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January 24, 2013.

Executive Summary from Interbull Steering Committee

The Interbull Steering Committee met in Uppsala in January 8, 2013, following a two day strategic meeting in which also participated members of the Interbull Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and of the ICAR Executive Board. Main discussion points and decisions are summarized below.

Strategic Planning Meeting

The strategic planning session was very comprehensive and yielded a structured framework to guide Interbull for the next three years. Jarmo Juga acted as facilitator and his contribution is greatly appreciated. Detailed information about the outcomes from the meeting will be made public as soon as possible in a specific communication.

Robust GMACE

Input data and distribution of GMACE results

GEBV test

Working Group for standardization of genomic reliability computations

The SC decided to invite a group of accomplished scientists to form a working group to recommend principles for standardization of genomic reliability computations with the purpose of improving international comparisons of genomic values. As a SC member, Bevin Harris will act as the WG convener and the other members are in the process of being invited.

Service Agreements

The SC is working on a service agreement for participating in and the publication of GMACE results at the national level and the Interbull Centre will propose new service contracts to all users to include both MACE and GMACE services. Therefore, all participants in Interbull services will be requested to sign new service contracts in the near future, prior to the August 2013 routine run.

Fee structure for genomic services

Currently, there are two service fees related to genomic services: Intergenomics fees and a fee for participation in the GEBV test. Implementation of GMACE will demand extra resources and therefore require a service fee to be added. After deliberation, the SC decided:

Turnaround time for official runs

The SC has decided to increase the turnaround time for the August 2013 official routine run from the current 14 days to 21 days. The main arguments favoring this increase in the turnaround time are:

At the time of the next Interbull Business Meeting scheduled for August 2013, the SC will seek feedback from participating countries regarding the likely need to allow a 21-day turnaround time for all Interbull routine runs after the August 2013 release.

Therefore, the work plan for the August 2013 routine run is:

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Jul 23

Jul 24

Jul 25

Jul 26

Jul 27

Data submission deadline (EBVs, GEBVs, pedigrees, Intergenomics genotypes)

Jul 28

Jul 29

Jul 30

Jul 31

Aug 1

Aug 2

Aug 3

MACE pedigree release

MACE results pre-release

Aug 4

Aug 5

Aug 6

Aug 7

Aug 8

Aug 9

Aug 10

GMACE pedigree release

GMACE results pre-release Message to countries about likelihood for publication of MACE results on Aug 13

Message to countries about likelihood for publication of GMACE results on Aug 13

Aug 11

Aug 12

Aug 13

Official release of Intergenomics, MACE and GMACE results

Genomic data repository and exchange platform

One clear outcome from the strategic plan was the urgency of Interbull establishing a data base for genomic data. A business model based on results of the survey conducted among Interbull collaborators in August and September 2012 was discussed by the SC and the relevant points were: