Every week, a breeding index is calculated for each breeding animal in the DanBred breeding system. The breeding index expresses the expected economic production value of the animal considering all the traits in the breeding objective together. The breeding index is composed of various sub-indexes which express the genetic value for each trait in the breeding goal. Weighting the sub-indexes by their economic value results in the total breeding index.

The breeding index is calculated weekly using data from individual testing, pedigree and genomic information from DNA testing. Calculation is continuous so only the most recent information is included in the breeding index for all DanBred breeding animals.

In the breeding index for DanBred breeding animals, the entire population has a breeding index of 100 as an average. A DanBred breeding animal with a greater  genetic potential than the average will have a breeding index over 100. This means the animal has a larger economic production value. So, a high breeding index will result in efficient production economy and a herd with a high genetic potential.