LIVESTOCK IMPROVEMENT - ART, SCIENCE, OR INDUSTRY

The shift in perspectives about livestock improvement over a 70-yr per iod is reviewed. The view changes from livestock improvement as an art , through its becoming a science, to its application as a technology i n industry. The use of scientific tools in corporate settings for poul try, dairy, and swine breeding usually involves a strong focus on the economics of production, and this focus determines that selection inde xes should be used. Such focus has seemed to not have been present in breeding for the extensively managed species and livestock classes but seems needed in order to provide a basis for organization and directi on of positive contributions of the breeding segment to the production segment.