National Genetic Evaluation Systems in Germany

Statistics for weaner production over the last few years in Germany clearly show a continuous decline in the use of purebreds and an increase in the use of crossbred piglets. Most of the crossbred piglets (about 60 percent) are produced by breeding companies. About 20 different breeding companies are established in Germany. Besides these breeding companies the former pedigree breeders have also set up crossbreeding programs. The structure of these so called breeding organisations is similar to the structure of breeding companies but the testing schemes are different. Because there are so many different breeding programs available in Germany the need for independent evaluation of the available stock has become much more important and is part of the official registration procedure of breeding companies and breeding organisations there. To maintain this registration it is compulsory for every breeding program to take part in one independent product evaluation every 3 years. In this paper the basic principles of testing schemes and the protocols for this independent product evaluation are discussed.