CDCB Connection June 2017
Connecting with Joao Durr
Each month, CDCB Connection will share insights from a member of the CDCB team
or Board of Directors. To start, let's connect with Joao
Durr, Chief Executive Officer.
Joao,
you've been at the helm of the CDCB for nearly three years. What are highlights
in that time?
Durr: The first challenge was to establish an operation
practically from scratch - staffing, employee benefits, infrastructure, office
space, visual identity and networking without interrupting the services. Then
we completed the transition of services from USDA to the CDCB by December 2015
to comply with the USDA-CDCB Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement (NFCA), which
included establishing material license agreements with all data providers. This
was a considerable change for an industry accustomed to public services under a
very different business model. Along with the CDCB Board, positive steps have
been taken to define roles, responsibilities, policies and strategies, and this
is a work in progress due to the industry complexity and evolving business
environment. I am pleased that we now have a full team engaged in a functional
operation, and our focus has changed from learning the legacy (established by
USDA) to optimizing the processes per CDCB policies and industry needs.
Recently, we have formed several working groups that increase our interface
with stakeholders and qualify recommendations made to the CDCB Board.
Meanwhile, the services kept evolving, and certainly the most impactful
implementation was weekly genomic predictions. Weekly predictions changed the
way genomic services are provided and the use of information for selection,
herd management and mating strategies. All these achievements are possible due
to the unconditional support provided by USDA's Animal Genomics and Improvement
Laboratory (AGIL).
In the next year, what are the top CDCB priorities?
Durr: The CDCB
is an industry collaboration that benefits the dairy community by promoting
dairy cattle improvement and establishing the gold standard of dairy genetics.
To pursue this vision, the CDCB has elected five main strategies:
Usually the
question about top priorities is directed towards the services and products, or
simply directed to new traits and future genetic evaluations launched by CDCB.
This is certainly important, but it can only happen if the other strategies are
also addressed. Fostering research, consolidating the CDCB policies and
procedures, developing new data pipelines, improving the processes and
implementing an effective communication plan are all high priorities. For new
traits, the CDCB is launching Gestation Length in August, and we are planning
for health trait evaluations as early as December 2017. Initial health
evaluations will include Hypocalcemia, Ketosis, Clinical Mastitis, Displaced
Abomasum, Metritis and Retained Placenta. Another exciting area is Residual
Feed Intake. We are working with the research groups from the 5-year national
feed intake project funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
(NIFA), to utilize the existing data and to generate new records. The CDCB is
also committed to generate national statistics and reports for National DHIA,
like these
on the CDCB website. How do
you see the dairy industry in 10 years, and how does that impact the dairy genetic
system? Is there a
place for the CDCB in the future? Most certainly! Independent and transparent
assessment of the animals' genetic merit benefits producers and all sectors
that utilize the genetic evaluations, directly or indirectly. The CDCB hosts
the world's largest database of phenotypes and genotypes, and CDCB provides
highly specialized services with excellent national and international
acceptance. To remain relevant, we will continue being the technical reference
and providing complementary services to a diversified range of companies at a
cost-effective price. The CDCB is fully aware that reinventing itself - along
with its member sectors - is the only option ahead. The first steps towards the
future are being taken now.
- Cutting-edge research and development provided by USDA AGIL
- Effective communications
- Robust cooperator data base
- Accurate genetic and genomic evaluations
- Attractive services and products portfolio
Durr: Current trends indicate that U.S. dairy herds will continue
to get larger, become more automated and adopt a more pragmatic management
style. All these trends will impact dramatically how dairy breeding is
conducted, and CDCB needs to understand this and remain relevant. The first
consideration is how the CDCB member sectors - dairy records providers, breed
associations and artificial insemination organizations - will adapt to the new
reality. Data flow and quality are the first challenges. Huge volumes of data
points are being generated through a multitude of sensors and software
interfaces, and demand for supervised milk recording procedures tend to
decrease. Data synergy will become much more complex and DHI participation will
depend on the development of new services that address specific needs of these
large and automated herds. There could be further concentration in the breeding
sector, including the risk of verticalization of genetics, as has happened with
poultry and swine. Genomics created new business opportunities, and
non-traditional players have an important role in dairy genetics - in
genotyping, for example. Further diversification should be expected, given the
enormous potential of DNA sequencing and genetic engineering applications.