Zuchtprogramme ohne Biotechnologie - Etablierung von Bockringen in der Ziegenzüchtung

Summary

Within organic livestock farming, the use of AI versus natural mating is under steady discussion. However, no special organic breeding programs without AI are set in place so far. The present study takes goat breeding in Germany as an example to show how an organic breeding program without biotechnology could be organised. As basis, breeding planning on different breeding plans is carried out: the breeding program in place, a breeding program with buck rotation within “buck circles” and a breeding program with AI are evaluated. It can be shown that within smaller populations (here: goat breeding in South Germany) a buck rotation scheme with progeny testing is superior in genetic gain than the actual and a breeding program based on AI. In a second step, in discussions with different stakeholders and farmers the hygiene plan of the buck circle was discovered as the critical point. A detailed hygiene plan has to be worked out and agreed upon by all participants. Still, the participating farmers have to trust all members of the group, because the compliance with the regulations is only limited controllable.