Sire by Herd Interaction in Production Traits in Dairy Cattle

Abstract

The environment that should be provided breeding populations under selection has received much discussion Although many would argue that selection should be practiced in an environment comparable to the one in which the strain or breed is expected to perform, Hammond (7) has subscribed to the thesis that the environment provided should be the one that permits the maximum expression of the trait being selected. In addition to other considerations, Hammond's suggestion might be viewed in the light of possible hereditaryenvironmental interactions if the individuals are to perform in an environment differing greatly from the test environment. Falconer (3) has defined this problem where the choice of only two alternative environments is concerned, but the general problem defies such simple characterization and seemingly demands an examination of the actual situation for a large sample of genotypes and environments.