Development of cattle breeding strategies in Europe

Abstract. Modern milk production in Europe will undergo a radical structural change both in terms of the dairy farmer and the breeding companies. Thus, cooperation between breeding companies or breeding associations will be a necessary tool to survive in the global economy. Although some of the new molecular techniques are already in the beginning of its practical implementation, the breeding industry needs to consider international collaborations to obtain higher economic gain of certain breeds. Above that, the dairy breeding industry should think about the implementation of crossbreeding schemes to use the non-additive effects more efficiently. The implementation of crossbreeding schemes requires an even closed collaboration between the acting breeding companies and the commercial producers as it has already been shown in poultry, swine and beef cattle. These rapid developments in the entire dairy breeding industry will also influence the current dairy organizations and require their adjustment to a more flexible economy.