DairyTalk 482: When pedigree records are no longer enough: Rethinking inbreeding monitoring in modern cattle breeding - by Helmut Demmelhuber

DairyTalk by Helmut Demmelhuber · Jun 14, 2026 · 19m

This podcast episode draws on a scientific study examining the gap between pedigree-based and genomic estimates of inbreeding in the Simmental population. The findings suggest that traditional pedigree measures often fail to capture the full extent of genetic change in highly selected breeding populations. Genomic approaches provide a more direct view of homozygosity and allele frequency shifts, frequently revealing stronger inbreeding trends than conventional methods. A key insight is that genomic measures based on neutral SNPs align most closely with pedigree estimates, highlighting the…