Where relevant information is available, resistance to disease should be taken into consideration over productivity when breeding decisions are made.
Mismatching of bull and dam, resulting in calving difficulties, should be avoided.
Whilst animals suffering from disease or injury should be culled in good time, longevity should be encouraged in dairy and suckler cows.
The opportunity to select bulls with low SCC levels in daughters should be utilised.
Overall lifetime productivity should be considered above high productivity alone in dairy bull selection.