Archive for GenerVations

Stud Wars: Episode II – April 2014

Just as we have learned with the Rebels versus the Republic in Star Wars, the Stud wars are far from over.  However, instead of clones we have Genomic Sires versus Proven Sires and large A.I. companies versus smaller organizations.  The April 2014 genetic evaluations have seen the gap between the haves and have nots decrease.  Many of the larger studs that had in the past not focused on Genomic sires greatly increased their genomic offerings and some of the smaller studs greatly increased their niche market offerings.  Stud Wars, like Star Wars, thrive on new releases, talent, unexpected changes and rivalries.

TPI

TOP TPI PROVEN SIRES

As we found in our initial stud wars (Stud Wars – The Battle for A.I. Supremacy), market share of the pre-genomic era correlates very highly with the big five being ABS, Select Sires, Alta Genetics, Accelerated Genetics and CRI.  Since the last proof run, Select Sires has taken over the top spot with two more sires entering the top 50, and CRI has doubled the number of proven sires they had in the top 50 TPI to move into the #2 Spot.  Former #1 holder ABS Global has dropped from 14 sires to 11 in the top 50 TPI and now holds the #3 position. A sign of the time is the way Accelerated has dropped market share.

TOP TPI GENOMIC SIRES

Both our previous gTPI leaders from December 2013 have dropped but still hold the #1, Select Sires, and #2 Semex spots on our list.  Making a significant jump on the list is CRI who now holds the #3 spot on the list with 5 sires in the top 50 gTPI.  Also seeing an increase is Alta Genetics who now has 4 sires in the top 50 gTPI.

TOP TPI SIRES

Select Sires continues to lead the way with top TPI offerings both Genomic and Proven. Making a jump into the #2 spot, thanks to an increase in their top TPI proven sires, is CRI. They are followed by Semex who continues to have a strong Genomic TPI offering.  .

NM$

TOP NM$ PROVEN SIRES

It is no surprise that, for the larger AI centers, the focus on the commercial producer market continues to dominate the proven NM$ list.  Select Sires moves into the #1 position with the two additional sires in the top list, with CRI moving into the #2 position, almost doubling the number of top 50 NM$ sires they have to offer.  Dropping significantly was ABS Global who now finds themselves in the #3 position with 5 fewer  sires in the top 50 NM$ list.

TOP NM$ GENOMIC SIRES

A list that was dominated last round by Select Sires who had 32% of the top sires, now finds them tied with CRI and Semex – all with 18% each.  Also seeing a significant drop in top gNM$ sires is Alta Genetics who went from 9 last round to just 4 this round.

TOP NM$ SIRES

On the strength of their strong proven and genomic NM$ offering, Select Sires retains the strongest NM$ offering in the US.  Thanks to a significant investment in Genomic sires CRI now find themselves with the 2nd strongest NM$ offering.

PTAT

TOP PTAT PROVEN SIRES

Probably one of the most significant changes of this proof round is Semex moving into the strongest type proven sire offering in the world, with 5 more proven sires moving into the top 50 PTAT.  Former #1 Select Sires goes from having 18 sires in the top 50 to 11 and holds the #2 spot.

TOP PTAT GENOMIC SIRES

When it comes to the top 50 Genomic PTAT sires, Semex and Select Sires still top the list, but both have seen significant declines in totals.  Many small A.I. studs now find themselves with 1 to 3 sires in the top 50.

TOP PTAT SIRES

On the strength of a greatly improved proven type sire line up, Semex now find themselves on top of the overall PTAT list, followed by Select Sires.  However the ever increasing trend continues where more and more smaller AI organizations have a top 50 PTAT proven or genomic sire.

Polled

TOP TPI POLLED SIRES

As we continue to see trends change in the industry, we see the sire line-ups in key markets are also starting to change.  Nowhere is it more evident than in the polled trend.  With that in mind, we decided to add two key niche markets to our stud wars analysis: (1) polled TPI sires and (2) Red type sires.  For both of these lists we are using the top 50 proven or genomic sires.

Not surprising DairyBullsOnline.com the Polled specialists lead the list.  Followed by Select Sires and GenerVations.

PTAT R&W SIRES

TOP PTAT RED SIRES

As we saw in the overall PTAT list, Semex and Select Sires continue to lead the way in type offerings.  Also similar to the B&W PTAT lists, we find a number of smaller studs also offering 1-4 of the top red and white sires.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

TOP PROVEN SIRE LINE UP

Holding strong with the best proven sire line-up is Select Sires.  Seeing a significant increase and moving into the 2nd strongest proven sire line-up position is CRI.  They rise on the strength of their significant increase in top NM$ proven sires. Also seeing an increase and moving into the #3 position is ABS Global.  Semex finds themselves with 15 less proven sires on our top lists and drops from the #2 position in December to the #4 position currently.

TOP GENOMIC SIRE LINE UP

Tied at the top genomic for genomic sires are Select Sires and Semex.  These are the same two studs that ranked #1 and #2 last round.  Moving up 2 spots from last round is CRI, powered by a significant investment in top gNM$ sires.  Also making a strong showing is the Sexing Technologies / Trans-World Genetics partnership powered by their agreement with the EDG group, who own many of the top genomic females in the world.

TOP LINE UP

Retaining the title of as the strongest overall sire line-up is Select Sires, though it should be noted that Select went from 28% of the top sires in December 2013 to 21% this time.  Holding steady with increases in their proven sire line-up and slight decreases in their genomic sire line-up, Semex comes in as the 2nd strongest sire line-up.  Moving up to the #3 sire line-up with significant improvements in their proven TPI sire line-up as well as genomic offerings is CRI. ABS Global and Alta Genetics round out the top 5.

Join us in staying tuned to the next order of business in the expanding universe of the Stud Wars.

For complete genetic evaluations from around the world click here.

 

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

 

 

Stud Wars – The Battle for A.I. Supremacy

A long time ago in a galaxy far away……Who are we kidding the A.I. stud wars are now and the battleground is the USA, the most lucrative genetics market in the world.  For years I have heard the debate from all sides about which stud has the best sire line-up.  The problem is most of it has been anecdotal and no one has really backed it up with numbers.  So, in true Bullvine fashion, we thought we would bring numbers to this galactic battle.

To settle this confrontation, we decided to let genomics and genetic evaluations determine exactly which stud rules the empire.  Specifically we looked at top 50 proven and genomic sires for TPITM, NM$ and PTAT to determine who are the studs and who are the duds.  The following is what we found.  (Please note we deemed a sire to be available if the had an NAAB Code)

TPI

tpi proven siressw

Click on image for enlargement

It’s interesting to see how the percentages seem to be similar to market share, prior to the genomic era.  The big five being ABS, Select Sires, Alta Genetics, Accelerated Genetics and Genex.

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

The top gPA TPI sires tell a very different story than that of the proven sires.  Studs like ABS Global and Alta Genetics do not have as large a portion of the top bulls whereas Semex and Select Sires have invested heavily in obtaining top gPA TPI sires.

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

When it comes to strength of line-up from a TPI perspective, it’s interesting to see how Semex and some of the smaller studs have made a big push on getting the top genomic sires, in order to have that stronger line-up in the future.  On the other hand, some of the established studs are resting on their proven laurels. (Please note for top list we used the top 50 genomic and top 50 proven sires.)

NM$

nm$ proven siressw

Click on image for enlargement

It is interesting how the studs that are more milk producer focused as opposed to breeder focused rise up on this list.  Specifically Genex, Alta Genetics and ABS have their best showings here.

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Even the studs who have not gone heavily into genomics, are at least sampling some high genomic sires for NM$.  When it comes to selling volumes of semen, nothing compares to a high NM$ sire.  Yes the top TPI sires will sell well, but the high NM$ will move in volume as they attractive the commercial market.

 

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

The greatest spread of the top sires amongst the studs occurs in NM$.  This is not surprising since this is such a lucrative market for so many studs.  They all are trying to get the top sires.

PTAT

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

When it comes to the top type bulls, it seems like everyone wants a shot at them.  Type sires are a premium market delivering high margins to the units.  This is certainly one area where type oriented countries and their respective studs excel (Example, Semenzoo and Semex).

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Similar to the proven bull list, this is an area where everyone wants to play.  It is interesting to see that many of the type niche studs don’t have more on these lists.  That could be due to the fact that they are focusing on show type and not necessarily on sires who have high genomic tests for PTAT.

ptat siressw

Click on image for enlargement

A subject of great debate on our Facebook page has been who has the better type sire lineup, Select Sires or Semex.  If you go by the numbers, there is no question that Select Sires has the advantage.  Looking deeper into this, we decided to take the top 5 proven and the top 5 genomic sires from each stud and see whose were better.  Select Sires averaged 4.14 PTAT and Semex averaged 3.72.  So Select not only has an advantage in numbers but also in quality.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

Click on image for enlargement

It’s always interesting when you get into the debate about which studs have the best sire lineup to see the perceptions people have.  Most look at it based on what their breeding goals are and state their opinion relative to that.  Nevertheless there are many that are guilty of looking at things through rose colored glasses for the studs they prefer and hence discrediting other studs because of it.  The one thing you cannot deny is that, when you look across the board,   the US sire line up at Select Sires has the largest market share and are a player in each major market.  Studs like Semex (type) and ABS, Alta Genetics, and Genex (NM$ and TPI) do well in niche segments.

For complete genetic evaluations from around the world click here.

 

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

 

 

Semex – The Rise and Fall of a Semen Empire

I have seen men who once screamed EBI green turn to the dark side.  Men who used to bleed WOBI blue now openly criticize the organization that was the epitome, half a century ago, of everything Dairy in Canada.  The Semex Alliance that once dominated, no longer owns the Canadian marketplace.  There is criticism from within.  How did the organization that once defined the Canadian marketplace lose control of it?

I’ll establish my personal allegiances before the hate mail commences.  I grew up with the belief that the Canadian cow was the best in the world and that the Canadian dairy cattle improvement system was second to none.  This was so heartfelt for me that I have the Holstein Canada logo tattooed on my chest.  I believed that the likes of Moe Freeman, Roy Snyder and George Clemons were super heroes who could leap tall buildings in a single bound.  At that time, there was leadership, teamwork and cooperation that pulled differences together for the common good.  Today?  Not so much.  (Read more – Select Sires vs. Semex – A contrast in cooperatives) The reason for this decline and fall has gradually kicked in for me.  When Doug Blair and Alta Genetics decided to purchase Landmark Genetics, the foundation of what was Semex and the partnership and cooperation that made Canada great, started to crumble.  That was the first crack in the cooperation and teamwork that had lead Semex and Canada to global prominence.  Later, when GenerVations, a stud other than Semex, had produced the #1 sire (Calbertt-I H H Champion) in Canada that further ate away at what was the core of Semex.

Canadiens vs. Nordiques

As I was thinking about this a situation came to my mind.  Like most Canadians, I am a huge hockey fan and I am reminded of what has been the downfall of the once mighty Montreal Canadiens.  The Canadiens once had it all. They had hockey dominance all to themselves, just as Semex had controlled the Canadian marketplace.  However, in hockey, when the WHA launched, one of the first steps made by the Nordiques was the hiring of the Canadiens legend, Maurice Richard, as their coach.  It didn’t work out – the Rocket’s personality was no fit at all for the job and he lasted a couple of games.  However, the strategic move of his signing was a golden one that set a precedent, much like Blair’s and the leadership team at Alta Genetics.  There was now another option in Canada.  Hockey fans had a choice.

The other part that I think is even more telling for the Semex fall from dominance is that they no longer always had the best Canadian product.  This compares to the Canadiens having to give up their territorial exemption in 1970.  You see in the days of the Original Six, the Canadiens had all but exclusive rights to any junior player in Quebec.  That singular grasp over one of the greatest sources of talent gave the Canadiens a significant advantage in assembling talent.  It was as if they were starting every poker game with an ace in hand.  Semex had a similar success story.  But when GenerVations had the #1 LPI sire, there was a clear message that Semex was not the only option. Even today GenerVations works at showing breeders there are other options (Read more –$750 Dollar Semen! Are you crazy?).  Even in Quebec with the great work Trans America Genetics (TAG) is doing they are not even the only option in the hockey and genetic heartland of Canada.

Furthermore, today’s generation of active breeders hasn`t grown up with Semex as the impenetrable force.  There was a time when merely uttering a negative thought about Semex was considered high treason.  But think about how things have changed. Through MACE, Genomics, social media and a globalizing of the marketplace, today’s generation of breeders has not known Semex Sires as the only super stars.  This is the same as today`s Quebecois growing  up with the likes of Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Luc Robitaille, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis or Martin Brodeur not wearing a Canadien’s jersey.  Even one Canadien who did rank among them, Patrick Roy, demanded a trade out of Montreal.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Semex’s superior place in Canadian and global dairy cattle breeding history remains almost unequaled.  However, that position is less secure today than many would like to admit.  I am not saying they can’t regain prominence or even be a major global player.  What I am saying is that we all need to remember that cooperation is what made Canada great in the first place.  All players working together will build a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is what made Canada great and that is what will help Canada rise back to the top of the genetic empire.

A Wake-up Call to All A.I. Companies

Lately, there has been a great deal of discussion regarding March 2013 when dairy breeders will be able to genomically test their own bulls.  (Read – How Genomics Is Killing the Dairy Industry)  One thing for sure is that it is forcing many Artificial Insemination companies to re-think their corporate strategy.

Probably one of the greatest areas for executives at the AI companies to look at for examples on how to position their companies is the retail industry.  There are many similarities between A.I. and retail, especially considering the need for product differentiation as well as being a service organization.  Three great retail examples to look at are Wal-Mart, Apple, and Amazon.

Wal-Mart

If you look at the large artificial insemination companies, you can already see that many of them are heading toward the Wal-Mart model, where they try to offer the highest quality product at “always low prices.”  Companies like Alta Genetics, ABS Global, Accelerated, and CRI have identified the largest portion of the marketplace, the commercial producer.  This is where they can sell the highest volume semen and maximize profit not through the semen prices they charge but rather through how efficiently they can operate.

Similar to the Wal-Mart, one stop shopping model, many of these A.I. organizations now try to be a complete solution to their customers offering such services as, herd health, feed & nutrition in addition to their genetic and reproductive services.

When it comes to their genetic offerings, the key here is that they are selling shelf space.  No longer is it as much about the product they are selling, as it is about the complete package they are trying to offer to the commercial breeder.  That means that they are looking to provide  a consistent product rather than seeking  to have the #1 TPI or LPI sire.  Therefore, they do not have to go out and source the top sires but, rather, they need to provide consistent reliable genetics that can help advance their commercial partner herds.  This means they will not have to get as aggressive on their lease deals and can still focus on their efficiencies and volumes as opposed to the ultra-aggressive sourcing of top gPA TPI and gPA LPI sires.

Once the world’s most dominating retail entity, there is no question that the Wal-Mart model works, Although  it was once believed that only one company could survive and thrive in the ultra-competitive big box store world.  The recent performance of companies like Target does hold out some hope for the many A.I. companies looking to battle for this large market segment.

Apple

In  contrast to the Wal-Mart model is Apple.  The most admired company in the world has built its market position through developing, marketing and direct selling their own unique product to what most would consider a niche market.  They key part to this model is having a very clear vision who your marketplace is and developing an extremely differentiated product in the eyes of their customers. A.I. companies that seem to be emulating this model are GenerVations with their work with the Lylehaven Lila Z and Wabash-Way Evett families, JetStream Genetics with their work with Regancrest  S Chassity, and Select Sires through their Aggressive Reproductive Technologies (ART) program, though to a much larger audience that the first two (Read – Select Sires vs Semex: A contrast in Cooperatives).

Similar to how Apple has received widespread criticism for some of their own business practices, companies like Select Sires have received criticism for owning females (Read –Should A.I. Companies Own Females ). Though as the Apple model demonstrates you need to have a distinctive product in order to survive. The biggest thing that all three of these companies have learned is that, in order to compete in this ultra-competitive marketplace, they need to cost effectively source their genetics.  That means producing their own sires and accelerating their rate of genetic advancement so that they can have a product that is unique in the marketplace. (Read – The Genomic Advancement Rate – The Battle for Genetic Supremacy)

There are two main lessons I think many of these A.I. companies can learn.  First always be innovative and at the front of the marketplace.  If you are not pushing the front end of product development/sire sampling, you will fall behind your competitors and get lost in no man’s land.  The second lesson is that you have to control the license to your product.  Apple has never allowed other companies to come in and license their product.  They also did not create the iPhone or iPad and then the next day let their competitors take their products and designs and create their own versions knock off versions.  Companies that did allow this to happen, like Microsoft, have developed much larger market share, but have fallen on financial challenges. For A.I. companies that means you need to control your young sire sampling so that you have the next generation of genetics before your competitors do.  While some would say that is not fair, in order for these companies to compete they have no option but to do so.  While having negative sentiment in a small segment of  the marketplace is not ideal, the risk of not having a differentiated product is a much bigger gamble.

Amazon.com

More recently, I have seen the emergence of online semen retailers akin to the amazon.com model.  Companies like DairyBullsOnline in North America and Dairy Daughters in the UK, are able to compete not on their size and scale, or their own distinctive product (though DairyBullsOnline does have a strong segment in the polled and red and white market) but rather through their efficiencies.  These companies do not have large facilities with great numbers of staff, but rather they are extremely efficient in their operations and source their product direct from breeders or smaller A.I. organizations.  Leveraging technology both on the web as well as for shipping semen internationally these companies are able to operate at much higher efficiency, passing benefits back to the producers and the breeders they source their genetics from.  Despite what they lack in market share, they are able to attract unique genetics through offering seed stock breeders a much higher royalty percentage.

The interesting part about this model is that Amazon was able to stay competitive and fight off many competitors by developing private labels and exclusive marketing arrangements, including being the online e-tailer for many large retail companies.  As many of the organizations are forced to get more efficient will they be able to reduce costs and develop their own platforms that will take away the advantage these companies have?  You can already see it in the retail world with traditional companies like Wal-Mart and Best Buy committing significant resources to their web properties.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The artificial insemination world is changing very rapidly.  While many companies have already identified what part of the market segment they are going to try to occupy, others seem to be taking a sit and wait approach.  The problem is, if they have not already identified whether they are going to be a Wal-Mart, Apple, or Amazon, it is too late, as many of the other companies already have a significant head start.

Send this to a friend