Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Variance Components in Dairy Cattle Breeding Research

Abstract

A common problem in animal breeding research is estimation of variance and covariance components. Usual methods of estimation have been described by Henderson in 1953. In 1973 Henderson reported a computing algorithm for maximum likelihood estimation of variance components which may have been overlooked. This note reviews the Henderson computing technique and illustrates application of maximum likelihood estimation to two specific types of models for large, unbalanced data sets.