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Abstract
An economic model was used to evaluate the profitability of genetic improvement investment
of dairy cattle, under five productive conditions typical of Chile. To this effect an index
that estimates the net present value (NPV) of a semen dose was elaborated. This index considers
the prices of semen, milk, fat and protein, real interest rate, genetic merit with regard to milking
and conformation features, production costs and reproductive parameters. The model was employed
to (1) measure the effect of genotype-environment interaction on the profitability of the
investment in semen, (2) the relationship between the NPV, price of semen and the genetic merit
indicators, and (3) the sensitivity of the NPV with regard to changes in herd fertility. Results
show that the NPV is highly determined by the price of semen and that the predicted transmitting
ability (PTA) for milk is the best profitability estimator. The improvement in milk solid contents
and the investment on high price semen resulted profitable only for those production levels where
the coefficients of response to selection are the highest.