Postdoc in quantitative animal breeding and genetics: Optimizing breeding of organic trout and organic dairy cattle. Aarhus University

Job description

The Post doc is focused on developing and optimizing breeding plans and breeding goals for organic trout (RDD9 Troutganic), organic dairy cattle (RDD8 Ø-KO-AVL. The two projects have similar aims: find the optimal breeding plan for the species, as well as define and evaluate new breeding goals. The optimization of breeding plans will be done through simulations. The evaluation of new breeding goals will be done through the analysis of economic data, as well as results from consumer-studies.

Context: ORGANIC FARM ANIMALS: Organic production of farmed animals in Denmark is expanding. Consumers show an increasing interest in animal welfare, health, and the environmental impact of agriculture. Yet, organic breeding programs still depend heavily on the conventional breeding population. To optimize genetic gain in a direction that is desirable for organic production, the breeding program must be improved. Until now, little has been done about optimizing the breeding of organically farmed species in Denmark, such as trout and dairy cattle. The Post doc will work on laying a foundation for organic trout and organic dairy cattle breeding programs in Denmark.
The focus of the position is on breeding plans, breeding goals, and economic values. Possible tasks will be:

• Defining breeding goals
• Estimating economic values
• Creating a tool (e.g. R-package) for estimating economic values
• Simulation of breeding schemes
• Project management

The candidate will work across projects on different species, such as organic dairy cattle and fish. All projects have a focus on quantitative genetics.

You will work closely with a team of organic farmers and researchers specialized in animal breeding planning and population genetics. You will assess and optimize breeding programs through simulations and define new breeding goals by selecting relevant traits and estimating economic values. For organic dairy cattle, you will define new breeding goal traits that represent ethics, and you will calculate their non-market values. This position will provide you with the opportunity to make a change in the organic breeding, as well as combine the scientific significance of your work with the practical importance of your work in daily organic farming practices.

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