Behind cattle, corn, and soybeans, the dairy industry represents the 4th greatest commodity in the U.S. with $41 billion is receipts (USDA-ERS, 2021). Consumers have made it abundantly clear that dairy production is important and, therefore, research and outreach efforts must be concentrated to address key challenges in the dairy industry. Currently, the dairy industry struggles with the effects of inbreeding, dairy cow and calf health (e.g., mastitis, ketosis, scours, respiratory diseases, fertility), production efficiency and longevity. Furthermore, as land, labor, and resources continue to evolve, the dairy industry will be challenged to increase production with less assets available.  To continue to meet protein demands both domestically and internationally, it is imperative that novel genetic and genomic breeding strategies be developed to improve production, efficiency, and longevity. Furthermore, the dairy industry will be required to embrace technologies to improve dairy cattle performance, efficiency, and resiliency.

To do this, we must incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to address these complex problems and continue to build a pipeline of students in the fields of quantitative genetics.  Academia continues to fall behind in training students in quantitative genetics; therefore, for the dairy industry to continue to make strides in genetic improvement, it is critical that we create learning opportunities for students to be trained in quantitative genetics and develop a pipeline of students to lead and manage these industries. At our recent annual meeting of SCC84, the participants (Purdue Univ, Virginia Tech, University of Florida, Penn State, Univ of Minnesota, Cornell, Iowa State, Massey Univ, Univ of Maryland, Univ of Georgia, and Michigan State) have decided to move to a “S” project due to increase research collaboration across the group.

The primary stakeholders for this project are dairy producers, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, artificial insemination companies, and dairy breed association personnel. The success of this project will result in a more efficient and resilient dairy industry that will benefit dairy producers, consumers, and the environment. The well-being of dairy cows will also be protected as we continue to select for enhanced efficiency and resiliency through precision livestock technologies.

This Southern Multistate research group is composed of land-grant, federal government (USDA - NAGP, and AGIL), and private sector (CDCB) quantitative geneticists throughout the United States with expertise in genetic parameter analyses (e.g., heritability and genetic correlations), selection indices and breeding value development, heterosis and cross-breeding, modeling, genome-wide association studies, and precision technology for a variety of performance and health traits. Therefore, we are well-positioned to integrate –omics technologies with traditional genetic predictions to develop tools to make significant improvements in the dairy cattle industry.