When was the last time you changed the traits on which you base your sire selection?  Was it this year or a decade ago?  Today’s dairy cattle are much different than what they were even three generations ago. Today there are many new genetic indexes that could be well worth your investigation.

Be Progressive – Identify Your Herd’s Limitations

Recently when speaking with two production focused herds, I heard the following on their genetic improvement needs.  Here is what they told me.

Herd #1

This Holstein and crossbred herd and is housed in two groups (mature and 1^st/early 2^nd lactation cows) and are milked by two robot stall milkers. The owner focuses his time on TMR preparation and feeding and caring for the 100-110 milking cows, dry cows, heifers and calves. Cows average 86 lbs. (39 kgs) of 4.2%F and 3.3%P with SCC 105,000 and pregnancy rate is 40%. The annual replacement rate is 28%. Heifers calve at 22-23 months, and cows are not rebred until they are 100 days in milk or are past their peak and are gaining back weight. All field and cropping work is hired out. The owner is considering purchasing an automated calf feeder. He gives credit to the data from his robot milker system for helping him to be a much better dairy farmer. His sire selection has been primarily based on the LPI sire index and calving ease (CA) for heifers. He uses 20% (sexed) proven, 40% genomic, 10% Brown Swiss and 30% beef sires. He still uses DHI but is contemplating not classifying as, as he says, “I do not sell breeding stock, classifiers do not do a good job of evaluating my feet and locomotion issues in my herd and, with robotic milking, udders are not a stressed”.

The owner manages the herd by himself with some relief help for times he needs to be away especially for family events, but he says he is continually tired from having to deal with herd health issues, equipment maintenance and heat checking. He stated that he does not have enough time to manage and plan. He feels that the sires that he has been using are not leaving what he calls trouble-free long-lived tough cows and his calves require too much attention, due to illness. He reached out to me to discuss sire indexes for functional traits including Immunity+.  “I feel that I need to improve the genetics in my herd for fitness and health traits.” He wants to be ready for when his son comes home from college, at which time they will add a third robot.

Herd #2

This 1000 milking cow (2x) Holstein herd is going through an ownership transition from parents to agricultural college-educated children – daughter (the next farm business manager) and son-in-law (manager for the herd and the cropping). The daughter contacted me via The Milk House to discuss sires they should be using and on-farm data systems that will provide them with the information they need to manage. They are planning to install a new milking parlor in about three years. An automated calf feeding system was installed six months ago, and they are very pleased with the reduction in calf diseases and excellent calf growth to weaning. This new calf program pleases the daughter a great deal as calves are her speciality and she wants to start her own family soon. Her parents are supportive and happy to have the farm continue in the family.

The daughter reported that “Dad always said he bred for high PTAT (show type) and fed for production”. In her words “that philosophy just won’t work for us in the future”. First calvers too often have at least some calving difficulty, resulting in both dam and calf getting off to a poor start. The herd is 70% first and second lactation cows, average production is 73 lbs. (33 kgs) 3.6%F and 2.9%P, SCC 200,000 and pregnancy rate 18%. Sires used have been 80% proven (PTAT >2.75) from popular cow families and 20% genomic from show cow families. The annual replacement rate is over 40% – it takes all the heifers born to replace the culls.

Her thoughts on the herd’s past genetic selection program included: 1) no selection for female fertility; 2) cows are large requiring more maintenance and are not mobile enough; 3) little attention has been paid to fat and protein yield, SCC and persistency of production; 4) too many animals are being culled at a young age; and 5) heifers first calving at 25-26 months is adding $300 per heifer in rearing costs.

“Yep, Dad liked a ‘good-looking cow’ so he could sell purebred breeding stock – but – that’s not happening any longer. Dad is not opposed to change and says it’s in my hands now”. Her husband calculates that it takes one extra staff member just to trim feet, care for metabolic / production limiting diseases problems, assisting with problem calvings and to medicate sick animals. In summary, this wife-husband team are planning for changes including a significant change in the breeding program.

Opportunity Exists to Select Sires Differently

It was great being able to address sire selection for these two progressive thinking dairy farms knowing over 90% of the genetic progress that can be made in a herd comes from the sires used.

With about 85-88% of the on-farm cost being associated with feeding (50-58%), replacements (14-17%), labor (14-17%) and veterinary/medications (2-6%) it comes down to selecting sires that can assist in reducing the costs for these four areas. There are function-fertility-fitness-health trait genetic indexes that can be selected for, and that will assist with helping to reduce on-farm costs and thereby to increase profit.

Herd #2 needs to give attention to revenue generation by selecting for fat and protein yields and component percentage.

 Traits Milk Producers Should Consider Beyond Production and Type

The following six groupings are ranked by this author’s order of importance for tomorrow’s North American dairy cattle populations. The function-fertility-fitness-health genetic indexes that apply to each category are listed. There are both public indexes and company proprietary indexes.

1. Longevity – Cows that remain in the herd for five or more lactations are the most profitable. Sires PL– Productive Life indexes should be >5.0 and HL – Herd Life should be >105 to genetically add to a herd’s longevity. In 2019 CDCB produced a new sire indexes Early First Calving (EFC) which breeders will be able to use to shorten the time to first calving.
2. Animal Health – Many health genetic indexes currently exist, and more will be added in the future for breeders to use to change away from no genetic attention on health. It started with SCS, which is now being called Mastitis Resistance, others include Immunity+, (Cow) Wellness Traits$, Calf Wellness$, Wellness Pro, Hoof Health, Metabolic Disease Resistance, …etc. All helpful genetic tools to help breeders identify sires that should not be used.
3. Fertility – Much attention has been and continues to be focused on genetically improving fertility. If possible, breeders should not use sires that are below average for fertility traits. Indexes include: DPR (select >2.0), DF (select >103), FI (select >0.0), CCR, HCR, BCS, Fertility Pro, Superior Settlers, …etc. Progress has been made in the population average genetic merit for fertility, but the selection of superior sires must be continued.
4. Efficiencies – Presently, the attention is on feed conversion efficiency. Currently available are a direct measure index EcoFeed and indirectly calculated indexes FE and Feed Pro. CDCB and CDN/Lactanet are concluding their research so they can publish feed efficiency indexes in 2020. Although not being used at the genetic level producers and their feed advisors are making much use of Income Over Feed C … Expect to see genetic efficiency indexes in other areas – labor (animals not requiring human attention).
5. Calving – Genetic indexes relating to calving time were started over forty years ago, and the genetic progress has been significant. Ratings include CA$ (CE + MCE), CA, DCA, Stillbirths, Gestation Length, identification of lethal recessives (Haploids), …etc. It is important to note that any matters negatively impacting calving can result in poor subsequent performance for both dam and calf and calf morbidity.
6. Milking – Milking occurs 2 to 4 times per day, so anything affecting milking is important. Genetic indexes exist for Milking Speed, Milking Temperament (aka inter-action with the parlor environment), Robot Ready, Robot Pro, …etc.

Genomic evaluations have greatly assisted with increasing the accuracy of the indexes for these traits. The Canadian indexes are published on the 100 scale and a standard deviation of 5. US indexes are published on numerous scales and average is not always 0.00. Breeders using US indexes can look up details on the CDCB site for index averages and ranges.

It is essential for breeders to be aware that the heritability’s for these traits are low and accuracies for the indexes are lower than for production and some type traits. To make genetic improvement in a function-fertility-fitness-health trait, it must be selected for on a continual basis.

How to Select Sires

Just as there are no perfect sires, there is no perfect index that will place the correct emphasis on functions, fertility, fitness and health for an individual farm’s breeding program.

Table 1 shows the trait emphasis for North American Holsteins in the major total merit indexes. The variation is considerable, which provides the answer as to why sires rank differently from index to index. The trait emphasis is not published for Pro$ as it is based on an outcome-based cow profit approach.

Table 1 Trait Emphasis for North American Total Merit Indexes

* The Durability portion of the LPI index contains both function and conformation traits

Relying solely on any one of the total merit indexes to rank the sires according to an individual breeder’s needs for function-fertility-fitness-health trait improvement is not a wise decision.

The Bullvine recommends that a breeder select the total merit index that suits their needs. Then eliminate the sires from the list that are not above average for the 3 or 4 function-fertility-fitness-health traits most in need of improvement in the herd. This will result in a list of sires best suited for the herd.

Note: 1) This list will vary from herd to herd depending herd genetic needs and plans; 2) Likely 70% of the top 100 sires on the total merit index will be eliminated; and 3) In developing the herd needs remember to account for weaknesses of sires used in the past – i.e. DPR (<0.00), PL (>2.0), CW$(<-10).

Star Function, Fitness, Fertility and Health Sires

A list of top sires (based on Aug 2019 indexes) follows:

• Frazzled (7HO12788)            #1 DWP$, #4 TPI, #5 NM$ and high for F+P, PL, SCS/MS, LIV, MET, GL & EFC
• Rubicon (151HO00681)          #3 TPI, #7 NM$ and high for F+P, PL, LIV, SCS, FLC, DCE, DSB
• Rowdy (29HO17947)             #1 NM$, #5 TPI and high for F+P (200 lbs.), PL, LIV, DCE, DSB
• Enzo (29HO18016)                 #12 TPI, top 50 NM$ and high for PL, SCS, DPR, LIV, UDC
• Rio (7HO13866)                      A2A2, 2673 TPI, 799 NM$ and high for PL, SCS, DPR, LIV, UDC, DCE, DSB (Genomic)
• Porter (200HO10532)            #2 LPI, #12Pro$ and high for F+P (yield & %), HL, HH, DF, DCA, Mammary, F&L
• Detour (513HO03091)           #2 Pro$, #3 LPI and high for F+P, HL, HH, Milking Speed, DCA
• Brewmaster (250HO01009)  A2A2, #11 LPI, #13 Pro$, #1 F% and high for F, HL, Persistency, DCA, R, F&L
• AltaGlow (11HO15023)        A2A2, 3123 Pro$, 3639 LPI and high for F+P, HL, HH, Persistency, DF, CA, DCA (Genomic)
• Almamater (200HO11665)   A2A2, 3629 LPI, 2744 Pro$ and F+P, HL, MasRes, MET, HH, DF, M Speed, DCA (Genomic)

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Total Merit Indexes do a very good job of ranking sires for overall genetic merit. However, breeders need to search deeper when it comes to finding sires that stand out from the pack for function-fertility- fitness-health traits.

Progressive breeders need to determine where their herd needs improvement for traits beyond production and type. Then they should use the best sires for improving function-fertility-fitness-health traits in order to have the genetics in their herds that will assist in reducing their farm’s cost of production.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Dairy herd managers often express the view that reading bull books or searching for bulls on the Internet is not their forte. They are rightly focused on making a profit from harvesting quality feeds and converting them into wholesome milk.

The genetic data seems overwhelming. “So many sire numbers! Which ones are of most importance? How does a milk producer use them? What does a herd genetic audit look like? How can I make a workable breeding plan? Who can help me?” In this article, The Bullvine will attempt to address these concerns.

Steps to a Successful Solution

Here are four steps to success:

1. Select an effective helper.
2. Narrow your focus.
3. Complete a genetic herd audit.
4. Implement an action plan.

Who Can Help You?

A.I. companies have trained staff who are available to work with dairymen to conduct a herd genetic audit and develop a plan for which sires to buy and how to use those sires. In today’s genetics industry typically speaking 70% of the sires will have genomic indexes and 30% will be daughter proven sires. Reputable A.I. companies and semen salespeople want dairymen to be successful. They do not first want to make a sale for their own short-term gain. The first audit is to find the partner who has milk producer success as their #1 priority.

Are There Too Many Genetic Indexes?

Over fifty indexes are available for all sires.  Yes – too many for milk producers. Very few, if any, dairy breeders use all the genetic indexes. For milk production focused dairymen, most of the indexes can be set aside as they are of limited financial significance. 

No Focus No Improvement                              

After these two initial sorts, focus comes into the picture. Once a herd genetic audit is completed (we’ll cover that later in this article) a milk producer needs to narrow down the traits that need the most improvement on their farm. The Bullvine’s recommendation is that, for milk producers, that list should not exceed nine traits. Genetic improvement research has shown that going beyond 7-9 primary traits when selecting sires results in minimal, if any, genetic advancement for a herd.

Table 1 – Primary Selection Traits for Milk Producers

Table 1 contains The Bullvine’s suggested list for the 9 primary traits. This table also contains alternatives to the primary nine for milk producers to consider.

Notes: Data Source for all values/traits is CDCB/AIPL except where otherwise noted
* US Holstein
** STgen 
*** CDN
**** Zoetis
***** Semex

How to Do Your Herd’s Genetic Audit

Before conducting the audit all information on the animals in the herd should be sourced from breeds, herd recording agencies (DHI’s), genetic evaluation centres (CDCB/CDN) and DNA testing labs.

An audit can be either by year of birth of the females in the herd or by category of the females – calves, yearlings, 1^st lactation, 2^nd lactation and 3^rd+ lactation. Either way works.  Using the latter sorting method, by categories, sorts by current life stage which is normally how dairymen think of their animals.

There are five indexing combinations that can be used to do the herd genetic audit:

• Parent Averages Indexes;
• Combined Parent Averages & Performance Indexes;
• Genomic Indexes;
• Combined Genomic & Performance Indexes; and
• Three Nearest Sire Average Index.

The method to use depends on what information is available for the herd. #4 will be the most accurate method. However, very few milk producers are doing genomic testing so that eliminates methods #3 and #4. Most progressive milk producers measure the performance of their animals so method #2 would be available. For milk producers that do not do performance (milk) recording then method #5 will be the method to use. Females that are to be culled or that are being bred beef can be excluded from the audit as they will not be contributing to the genetics in the herd in the future.

Table 2 – Sample Herd Genetic Audit Report

Table 2 gives an example of what might be the herd genetic audit for a milk producer’s herd for the traits that The Bullvine has selected.

Note: For DCE and SCS a lower numbered is the desired

The Bullvine’s assessment of this example is that the herd has used sires that increased the herd’s genetic merit for fat, protein and SCS but not for the other traits.

Make and Use A Herd Genetic Plan

• Goals are always an important part of any plan. Using Table 2 our example milk producer, working independently or with an advisor can set goals for the traits to be improved. In this example, the function and fertility categories need significant improvement. Reaching a herd average of PL +5.0, UD +1.25, RLRV +0.75, DCE 4.5, DPR +3.5 and CW$ 30 in 5 years is possible. It would be advisable to increase Fat to +50lbs. and Protein to +40lbs. as part of the plan. SCS could be improved but it is not necessary unless the milk processor would pay a premium for low somatic cell milk.
• Sire selection will be the key to making genetic improvement in a milk production focused herd. 85-90% of the genetic improvement will come by using superior sires. The money invested in buying sexed semen from top sires will pay for itself many times over in five years.  Using sexed semen on all heifers and the top half of the milking herd will allow for adequate herd replacements. Extra replacement heifers cost $2,500 to raise but are only likely to bring $1,800 as newly calved first lactation cows so why raise them and take the $700 loss? The bottom half of the milk cows can be bred to beef sires and the calves can be sold at birth or raised for meat sales.
• Buy semen from only elite sires for the traits to be improved as determined from the herd’s genetic audit. The initial sort for sires to use should be to sires that have a minimum index for NM$ or Pro$. Good minimum index values are: Genomic Holstein NM$ +800 (Pro$ 1800); Proven Holstein NM$ +700 (Pro$ 1600); Genomic Jersey NM$ +650 (Pro$ 1500); and Proven Jersey NM$ +575 (Pro$ 1300). Milk producers who sell to specialty processors or cheese makers should also consider selecting sires that are A2A2 Beta Casein and BB Kappa Casein. 

Table 3 – Sire Selection Levels for Milk Producers

Table 3 is a guide for milk producers to use when selecting sires for the nine traits in Table 1.

* Sires below these levels should be eliminated from milk producers semen purchase lists

** Sires not meeting these levels should not be used more than 25% of the time

Remember before finally deciding to buy an individual sire, a check should be done to ensure that a sire is not below average for production, functional, fertility or health indexes traits.

Why Bother with a Herd Genetic Audit?

Every Milk producer has heard other dairy people question the value of genetic information and using only superior sires. The reason often given is that it is performance, not genetics that fills the bulk tank. That is a behind-the-times way of thinking. CDN studies have shown 50% of the productivity gains being made in Canadian dairy cattle comes as a result of genetics. Even if 33% of the productivity gains are genetic, 33% are nutritional and 33% are management, improving genetic merit of a herd is important. If a herd’s genetic level is not improved the herd will fall behind other herds and the dairyman will be at a disadvantage in the efficiencies that higher genetics bring with them.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Genetic improvement is important to all dairy farmers, no matter the focus on their farm. First comes a genetic audit of the present herd, then a plan for traits most in need of genetic improvement and then the use of sires that will achieve the herd’s genetic goals. Genetic improvement is permanent. Don’t delay. Don’t fall behind.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

For many that are aspiring to breed the next great show cow or 97-point cow, there is no question that it is not all about the genomic tests.  Finding the WOW Factor is as much an art form as it is a science.  It can take generations of corrective matings to reach the ultimate goal of standing in the center of the ring at World Dairy Expo, The Royal or any of the other top shows around the world. That kind of success comes with careful selection of the right sires.  While indexes, like PTAT and CONF, are ideal for producing consistent barn cows, it takes an exceptional type of sire to stamp out daughters that can win on the Tanbark Trail.  With that in mind, we asked seven of the top show breeders and cattle dealers what sires were standing out for them. 

Our panel includes:

Ysabel Jacobs: Partner in Ferme Jacobs, a three-time Master Breeder herd that has been Premier Breeder at World Dairy Expo and The Royal Winter Fair several times. Their successful breeding philosophy is based on type. They have earned numerous show accolades and marketed cattle and embryos worldwide.  Ferme Jacobs has bred or owned some extreme notable cows, including World Dairy Expo Champion – BONACCUEIL MAYA GOLDWYN and Royal Winter Fair Grand Champion – JACOBS GOLD LIANN.  As well they breed and showed JACOBS GOLDWYN VALANA, Reserve Champion at WDE in 2015. (Read more: FERME JACOBS: SUCCESS IS ALL IN THE FAMILY! and FERME JACOBS 2013: A JOURNEY OF MAGIC, MAYA AND MASTERY!)

Aaron Eaton: along with my wife Caitlin and daughters Avery & Evelyn own and operate Eaton Holsteins in Syracuse, NY. Where they currently milk 30 elite type registered Holsteins and a select group of jerseys. Their main objective is developing, marketing and caring for these special individuals daily along with an additional 35 head of young stock and dry cows. Over the past 5 years they have made boarding elite show cattle for others a huge part of their business as well, approximately 30% of the cattle residing at their farm are board cattle. Their herd currently holds the #1 Rank for BAA in NY, 114.8 ( top 10 Nationally) consisting of 18 EX and 14VG, of those Ex cows 13 are max scored, 2 at 95pts and 1 @96pts. Over the past 8 years they have had many success stories in the show ring garnering numerous All American and/or All Canadian Nominations as well as having 3 jerseys go on for new owners to become national champions, 3 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Jr championships and also two Holstein cows named Intermediate champion or reserve at World Dairy Expo. Aaron has since had the opportunity to judge many state and regional shows over the past 5 years. Prior to farming full time, Aaron spent 10 years as a cattle fitter traveling to many shows across the US, Canada, South America and Europe.

Ari Ekstein : Ari is a partner in Quality Farms with his father, Their focus is to breed and exhibit a combination of the best typed and pedigree cows in the world. They presently milk 72 cows and own approximately 220 head. They believe in the true modern dairy cow that combines balance, strength, and style with a natural will to milk from great udders. They use a combination of high type genomic bulls and proven bulls that have the ability to consistently breed the type of cow they want to work with every day. They choose their bulls based on a combination of numbers, maternal line, and sire stack. They have a long history of breeding and exhibiting many All Canadians. They are very proud of one of their most recent accomplishments. Bosdale Gold Luster and Quality Solomon Lust were both class winners at last year’s Royal Winter Fair. This All Canadian dam and daughter pair are a perfect example of what they love to work with and breed from. (Read more:  QUALITY HOLSTEINS – WELL-DESERVED CONGRATULATIONS, QUALITY CATTLE LOOK GOOD EVERY DAY and QUALITY HOLSTEINS – NUMBERS THAT STILL COUNT – DAIRY BREEDER INTERVIEW)

Barclay Phoenix: He bred his first All-Canadian Nomination in 2012- Phoenix GoGo Sanchez. Barclay is also heavily involved in showing and merchandising elite Holstein cattle. Barclay has had or has merchandised over 170 All-Canadian or All-American nominations in the past 17 years. In 2001 he was co-owner of the Reserve Champion at the World Dairy Expo. In 2004 and 2005, he and his partners exhibited Junior Champion and Intermediate Champion at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Toronto. He was also co-winner of the Premier Exhibitor Banner at the Royal in 2004, co-owned the Junior Champion at the 2008 World Dairy Expo, and the Reserve Intermediate Champion at the 2012 Red and White Royal Winter Fair. (Read more: TAG – YOU ARE IT! HOW AND WHY TAG DAIRY SALES ARE SUCCESSFUL)

Ethan McMillan: With his family, Ethan operates two-time Master Breeder herd, Kingsway Holsteins. Kingsway has taken home many Premier Junior and Senior Breeder Banners at World Dairy Expo and The Royal Winter Fair. Much of Kingsway’s success comes from the  Kingsway Terrason Allie EX95-2E-*4 family, responsible for 47 nominations in All-Canadian, All-American and All-Britain contests since 2006.  Another influential family that has helped build the herd is that of Kingsway Lheros Chelsie VG89-2YR-*4, with five generations of All-Canadian nominations, all tracing back to Chelsie in their pedigrees. Kingsway Mark Chief EX-6E-*12 is another influential family. One recently notable descendant of that family is Kingsway Airlift Gosling VG-88-2yr, the stunning white heifer that captured attention when she won All-Canadian Intermediate Yearling honors in 2015.

Michael Heath: Michael has made a living as a cattle merchandizer and breeder. He started as a cattle fitter which enabled him to have the contacts to start in his cattle marketing business. Heath has managed many sales over the years, most recently ‘Rendezvous at River Valley’ which was the 2nd highest Jersey sale average of all time. In the beginning, two Holstein cows got Heath up and going in the Holstein business: Freundly Acres Linjet Murphy, EX96 and Kingstead Cheif Adeen, EX94. On top of this Michael has owned and sold many All-Canadian and All-American Nominations over the years. Currently, Heath owns approximately 75 head of Holsteins and 60 head of Jerseys. Heath has judged Shows Internationally in Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Holland, Mexico, Brazil and Canada, Argentina, and the UK.

Simon Lalande: Owner of Ferme Blondin, Simon Lalande is the 6th generation on the farm with his sons now the 7th generation. Blondin is currently milking around 135 head of Holsteins with an additional 500 head of heifers on the farm. This extra number of animals is due to extensive flushing being done on the farm and the constant need for recipients. Ferme Blondin attends 7-8 shows per year including World Dairy Expo and the Royal Winter Fair. Blondin sells over 600 head of fresh young cows per year. Whether for the freestall environment or for that special show cow, they are always buying and selling animals. Because of this Simon spends a great deal of time on the road, looking for recipients or for that next great one! Annually he logs thousands of miles through numerous provinces and states. In March Ferme Blondin started the construction of a new 265 head freestall It will house the milking herd along with all show animals. (Read more: FERME BLONDIN “PASSION WITH A PURPOSE BUILDS SUCCESS”, FERME BLONDIN – “BUILT ON TEAMWORK” – DAIRY BREEDER VIDEO INTERVIEWS and COGENT BREEDING ANNOUNCES IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIP WITH BLONDIN SIRES INC)

What bulls are siring the heifers that are standing out in heifer pens? 

QUALITY SOLOMON LUST

While impressive type numbers and an excellent pedigree are nice, nothing compares to seeing the heifers from the top sires to determine if they have what it takes.  The first test of this comes when the calves hit the ground and start to develop.  One sire that is certainly impressing is Walnutlawn SOLOMON.  This Doorman son for the GLEN DRUMMOND SPLENDOR family (Read more: Marketing Lessons from Glen Drummond Aero Flower) has certainly impressed many breeders with his stylish daughters.  One such daughter is the Royal Winter Fair winner and 2016 Breeders Choice Award Winner, QUALITY SOLOMON LUST from Quality Holsteins (Read more: 2016 BREEDERS CHOICE AWARDS – TANBARK TRAIL EDITION RESULTS).  Ari Ekstein comments “The Solomon heifers are extremely balanced heifers with tremendous rumps and a great combination of style and strength.”   Simon Lalande from Ferme Blondin adds “Solomon is one of our favorite sires of heifers at the farm. They are hard topped and have a beautiful side profile.”   “Solomon is definitely the bull that stood out the most in the heifer pens right now. They are long, with great bone quality and great legs. They look so feminine” comments Ysabel Jacobs.  Ethan McMillan comments “The best heifers in our heifer pens are Goldwyns and Solomons. They are the most growthy calves, and they have correct rump structure with style and balance.” 

KHW REGIMENT APPLE-RED

Another sire that is catching the eyes of our panel is Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE.  Avalanche is a McCutchen from a clone of KHW REGIMENT APPLE-RED.  (Read more: KHW REGIMENT APPLE-RED – BEAUTY, PERFORMANCE, AND EVEN MORE RECORD ACCOMPLISHMENTS) Barclay Phoenix notes that “Avalanche is siring heifers that jump right out in the heifer pens all over the country.  They are long necked and have dairy strength with great feet and legs.” Ari Ekstein adds “The Avalanche heifers are young but are definite standouts, when they come out of the hutches.”  Aaron Eaton reports that Avalanche daughters “are long framed, balanced and dairy with good feet and legs for the most part.”

Some other sires that are starting to turn the heads of our panel are Mr Ansly ADDICTION-P-RED.  A Red, polled grandson of KHW REGIMENT APPLE-RED, “Addiction P heifers also look like they have great udder makeup and they have lots of style” comments Barclay Phoenix. “I also like the look of BEEMERS – they are square cut with lots of width, great foot and have great thurl placement.  I think they could make long-lasting cows.”  Ari Ekstein seconds Barclay’s comments about Pol Butte Mc BEEMER daughters “The Beemer heifers are consistently stylish with beautiful long necks with a dairy cut.” 

• Aaron Eaton
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Mr Ansly ADDICTION-P-RED
  • Cycle Doorman JACOBY
• Ari Ekstein 
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Quality Doorman MARIO
  • Pol Butte Mc BEEMER
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
  • Butz-Butler Atwood BRADY
  • Maple-Downs-I G W ATWOOD
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
• Barclay Phoenix
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
  • Pol Butte Mc BEEMER
  • Mr Ansly ADDICTION-P-RED
• Ethan McMillan
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Braedale GOLDWYN
• Michael Heath
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
  • Mr D Apple DIAMONDBACK
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Pol Butte Mc BEEMER
  • Mr Ansly ADDICTION-P-RED
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP
  • Oh-River-Syc BYWAY
• Simon Lalande
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
  • Cycle Doorman JACOBY
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • KH CINDERDOOR
• Ysabel Jacobs
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • KH CINDERDOOR
  • Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP

What sires daughters are catching your eye as they are calving in/maturing?

Comestar Lamadona Doorman

While Val-Bisson DOORMAN daughters were certainly impressive as heifers, they are now starting to impress our panel members in milking form.    (Read more: SIRE REPORT: VAL-BISSON DOORMAN – OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING) Aaron Eaton comments that “I really like some of the second crop Doormans. The ones I’ve seen are balanced and good uddered. I know some people were skeptical about milking speed, but for me, the ones that are out of the better cows are calving now, and it’s hard to deny he is going to make some great young cows”.  Ari Ekstein adds “Most of our Doorman’s are out of Goldwyn’s and the Goldwyn’s help transmit the dairy quality that some of the Doorman’s can lack.”   Simon Lalande adds  “Doorman adds the strength and width that many cows need with the Goldwyn blood. He is also low SCS which every breeder likes.”

A sire that has impressed with his second crop daughters is Lirr Drew DEMPSEY.  Simon Lalande notes that “He can make some very special ones. We did not use a lot of him, but the ones we have seen are very special. Great udders! “ Barclay Phoenix adds “Dempsey’s seem to be long lasting rugged cows with lots of dairy strength.“  

Jacobs Gold Liann

Rounding out the top sires, that are impressing our panel, is Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP.  A sire that certainly worked well for Ferme Jacobs producing last year’s Royal Winter Fair Grand Champion, Jacobs Gold Liann. (Read more: THE 2016 ROYAL WINTER FAIR HOLSTEIN SHOW – THE SHOW EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS)  Ysabel Jacobs comments “We love those dairy heads and necks that are feminine all the way throughout. They have excellent udders on them and great rump and legs.  It all comes down to the same thing. If you can make a cow with a good rump, good legs and udder, she should last for you. When a cow as an excellent udder you can go everywhere… you need that excellent udder to sell a cow, not a huge frame.”  Barclay Phoenix comments that “I like the way that Gold Chips are developing as second and third calvers.” While Michael Heath adds that he “loves the Gold Chip bred heifers and young cows.”

• Aaron Eaton
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
• Ari Ekstein 
  • Maple-Downs-I G W ATWOOD
  • Pine-Tree SID
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
• Barclay Phoenix
  • Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Croteau Lesperron UNIX
• Ethan McMillan
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
• Michael Heath
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP
  • Ms Atlees Sht AFTERSHOCK
• Simon Lalande
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Braedale GOLDWYN
• Ysabel Jacobs
  • Monument IMPRESSION
  • Mr Chassity GOLD CHIP
  • Gillette WINDBROOK
  • Regancrest REGINALD

What bulls are you currently using?

For many breeders looking to breed the next great one, the proof comes when the calves hit the ground. It is not surprising that Walnutlawn SOLOMON tops the list of sires currently in use.  His impressive calve,s combined with a cow family that has consistently sired outstanding udders, he has the promise and the proof in sync.  It’s also not surprising that some early Solomon sons make our list, like Blondin Zimmer CAPTURE.  “He is the first available Solomon son, his genomics are outstanding for type, and he should make the special kind,” comments Simon Lalande.  Another Doorman son that is getting attention is KH CINDERDOOR.  Ysabel Jacobs says that “early Cinderdoor daughters look a lot like Solomon daughters but maybe with a little more rib.”

Wendon Dempsey Prude

Many of the breeders on our panel are also going back and using Lirr Drew DEMPSEY. Michael Heath comments that “It seems like Dempsey from Sids is a really good cross.”  Ysabel Jacobs adds that Dempsey is a “builder bull, so we have been using him. We use him because we found our breed has a problem with their thurl’s too far back. So now we use a bull like Dempsey to help with that.”

Since Goldwyn on Dundee has proven to be a magic cross, Aaron Eaton has gone back and used Dundee on a few Goldwyn’s and Gold Chip’s. “I don’t think you can go wrong with balanced breeding while maintaining great udders, balance, dairyness and good feet and legs.” Comments Eaton. 

• Aaron Eaton
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Cycle Doorman JACOBY
  • Walnutlawn SLATER
  • Braedale GOLDWYN
  • Regancrest DUNDEE
• Ari Ekstein 
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON (sexed)
  • Quality Doorman MARIO
  • Maple-Downs-I G W ATWOOD (sexed)
  • Dymentholm Mr Apples AVALANCHE
  • Toc-Farm FITZ
  • Pine-Tree SID (sexed)
  • Cycle Doorman JACOBY (sexed)
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Ocd 1stclass CALLEN
• Ethan McMillan
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Croteau Lesperron UNIX
  • Morningview Mcc KINGBOY
  • High Genomic Type Sires (For problem breeders)
• Simon Lalande
  • Walnutlawn SOLOMON
  • Blondin Zimmer CAPTURE
  • Val-Bisson DOORMAN
  • Crasdale CHILL
  • Woodcrest King DOC
  • Cycle Mcgucci JORDY-RED
  • Farnear-Tbr BH 1ST GRADE
  • Stantons CHIEF
• Ysabel Jacobs
  • Monument IMPRESSION
  • Jk Eder-I CONTROL
  • Stantons HIGH OCTANE
  • Lirr Drew DEMPSEY
  • Minnigan-Hills DAY

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Figuring out exactly what sire to use can be a tough decision.  For many pedigree breeders, the goal is to consistently produce great cows that have show ring appeal.  While genomic type numbers can help you narrow down the list, the real proof comes when you see the daughters.  The challenge for most breeders is getting the opportunity to see many different daughters in different herds. It can be really hard to do.  Thanks to the contributions of our panel members, we are able to get some critical insight into some of the top sires. We have learned how are being used and how they are performing on top cattle.  While some sires can make an average cow better, the real question becomes “Which sires can make great daughters from good cows?”  That is the question these panel members have helped us to answer.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Usually, the Bullvine does not come back quickly to a topic just covered. But when specifically asked to add further light on a topic, we leap at the opportunity to add clarity with further information. After publishing the article “Which Breeding Index is right for you?” we received questions and comments from readers and Facebook friends that stimulated us to dig deeper.

Readers’ Questions

1. Can you provide analysis on Jerseys, as they are gaining in popularity?
2. What about comparisons of bull index groupings for Canadian sires?
3. How significant are the differences between the bull index categories?
4. I live in the UK and use both US and Canadian sires, I would be interested in knowing if I can use TPI and LPI and NM$ and Pro$ interchangeably?

These are all excellent questions?

Study Premise

Let’s recall the premise of the original article. Our premise was “the average of a group of bulls, selected using a particular total merit index, will be what a breeder can expect to obtain in the genetic merit of their herd when that certain index is used over a period.”

Of course, a breeder will pick and choose sires and will not use all the sires in any grouping. Therefore the results obtained can and will differ from the average. However, the average will be a very good indication of the results from using any particular total merit index.

Total Merit Indexes Studied

Some dairy cattle breeders follow only one breeding strategy, others use more than one strategy in their herd, but almost all breeders use the facts and figures to help them achieve their goals and objectives.

To assist breeders, we choose four total merit indexes to compare expected results:

1. Conformation/ Type Index (when selection is based on type only)
2. Production Indexes (Fat + Protein Yield, as 70% of milk goes into milk products)
3. Breed recommended Total Merit Indexes (TPI, JPI, LPI, …)
4. Economically Weighted Total Merit Indexes (NM$, CM$, Pro$, …)

Sire Average Index Comparisons

The tables that follow are the average proofs for the top active US and Canadian Holstein and Jersey proven sires, with semen available for sale, as ranked and published in December 2016. Table 1 is a replication of the table contained in our first article. The number color coding is: red = lowest/worst; and blue = highest/best. The scale of and range in proofs depends on the base used for the publication of proofs.

Table 1 Average Proof for Top Twenty Active US Proven Holstein Sires (Dec’16)

Table 2 Average Proof for Top Ten Active US Proven Jersey Sires (Dec’16)

Table 3 Average Proof For Top Twenty Active Canadian Holstein Sires (Dec’16)

Table 4 Average Proof For Top Ten Active Canadian Proven Jersey Sires (Dec’16)

The Take Home Messages on Indexes

Holstein Sires: The highest sires for breed and economic indexes came out superior most often. Highest production sires did not rank lowest for traits as often as most top type sires. With management, health and longevity traits receiving the focus in 2017, NM$, CM$ and Pro$ indexes are recommended as the total merit indexes to use when doing the first sort for sires to use.

• Jersey Sires: Since the number of Jersey sires being proven is not as large, the averages and comparisons may not be As with Holsteins, the breed and economic indexes come out on top more often. In the US JPI and CM$ are very similar. However, in Canada Pro$ is superior to LPI when it comes to the Jersey sire proof averages. The high type sires definitely are inferior for production and most important management traits. The highest production sires do not have the longevity and management traits that most commercial breeders want to have in their herds.
• Highest Type Sires: These sires will satisfy breeders wanting to breed for the niche show market. Otherwise, breeders using high type sires will continue to quickly fall behind for production, fertility, DCE and other management traits. Significantly increased stature (and size) comes with selecting for type for both breeds in both US and Canada. Compared to other total merit indexing alternatives, when a sire’s type proof is used as the primary selection number, breeders can expect to fall behind the progress being made by breeders using the highest sires for production, breed index or economic index.
• Highest Production Sires: No doubt about it these sires leave the most production. However, with breeders today wanting animals that are longer lived and more trouble free, these sires are only likely to be the ones of choice for breeders with extremely good management and that have the labor force that can identify problems quickly. The highest production sires were most often below average for reproduction and other management traits.
• Highest Breed Index Sires: TPI, JPI, and LPI have stood the test of time as indexes that identify top sires. TPI and LPI put direct and indirect emphasis on traits that many commercial breeders consider as frills (i.e. stature, balance, and style). Sires that rank highest for breed indexes are usually at or near the top for all traits we studied. All Holstein and Canadian Jersey breeders wanting the little extra in type should feel confident in using their breed indexes when sorting sires. On the other hand, US Jersey breeders cannot expect as much type but more production from following JPI as their index of choice.
• Highest Economic Index Sires: For Holstein and Jersey breeders focused on milk for their revenue source with cows that are healthy, fertile and trouble free then NM$, CM$, and Pro$ are the best ways to compare and choose sires. These indexes are at or near the top for most traits and overall come out on top as compared to the other three ranking systems that we studied. Breeders wanting to reverse the trend for larger and larger cows will find these indexes will do the best job.
• Indexes for Young Sires: With anywhere from 50% to 70% of semen sold coming from genomically evaluated sires, the selection of sires not yet daughter proven is an important matter. The Bullvine recommends that the same rationale be used for proven or genomically evaluated sires when it comes to which total merit index to use. And as has been written and often said, for genomically evaluated sires do not ‘put all your eggs in one basket’ – in other words, use 5-20 doses from any one young sire and then move on to other young sires.
• Overall Use of Total Merit Indexing Alternatives: Step #1 is to objectively predict the genetic merit your herd should have in three and then ten years. Their years corresponds to daughters of the sires being used just now. Step #2 is to have a plan for what you wish to achieve from your breeding program (Read more: What’s the plan? And Flukes and Pukes – What Happens When You Don’t Have a Plan) Step #3 is to then match the total merit index option to your plan. Choosing the incorrect total merit index alternative for your needs could mean that the cows in your herd in a decade are totally wrong. We have seen it where the son or daughter taking over the herd from their parents have cows that do not do a very good job for the next generation. Foresight is important. Breeding involves a considerable amount of vision.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

From this study, The Bullvine can recommend that breeders can expect similar results from using the current national US or Canadian total merit indexes. The challenge ahead will be for breeders to keep up as more total merit indexes that include new and novel traits come into use. Our best advice to progressive breeders is to work closely with a trusted genetics supplier and have them advise you when it comes to the total merit index that is best for you. For the majority of dairy farms using an economic index will fit their program best.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Picking the correct sires for your breeding program can be one of the most challenging yet still important decisions that you can make.  With new sires coming out almost every week, many breeders just don’t have the time to stay up to date. Add to that the challenge of knowing what sires are available and it can be a real challenge to pick your short list.  With that in mind, we have developed a list of 12 sires for you to take a closer look at and that should be available in most markets. To make it easier, we have broken our lists into four major categories to help you do quick corrective matings.

Balanced Breeding   

When looking for the sire that will help improve your herd across the board, we looked for sires that have a balance of production and longevity and, most importantly, a pedigree that ensures that their performance will last. We also wanted high health and fertility traits that will deliver a low maintenance cow (Read more – Fact vs. Fantasy: A realistic approach to sire selection). Here are our top three:

Mountfield SSI Dcy MOGUL
Dorcy BY x Marsh x O Man
007HO11314

Pedigree:
Sire: Coyne-Farms Dorcy-ET BY TV TL
Dam: Mountfield Marsh Maxine-ET VG-88 DOM, 02-03 2x 159d 14320m 4.3 611f 3.2 454p
MGS: Pasen Marsh-ET TR TV TL TY
MGD: Pine-Tree Missy Miranda-ET VG-86 DOM, 03-08 3x 365d 35550m 4.9 1730f 3.7 1325p
MGGS: O-Bee Manfred Justice-ET TR TV TL TD EX-94
MGGD: Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy-ET TV EX-92 3E GMD DOM, 04-11 3x 365d 40880m 4.1 1665f 3.2 1308p

It’s almost impossible to talk about modern impactful sires and not lead off with MOGUL.  This sire has dominated the genetics market for the past four years.  Today’s combination of Genomic testing and IVF has contributed to MOGUL now having great great grandsons entering AI units.  As one of the first ART program bulls from Select Sires, MOGUL has certainly helped deliver on the promise that that program expected.  Mogul is one of the all-around sires that has solid numbers in all aspects of both his genomic evaluation and daughter performance. This accounts for his popularity as a sire of sons and bull mothers.  While he will not be siring many show winners, he does offer a balanced type evaluation with all composites over 2 points.  MOGUL does need to be protected on Daughter Pregnancy Rate and straightness of rear legs.

Bacon-Hill Pety MODESTY
Pety x Supersire x Bolton
507HO12600

Sire: Siemers Mogul Pety
Dam: Bacon-Hill Suprs Modesty-ET VG-85 DOM
MGS: Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: Unique-Style Bolton Money EX-93 2E GMD DOM, 03-01 3x 365d 38430m 4.2 1614f 3.2 1247p
MGGS: Sandy-Valley Bolton-ET BY TV TL EX-90
MGGD: Pasen Rolex Mummy VG-88, 06-02 2x 365d 26160m 4.0 1043f 3.2 848p

With a strong, balanced pedigree and many of the breeds’ most impactful sires on both his maternal and paternal side, it’s no surprise that MODESTY tops the balanced breeding genomic lists.  With many young MODESTY sons starting to appear on the top list at under one year of age, MODESTY is showing that he has what it takes to pass it on to both his sons and daughters.  MODESTY is not an outcross sire, given the fact that his sire Pety is a Mogul son from a Mac from Welcome Goldwyn Penya. His dam is sired by Supersire and then a Bolton behind that. Modesty’s dam is a medium sized cow, but strong with width of front end and produces large volumes of milk with ease.  Given that he has almost 2000 lbs of Milk with plus components, over 2 points on type, and great health and fertility traits (+8.2 PL, +3.8 Liv, 2.7 DPR) MODESTY is very balanced in his breeding abilities.  He will need to be watched for his SCS (+3.02) as well as protected on his strength, body depth, and pin width.

Endco The ANSWER-PO 
Montross x Earnhardt P x Robust
534HO00056

Sire: Bacon-Hill Montross-ET
Dam: Bryhill Earnhardt Mint P, 02-02 2x 121d 9960m 4.3 424f 3.0 294p
MGS: Da-So-Burn Mom Earnhardt P TR PO TV TL TY T
MGD: Sully Robust 720-ET GP-83, 02-1 2x 365d 33360m 4.0 1325f 3.4 1140p
MGGS: Roylane Socra Robust-ET TR TV TL TD VG-88 GM
MGGD: Sully Planet Manitoba-ET GP-83 DOM, 02-03 2x 365d 33290m 3.9 1306f 3.1 1041p

For those breeders that have gotten on board with the polled revolution, the answer is clear. (Read more: From the Sidelines to the Headlines, Polled is Going Mainline!) Answer-PO is the #1 NM$ polled sire currently over a year of age. With his sire, Montross, coming out with a strong official proof, Answer-PO takes a significant jump to the top of the list. He comes from the Sully Planet Manitoba-ET GP-83 DOM family.  His grand dam, Manitoba, is a sister to Meridian and the dam of AltaMerci.  Look for Answer-PO to sire significant production improvement with strong components especially fat improvement. His daughters should be easy calving with solid temperament and will be long lasting.  He is a solid type sire but will need to be protected on his teat length and body depth.

Production

It might be easy just to choose sires from the top milk lists.  Instead, we wanted to look at a more balanced approach to overall production, so we looked at Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) Production, as well as not totally neglecting health and durability.  ECM determines the amount of milk produced and adjusted to 3.5 percent fat and 3.2 percent protein.

Bacon-Hill MONTROSS
Mogul x Bolton x AltaRolex
007HO12165

Sire: Mountfield Ssi Dcy Mogul-ET TR TV TL TY TD
Dam: Unique-Style Bolton Money EX-93 2E GMD DOM, 03-01 3x 365d 38430m 4.2 1614f 3.2 1247p
MGS: Sandy-Valley Bolton-ET BY TV TL EX-90
MGD: Pasen Rolex Mummy VG-88, 06-02 2x 365d 26160m 4.0 1043f 3.2 848p
MGGS: Latuch Rolex-ET TV TL EX-92
MGGD: Pasen Trent Mermaid-ET VG-85, 03-04 2x 305d 24240m 3.8 909f 3.3 805p

You really cannot even start to talk about overall production and components, without first looking at MONTROSS.  MONTROSS takes extreme production to a whole new level.  When you consider that the seven sires for energy adjusted milk are either MONTROSS sons or MONTROSS himself, he really dominates this list.  The fact that MONTROSS has become such an impactful sire of sons is not surprising, considering his sire stack that has sires like Elton, Leadman, and Rudolph several times in his pedigree.  His maternal side also has many instances of Elevation and Valiant contributing to the potency of MONTROSS, not only as a sire but also as a sire of sons.  In fact, there was a time we considered MONTROSS an outcross sire, but he has been such a potent producer of high genomic females and males, he has now become one of the sires that dominates the lists himself. (Read More: 12 Outcross Sires to Help Control Inbreeding). He is on pace to unseat his sire, Mogul, as the number 1 selling genomic sire of all time, as he was the youngest bull at Select Sires to reach the 100,00 units mark and his popularity continues to soar.  MONTROSS’s dam is the granddam of Modesty. MONTROSS will offer an excellent production kick and have enough durability, health, and fertility to last. MONTROSS has strong functional type with moderate stature, angular frames, good depth of rib and tremendous rear udders, but should be protected for straightness of rear legs and overall frame and capacity traits. However, as we have seen from research in the past, you don’t need extreme frame traits, in order to achieve extreme lifetime production. (Read more: She Ain’t Pretty – She Just Milks That Way!).

Ronland JEP
Montross x Sherac x Niagra
014HO07703

Sire: Bacon-Hill Montross-ET
Dam: Ronland Sherac Jill-ET GP-82, 03-00 2x 310d 27590m 4.2 1160f 3.5 957p
MGS: Ufm-Dubs Sherac-ET TV TL TY
MGD: Ronland Niagra Jurist-ET GP-80 DOM, 03-02 2x 316d 28370m 4.3 1216f 3.2 902p
MGGS: Ri-Val-Re 2338 Niagra-ET TR TV TL TD
MGGD: Ronland Jackie Journey VG-88, 04-00 2x 365d 35960m 3.9 1409f 2.9 1053p

For those of you looking to use a Montross son that offers something a little different from the Montross X Supersire x Snowman sire stack that many of the top energy adjusted production sires possess, there is JEP. JEP’s maternal side includes many Aerostar descendants including Goldwyn, Rudolph, Shottle, Jordan & Patron Allie.  While JEP’s maternal line may not read like a who’s who of the top females, what it does have is generation after generation of strong consistent performers who keep improving with age. JEP is an extreme production sire, who might just surprise some with how durable and low maintenance they are.  While they will not be winning shows any time soon, they will have great dairy strength, average stature, with high wide rear udders, but will need to be protected on udder depth.   For those looking to breed high production, low maintenance cows that will fit in any facility, JEP should be at the top of your list.

Dudoc STETSON P
Superman x Mccutchen x Magna-P*RC BY
200HO10716

Sire: RH Superman-ET
Dam: Dudoc Mccutchen Rancune P
MGS: De-Su Bkm Mccutchen 1174-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: Dudoc Magna Requiem P-ET, 01-11 2x 365d 28754m 4.8 1366f 3.4 981p
MGGS: Arron Doon West Port Magna P RC PO TV TL TD VG-88
MGGD: Dudoc Shottle Rhizotomie

For those of you looking for a polled production sire and if you want something with a bit of an outcross from the Montross son Answer PO, then check out STETSON P.  While STETSON P may not blow you away with his overall production (+2041 kgs, 1955 lbs.) where he will wow you is with his components (92 lbs/111 kgs Fat, 58 lbs/ 86 kgs Protein).  A quick look at STETSON P’s pedigree and you see the strong influence sires like Blackstar, Prelude and Aerostar have had, especially with the heavy Shottle influence on his maternal line.  He is a great component sire, with strong durability and great health and fertility. STETSON P is an extreme sire for heel depth but will need to be protected on his thurl placement.

Longevity Improvement

While some would try to tell you that high type equals longevity, that is not necessarily the case.    When it comes to longevity, it’s hard to argue with actual performance indices like Herd Life, Productive Life and Cow Livability.  (Read more: COW LIVABILITY: BREEDING FOR COWS THAT STAY IN THE HERD) With that in mind, we looked for those sires the excel in producing durable long lasting cows, while not totally forgetting about production.  In addition to Modesty mentioned earlier, the following are the 3 sires that came to the top of our list:

Mr Monterey MYSTERY
Monterey x Numero Uno x Domain
551HO03388

Sire: View-Home Monterey-ET
Dam: EDG Mist Uno Mylife-ET VG-86, 02-03 2x 365d 27140m 3.6 968f 3.1 832p
MGS: Amighetti Numero Uno-ET TV TL TY
MGD: Leaderwin Domain Mist-ET VG-87, 02-10 3x 305d 26090m 3.6 932f 3.0 772p
MGGS: Ronelee Toystory Domain-ET TV TL TD EX-90
MGGD: Leaderwin Jeeves Mace EX-91 2E DOM, 04-06 2x 365d 36250m 4.3 1560f 3.2 1164p

While MYSTERY daughters will probably not wow you with their lactational totals on milk production, they certainly will last forever and put up impressive lifetime production totals.  Also, an interesting fact about MYSTERY is that he has no MOGUL in his pedigree. This is something that is hard to find in today’s top genomic sires. MYSTERY is a Monterey from the same family that has produced the popular polled sire Milford.  His dam EDG Mist Uno Mylife sold for $160,000 in the 2013 Genomic Giants Sale.  MYSTERY combines great scores for PL (+8.5) and Cow Livability (+3.2) with outstanding mammary systems (+3.11 UDC) and strong feet and legs (+1.90 FLC).  The one area I do have concerns about with this sire is his production, as his DGV’s for production are significantly lower than his parent averages (+281 vs +407).  Considering he is not very high to start with, this is certainly an area where I would protect him.

Westcoast LIGHTHOUSE
Altaspring x Distinction x Numero Uno
200HO10757

Sire: Westenrade Altaspring
Dam: Calbrett Distinction Lolita
MGS: De-Su Distinction 11130-ET
MGD: Oconnors Last Hope, 02-01 2x 365d 26673m 4.9 1299f 3.4 895p
MGGS: Amighetti Numero Uno-ET TV TL TY
MGGD: Oconnors Planet Lucia-ET VG-86, 02-05 2x 365d 33701m 4.5 1523f 3.4 1137p

If you are looking for high durability combined with high type scores, look no further than LIGHTHOUSE.  He is A2A2, high production, positive components with great health and fertility scores.  LIGHTHOUSE is from the family of the million dollar cow Lylehaven Lila Z TV EX-94 that produced such sires as Liquid Gold, Lexor and Latimer. (Read more: Lylehaven Lila Z : Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?)  His grand dam, Oconners Last Hope sold in the Genetics by Design Sale for $475,000.  LIGHTHOUSE is over 2 points on all his type composites (+2.54 PTAT, +2.90 UDC, +2.19 FLC),and, as well, has an outstanding +6.9 PL and +4.0 DPR.  While they may not have showring style (-4 height at front end, -2 body depth), LIGHTHOUSE daughters will make great barn cows and will last for years and years. 

View-Home CARDINALS
Yoder x Mccutchen x Robust
200HO10668

Sire: Woodcrest Mogul Yoder-ET
Dam: View-Home Mcc Alabama-ET TL TD GP-82, 02-11 3x 96d 9150m 4.1 378f 3.0 273p
MGS: De-Su Bkm Mccutchen 1174-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: Pine-Tree 2149Robst 4846-ET VG-86 DOM, 02-04 3x 365d 32000m 4.8 1520f 3.2 1036p
MGGS: Roylane Socra Robust-ET TR TV TL TD VG-88 GM
MGGD: Pine-Tree Zenith Sheen VG-87 DOM,   01-11 3x 305d 24500m 3.9 959f 3.0 740p

CARDINALS is a Yoder from the full sister to Monterey and sister to POWERBALL-P, MISSOURI & CASHFLOW.  This potent genetic family traces back to the great Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy the foundation cow behind the top bulls Mogul, Mardi Gras, Sid, Supersire and AltaOak.  The extreme number of influential sires that have come from the Rudy Missy family is why we consider her one of the top 7 most influential cows in the breed. (Read more: The 7 Most Influential Holstein Brood Cows of the Modern Era) Like most of sires that come from this bloodline, CARDINALS numbers indicate good strength, with wide rear udders and mobile feet and legs. Combine that with high PL scores (+7.9) and strong DPR indexes (+2.3), and CARDINAL daughters will be built to last.   While not an extreme production sire, CARDINAL does have good components and health and fertility ratings.

Health and Fertility Improvement

Over the past few years we have seen a drastic swing in breeding focus to the point where now Health and Fertility scores often outrank the importance of production and, especially, type scores.  With that in mind, here are three sires that will help accelerate your breeding program in this key area.

EDG HANCHO 74621
Director x Halogen x Shamrock
551HO03371

Sire: Mr Delicious Pre 57512-ET
Dam: EDG Jacey Halo 57887-ET VG-85
MGS: Cookiecutter Petron Halogen
MGD: Butlerview Sr Jacey-ET GP-80, 03-05 3x 305d 28490m 4.4 1262f 3.0 864p
MGGS: Ladys-Manor Pl Shamrock-ET TR TV TL TD VG-88
MGGD: Coyne-Farms Freddi Jeven-ET VG-87 DOM, 04-02 2x 365d 36760m 4.8 1757f 3.5 1281p

From the Elite Dairy Genomics Program, HANCHO is a great example of how tight the generational interval has become, considering that his sire, Director, is just three years of age now, and his maternal grand dam is only 5 years of age. (Read more: The Genomic Advancement Race – The Battle For Genetic Supremacy) HANCHO is certainly a specialist sire that is going to give an instant impact on the health and fertility of the breed.  He will need to be protected on his overall production as well as his feet & legs (low foot angle and slightly sickled) but he is line bred to be an extreme health sire (Director is a Shamrock grandson, and HANCHO’s 2^nd dam is also a Shamrock).  His accelerated sire stack is a big reason that HANCHO gets most of his superior genetics from his paternal side, a strong indicator of a sires ability to be an impact sire (Read more: Why Braedale Goldwyn Wasn’t A Great Sire Of Sons)

ABS BIGSTONE
Endeavor x Monarch x Robust
029HO18346

Sire: De-Su 12365 Endeavor-ET
Dam: No-Fla Monarch Bri 38395-ET
MGS: S-S-I Twist Monarch-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: No-Fla Robust Lisette 33031, 03-00 3x 354d 29170m 3.6 1044f 3.1 898p
MGGS: Roylane Socra Robust-ET TR TV TL TD VG-88 GM

Another sire bred to be an extreme health sire is BIGSTONE.  From the relatively newly developed female program at ABS, BIGSTONE’S maternal line was developed by one of the great breeding minds of our generation, Don Bennink at North Florida Holsteins (Read more: NORTH FLORIDA HOLSTEINS. Aggressive, Progressive and Profitable!!) True to Bennink’s progressive philosophy, BIGSTONE is not necessarily a high PTAT sire (+0.98) or even an extreme production sire (+856 lbs PTAM), but rather is a high component sire (+101 combined lbs of fat and protein) high PL (+8.8) high DPR (+6.5), low SCS (+2.79) and moderate calving ease (+6.9) sire.  (Read more: Flukes and Pukes – What Happens When You Don’t Have a Plan).  While BIGSTONE’S daughters may not be flashy, they are certainly going to be low maintenance, trouble free cows that last for many lactations.

Mr BLNDN POWERMAN P
Powerball-P x Supersire x Colt P-Red
202HO01622

Sire: View-Home Powerball-P-ET
Dam: Butlerview Pixie Ss57453-ET
MGS: Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: Butlerview Colt Pixie-ET RC EX-90, 02-02 2x 305d 23230m 4.2 970f 3.2 745p
MGGS: Sandy-Valley Colt P-Red-TW PO TV TL TY TD
MGGD: Richmond-Fd Pompey-ET BY EX-91 DOM, 03-10 3x 305d 30050m 4.3 1282f 3.1 938p

When looking for healthy, low maintenance cows, why not throw in polled ? In that case, then POWERMAN P is the sire to go with.  Combine that with A2 A2 and you pretty much have all the boxes checked. From the Richmond-FD Ramos Poppy EX-91 cow family, POWERMAN P is high DPR (+4.9), low SCS (+2.68). When you combine that with the fact that his Canadian genomic tests indicate that he is relatively resistant to mastitis (+108), easy calving (+111 Daughter Calving Ability) and high daughter fertility (+111), then there is no question that POWERMAN P will give a potent shot of health and fertility to your breeding program.  POWERMAN P will be best used on high production cows that are strong fat testers, as these are areas where he will need to be protected.

 The Bullvine Bottom Line

We have stated it many times, “When maximizing your genetic gain, you can’t just pick from the top of the TPI or LPI list.”  You need to make sure that your matings are the best corrective cross.  Breeding great cattle is part art and part science. You need to have both parts.   It takes careful consideration and generation after generation of corrective mating to produce great cow families.  That is why, instead of just giving you a list of the top 12, we have tried to provide you with insight into which sires will provide you with the maximum gain in each particular area.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Have you ever let your search for which semen to buy, go beyond the individual sire level? I have been as keen as the next breeder to find individual sires that will do the best job of genetically improving cows. Proof day meant that I would read through a multitude of total merit index listings to find the sires for me. However, this year I decided to put more focus on the end results I want to achieve and use only one index when selecting my initial short list of sires. What follows are my thought processes and calculations.

Indexes – Yes or No?

For me the answer is automatic. I rely on genetic total merit indexes when choosing sires and females also. My reasoning comes down to one factor.  By using a total merit index to base my sire selection decisions, I can get 6 to 8 out of 10 sire daughters that meet or exceed my expectations. That compares to 2 to 3 out of 10 when I use raw sire daughter averages or a single trait index (i.e. milk yield or udder composite).  This means triple the number of cows that stay around for a third lactation and those are the odds worth working with. Yes, we all have read on the Milk House that some breeders are willing to throw away nine of ten daughters of a sire to get that very outstanding one for production or type. But for most of us, that is too costly an alternative.

Total Merit Indexes – Many are Available

Every dairy breeding country has its own total merit index. I have just researched and found twenty such indexes, and there is considerable range amongst them in the emphasis placed on a host of individual traits.

Globally there is often reference to five US combined trait indexes that range from indexes for only type all the way to an index focusing on cheese yield. For this article, the Bullvine has analyzed five American combined or total merit indexes for the current top twenty active proven Holstein sires. Only sires with at least 90% REL were included so that comparisons are based on proven in herd performance.

Let’s Compare the Results of Five Indexes

Averaging the results from the top twenty proven sires shows the results breeders can expect from using a single combined trait index but allows breeders to select or eliminate individual sires per their needs.

Knowing that breeders can range in their breeding goals from highest type to highest production to highest for functional traits, the Bullvine selected PTAT, Fat + Protein Yield, TPI, NM$ and CM$ as the indexes to study.

The assumption is that if breeders use an average sire of one of these five combined indexes they will get the results shown in Table 1.  Of course, no breeder uses an average sire but, if one of these indexes is used over a period, the result will closely align with the table values.

Table 1 – Average Proof for Top Twenty US Proven Holstein Sires (Dec ’16)

The Bullvine’s synopsis of the results is:

• Highest type (PTAT) sires produce below breed average results for yields, fertility, health, longevity and daughter calving ease. For production and functional traits, the results are significantly behind other indexes. As expected the average PTAT is very high at 3.15. Note that very high type is closely associated with extremely tall Holsteins (Stature 3.49). Also, noteworthy is the -2.5 for cow Breeding for type does not equate to easier calving cows or improved cow longevity.
• Highest production (F+P) at 135 lbs is very high with breed average values for fertility and livability and okay values for overall type (note stature is about breed average). Additionally, the values for TPI, NM$, and CM$ for this group are much higher than for the highest type sires.
• As expected most top TPI sires can be expected to give high averages for most values. Type at almost 1.5 standard deviations above the rolling breed average would result in significant continued improvement for type including very tall Production is also high. However, fertility and cow livability are barely above average, so breeders could not expect to significantly improve these areas that are today considered to be in need of improvement in Holsteins.
• The highest NM$ sires will produce daughters that are high or excel for all values except for type. PTAT at 1.20 is above average, but the -0.01 for stature will result in decreasing stature as today’s Holstein average proven sire stature index is likely between 0.6 and 0.8.
• The highest CM$ sires will produce very similar results to the most top NM$ sires. So, either NM$ or CM$ could be used in selecting sires.
• SCS do not differ amongst the five groupings.
• UDC and FLC are at least average for all five groupings. It should be remembered that UDC and FLC indexes are not as useful as the individual linear indexes for udders and feet and legs when mating sire and cow.
• PTAT and TPI are not the indexes to use for breeders planning to decrease stature and improve health and fertility in their herds.
• Breeders interested in following the NM$ or CM$ approach to breeding may wish to read the Bullvine article ”She Ain’t Pretty, She Just Milks That Way.”

Beyond the US Daughter Proven Holstein Sires

The Bullvine also studied the current top 10 Canadian Holstein proven sires and top 10 US Jersey proven sires and found very similar results to the proven US Holstein sires. In Canadian Holsteins, breeders should use Pro$ as the equivalent to NM$ or CM$. In US Jerseys JPI and CM$ gave almost identical results.

For breeders interested in only using top NM$ genomically evaluated Holstein sires, our study shows there are 27 sires above 900 NM$. And inbreeding is not likely to be a problem as they are sired by eleven different sires (4 Altaspring, 4 Montross, 4 Silver, 3 Jedi, 3 Rubicon, 3 Yoder, 2 Supershot, 1 Delta, 1 Josuper, 1 Octoberfest and 1 Pety).

Other Indexes – Now Available

The Bullvine recently produced an article, “Will Genetic Evaluations Go Private?” on other total merit indexes that private breeding companies are publishing. More of these private indexes can be expected in the future. Currently, the Ideal Commercial Cow Index, ICC$ ™, is being used by some breeders and DWP$ ™ sire rankings (Read more: The Complete Guide to Understanding Zoetis’ New Wellness Traits – CLARIFIDE® Plus) have just been published since the latest official proof release in December (See complete lists at Sire Proof Central).

Only You Can Decide

There is no combined trait or total merit index that is perfect for all breeders to use when short listing sires for their herd. Some farms sell their milk to fluid processors; some sell to cheese makers, some processors make powder, and some farms bred for breeding stock sales. There are indexes to address all situations.

If a breeder is hoping to produce bulls for use in A.I. on a significant scale, then using an index that commercial dairy farmers would us is an advantage when breeding to produce breeding bulls. A high genomic value is also critical when selling bulls to A.I. 

The Bullvine recommends that all breeders have a plan (Read more: What’s the plan?) based on goals and expected results.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Knowing the desired end result, five years down the road, from a breeding program is a prerequisite to selecting sires. The majority of tomorrow’s dairy cattle breeders will need to be farm profit focused. My first-choice total merit index, for selecting sires, is now NM$.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Let’s face it there are two undeniable facts in the international show ring;  One, that Goldwyn has the most show winning daughters over the past ten years,  And two, that if you have been using Goldwyn you were pretty much breeding for a unique show type animal.  But the questions becomes what do you breed you current Goldwyn’s to in order to breed the next generation of show winners.  With this challenge in mind the Bullvine took a closer look.

High Type Sires – Non Goldwyn

Finding a high type sire that does not have Goldwyn in it’s pedigree is like finding a needle dropped in the straw pack.  But here are four options to consider:

Millennium

552HO02460
Mr Donalynn Millennium-ET   TY
McCutchen x Hero x Outside

Sire: De-Su Bkm McCutchen 1174-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: Ronelee Hero Donalynn-ET VG-86
MGS: Siemers Toys Hero 9701-ET TR TV TL TY TD
MGD: Ronelee Outside Dabble-ET TV TL EX-91 2E GMD DOM
05-03 3x 365d 44530m 3.6 1612f 2.9 1313p
MGGS: Comestar Outside-ET TV TL EX-95
MGGD: Ronelee Rudolph Dimple EX-93 2E DOM
05-08 3x 365d 45920m 3.7 1713f 2.9 1341p

Millennium works out to be an excellent cross on Goldwyn’s.  The resulting progeny should certainly have great udders and legs. I almost worry that they will be too shallow uddered as young cows.  Millennium has the heel depth, chest width and pin width that some Goldwyn’s need. And most Goldwyn’s have the pin setting and front teat placement you need to protect Millennium on.

Leverage-Red

094HO00899
Westcoast Leverage-Red-ET
Absolute-Red x Destry RC x Mr Burns RC

Sire: Apples Absolute-Red-ET CV TL TD
Dam: Greenlane Destry Laurel
02-00 2x 365d 28384m 3.6 1010f 3.5 998p
MGS: Scientific Destry-ET RC TV TL TY VG-88
MGD: Sunnylodge M B Leona
MGGS: Dudoc Mr Burns RC TV TL TY VG-85
MGGD: Misty Springs SS Leona

Leverage’s dam was a show winning heifer and cow for Westcoast Holsteins winning Reserve Intermediate Champion at the 2012 Red & White Show at World Dairy Expo.  And his sire Absolute has been leaving some pretty impressive daughters, so this is a cross that should work from many different angles. Leverage-Red indeed offers the chest width and pin width needed by Goldwyn’s.  I typically recommend this cross on deeper bodied Goldwyn’s as Leverage-Red is not an improver for body depth. This cross also needs to be protected on the rear teat placement.

Avalanche*CV*RC

286HO00102
Dymentholm MR Apples Avalanche CV  RC TY
McCutchen x Regiment-RED x Durham

Sire: De-Su Bkm McCutchen 1174-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: KHW Regment Apple C-Red-ETN CV VG-89
03-07 2x 365d 36949m 4.2 1554f 3.6 1332p
MGS: Carrousel Regiment-RED-ET TV TL
MGD: Kamps-Hollow Altitude-ET RC CV TL EX-95 2E DOM
07-00 2x 365d 39690m 4.7 1849f 3.3 1310p
MGGS: Regancrest Elton Durham-ET TR CV TL EX-90
MGGD: Clover-Mist Alisha-ET RC EX-93 3E DOM
08-07 2x 365d 36920m 4.2 1553f 3.2 1188p

Avalanche is from the VG-89 max score clone to KHW Regiment Apple EX-95 3E DOM 3* the Grand Champion R&W World Dairy Expo 2011 and certainly the most impactful red cow in the world today.  Avalanche has a +22 Conformation DGV in Canada. Avelanche on Goldwyn is an extremely impressive cross and should result in outstanding mammary systems and feet and legs.  The udder texture from this cross should be among the best there is and there should be enough chest width from McCutchen to help with what some Goldwyn’s need.  Though I would protect this cross on its body depth.

High Octane

200HO10363
Stantons High Octane   TY
McCutchen x Observer x Shottle

Sire: De-Su Bkm McCutchen 1174-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: MS Chassity Obs Claire-ET VG-87
01-10 3x 365d 43546m 3.7 1625f 2.9 1263p
MGS: De-Su Observer-ET TR TV TL TY TD VG-86
MGD: Regancrest S Chassity-ET TL TY EX-92 GMD DOM
03-10 2x 365d 42280m 4.3 1798f 2.5 1070p
MGGS: Picston Shottle-ET TV TL TY EX-95
MGGD: Regancrest Cinderella EX-92 GMD DOM
05-00 2x 365d 34220m 4.1 1418f 2.9 1009p

If you are looking for high genomic type and want no Goldwyn in the pedigree, you are pretty much limited to McCutchen sons.  One that also combines some production with his high type values is High Octane.  While he does have a double shot of Planet and Shottle in his pedigree, he goes back to the impressive REGANCREST CINDERELLA EX-92-2E-USA DOM GMD 6 and then the great REGANCREST-PR BARBIE-ET EX-92-7YR-USA GOM GMD 6*.  High Octane on Goldwyn is certainly a cross that should result in amazing shallow uddered young cows.  High Octane works excellent on most Goldwyn since he has the depth of heel, chest width, and pin width needed.  While Goldwyn should have the pin setting and set of rear legs needed to protect High Octane.  The one area I would be cautionary on is the body depth.

Corrective Mating

If you are looking for what sires are the best corrective mating cross on the typical Goldwyn here are four sires that should do the trick.

Sochi

200HO10147
Walnutlawn Sochi  TR TV TL TY TD
Elaborate x Lavanguard x FBI

Sire: Stantons Elaborate
Dam: Misty Springs Lavanguard Sue
MGS: Comestar Lavanguard TY
MGD: Misty Springs Fbi Suzanne
02-02 2x 365d 26137m 4.6 1199f 3.3 871p
MGGS: Gillette Brilea F B I TV TL EX-94
MGGD: Willsona Freelance Sizzle-ET VG-86
02-02 2x 335d 25490m 3.9 1003f 3.1 789p

When inbreeding works, it is called line breeding.  Such is the case from the two great show cows that are line bred to the legendary Adeen, BVK Atwood Abrianna EX-92-USA 3yr and BVK Arianna VG-89-USA 2yr. In this case, Goldwyn would appear in the pedigree three different times (Goldwyn is the GGS of Sochi, sire of Lauthority, who is the sire of Elaborate, as well as he is the MGS of Sochi’s dam, sire of Lavanguard).  But it is a cross that just works. Sochi has the dairy strength, heal depth that most Goldwyn’s need and Goldwyn has the bone quality and set of rear legs that you need to protect Sochi on.

Rainy-RC

054HO00553
Rainyridge Barnie  RC TY
Sanchez x Talent RC x Outside

Sire: Gen-Mark Stmatic Sanchez TR TV TL TY TD
Dam: Rainyridge Talent Barbara RC EX-95
03-04 2x 365d 34465m 3.6 1257f 3.1 1068p
MGS: Ladino Park Talent-Imp-ET RC TV TL EX-90
MGD: RF Outside Breeze EX-95
08-00 3x 365d 37970m 3.9 1484f 3.2 1226p
MGGS: Comestar Outside-ET TV TL EX-95

There is no question that Rainy’s dam, Rainyridge Talent Barbara RC EX-95 may be one of the most popular non-Goldwyn show cows from North America in recent years. Much like Westcoast Leverage mentioned above Rainy-RC certainly has a lot of Storm blood in his pedigree.  Rainy-RC should add the height at the front end, chest width, body depth and pin width that most Goldwyn’s need and Goldwyn would help the bone quality and legs that Rainy-RC needs to be protected on.

Showcase

200HO06623
21Genetics Showcase  TR TY
Let It Snow x Windbrook x Planet

Sire: Velthuis Let It Snow TV TL TY TD
Dam: Seagull-Bay Wnbrk Sunday-ET
MGS: Gillette Windbrook TV TL TY
MGD: Ammon-Peachey Shauna-ET VG-87 GMD DOM
02-01 3x 365d 35120m 4.1 1427f 3.1 1079p
MGGS: Ensenada Taboo Planet-ET TR TV TL TY TD EX-90
MGGD: Pine-Tree Martha Sheen-ET VG-86 DOM
01-11 3x 365d 31210m 4.2 1305f 3.1 968p

If you are looking for high, wide rear udders, a must have in the show ring today, then you best take a look at Showcase.  While his family is best known for producing commercial supers stars like Supersire, Silver and Headliner,  Showcase’s pedigree takes a little more of a show approach, being a Let It Snow from a Windbrook. Showcase will also help the chest width, body depth and pin width while Goldwyn should provide the bone quality and teat placement needed when considering Showcase.

Equation

200HO06504
Louiselle Equation  TR TY
Windbrook x Toystory x Allen

Sire: Gillette Windbrook TV TL TY
Dam: Louiselle Toystory Epona
MGS: Jenny-Lou Mrshl Toystory-ET TR TV TL TY
MGD: Louiselle Allen Eve
MGGS: Canyon-Breeze Allen-ET TV VG-85-6YR-CAN

With a sire stack that just oozes strength and power, it’s no wonder that Equation can help solve the “what to breed your Goldwyn’s to” problem.  While this cross is certainly not meant to produce production award winners, it certainly should produce show winners.  Equation is the perfect solution for the chest width and body depth issues as well as pin width, it also should result in extremely angular progeny.

Show Me Winners Not Numbers

Of course, there are those tanbark enthusiasts that prefer to see success in the ring before they use a sire.  For those breeders we offer the following sires:

Dundee

094HO10276
Regancrest Dundee-ET   TY
Encore x Mark x Bell CV BL

Sire: Marcrest Encore TV TL EX-96
Dam: Snow-N Denises Dellia TV TL EX-95 2E GMD DOM
07-06 2x 365d 35610m 4.0 1431f 2.9 1035p
MGS: Walkway Chief Mark TL TD VG-87
MGD: Snow-N Dorys Denise EX-90 2E GMD DOM
5-09 2x 365d 33350m 3.8 1256f 3.1 1038p
MGGS: Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell CV BL TD EX-93
MGGD: Snow-N Ellas Dory GP-81
3-11 2x 305d 21230m 3.8 804f 3.2 681p

If Goldwyn from Dundee is the magic cross that produced the most winning cows at the US National Shows last year, and Atwood (a Goldwyn son on the high type MS KINGSTEAD CHIEF ADEEN VG-87-2YR-CAN EX-94-2E-USA DOM 8* family) was tied for 4^th among the cow crosses, then why not go and flip the equation and use Dundee on your Goldwyns.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that this cross has worked so well over the years; Dundee brings the chest width, body depth and height at front end that is needed in the show ring, as well as outstanding rear udder height while Goldwyn provides the leg improvement, thurl placement and udder texture.

Braxton

007HO09165
Regancrest S Braxton-ET TR TY
Shottle x Durham x Juror

Sire: Picston Shottle-ET TV TL TY EX-95
Dam: Regancrest-PR Barbie-ET TV EX-92 GMD DOM
02-06 2x 365d 31690m 3.9 1237f 3.1 990p
MGS: Regancrest Elton Durham-ET TR CV TL EX-90
MGD: Regancrest Juror Brina-ET EX-92 GMD
04-04 2x 365d 40640m 3.6 1478f 3.0 1217p
MGGS: Ked Juror-ET TV TL TD GP-82
MGGD: Regancrest Aerostar Bert-ET EX-90 GMD DOM
05-02 2x 365d 37790m 3.6 1357f 3.2 1215p

Certainly proving that he can get the job done, eight Braxton x Goldwyn heifers were winners at that US National Shows in 2014.  Building on that is the recent Autumn Opportunity winner, Trekili W A Lola Braxton, who has developed significantly since her fifth-place finish in the milking yearling class at Expo this year.  This cross should deliver the heel depth and the chest width and body depth required for show. The challenge will be getting a high enough rear udder with enough seem.

Sid

200HO02137
Pine-Tree Sid-ET  TY
Mr Sam x AltaFinley x Rudolph

Sire: Regancrest-Mr Drham Sam-ET TR TV TL
Dam: Pine-Tree Finley Minnie-ET EX-90 DOM
04-09 2x 305d 26120m 3.5 911f 3.0 786p
MGS: Opsal Finley-ET TV TL TY
MGD: Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy-ET TV EX-92 3E GMD DOM
04-11 3x 365d 40880m 4.1 1665f 3.2 1308p
MGGS: Startmore Rudolph-ET TV TL EX-CAN
MGGD: Wesswood Elton Mimi TL EX-90 GMD DOM
03-05 2x 365d 35380m 3.3 1160f 3.0 1054p

While we waited years for a Goldwyn son to take the crown from Goldwyn as Premier Sire at World Dairy Expo, in the end it was not a Goldwyn son that did it, but rather Sid.  (Read more: Why Braedale Goldwyn Wasn’t a Great Sire of Sons). While there is no question that this cross should produce outstanding udder texture, fore attachments, size and angularity, the trick to this cross is getting a decent foot angle as well as thurl placement.   With many of the best Sid x Goldwyn crosses out there, this is certainly a sire stack trend we are likely to see in the showing.

Dempsey

007HO09264
Lirr Drew Dempsey  TR TY
Goldwyn x Derry x Mtoto

Sire: Braedale Goldwyn TV TL GP-84
Dam: Kerndt Sneezy Derry Drew VG-88
03-08 2x 365d 31150m 3.8 1191f 3.1 955p
MGS: Regancrest Emory Derry-ET TV TL EX-94
MGD: Kerndt Mattie Sneezy-ET EX-90
04-04 2x 365d 29550m 3.6 1056f 2.8 841p
MGGS: Carol Prelude Mtoto-ET TV TL
MGGD: Kerndt Maxie Remark Mattie TV EX-90 DOM
04-05 2x 365d 31620m 3.8 1192f 2.7 859p

For those line breeding enthusiasts, I recommend Dempsey.  For years, breeders have speculated about using Atwood on Goldwyn. However, I say you would be better to use Dempsey.  As the great Roy Ormston has always said, line breeding works best when you know the families extremely well and use one line of the family that excels in one area on another line of the family that is weak in those areas. All the time is maintaining the strengths of the family.  For me, that would lend itself to Dempsey on Goldwyn’s ahead of Atwood.  Dempsey’s chest width, body depth and pin width are a better compliment to Goldwyn’s typical daughter than Atwood would be.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While Goldwyn has certainly proven himself as a dominant show sire, the question now becomes, what do you breed these great Goldwyn daughters to.  These 12 sires indeed offer the greatest chance of breeding the next big time show winners.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Genetic diversity is a critical problem in the Holstein dairy cattle breeding industry.  On the one hand, the rate of genetic gain has accelerated but also has the rate of inbreeding.  With $23 lifetime cost per percent inbreeding, it is easy to overreact and try to avoid inbreeding at all costs. The trick is not to use sires that are inferior, but rather to have a balance of genetic improvement and enough of an outcross not to accelerate the inbreeding.   These 16 sires will do just that and help control the rate of inbreeding in your herd.

Overall Improvement Sires

When it comes to the top overall sires, Robust, Man-O-Man and Shottle are very well represented.  Here are three sires that are among the top bulls, but will help limit the inbreeding in your herd.

MONTROSS

007HO12165
Bacon-Hill Montross-ET   TY
Mogul x Bolton x AltaRolex

Sire: Mountfield Ssi Dcy Mogul-ET TR TV TL TY TD
Dam: Unique-Style Bolton Money EX-93 2E DOM
03-01 3x 365d 38430m 4.2 1614f 3.2 1247p
MGS: Sandy-Valley Bolton-ET BY TV TL EX-90
MGD: Pasen Rolex Mummy EX-90
06-02 2x 365d 26160m 4.0 1043f 3.2 848p
MGGS: Latuch Rolex-ET TV TL EX-92
MGGD: Pasen Trent Mermaid-ET VG-85
03-04 2x 305d 24240m 3.8 909f 3.3 805p

If you are looking for a high genomic sire that offers overall improvement and is still an outcross, Montross will fit the bill.  For some, considering a Mogul son is a challenge. But you need to look deeper at Montross. his Genomic Future Inbreeding values at6.9% GFI are much lower than all the other top Balanced Sires and especially compared to the top active sire over a year of age, and active, Jedi, who is a +8.0 for GFI. Montross’s dam, UNIQUE-STYLE BOLTON MONEY EX-91 DOM, has certainly become a popular bull mother, with 15 sons at five different AI units. Montross is a high milk sire, +2412 lbs Milk, with strong protein improvement, +66 lbs protein, and is a very solid 2.47 for PTAT. There is no question that MONTROSS will offer an excellent production kick and have enough durability, health and fertility to last. At over two points for UDC and FLC, MONTROSS has strong functional type but should be protected for straightness of rear legs and overall frame and capacity traits. However, as we have seen from research in the past, you don’t need extreme frame traits to achieve extreme lifetime production. (Read more: She Ain’t Pretty – She Just Milks That Way!).  Montross is certainly going to be a very impactful sire, especially through his sons.

MOGUL

007HO11314
Mountfield SSI Dcy Mogul  TR TY
Dorcy BY x Marsh x O Man

Sire: Coyne-Farms Dorcy-ET BY TV TL
Dam: Mountfield Marsh Maxine-ET VG-88 DOM
02-03 2x 159d 14320m 4.3 611f 3.2 454p
MGS: Pasen Marsh-ET TR TV TL TY
MGD: Pine-Tree Missy Miranda-ET VG-86 DOM
03-08 3x 365d 35550m 4.9 1730f 3.7 1325p
MGGS: O-Bee Manfred Justice-ET TR TV TL TD EX-94
MGGD: Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy-ET TV EX-92 3E GMD DOM
04-11 3x 365d 40880m 4.1 1665f 3.2 1308p

While most progressive breeders who are looking for an outcross genomic sire to use, would have probably already gone heavy on Mogul. However, breeders waiting to use only proven sires should indeed add Mogul to their lists now.  This Dorcy son gets a substantial contribution to his genetics from his sire.  As one of the first ART program bulls from Select Sires, it will be interesting to see how well Mogul does as a proven sire.  (Read more: Select Sires vs. Semex – A Contrast in Cooperatives).  Mogul is one of the all-around solid sires that has solid numbers in all aspects of his evaluation. Hence, his popularity as a sire of sons and bull mothers. You will need to watch the SCS score as well as the DPR when using Mogul.

ALTACASUAL

011HO11541
Schreur Altacasual P  RC PC TY T
Supersire x Lawn Boy P-Red x Shottle

Sire: Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: Verhages Bos Candlelight-ET
MGS: Aggravation Lawn Boy P-Red EX-93 GM
MGD: Ri-Val-Re Shtle Caralie-ET RC TV VG-87
02-01 2x 365d 37690m 4.8 1795f 3.1 1154p
MGGS: Picston Shottle-ET TV TL TY EX-95
MGGD: Ms Ri-Val-Re Max Selsy-ET VG-87
02-01 2x 365d 27470m 3.8 1032f 3.1 853p

For those looking to go a little further along the path, there is AltaCasual.  This polled red carrier Supersire son certainly has lots to offer. Even though you may not think of Supersire as an outcross sire, the maternal side of AltaCasual’s pedigree certainly brings the outcross.  Altacasual traces back to the great red show cow Continental Scarlet-Red (3E-95 GMD) who was Grand Champion of the ‘82 Royal.  AltaCasual has some impressive numbers.  With over +1700 of Milk, +110 lbs of combined Fat and Protein, and over a point on all composite type traits.  You will certainly need to protect him on his undesirable set, somewhat straight and toeing out slightly, to his rear legs as well as his overall body depth, but as we have learned, these traits don’t always connect to longevity. (Read more: She Ain’t Pretty – She Just Milks That Way!).

Production Improvement Sires

If you are a dairy farmer, you are in the milk business.  That business begins and ends with how much milk you produce.  Here are three sires that can certainly help you increase your overall production while limiting your inbreeding.

JETT

007HO13251
S-S-I Montross Jett-ET
Montross x Supersire x Bookem

Sire: Bacon-Hill Montross-ET
Dam: S-S-I Suprsire Miri 8679-ET
MGS: Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET TV TL TY TD
MGD: S-S-I Bookem Modesto7269-ET VG-85
02-00 3x 305d 22450m 3.9 876f 3.3 742p
MGGS: De-Su 521 Bookem-ET TR TV TL TY TD VG-86
MGGD: Roylane Shot Mindy 2079-ET VG-86
02-02 3x 305d 28730m 4.4 1263f 3.4 964p

From the Roylane Shot Mindy 2079 family comes Jett from the ART program at Select Sires. (Read more: Should A.I. Companies Own Females?)  Jet’s dam S-S-I Suprsire Miri 8679 has already produced five sons over 2700 TPI.  It’s pretty hard to find a top production sire that does not have Supersire or Robust in the pedigree, but at least in Jett’s case, it is one generation back with the outcross overall improvement sire Montross as his sire.  At +828 NM$, +2117 PTAM, +66 lbs PTAP, Jett will certainly give a strong production increase. Combine that with over 2 points on type and solid composites and Jett will certainly be an impact sire.  As well, I wonder if he will be a sire of sons, based on the high percentage of his genomic values that come from his maternal line.  This is a trend, which impact sires of sons typically get a more significant contribution of their genetics from the paternal line than their maternal line, has indeed proven to indicate top sires of sons. (Read more: Why Braedale Goldwyn Wasn’t a Great Sire of Sons)

FACEBOOK

200HO03753
Marbri Facebook  TR TV TL TY TD
Man-O-Man x Airraid x Shottle

Sire: Long-Langs Oman Oman-ET TV TL TY VG-86
Dam: Serenityhill Airraid Fawn
02-02 2x 307d 17886m 4.1 728f 2.9 519p
MGS: Sildahl Airraid TV TL EX-94
MGD: Marbri Shottle Fiona-Ets
02-00 2x 365d 32800m 3.8 1243f 2.9 965p
MGGS: Picston Shottle-ET TV TL TY EX-95
MGGD: Gleneil Finley Fair Isle

If you are looking for a proven sire that is a little different and offers a production shot, consider Facebook.  Contrary to the productivity killer Facebook.com, this sire provides significant production improvement.  With over +1200 lbs of Milk and 132 lbs of combined Fat and Protein, Facebook will give you the production punch that you need. Facebook daughters are tall and dairy with adequate strength and body depth.  He will need to be protected on pins, as his genomic test, sire stack and daughter information all confirm his high pins.

APOLL P

600HO06003
Schreur Apoll P  PO TV TL TY
Aikman*RC x Lawn Boy P-Red x Shottle

Sire: Gen-I-Beq Aikman RC TV TL
Dam: Verhages Bos Candlelight-ET
MGS: Aggravation Lawn Boy P-Red EX-93 GM
MGD: Ri-Val-Re Shtle Caralie-ET RC TV VG-87
02-01 2x 365d 37690m 4.8 1795f 3.1 1154p
MGGS: Picston Shottle-ET TV TL TY EX-95
MGGD: Ms Ri-Val-Re Max Selsy-ET VG-87
02-01 2x 365d 27470m 3.8 1032f 3.1 853p

If a slight walk off of the beaten path is not enough, then let’s talk a full road trip with Apoll P.  His sire stack is not common at all, Aikman x Lawn Boy.  In most cases, you are not going to find too many top production sires with this stack.  Especially if you want to find something to mate your high production Supersires to.  Apoll P is polled and is a brother to AltaCausual, again tracing back to the great red show cow Continental Scarlet-Red (3E-95 GMD), who was Grand Champion of the ‘82 Royal.  At almost 2000 lbs of Milk and over 100 lbs of combined fat and protein, Apoll P is a non Supersire production blast.  While his daughters will not wow you with their overall frames and chest width, they will have outstanding udders and sound feet and legs.

Longevity Improvement

For those of you that are looking to breed cattle that last lactation after lactation or if you are having problems with your two-year-olds not coming back for a 2nd lactation, we recommend the following outcross sires:

ACHILLES *RC

001HO12267
Co-Op Achilles-ET  RC TY
Cabriolet x Colt P-Red x Super

Sire: Co-Op Robust Cabriolet-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: Richlawn Aneska Cri-ET
MGS: Sandy-Valley Colt P-Red-TW PO TV TL TY TD
MGD: Richlawn Super April Apple GP-84
02-00 2x 365d 33750m 3.6 1219f 3.1 1049p
MGGS: Charlesdale Superstition-ET TR TV TL TY
MGGD: Co-Op Zade Lana April-ET EX-90
04-10 2x 365d 44130m 4.0 1748f 3.0 1302p

While he is not a Greek hero, Co-Op Achilles is certainly going to be a hero to breeders looking to achieve greater longevity.  At +10.9 for a productive life, Achilles is the breed leader.  Also, you can add to that the fact that he is an outcross to virtually all of the top pedigrees.   His Achilles heel is his components.  At -.1% fat and -.04% protein, he will need to be protected there.  He does offer sound production improvement at +1274 and strong feet and legs and mammary system improvement.  For those looking to breed VG-2YR olds, you will want to protect him on his body depth and angularity.  But for those who are just wanting cattle that last a lifetime, his outstanding legs and udders will get the job done.  It is interesting to note, for those looking to breed the next great outlier sire, that Achilles is a sire that should offer the right combination to achieve this goal.

WRIGHT

007HO11123
Pine-Tree Freddie Wright-ET   TY
Freddie x Wizard x Rudolph

Sire: Badger-Bluff Fanny Freddie TV TL TY
Dam: Pine-Tree Missy Wanda-ET EX-90
02-00 3x 365d 33310m 3.5 1158f 3.2 1051p
MGS: Norz-Hill Form Wizard-ET TV TL TY VG-87
MGD: Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy-ET TV EX-92 3E GMD DOM
04-11 3x 365d 40880m 4.1 1665f 3.2 1308p
MGGS: Startmore Rudolph-ET TV TL EX-CAN
MGGD: Wesswood Elton Mimi TL EX-90 GMD DOM
03-05 2x 365d 35380m 3.3 1160f 3.0 1054p

You can’t go wrong with Wright.  And you can’t go wrong using a plus proven sire with 90% reliability.  Wright is a Freddie son from a Wizard daughter of Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy herself.  His below average -0.16 PTAT might have you thinking they will not last, but daughter evaluation for a productive life of +9.1 certainly tells a different story. (Read more: She Ain’t Pretty – She Just Milks That Way!)  What he does have is decent production numbers and strong udders with high fertility – thus producing the modern dairy cow.  Areas to protect him on are his depth and angularity, as well as his overall production.

JAX P*RC

014HO07525
Dangie S-Sire Jax P-TW RC PC TY T
Supersire x Colt P-Red x Lawn Boy P-Red

Sire: Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET TV TL TY TD
Dam: Dangie Colt P Jazzmin-Red PO GP-83
01-09 3x 305d 20880m 2.9 601f 3.3 695p
MGS: Sandy-Valley Colt P-Red-TW PO TV TL TY TD
MGD: Ms Lund-Lane-Rh Lb Jazzy-ET GP-80
02-02 3x 289d 22640m 3.6 819f 3.2 716p
MGGS: Aggravation Lawn Boy P-Red EX-93 GM
MGGD: Lund-Lane-Rh Mngr Jeni-ET GP-83

It’s hard not to get jacked on Jax.  This high ranking polled sire is also a red carrier and has phenomenal health traits and extremely low SCS.  No wonder he has a +8.2 Productive Life score.  He does this with a unique sire stack (Supersire x Colt P-Red x Lawn Boy P-Red x Manager x Finley x Aaron). JAX P was bred by Dan and Angie Reider of Monroe, Wisconsin, where they milk more than 100 Holstein, Red & Whites and Brown Swiss cows that average close to 90 pounds per day. Jax P’s dam, Jazzmin, and granddam, Jazzy, can be found in the herd today and have been productive, hard-working and trouble-free cows for the Reiders. Dangie Colt P Jazzmin Red PO calved in at one year nine months with a set of twin bull calves – one being Jax P. Although being stressed by having twins and being young at calving, she completed a record more than 20,000 pounds of milk and bred right back. Jazzmin P Red is a homozygous polled daughter of Sandy Valley Colt P Red-TW.  Expect Jax P to offer reliable production improvement to go with his excellent durability.  He also offers great health and fertility improvement (+2.5 DPR, +2.67 SCS).  Jax daughters will not be tall, and certainly not overly framey, but will be great in commercial milk production environments.

Health and Fertility

While there is no question that every breeder knows that more pregnancies equal more profits, many of the top TPI ranking sires have negative values for critical health and fertility traits.   In addition to Wright, mentioned above, here are three sires that can certainly help you buck that the trend of not being able to combine production, type as well as health and fertility.

TESTAROSSA

001HO12546
Co-Op Jabir Testarossa-ET
Jabir x Day x Planet

Sire: Coyne-Farms Jabir-ET
Dam: Co-Op Day Tasket 6827-ET
MGS: Minnigan-Hills Day-ET TV TL TY
MGD: Ms Pride Plnt Tasket 788-ET TY VG-85
02-01 2x 365d 33940m 3.9 1326f 3.2 1083p
MGGS: Ensenada Taboo Planet-ET TR TV TL TY TD EX-90
MGGD: Mspride Shotle Ticker594-ET VG-86 DOM
03-02 2x 365d 29940m 4.1 1222f 3.1 935p

From the Co-Op program at Genex, Testarossa is bred to be a little different.  And different he is.  Testarossa is a Jabir from a Day now that is an outcross.    Testarossa has an outstanding +6.2 DPR, +4.2 HCR, and a +7.7 CCR. Combine that with an SCS score of +2.67 and he is certainly a health and fertility specialist.  Testorossa does offer decent production improvement (+1249 Milk, +43 Fat +40 Protein) and sound conformation numbers and outstanding productive life (+8.3).  Expect Testarossa to sire excellent mammary system improvement and sound legs, but he will need to be protected on angularity and rump angle.

ALTASTEWART

011HO11112
Rosylane-LLC Altastewart-ET   TY
Super x Ramos x O Man

Sire: Charlesdale Superstition-ET TR TV TL TY
Dam: Rosylane-LLC Ramos 3435
04-03 3x 305d 37240m 4.5 1676f 3.4 1268p
MGS: Ramos BY TV TL
MGD: Rosylane-LLC Oman 2965
02-11 3x 305d 45540m 4.1 1869f 3.0 1368p
MGGS: O-Bee Manfred Justice-ET TR TV TL TD EX-94
MGGD: Rosylane-LLC orion 1946
01-09 3x 365d 38210m 3.5 1328f 2.7 1026p

Not known for following the herd, Rosylane Holsteins has certainly looked at things a little differently.  (Read more: ROSY-LANE HOLSTEINS – “DON’T FOLLOW THE HERD!”)  A great example of that is the outcross sire AltaStewart, who is a Superstition from a Ramos dam.   He has excellent sire fertility (+5.5 DPR) and favorable calving ease (+5.6 CE).  He is also a breed outlier for Productive Life +7.9.  He will need to be protected on his overall production, as well as rump angle.

SOLATE

515HO00193
DG Dyment Solate-ET
Latimer x Colt P-Red x Socrates

Sire: Genervations Latimer TV TL
Dam: Capnation Sosecret P Colt
MGS: Sandy-Valley Colt P-Red-TW PO TV TL TY TD
MGD: Socret
MGGS: Velvet-View-KJ Socrates-ET TR TV TL TD EX-94
MGGD: Gen-I-Beq Goldwyn Secret-ET RC VG-87
02-00 2x 365d 25593m 4.8 1236f 3.4 868p

From the very popular Gen-I-Beq Goldwyn Secret *RC VG-87-CAN 2yr. 6* family, Solate is something a little different.  He is a GenerVations Latimer from the high index red cow Capnation Sosecret P Colt *RC *P GP-FR 2yr.  His sister DG Dyment Earnsecret *PP is believed to be the #1 HOMOZYGOUS POLLED heifer in Europe (12/14).  Solate is a significant health and fertility improver (+3.9 DPR and SCS of +2.71).  He is also a favorable calving ease sire +6.2 SCE and +4.3 DCE.  He will certainly need to be protected on his overall production as well as his body depth and angularity.  But for those looking for an outcross sire that gives a strong kick of health and fertility, Solate is a polled sire that will do just that.

Other Notable Outcross Sires To Consider

• OCTOBERFEST
  200HO06676
  Ladys-Manor Octoberfest-ET TR TY
  Altaoak x Dorcy BY x Auden
  Good all around sire, with solid production, health and fertility.
• DENVER 1426
  151HO00690
  Mr Mogul Denver 1426-ET TY
  Mogul x Robust x Planet
  While his sire stack would say that he is not an outcross, he has a EFI (Expected Future Inbreeding) of +6.4% and a GFI (Genomic Future Inbreeding) of +6.8%.  Both very low values among the top available sires.
• BOBBY
  097HO41367
  Pen-Col Ss Bobby-ET TY
  Supersire x Grafeeti x Super
  Yes he is a Supersire and there are a lot of Supersire sons, but his maternal line if very much an outcross.
• HEISENBERG
  007HO12569
  Ocd Jabir Heisenberg-ET
  Jabir x Moonboy x Hero
  Certainly a sire stack you are not going to see every day, especially at the top of the TPI lists.  With a gTPI of +2657 he is certainly a sire to take note of considering he is well above he parent average and an extreme outlier.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The trick is not to eliminate inbreeding but rather manage it and account for it when you make your breeding decisions.  These 16 sires will allow you to do just that.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

With weekly evaluations now being released, it can be hard to sort out exactly what sires are available and which ones you should be using.  To help you sort through the confusion, we have compiled the 16 sires that we think all breeders should consider using.  Instead of producing one generic list, we looked for the four top sires in each key breeding area.

Overall Production

When looking for the sire that will help improve your herd across the board, we looked for sires that have a balance of production and longevity and, most importantly, a proven pedigree that ensures that their performance will last. We also wanted high health and fertility traits that will deliver a low maintenance cow (Read more – Fact vs. Fantasy: A realistic approach to sire selection). Here are our top four:

Mogul

007HO11314
Mountfield Ssi Dcy Mogul-ET  TR TY
Dorcy BY x Marsh x O Man

When it comes to all around producers, you have to start with Mogul.  Mogul has even the strongest advocates of genomics going back to using some proven sires, based on his outstanding numbers.  At +2532 gTPI, Mogul is within 6% of the top genomic sires available.  When you consider that he is 99% reliable, that is quite simply an outstanding achievement. As we mentioned last summer, Mogul is a sire that you can expect to be around for a long time to come. He could even become the youngest Millionaire sire in history (Read more: The 12 Genomic Sires Most Likely to Top the Proven TPI List in April 2016). Look for MOGUL to offer a strong balanced offering but he needs to be protected on his rump.   Furthermore, he will leave much greater dairyness and strength than this sire stack would indicate.

Supersire

007HO11351
Seagull-Bay Supersire-ET   TY
Robust x Planet x Shottle

Similar to Mogul, Supersire is one of those sires that reaffirms his early high genomic numbers and has those breeders who missed him as a young sire, now using him heavily.   This Robust son from 2012 Golden Dam Finalist AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA VG-87-2YR-USA, really is a genetic wonder.  Not only does he have the highest genomic values in the breed for production, but he also has excellent functional type and health traits to go with it.  Expect Supersire to leave daughters that are all around solid cows.  While not show stoppers, he has a no holes type linear and strong production that make him an effective commercial sire.  He has had a tremendous impact on genetics around the world.  Supersire is living up to our prediction that he is a generational sire that will have an enormous influence for years to come.

Silver

029HO17573
Seagull-Bay Silver-ET   TY
Mogul x Snowman x Planet

What do you get when you take a Mogul from Supersire’s family?  Well, you get Silver. He is another sire that all breeders should be taking a closer look at.  Silver is a Mogul from the Snowman sister to Supersire.  Like Supersire, Silver has the ability to leave extreme production.  Moreover, just like Supersire, he will have a significant impact as a sire of sons as well.  His ranking in the top 1% of the breed for Milk, Fat, Protein, Type, and Udders tells you that Silver is going to make much noise before everything is said and done. (Read more: The 10 Outlier Sires that will Accelerate Your Genetic Gain the Fastest)

Powerball-P

534HO00031
View-Home Powerball-P-ET  PC TY
Earnhardt P x Robust x Zenith

When running an effective seed stock or breeding program, there is no question that you need to look at where the market will be in 3 years’ time,  when these breeding decisions will be hitting the milk tank.  For many, that means breeding for such traits as polled.  When it comes to polled, there is no question that the extreme outlier has to be Powerball-P.  With progeny starting to get genomic tests, we are seeing more and more polled animals hitting the top of the overall genomic lists. From the WESSWOOD-HC RUDY MISSY EX-92 3E GMD DOM cow family,  Powerball-P is certainly in high demand (Read more: The 7 Most Influential Holstein Brood Cows of the Modern Era).  His outstanding production proof (+1113 PTAM, +51 Fat, +55 Protein), combined with his solid type numbers (+1.62 PTAT, +1.48 UDC) and high productive life (+4.4) and good calving ease (SCE 6.6%, DCE 4.5%) make Powerball-P the polled sire that will launch polled to the top of the genomic lists.  Powerball-P will need to be protected on his body depth and height at front end.

Production

It might be easy just to take the top milk lists or combine the fat plus protein and say that those sires are the best for overall production. We here at the Bullvine would not want to forgo totally type as well as health and fertility, so we are looking for the sires that give you the maximum production gain, without sacrificing everything to get it

Denver 1426

151HO00690
Mr Mogul Denver 1426-ET   TY
Mogul x Robust x Planet

Denver 1426 and his two brothers Delta and Director topped the Genomic sires over one year of age list past round (Read more: April 2015 US Genetic Evaluation Highlights).  Denver 1426 is +2,074 for milk with positive components (+.08%F and +.01%P).  At over 2 points on all type composites and over 2,000 lbs. of milk and positive components, Denver 1426 is in elite company.  For those looking to sire high scoring two-year-olds, they will need to protect him on the height of front end and body depth.

Littleton

200HO06637
Snowbiz Littleton   TY
Supersire x Snowman x Shottle

Littleton was bred to produce milk and milk, and this is what his daughters will do.  There is no question that a Supersire from a Snowman will milk, so it’s not surprising that Littleton is +2,639 for Milk, with solid components.  Tracing back to COMESTAR LAURIE SHEIK VG-88-5YR-CAN 23*, Littleton’s dam, FREUREHAVEN FGS LUCY VG-86-2YR-CAN, produced over 50,000 lbs of milk in her first lactation with a 4.0%F and a 3.2% protein test.  Her first two daughters by Uno have already scored VG in their 1^st lactation.   Expect Littleton daughters to produce extreme amounts of milk, fat, and protein from well-attached udders, and walk on a great set of feet and legs.  One area that they will need to be protected on is their height at front end and for attachments.

Josuper

029HO17553
Uecker Supersire Josuper-ET   TY
Supersire x Beacon x Jango

This Supersire son has been getting much attention since his initial genomic proof (Read more: The 16 Sires from the April 2014 Genetic Evaluations That Stand Out).  At +2585 gTPI, JOSUPER is the highest TPI sire over 2400 lbs of milk.  Combine that with positive deviations for fat and protein and there is no question that JOSUPER will give you a high production kick when needed.  While his type evaluation is very functional, a couple of areas to protect him on include his rump angle and the set of his rear legs.  With a strong maternal chromosomal contribution, JOSUPER should also be an influential sire of sons.  This is something we have found to be very typical of high production sires.

Supershot

224HO02881
Cogent Supershot  TV TL TY TD
Supersire x Super x Shottle

The pedigree behind Supershot is certainly not well known among breeders, with the last 5 of his eight generations coming from Dutch breeding. Behind that is the US cow family at Vir-Clar Holsteins tracing through the highly acclaimed Tirsvad Patron Claire EX92. He hails from the same line as the famous Koepon Classy’s and Anderstrup Claire family, which is known worldwide for its ability to breed high-ranking females and bulls on numerous different bases.  Supershot has an extremely high genomic test and his pedigree indicates that he should be able to sire those extreme production daughters many breeders are looking for. Supershot should be protected on milking speed and dairy strength. (Read more: COGENT SUPERSHOT)

Longevity Improvement

While some would try to tell you that high type equals longevity, which is not necessarily the case.    When it comes to longevity, it’s hard to argue with actual performance indices like Herd Life and Productive Life.  (Read more: She Ain’t Pretty – She Just Milks That Way!) To give a more balanced approach to longevity, we looked at both and came up with the following top sires:

Monterey

029HO16955
View-Home Monterey-ET   TY
Mccutchen x Robust x Zenith

Monterey is the Mccutchen brother to Powerball-P.  Monterey has a solid +3.00 PTAT, 3.03 UDC and +1.96 FLC combined with a strong +5.7 productive life.  Look for his daughters to be extremely low maintenance cows that will last a long time in most herd environments.  Though I would protect him on high pinned heifers and cows.

Main Event

250HO01127
Stantons Main Event
Mogul x Super x Shottle

From the Crockett-Acres Elita-ET VG-87 GMD DOM cow family, Main event traces back to Whittier-Farms Lead Mae EX-95 3E GMD DOM.  Main Event is over 2.50 points on all major composites and has an outstanding +6.2 productive life.  He has high components with decent production but will need to be protected on his straightness of leg and overall frame and capacity.

Delta

203HO01468
Mr Mogul Delta 1427-ET   TY
Mogul x Robust x Planet

Delta is from the WINDSOR-MANOR RUD ZIP-ET 3E 95 GMD DOM family.  Delta offers extreme health and fertility traits with solid type and reliable production.  Breeders who are looking for tall framey two-year-olds will certainly not want to use Delta, but he does offer significant udder improvement.  Delta is among the breed leaders for productive life at +8.0. (Read more: Mr Mogul Delta 1427)

Piranha-P *RC

001HO11328
Buck-H-Creek Mgl Piranha-P  RC PC TY T
Mogul x Secure-Red x LB P-Red

Here is a sire that may not be on many breeder’s radar but Piranha-P is polled, red and over 2 points for PTAT and UDC as well as +3.9 for productive life solid for calving ease.  If you have a high production cow that is in need of some longevity improvement and you are looking to introduce more polled animals to your herd, Piranha-P will give you that shot of longevity combined with polled that you are looking for.  He will need to be protected on his teat length and high pins.

Health and Fertility Improvement

With the constant improvement in the accuracy of health and fertility index calculations, more and more breeders are confidently including Health and Fertility traits in their breeding requirements.

Exemplar

200HO10225
Stantons Exemplar  TR TY
Jabir x Shamrock x Shottle

If you are looking to improve the health and fertility of your herd, you have to start with Exemplar.  With a high productive life of +6.3, low SCS +2.80 and outstanding calving ease (+5.9 SCE and +3.7 DCE) Exemplar is a great example of what strong conception rates look like  (+4.1 HCR and +6.7CCR) and +5.3 Daughter Pregnancy Rate.  (Read more: Dairy Cattle Pregnancy Rates: A CSI Investigation) From the same family as Main Event, Exemplar is a bit of an outcross being a Jabir from a Shamrock.  Exemplar will need to be protected on his rumps (pin setting and pin width) as well as his dairy strength (Body depth and angularity). But if you are looking for a high conception calving ease sire, Exemplar will get the job done.

Altivo

001HO12152
Co-Op Jabir Altivo-ET
Jabir x Super x Zade

Altivo is another Jabir son that should catch your attention if you are looking to improve the fertility of your herd.  Again with a  bit of an outcross pedigree, Jabir x Super x Zade, Altivo makes an excellent cross for those high production cows that are in desperate need of an outcross sire that can get the job done.  At +6.8PL, +7.2 SCE and +3.5 daughter calving ease, Altivo is the show stopper.  He is an extreme health and fertility sire.  He offers strong production with great components but will need to be protected on his pin width as well as his body depth and angularity.

AltaBowie

011HO11116
Rosylane-Llc Altabowie   TY
Bowser x Ramos x O Man

AltaBowie is an excellent outcross sire that should help improve the fertility of your herd. He is from the exceptional breeding program at Rosy-Lane Holsteins (Read more: ROSY-LANE HOLSTEINS – “Don’t Follow the Herd!”), AltaBowie offers many plusses.  He is +1010 for lbs milk (though low-fat %), durable type (+6.9 PL), and high DPR (+4.8) and great calving ease (4.3% SCE and 3.7% DCE).  While his conformation break down will not wow you (+0.37 PTAT, +0.74 UDC and +0.88 FLC), he is correct where he needs to be, (Udder depth, fore and rear attachments, as well as foot angle and heal depth).  He will certainly need to be protected on his dairy strength and rumps.

Milford-P

200HO10287
Regancrest Milford-P-ET  PC TY
Ohio Style P x Snowman x Shottle

Another polled sire worth looking at is Milford-P.  His dam is Leaderwin Snoman Mystery-ET  VG-85 from Kevrel Shottle Mia 2E 93 then Brandt-View BW Marsh Mia-ET TV TL   EX-90 DOM.  At +6.8 EFI Milford-P is an excellent outcross sire that will deliver high health and fertility.  Milford-P will offer reliable production with great udders and sound feet and legs though he will need to be protected on his overall capacity.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

We have stated it many times. In maximizing your genetic gain, you can’t just pick from the top of the TPI or LPI list.  You need to make sure that your matings are the best corrective cross.  Breeding great cattle is part art and part science. You need to have both parts.   It takes careful consideration and generation after generation of corrective mating to produce great cow families.  That is why, instead of just giving you a list of the top 12, we have tried to provide you with insight into which sires will provide you with the maximum gain in each particular area.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.

Selecting sires for use in a herd can take many approaches. In all cases, it depends on the goals of the owner. Furthermore,  any bull can be both a saint and the worst sire to ever have semen frozen. For instance, for show oriented breeders, Goldwyn is a saint, and they are still using Goldwyn semen or purchasing Goldwyn daughters or embryos.  Yet for some breeders participating in The Milk House, Goldwyn or Goldwyn in the pedigree is to be avoided, in a significant way, due to his daughters’ inability to compete in group housing with other top sires when it comes to milk yield and lack of body condition at the time of breeding. The opposite can be said for Oman bloodlines. Show breeders avoid them. Milk production focused herds regard him almost as a recent Holstein breed saviour, when it comes contributing to herd profit. Tuesday December 2^nd in the United States, when there is a base re-adjustment for all genetic evaluations, will be a good time for all breeders, no matter what they focus their sire selection on, to re-evaluate the bulls or the breeding plan that they use in their herds.

Where is Your Focus?

Not every breeder has a focus or has taken the time to think through the attributes needed by the cows that they plan to work with five to ten years in the future. Why talk about cows five to ten years from now? Well, that is because breeding strategy decisions made today will take five years before they become the majority of the cows a herd is made up of. So the first question you need to answer before you pick up the phone or send an email to your semen supplier on December 2^nd is “What genetics in my herd will provide me with the most profit in the future?”

What are Your Choices?

It comes down to three overall indexes:

1. Bottom Line Farming – Net Merit $
2. Balanced Approach – TPI™
3. Show Type – PTAT, with added emphasis on Stature and Rump

Both NM$ and TPI™ have been revised effective with this December 2^nd index release. NM$ has increased the emphasis on production to where production traits receive almost half the emphasis (Read more: The New Net Merit Formula – The Winners & The Losers and US Genetic Evaluation Changes: Are You Keeping Up?) Breeders can expect the Dec ’14 NM$ values to be between 130 and 150 lower than in the August ’14 genetic evaluation run due to the base adjustments. TPI™ has also increased the emphasis on production and developed a Fertility Index that includes conception rates. For breeders wishing to know more about the revised TPI™ Holstein USA has placed on YouTube a Webinar lead by Dr. Tom Lawlor (Holstein USA Webinar: December 2014 TPI™ & Base Change). Breeders not wanting to increase the stature of their cows will be interested in Dr. Lawlor’s comments on TPI™ now moderating the emphasis on stature. When looking at the TPI™ values on December 2^nd, breeders need to be aware that bulls above 2138 TPI™ are the ones that are the real breed improvers. The webinar does an excellent job of outlining the changes and reasons for the changes in TPI™.

What about Other Considerations?

There are numerous other genetic indexes or genetic approaches that breeders may wish to use when selecting sires. Included in the list are Fluid Merit $ and Cheese Merit $, produced by CDCB / USDA-AIPL, and they will be joined by a new Grazing Merit $ Index. Full details on GM$ can be found on CDCB’s website. Other genetic based indexes are issued by breeding organizations, and they place different  degrees of emphasis on traits than do NM$ or TPI™. Non-genetic index approaches to rating sires exist and, for those ratings, breeders do not need to acquaint themselves with the formula or base change that will occur on December 2^nd.

8 Steps to Choosing Sires to Use

1. Select a website where you can find all the facts on all sires. That site can be a breed association, an A.I. organization or an information site for the latest proof information. Breeders wishing information for sires outside the USA can go to their national organizations. The focus for this article is the sires in the USA as that is where the base and new ranking formula changes are being made.

2. Decide if you want proven or genomic sires or a combination of both. Many breeders have taken strong positions on which approach to use. Open minded breeders will look at both lists and balance accuracy and superiority in making their choices.

3. Identify the top 10 to 30 sires for NM$, TPI™ or PTAT. Do not be concerned about other attributes or deficiencies that sires may have. This first sort is to get the overall breed leaders. Using the best there is should be the goal of all breeders and milk producers. Other breeds have other indexes that are their overall total merit index comparable to TPI™.

4. From the top 10 to 30 listings, eliminate bulls with deficiencies you consider important. Be certain that your deficiencies are truly important to your breeding plan. Fertility and health should be on every breeder’s list.

5. Breeders wanting Polled in all breeds and Red in Holsteins will need to be prepared to sacrifice some NM$, TPI™ or PTAT to get their list. Other factors, such as Inbreeding Level (Read more: The Truth About Inbreeding, 12 Outcross Sires to Help Control Inbreeding, Stop Talking About Inbreeding) may also factor into decisions. However, always be aware that the more restrictions that are placed on sires means that the sires chosen for use will not be genetically advancing your herd as fast as other breeder’s herds.

6. Price of semen, unless over $100, should not be a sort criteria. Some breeders will not agree with this, but given that semen costs are less than 1% of a farm’s expenses and that a blend price of less than $50 is possible, the focus should be on genetic merit not on cost of semen.

7. If A.I organization loyalty is important, be sure not to sacrifice genetic improvement for loyalty. I. organizations want their customers to be successful and achieve their goals.

8. Breeding advisors or A.I. technicians need to recommend or use the sires that meet the herd’s genetic needs. Often herd owners leave the sire selection entirely to their advisor or technicians. In which case there needs to be a defined and documented plan for what the herd owner wants for his farm. (Read more: Flukes and Pukes – What Happens When You Don’t Have a Plan, Are you a hobby farmer or a dairy business? and What’s the plan?).

Who will Win?

Breeders who follow closely the breed toppers will have anticipation for which sires will top the lists come December 2^nd. Will Mogul’s daughter proven proof place him ahead of Facebook who strongly came to the top of the gTPI™ list in August? Will there be a sire to go ahead of Robust on the NM$ list?  Of course, breeders can expect to see new sires at or near the top of the genomic lists. Tuesday has the promise for many new sires for breeders to choose from.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

In the end, the winners will be the breeders that use the elite sires and correctively mate them to the females in their herds. Remember to select sires for their strengths and not eliminate them for minor deficiencies.

Get original “Bullvine” content sent straight to your email inbox for free.