What does BV mean in VETERINARY

Breeding Value (BV) is a measure of the genetic merit of an animal or group of animals. It measures the expected performance improvement in progeny that can be gained from a particular animal in comparison to other animals within the same breed or population.

The calculation of Breed Values involves combining data about performance, physical conformation measurements, pedigree information and DNA markers into a mathematical model that uses probability to predict expected results from each individual's genes. This helps identify animals whose offspring will perform better than other animals with the same breeding characteristics.

BV assessments are available for traits such as milk production and conformation for dairy cattle, wool quality for sheep, egg production and leg health for poultry, and meat quality and reproductive efficiency in pigs.

Yes, it is possible to compare BV scores across different breeds using adjustment factors which take into account differences between breeds such as breed average performances on certain traits. These adjustment factors facilitate comparison across different populations so that selection decisions can be made based on relative rather than absolute BV scores.

Selecting or crossing animals with higher BVs can lead to improved progeny performance in future generations which enhances productivity at farm level through increases in production, health and fertility as well as improvements in economic return from farming activities due to lower costs per unit output produced. In addition this approach allows farmers to manage their herd/flock more efficiently leading to increased sustainability over time.