; USA=United States of America; ZAF=South African Republic;.

12. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (12)R. L. Powell 20042005 Results for Other Evaluation Scales Milk:Domestic bulls disadvantaged on scales of CAN, ITA, and NLD similarly to US bulls on the US scale Domestic bulls generally favored on scales of AUS and DEU

13. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (13)R. L. Powell 20042005 Results for Other Evaluation Scales Milk:Domestic bulls disadvantaged on scales of CAN, ITA, and NLD similarly to US bulls on the US scale Domestic bulls generally favored on scales of AUS and DEU Fat:Bulls from AUS, GBR, and ZAF were favored on scales of CAN, FRA, ITA, and NLD All but NZL and ZAF bulls disadvantaged on AUS scale

14. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (14)R. L. Powell 20042005 Results for Other Evaluation Scales Milk:Domestic bulls disadvantaged on scales of CAN, ITA, and NLD similarly to US bulls on the US scale Domestic bulls generally favored on scales of AUS and DEU Fat:Bulls from AUS, GBR, and ZAF were favored on scales of CAN, FRA, ITA, and NLD All but NZL and ZAF bulls disadvantaged on AUS scale Protein results similar to milk

15. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (15)R. L. Powell 20042005 Possible Complications  Genetic correlations  Parent averages (completeness and phantom grouping)  National animal model vs. sire-MGS MACE  Preferential treatment  Pre-selection (markers, etc.)

16. ADSA-ASAS-CSAS JOINT MEETING 2005 (16)R. L. Powell 20042005 Conclusions  Apparent biases for yields but not SCS  Some countries appear disadvantaged while others are favored across all country scales  Caused by shortcomings in national systems or international system?  Source of biases unknown and may be different for different country pairs