Breeding and technological innovations in dairy and beef cattle markets

Since humans domesticated cattle (Bos Taurus) around 10,000 years ago, we have taken advantage of all the byproducts of such animals (beef, milk, cheese, hides, etc.) However, until relatively recently, we did not possess adequate information to analyze decisions such as breeding, crossbreeding, or animal replacement. Until relatively recently, every dairy and beef cattle ranch operated in relative isolation, resorting to diverse methods to improve their gene pull, such as organizing in cooperatives to test the quality of their milk and acquire bulls to impregnate their cows. Starting in the United States during the 1930s, The National Cooperative Dairy Herd Improvement Program started testing bulls for their genetic traits to provide better information to guide dairy farmer’s breeding decisions with the help of breed associations and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These tests called Large Scale Genetic Evaluations (Or simply "evaluations'"), consist of measuring observed quantitative and qualitative traits from cattle to ascertain which portion of the realized (“expressed”) value can be attributable to genetic factors, and particularly, the male line since none of the economic relevant traits of dairy cattle (milk, butterfat, and protein yields) can be directly observed on males. These evaluations are carried out continuously but published three times a year (April, August, and November), and their information is used for marketing dairy bulls. Two of the chapters in this dissertation use Evaluation data from the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB), certified semen services, which have been routinely updated and published online since 2000 and consist of thousands of genetic trait data from every bull market in the United States. At the time of writing this dissertation, very few articles in Applied Economics have used such evaluation data; one notable exception is Whitt et Al. (2019). In this dissertation, I investigate three distinct aspects of the Economics of livestock genetics. In my first chapter, I analyze the consequences of a new technological development, Genomic Testing, and how it boosted the productivity of dairy cows in North America, but also the extent to which it led to negative consequences through increased inbreeding. The second chapter deals with a different topic: the introduction of crossbreeds in Argentina as a form of climate adaptation driven by land use substitution from cattle grazing into soybeans. We show that such a displacement out of temperate areas has fueled a demand for specific traits, particularly more light-colored animals with lower birth weights but increased ability to gain weight. Finally, the third chapter deals with the effects of winning the "Premier Sire'' category in the World Dairy Expo on the price of bull genetics as a way to incorporate pedigree into a hedonic pricing framework. I show that the effect of winning the World Dairy Expo "trickles down’" into the animal's family, but the sign of the effect is different from the expected since winners are already well-known sires.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural & Applied Econ

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Funes Leal, Victor

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hutchins, Jared P
• Arends Kuenning, Mary P
• Goldsmith, Peter D
• Wheeler, Matthew

• Production Economics
• Genetics
• Technology Adoption

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Victor Funes Leal

Language dc:language

eng, en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125498

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/125498