Whole genome sequence data and novel phenotypes to improve Dutch dairy cattle

Genomic prediction has a major impact in dairy cattle breeding schemes. Genetic progress has increased dramatically, but also genomic election for novel traits has been enabled. Whole genome sequence data holds the promise to increase genomic prediction accuracy further, but does it?

Professor Roel Veerkamp

Wageningen University & Research

Roel Veerkamp works for Wageningen University & Research since 1997 in the area of animal breeding, numerical genetics and more recently big data. He shares management responsibility for the Animal Breeding and Genomics group of Wageningen University&Research (90 people), and is department head for Wageningen Livestock Research.

In 2012, he became special professor at Wageningen University, and from 2013-18 held a part time professor position at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and is visiting professorship at SRUC in Edinburgh, Scotland. At SRUC he served as researcher from 1991 to 1997, and graduated for his PhD in 1995. Roel Veerkamp has (co)authored more than 190 research articles, practical involvement dairy cattle breeding in several countries (UK, the Netherlands, Ireland) and is actively involved in several (inter-)national consortia (Breed4Food, 1000 bull genomes, ICAR Feed&Gas, gDMI).