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The CDCB CowCast

The CDCB CowCast

Written by: Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding
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Listen to dairy geneticists, farmers, industry leaders, and more translate the science, data, and research of dairy cattle genetics into real-world applications. The CDCB CowCast is brought to you by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), a nonprofit organization providing premier dairy genetic information services through the collaboration of more than 60 organizations worldwide. CDCB stewards the National Cooperator Database, the world's largest storehouse of animal information.

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved. Science
Episodes
  • Ep. 4: Reproductive Tools for Today's Dairies

    Ep. 4: Reproductive Tools for Today's Dairies
    May 12 2026

    In this episode of The CDCB CowCast, CDCB Geneticist Taylor McWhorter, Ph.D., discusses updates coming to the four female reproductive performance traits (Daughter Pregnancy Rate, Cow Conception Rate, Heifer Conception Rate, and Early First Calving) in the August 2026 genetic evaluations as well as a new trait that will be introduced, First Service to Conception.

    To view the slides shared in this discussion, watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vxjfDTTauT0

    View the summary document of all reproductive performance changes: https://uscdcb.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Reproductive-Performance-Traits-Summary-Final-1.pdf

    Find statistics, descriptions, and more of all the August changes: https://uscdcb.com/august-2026-evaluations/

    Learn more and sign up for the monthly email newsletter, the CDCB Connection, at uscdcb.com

    To get notified of new episodes, subscribe here or follow the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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    45 mins
  • Ep. 3: How Dairy Crossbred Animals Receive a Genetic Evaluation

    Ep. 3: How Dairy Crossbred Animals Receive a Genetic Evaluation
    Apr 14 2026

    In this episode of The CDCB CowCast, CDCB Technical Advisor George Wiggans, Ph.D., discusses the development of crossbred evaluations, the use of Breed Base Representation, and what we see in this system today.

    To view the slides shared in this discussion, watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eroKCiUVikg

    Learn more and sign up for the monthly email newsletter, the CDCB Connection, at uscdcb.com

    To get notified of new episodes, subscribe here or follow the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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    24 mins
  • Episode 2: The National Herd Behind the National Evaluations

    Episode 2: The National Herd Behind the National Evaluations
    Mar 10 2026

    In this episode of The CDCB CowCast, CDCB Livestock Data Analytics Expert Fiona Guinan, Ph.D., explains what U.S. dairy cattle statistics are aggregated in the National Performance Metrics available through CDCB and demonstrates how to use the website.

    Go to the National Performance Metrics: https://webconnect.uscdcb.com/#/national-performance-metrics

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bohe0MoZ3-c

    Learn more and sign up for the monthly email newsletter, the CDCB Connection, at uscdcb.com

    To get notified of new episodes, subscribe here or follow the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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    31 mins
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