Meeting the needs at the national level for genetic evaluation and health monitoring.

National dairy data can contribute to improved management decisions. Animals can be ranked nationally for selection decisions, and success of various management practices and environments in supporting profitable production and in minimizing disease incidence can be determined. Baseline information is useful for analyzing farm business status. Genetic evaluations depend on accurate recording of parentage, production, and environmental factors. Epidemiological data should be representative of the entire population. Data collection can be accomplished through periodic contribution of producer records to a central site or by national record keeping through service agencies. In addition to DHIA supervisors, who presently collect most dairy data, consultants and veterinarians also should contribute information. Surveys may be needed for some health and financial data. Collection of data from many sources can be made efficient by standardizing formats for data exchange. Present processing power of personal computers and availability of electronic linkages enable on-farm record processing. Regional processing centers could emphasize accumulation of national summary data and development and support of on-farm systems. With appropriate organization, the cost of contributing on-farm information to a national data-base should be small. Resulting management, genetic, and health information provided to the dairy industry should provide benefits sufficient to motivate financial and time investments by dairy producers.