Challenges and directions for bovine genetic selection in France by 2040: Proposals arising from a collective reflection

Abstract

This article summarizes the collective thoughts on the genetic orientations of dairy and beef cattle in mainland France that will be needed to adapt animals to the projected production systems for 2040. It provides an overview of the factors likely to shape the future of French cattle production, including farmer demographics, labor in livestock farming, climate change, resource scarcity, technical progress and technological innovations, agricultural regulations and policies, market liberalization, changes in demand and the organization of value chains. Despite operating in a more constrained economic and regulatory environment, under structural climate change and non-renewable resource limitations, cattle production systems are expected to maintain substantial diversity as a result of these underlying trends. The article recommends shifting the focus of selection strategies from individual animal performance to the overall economic profitability of production systems. In dairy cattle, this involves improving functional longevity, reducing body size, and enhancing lactation persistency. For beef cattle, the focus should be on increasing sexual and developmental precocity, strengthening the animals’ ability to utilize forage, enhancing milk production and animal autonomy, and, in pasture-based finishing systems, reducing body size. Across both dairy and beef cattle, selection should prioritize the ability to ingest fiber-rich forages. In view of climate change, it is also necessary to address health challenges, particularly emerging diseases, improve tolerance to heat stress, and reduce methane emissions. The final section of the article discusses the implications of these changes for future breeding programs.