DairyTalk 323: Cow Families in the Genomic Era: Why Maternal Lines Still Matter in Dairy Breeding - by Helmut Demmelhuber

This podcast episode draws on a technical article examining the
role of cow families in modern genomic dairy breeding. The
underlying analysis argues that while genomic evaluations enable
highly precise selection, maternal line information still
provides practical context for breeding decisions. Cow families
can support the interpretation of genetic relationships, help
identify inbreeding risks and assist in structuring bull
selection. They also add herd-level insight into the consistency
of performance and health traits across generations. The article
positions cow family knowledge as a complementary, partly
experience-based layer alongside data-driven genomic evaluations.
With comments on a "Holstein International"-article (3/2026) by
Andrew Steiner: https://www.holsteininternational.com