History of Evaluation

A solid foundation was laid more than a century ago for the improvement of U.S. dairy cattle through genetics, reproduction and herd management. The adoption of milk recording, unique animal identification and early genetic analysis was led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmer-founded cooperatives and associations, and visionary innovators. Through the decades, genetic innovations improved the livelihood for dairy farms worldwide with the ability to store and distribute frozen bovine semen from genetically superior sires. U.S. scientists pioneered methods and traits that became adopted globally and led efforts to revolutionize breeding through genomics in the early 21^st century.