Welcome from the Chairman of the German Organizing Committee

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult.
Ernst  Kalm

In the name of the organizing committees, I welcome you most warmly to the 9th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP). This congress has been held since 1974, since 1982 it has been carried out every four years.
After Madrid (Spain), Lincoln (USA), Edinburgh (UK), Guelph (Canada), Armidale (Australia), Montpellier (France) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil), in 2010 we are pleased to welcome you in Leipzig and thus in Europe again.

At the specific request of many colleagues, the venue for the congress is in the new federal states of Germany, so that you, as our guests, can see the developments especially in this region of Germany. Since 1989 Germany has changed considerably and the two regions, East and West have grown well and successfully into one entity. More than 850 scientific contributions were submitted for the 9th WCGALP and there are 1,300 participants from all over the world (60 countries).

With those numbers we will again have a good foundation for the exchange of scientific knowledge related to livestock production. The central challenge of the 21st century is global food security. The worldwide growing population, the increase in living standards in developing countries and the changes in food consumption will continue to cause an increase in the demand for animal products. According to FAO predictions the demand for food products derived from livestock will nearly double by the year 2050. Innovative breeding and reproductive technologies will play an important role so that future food production can meet these increasing demands for food of animal origin. These current and up-to-date topics will be part of the 9th WCGALP.

The order of events of the congress has not changed much. The congress centre in Leipzig is spacious, so you will have the opportunity to select the topics of your interest and actively participate in the discussions.

Financing of the congress was only possible through active sponsorship from our Federal Ministry, the German Research Foundation, the state of Saxony, and numerous business enterprises. In this regard, I would like to especially mention the cattle breeding organizations for their participation and their support for science in Germany. The applied animal breeding organizations and enterprises recognized how important the cooperation between science and practice is and the international committee should try to continue this objective. On one hand basic research is very important and sets new perspectives, on the other hand researchers must be ready to accompany these new and important findings into practical implementation.

In this sense I wish you an interesting week and thank you on behalf of my colleagues for coming to the 9th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production.

Ernst Kalm
Chairman