Status as of: 2019-04-16

Form GE

DESCRIPTION OF NATIONAL GENETIC EVALUATION SYSTEMS

Country (or countries)	France	
Main trait group1
NOTE! Only one trait group per form!	Health	
Breed(s)	Holstein and Pie Rouge (HOL), Normande (NMD), Simmental Française (SIM FRA), Brune (BSW), Montbéliarde (SIM FRM), Abondance, Tarentaise, Bleue du Nord, Maine Anjou, Flamande, Bretonne Pie Noire, Salers
Each breed evaluated separately	
Trait definition(s) and unit(s) of measurement2
Attach an appendix if needed	Milk Somatic Cell Count: Monthly SCS:SCS = log2 (CCS/100000)+3
Clinical Mastitis (MACL): the information is 0/1(o=no clinical mastitis, 1=clinical mastitis) can be recorded during milk recording. It applies to first three lactations and is defined as follows: “At least one event of clinical mastitis recorded during the first 150 days in lactation”.	
Method of measuring and collecting data	Data from Milk Recording.(91% A4, 9% AT). Validations according to National Technical Rules of Milk recording (updated in 2002)	
Time period for data inclusion	Lactations started after 01/09/1989 	
Age groups (e.g. parities) included	Parities 1 to 3	
Other criteria (data edits) for inclusion of records	SCS between 5 and 305 days in milk.
Additive pre-correction for days in milk and parity in order to take into account for lactations in progress and old lactations with a few counts
A selection of lactations per herd*year is done :a herd must declare a minimum of 5% (HOL, NOR, SIM FRM) or 3% (minor breeds)  lactations with at least one mastitis event (all lactations , with adjustments for herd size)	
Criteria for extension of records (if applicable)		
Sire categories	All sires	
Environmental effects3, pre-adjustments 	•	SCS are adjusted for days in milk and parity (additive pre-correction )
•	 A weighted average of adjusted SCS is computed as:

with an individual weight R/s where R is the correlation between the test-day SCS and the average of other SCS and s if the SCS standard deviation for a given number of days in milk.
•	SCSL are standardized for parity using a multiplicative factor of 1.15 for 1rst parity, 1.08 for 2nd parity.
	
Method (model) of genetic evaluation3	BLUP – ST - RP - AM	
Environmental effects3 in the genetic evaluation model	SSC :PE (R),  HY (F) ; Parity*region*year (F),Calving month*parity*region*year (F); Age at calving * parity * region * year (F); Preceding dry period length * parity * region * year (2nd vs 3rd parities) (F)
Number of levels : Regions : HOL : 8. Normande : 7; Montbéliarde : 3 
Age, all breeds : 27; Calving month, all breeds : 12 ; Dry period, all breeds :6
 Clinical mastitis: Calving month*year, Herd*year, Calving age class*Lactation number*year	
Adjustment for heterogeneous variance in evaluation model	SCS :No
Clinical mastitis:  - HOL, NOR, SIM FRM : Lactation number*year, Area*year
                             - BSW : Lactation number*year	
Use of genetic groups and relationships	Groups of unknown parents defined according to birth year (2 years interval) and region or country origin of the progeny (a total of 8 countries and 260 groups in HOL)	
Blending of foreign/Interbull information in evaluation	No	
Genetic parameters in the evaluation	SCS : h²=0.15, t=0.35

MACL : 
•	BSW, HOL : h² =0.018, t=0.055
•	NOR : h² =0.021, t=0.062
•	SIM FRA : h² =0.023, t=0.055	
System validation	Correlations between proofs, analysis of variations with addition of new daughters ; Validation of Genetic trend (methods I, II, III)	
Expression of genetic evaluations
If standardised (e.g. RBV), give standardisation formula in the appendix	SCS : RBV; (m= 0, s=1, positive = less SCC) 
MACL : RBV; (m= 0, s=1, positive = less MACL)	
Definition of genetic reference base
Next base change	Yearly rolling base, updated in February: average cows EBV born from (n-8) to (n-6) years. 
March 2017 (These bases are updated each year in the 1st evaluation of the year).	
Calculation of reliability	Reliability computed from daughter information only	
Criteria for official publication of evaluations	HOL, SIM FRA, NMD, Abondance, Tarentaise: Bulls progeny tested in France, with REL0.50
Other breeds: all bulls with REL0.50	
Number of evaluations / publications per year	3: April, August, December	
Use in total merit index4	1.	Use in Udder health Composite

•	HOL : Udder Health = (0.60 SCC + 0.40 MACL) / 0.9137
•	Normande: Udder Health = (0.50 SCC + 0.50 MACL) / 0.9100
•	Montbéliarde: Udder Health = (0.60 SCC + 0.40 MACL) / 0.9137

2.	Use in ISU= Index de Synthèse UPRA= total merit index

Defined by each breed:
For ISU, Combined functionnal proofs are computed by an approximate MT BLUP AM based on precorrected records for Functionnal (SCC, Fertility, Longevity), dairy (Milk Yield and Protein content) and type traits (cmb= combined in the following formulae): 
•	Prim’Holstein (HOL): ISU = 19.62 /0.35 (0.35 SYNT/25.2 + 0.108 SCC + 0.072 MACL + 0.11 cow fertility + 0.055 heifer fertility + 0.055 Interval from calving to first service + 0.05 longevity + 0.05 Milking speed + 0.15 Overall conformation) +100
With SYNT =  1.079 (Protein Y + 0.1 Fat Y + 0.5 Fat content  + Protein Content) 
(35% Production, 15% Conformation, 22% Female Fertility, 18% Udder Health, 5% Longevity, 5% Milking Speed)

•	Normande (NMD): ISU = 22.11 /0.40 (0.40 SYNT /22.45 + 0.0925 SCC + 0.0925 MACL + 0.0775 cow fertility + 0.03875 heifer fertility + 0.03875 Interval from calving to first service + 0.05 longevity + 0.03 Milking speed + 0.18 Overal conformation) +100
With SYNT = 1.098 (Protein Y + 0.1 Fat Y)
(40% Production, 18% Conformation, 15.5% Female Fertility, 18.5% Udder Health, 5% Longevity, 3% Milking Speed)

•	Montbéliarde(SIM FRA): ISU =  23.39 /0.45 (0.45 SYNT/25.2 + 0.087 SCC + 0.058 MACL + 0.09 cow fertility + 0.045 Heifer fertility + 0.045 Interval from calving to first service + 0.05 heifer fertility + 0.05 [TR/Teat-100]/12 + 0.125 [Overall conformation-100]/12) + 100 
With SYNT = 1.055 Protein Y + 0.1 Fat Y. + 3 Protein Content + 0.5 Fat content 
(45% Production, 12.5% Conformation, 18% Female Fertility, 14.5% Udder Health, 5% Longevity, 5% Milking Speed)

•	Brune (BSW): ISU =100 + 18.11 * (INEL/20 + 0.50 cmb SCC 
+ 0.50cmb Fertility + 0.125 cmb longevity + 0.325 overall type) 
(40% Production, 20% SCC, 20% Female Fertility, 15% Conformation, 5% Longevity)

•	Pie Rouge : ISU = 100 + 18.09 [SYNT/20 + 0.20 SCC + 0.25 Cow Fertility + 0.20 LGFC + 0.25 (Overall Conformation – 100)/12]
with SYNT = 0.99 [ Prot Y + 0.2 * Fat Y + 2 * Prot content  + Fat content]

For more details: see Ducrocq et al, 2001	
Anticipated changes in the near future		
Key reference on methodology applied	Boichard D. and Rupp R., 1997: Genetic analysis and genetic evaluation for somatic cell score in French dairy cattle, Gift workshop, June 8-10 1997, Uppsala, Sweden
Ducrocq V. , Boichard D. , Barbat A. , and Larroque H, 2001 : Multitrait evaluation and total merit Index. EAAP Meeting, Budapest, 26-28 August 2001	
Key organisation: name, address, phone, fax, e-mail, web site	Computing: 
GenEval
Evaluation génétique des animaux d’élevage
3 rue du Petit Robinson
F78350 Jouy-en-Josas 
Mail: contact.international@geneval.fr
Phone : +33 (0) 1 85 36 05 05
Web site : https://www.geneval.fr/

Publishing:
Institut de l’Elevage
149 Rue de Bercy
F75595 Paris cedex 12
Mail: sophie.mattalia@idele.fr
Web site : www.idele.fr 	
1) Either: Production (e.g. milk, fat, protein), Conformation, Health (e.g. mastitis resistance, milk somatic cell, resistance to diseases other than mastitis), Longevity, Calving (e.g. stillbirth, calving ease), Female fertility (e.g. non-return rate, interval between reproductive events, number of AI’s, heat strength), Workability (e.g. milking speed, temperament), Beef production, Efficiency (e.g. body weight, energy balance, body conditioning score), or Other traits.
2) Indicate frequencies per category if the trait is categorical and specify transformation of data if practiced.
3) Use abbreviations for most common effects (see document with list of abbreviations at http://www-interbull.slu.se/service_documentation/General/list_of_abbreviations.rtf) and indicate random (R) or fixed (F).
4) Please give economic weights and indicate how they are expressed (preferably in genetic standard deviation units).

Form GE	Appendix GE

Parameters used in genetic evaluation

Country (or countries):	France	
Main trait group:	Udder Health	
Breed (repeat as necessary):	HOL, BSW, SIM FRM	

Trait	Definition	ITBa	h2b	genetic
varianceb	official proof
standardisation formulac	
Milk Somatic Cell 	all breeds	Somatic Cell Score, 3 parities	0.15	1	 a= 0, b=-0.5, c= 1
d=rolling base (computed at each release)	
Clinical Mastitis	HOL, BSW		0.018	1	 a= 0, b=-0.0412, c= 1
d=rolling base (computed at each release)	
	NOR		0.021	1	a= 0, b=-0.0994, c= 1
d=rolling base (computed at each release)	
	SIM FRM		0.023	1	a= 0, b=-0.0435, c= 1
d=rolling base (computed at each release)	
a	Indicate, with X, traits that are submitted to Interbull for international genetic evaluations.
b	If repeated records are treated as separate traits, provide heritability estimates and genetic variances separately for each trait, as well as for all traits pooled, i.e. for the trait submitted to Interbull.
c	Expressed as follows:
StandEval=((eval-a)/b)*c+d where a=mean of the base adjustment, b=standard deviation of the base, c=standard deviation of expression (include sign if scale is reversed), and d=base of expression.