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Economic evaluation of genomic selection in small ruminants: A case of French sheep meat breeding program
ABSTRACT:The objectives were to compare costs, annual monetary genetic gain (AMGG) and economic efficiency of classic selection and GS in a meat sheep breed. Deterministic methods were used to model selection based on multi-traits indices. Decisional variables related to male selection candidates and progeny testing capacity were optimized to maximize AMGG. For GS, a reference population of 2,000 individuals known on own performance was assumed and genomic information was available for evaluation of male candidates only. The results showed that, for 123 euros genotyping cost per animal, all GS scenario studied were associated with higher total variable costs. GS scenarios displayed higher economic efficiency than classic scheme only when genomic and phenotypic information were combined, with a maximum of 15% extra gain. Optimizing the current use of decisional variables can give more benefits than including genomic information in optimized designs.
Keywords:
Genomic selection model
Profitability
Sheep
