Genomic selection is particularly favourable in dairy cattle because of a large reduction in generation interval de génération and also the high level of breeding value reliability. A major consequence is the gradual end of progeny test before bull marketing and spreading.

Genomic selection has become a realty since 2008 thanks to large reference populations made of thousands of artificial insemination bulls both genotyped and progeny tested. The reliability of genomic breeding values ranges from 0.5 to 0.7 according to traits.

Genomic selection provides a unique opportunity to strongly increase genetic trend, to balance past unfavourable trends for functional traits with low heritability, to account for new additionnal traits in the breeding objective, and to manage populations in a more sustainable way in term of genetic variability. These changes require to strongly modify the reproduction practices by limiting the use of each elite bulls and by using many young bulls.