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Looking at this question, I've been wondering, What are the biggest private companies which work in both animal and non-animal selective breeding?

Let me know if Biology.SE is not appropriate for this kind of question.

Thank you

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This varies by the kind of animal or plant. I think one company would rarely do both.

For plants Monsanto comes to mind. And Syngenta.

I'm not sure for animals. For beef cattle in the US, this is done by individual ranchers (who may be corporations) that collectively share their genetic data creating a market which can predict the value of a bull. The market for bull semen can be worth hundreds of dollars per impregnation.

Why are bulls valued at such a greater rate than cows? Because semen can be preserved, transported and used thousands of times while a cow can only calf one at a time.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for this answer. I found two companies on the internet (see comment under my question). I'll wait to see if others can bring some other company names. I am surprised that individual ranchers make their own selection without any breeding plan decided at a national level. $\endgroup$ – Sulawesi Apr 5 '14 at 15:30
  • $\begingroup$ in the US that would not quite work. but the history is that cattle ranchers have been doing this for centuries and a company hasn't quite been capable of taking the business from them. seed farmers have been okay with buying seeds from central sources for some reason. $\endgroup$ – shigeta Apr 5 '14 at 15:44
  • $\begingroup$ you can add perdue chicken to the list too though. they do breed a specific line of chickens for meat. they don't let their farmers even hatch eggs. $\endgroup$ – shigeta Apr 5 '14 at 15:45

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