Genomics

Slide 7: Slide 7
Slide 5: Slide 5
Style_Bullvine: Style_Bullvine
Slide 8: Slide 8

Archive for Genomics – Page 3

Polled Genetics: Way of the Future or Passing Fad?

· Comments (0)

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

For years, there has been talk about polled genetics and their advantages, but, for the most part, they remain a niche market. This has me asking if polled genetics are like unicorns. Are they living in a fantasy world?

Breeders have known about the advantages for years and yet they have not endorsed using polled genetics in any significant way. While not having to dehorn your calves has economic advantages, many breeders see that job as just part of their routine and so don’t make getting rid of it a high priority. This, despite the fact that , one mating to a polled sire results in a minimum 50% hornless calves and could be 100%, if the bull is homozygous polled. These are much quicker results than breeding to get a red calf, for instance.

Why haven’t breeders adopted polled genetics?

Like any marketplace, producers must meet the demands of the consumer. When consumers wanted hormone free milk, or organic milk, producers followed. Until it becomes a pressing issue to consumers producers will not be forced to change. At this point, despite the fact that organizations such as PETA try their best to make this an issue, it has not gained significant market awareness.

Should breeders care?

Even though consumers have not yet cried out for change, that does not mean they won’t in the future. Much like tail docking, once consumers do gain awareness, they are sure to cry foul. When developing your breeding program, it’s not only about supplying the genetics that the market needs today, but also looking to the future. Similar to breeding for higher feed conversion (to read more check out Holstein vs. Jersey: Which Breed Is More Profitable?), you need to think about where the market is heading. Concerns about animal welfare as well as employee welfare are sure to become more prevalent in the future.

Are there any polled genetics worth using?

For many years, breeding for Red and White Holstein cattle or Polled genetics meant that you had to take a “discount” on the genetics. That was because there just wasn’t the same level of genetics available, when compared to the non-polled options. However, with recent increases in popularity, as well as the ability to get a polled son from a top genomic cow, there are now some great polled genetics available to most breeders. Even the major A.I. companies have started to see the demand and are sourcing polled bulls.

How can you tell if your calf is a polled carrier?

There are no such things as Unicorns or Polled Carriers! Polled is a dominant trait. Simply put, an animal only needs one polled gene for it to be expressed. Animals with horns do not have the polled gene. When the dominant gene is present you will see the trait expressed.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While polled genetics seem like a niche market, and you`re not sure if it is for your breeding program, you always need to keep an eye on the future. That means not only looking for what potential buyers of your genetics want, but also what future consumers will dictate. . With the growing supply of top genomic polled bulls, as well as the relative ease to achieve a polled calf, it’s becoming harder and harder for breeders to ignore polled Holsteins in their breeding programs.

To read more check out They’re Sold On Polled.

It’s in her genes…..

· Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

There is no question that strong maternal bloodlines are the foundation of any good breeding program. But what top female possesses the best bloodlines and what bloodlines are the ones to watch in the future? In order to determine this, we looked at the top GPTI, GLPI, Polled, and Red cows and heifers. The following is our analysis.

Top GTPI Cows

Leading the way is LADYS-MANOR PL SHAKIRA VG-85 2YR-USA is also a full sister to the #1 Genomic Sire in the breed, Ladys-Manor Shamrock. She and her full sister LADYS-MANOR PL SHANDRA-ET VG-85-2YR-USA, who is #4 on the list, are from the seventh generation bull mother, Ladys-Manor Ruby D Shawn. The most impressive sire stack on the list (#6) goes to SULLY PLANET MONTANA-ET whose sire stack of Planet x Shottle x Justice x BW Marshall leads the way. Montana is also the most genomically gifted on the list, just slightly edging out the extremely popular genomic bull mother Shakira and AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA-ET.

[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/GTPI-Cows.csv” icons=”true”]

Top Genomic LPI (GLPI) Cows

Planet daughters dominate the list occupying the top 17 spots and 23 of the top 25. Topping the list is COMESTAR LAUTAMIRE PLANET who is from the Laurie Sheik family. She combines a solid sire stack and genomic values with a maternal power that is the Laurie Sheik’s trademark. The most impressive sire stack on the list goes to the SULLY SHOTTLE MAY daughter SULLY PLANET 935-ET VG-86-2YR-CAN who combines Planet x Shottle x Oman x BW Marshall. When it comes to genomically gifted, none can top ALEXERIN OMAN 993. This Justice daughter has DGV LPI of +3395, which is almost 2000 LPI points higher than her parent average.

[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Genomic-LPI-GLPI-Cow.csv” icons=”true”]

Top GTPI *RC and R&W Females USA

Setting the pace is KHW SHAMROCK ARALYN. This Shamrock daughter is from the popular RC bull dam KHW Goldwyn Aiko VG-89-USA and is among 6 Shamrock daughters to top the list. In fact, the top three spots are all trace back to Kamps-Hollow Altitude-ET EX-95-USA 2E DOM, who has had every bull she put into stud return to active service and is also the dam of the 2010 World Red Holstein Champion, KHW Regiment Apple-Red. This family has dominated the Red and White scene, demonstrating that they can get it done in the show ring as well as with genomics. The genomic leader of the list is CURR-VALE OBSERVER DELTA-ET. This Observer daughter traces back to Pineyvale Outside Apple another cow family that has it all, type, numbers and red factor. The strongest sire stack on the list belongs to MD-HARMONY SMRK CHRIS V1-E, Shamrock X Gold Chris X Shottle.
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/GTPI-RC-and-RW-Females-USA.csv” icons=”true”]

Top GTPI Polled Females USA

There seems to be nothing more popular these days than polled genetics (read They’re Sold On Polled) and, with that, the demand for genetics from chart topper VER-HAGES TNT SABLE-P-ET could not be higher. This daughter from the Glen-Drummond Splendor family possesses an impressive sire stack – Shamrock x Lawn Boy x Lou – with strong genomic values. The only member of the list to surpass Sable-P for genomics is HICKORYMEA MANOMAN OPINE-P who also poses the most impressive sire stack on the: list Man-O-Man x Shottle x Bosco.
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/GTPI-Polled-Females-USA.csv” icons=”true”]

Top Genomic Females in the U.S.

Shamrock daughters dominate the list with 18 daughters of the top 25 being sired by this outstanding son of Ladys-Manor Ruby D Shawn. Leading the way is a pair of Shamrock full sisters from the Genomic powerhouse herd De-Su. In the number one spot is DE-SU 1438-ET followed by DE-SU 1439-ET at #2 and not to be forgotten is DE-SU 1451-ET who is #6 on the list all from the popular genomic family Clear-Echo Hershl D Rac-822. In fact it’s 1451 that possesses the highest genomic values in the family. This family has proven to be genomic giants and, with these members topping the list, demand just continues to grow. Of interesting note is the 4 animals on the list owned by Select Sires (S-S-I SHAMROCK MENNA7392-ET, S-S-I SHAMROCK MAGIC7368-ET, S-S-I MOGUL MAYHEM 7963-ET, S-S-I SNOW MALENA 7514-ET) demonstrating this AI center’s strong desire to produce their own genetics (for more read Should A.I. Companies Own Females).
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Top-Genomic-Females-in-the-US.csv” icons=”true”]

Top GLPI Heifers

Similar to the US list, the CDN list is also topped by a pair of full sisters, Velthuis SG Snow Event and Velthuis S G Snow Evening. These Snowman daughters are from the Whittier-Farms Lead Mae family who has 6 daughters in the top 25. Event and Evening are from the extremely popular bull mother Calbrett Planet Eve VG-CAN-2YR. In fact, it’s interesting to note that 16 of the top 25 females come from three main families, (Lead Mae, Lila Z and Gypsy Grand). The Event and Evening sire stack of SNOWMAN X PLANET X SHOTTLE is also the highest on the list. With a DGV LPI of 4406, the split embryo sisters Event and Evening are also the highest genomic females on the list.
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Top-GLPI-Heifers.csv” icons=”true”]

The Bullvine Bottom Line

No matter how you look at it, when marketing top females, it comes down to their genes. Whether you are looking at LPI or TPI, genomics has put the spotlight on the females that truly have the best genes.

For more information check out The Bullvine Bull Book or our Genetic Evaluation Resource Center.

Holstein vs. Jersey: Which Breed Is More Profitable?

· Comments (18)

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

For years, Jersey breeders have touted their high fertility rates, calving ease, and greater milk solids than Holsteins as a viable alternative to Holstein breeders looking to increase their profits. A recent Holstein International article, Feed Conversion: Building a More Efficient Engine, adds another item to the list, feed conversion.

Jersey the More Efficient Engine

A recent research paper in the Journal for Dairy Science compared the input requirements of two different production systems, Holsteins and Jerseys to produce a given amount of cheese. In their research of over 13,000 herds spread across 45 states, Dr. Jude Capper and Dr. Roger Caddy found that it would take 109 Jerseys to produce the same amount of cheese as 100 Holsteins. What they also found was that they would have just 74% of the body mass and produce 81% of the milk volume, 80% of the Green House Gases and would only require 68% of the water and 89% of the land requirements. So in essence Jerseys would be more efficient at producing the same amount of cheese.

In their article, Holstein International also points out another Dairy Science paper published last year that looked at feed intake studies for 4 breed groups: Holstein, Holstein x Jersey, Jersey x Holstein and Jersey where all cows were fed the same ration, were housed in the same type of pens and were milked together. The results found that Holstein had the highest intake and the highest production yield. However, Jersey converted a higher percentage of their intake to production than Holstein did.

Item	Holstein	HJ	JH	Jersey
Intake	9,813	9,309	9,487	7,969
Growth	669 (6.8%)	599 (6.4%)	496 (5.2%)	334 (4.2%)
Maintenance	1,666 (27.25)	2,468 (26.5%)	2,425 (25.6%)	2,085 (26.2)
Pregnancy	27 (0.3%)	32 (0.3%)	33 (0.3%)	21 (0.3%)
Production	5,968 (60.8%)	6,057 (65.1%)	6,162 (65.0%)	5,259 (66.0%)

New Zealand Leading the Way

As the dairy industry moves away from focusing solely on overall production and starts to focus more on the overall profitability of their farming operations, key metrics like feed conversion are sure to gain increased importance in breeding programs. Similar to how Scandinavian countries lead the way with Health traits, countries like New Zealand are leading the way by using body weight as an indicator of feed intake and making it apart of the Breeding Worth (BW) index. Countries such as Australia have also started to incorporate weight into their national indexes by using type classification data as a predictor of body weight. While body weight in time may not be the best measure of efficiency, it is what is currently available. One of the interesting findings was that even under the New Zealand system the cows are getting larger, though at a slower than expected rate.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

It is clear that the dairy industry is moving towards producing a more profitable cow. With low heritable health traits already gaining a great deal of focus, it only makes sense that the next step will include efficiency. For many Holstein breeders this may be a wake up call that they need. In the same way that other industries first focused on overall production and then had to put more focus on efficiency, dairy producers now have to do the same. For many breeders this may mean either cross-breeding with the more efficient Jersey bloodlines or putting greater focus on efficiency in their breeding programs. Never forget for one moment that feed costs represent 55% of the inputs on a dairy operation. Efficiencies gained here can be significant. It’s no longer about who can produce the most, it is about who can produce the most with the least cost.

Not sure how much to spend on that great 2 year old?
Want to make sure you are investing your money wisely? Download our Dairy Cow Investment Calculator.

Is Your Breeding Strategy A “Field of Dreams”?

· Comments (2)

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

I can tell you the number of times I have seen top breeders spend hours upon hours deciding who to mate their top cattle. While I understand the importance of this decision, often times I find that the final decision is based on traits that are so low in heritability the chance of actually improving the cow for that trait is extremely low. As a result, the mating they were hoping to give them that next great one, turns out to be a field of dreams.

What is Heritability?

Heritability is a measure of the degree (0 to 100%) to which offspring resemble their parents for a specific trait. This definition can be extended to all genetic relationships such as half sisters sired by the same bull. Heritability measures the strength of the relationship between performance (phenotype) and breeding value (genotype) of an individual animal. Recall that “heritability” applies to a specific trait measured in a specific population of animals at a specific point in time. If the same trait is measured in a slightly different way in some other group of animals, the estimate of heritability can be expected to be different.

Why Should You Care About Heritability?

Heritability tells you the breeder how much confidence to place in the phenotypic performance of an animal when choosing parents of the next generation. For highly heritable traits where heritability exceeds 0.35, the animal’s phenotype is a good indicator of genetic merit or breeding value. For lowly heritable traits, where heritability is below 0.15, an animal’s performance is much less useful in identifying the individuals with the best genes for the trait.

This is where the problem lies. The following is a breakdown of High vs Low heritability traits.

High	Medium	Low
Milk Yield (0.43)	Fat Yield (0.34)	Herd Life (0.10)
Protein Yield (40)	Somatic Cell Score (0.27)	Calving Ability (0.6)
Fat Percentage (est. 0.50)	Milking Speed (0.21)	Daughter Calving Ability (0.6)
Protein Percentage (est. 0.50)	Conformation (0.26)	Milking Temperament (0.13)
Lactation Persistency (0.40)	Rump (0.23)	Daughter Fertility (0.7)
Dairy Strength (0.36)	Mammary System (0.25)	Feet & Legs (0.15)

What Should You Do About Traits With Low Heritabilities?

Heritability can tell us how closely genetic merit follows phenotypic performance, but it tells us nothing about the economic value of better performance. Some traits with low heritabilities, such as the survival and fitness have low heritabilities but high economic value. Other traits, like stature, are moderately to highly heritable, but have insufficient economic value to be given much emphasis in selection programs. Low heritable traits of substantial economic value should always be targeted for improvement through better environmental conditions. This often has the most direct impact and often can be done much quicker than through breeding programs.

The dairy industry is increasingly interested in genetic improvement of health, fitness, survival, and reproductive traits. Milk production is more heritable than these traits, and genetic gains in milk production for the last 30 years have been substantial. Perhaps part of the reason for increased emphasis on equally valuable traits of lower heritability has been the genetic progress made in milk production. Many farmers feel that their cows have more genetic ability to produce than can be utilized efficiently on many dairy farms. The relative economic value of the fitness traits and milk production appears to have changed and selection objectives will change as well.

What is the Heritability of Type Traits?

As the follow table shows. Trying to improve feet and legs is often better served through management than breeding, while stature and body depth would show a more rapid genetic gain.

Stature	0.42
Strength	0.31
Body Depth	0.37
Dairy Form	0.29
Rump Angle	0.33
Thurl Width	0.26
Rear Legs Side View	0.11
Foot Angle	0.15
Feet and Leg Score	0.17
Fore Udder Attachment	0.29
Rear Udder Height	0.28
Udder Cleft	0.24
Udder Depth	0.28
Front Teat Placement	0.26
Teat Length	0.26
Final Score	0.29

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Heritability is one of the most important concepts when it comes to your breeding program. There are several working definitions, as heritability is used to help plan breeding programs, determine management strategies, estimate breeding values of individual animals, and predict response to selection. In general, traits related to fertility, fitness, health and survival have low heritabilities of less than 0.15. Production traits like milk or protein yield are moderately heritable, with values from 0.15 to about 0.40. So if you are looking to see significant gains from your breeding programs it’s best to focus on highly heritable traits, otherwise your breeding program is more of a field of dreams.

Not sure what all this hype about genomics is all about?

Want to learn what it is and what it means to your breeding program?

Download this free guide.

What the Experts Won’t Tell You about the Future of the A.I. Industry

· Comments (1)

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Having grown up working with the Canadian Association of Animal Breeders, to working directly with some of the largest A.I. centers in the world, to running our own genetic programs that had many top LPI cattle, I have had the opportunity to learn the semen sales and marketing world from a variety of perspectives. From this frontline view I have never seen as much change as the A. I. industry is now experiencing with Genomics. With all these changes, the question becomes “What does the future hold for the AI industry?”

Genetic Advantage

It used to be that every artificial insemination center could claim an advantage in a certain product offering. Semex would claim a type advantage that over the years converted to a longevity value, in order to appeal to the much larger commercial market, instead of just elite breeders looking for the next great show cattle. ABS global added product lines and partnerships such as Judges Choice to counter moves such as Semex’s and included strong type offering to their very commercial product line. Every AI center jockeyed back and forth to show how their genetic product offering was different. Even when they overlapped, they would claim greater reliability or stability based on the country or system of origin.

Then along came genomics and wiped all that out.

Today when you look at all the major A.I. centers products, you could take the name and stud code off and you would be hard pressed to notice any difference. They all try to offer a complete product line. Moreover, with the reliability, and ability to take the system or country of origin out of it, they all have pretty reliable product. This almost completely eliminates any genetic advantage that any A.I. center has.

It has been very interesting to watch companies like Select Sires take to owning top bloodlines in a big way (to read more check out Should A.I. Companies Own Females?). This may be the only way that A.I. companies can differentiate their genetic advantage. Buy owning the top females these genetics companies (at this point, they are no longer just an A.I. company), are able to develop distinct bloodlines that none of their competitors can have. This is only going to change more when breeders have full access to genomic information in 2013 and may start to sample and prove their own sires.

Think about it. I remember back when I was working with GenerVations, and Champion hit as #1 in Canada. We marketed the heck out of the fact that he was the best in Canada. We relied on the world’s confidence in the Canadian system to promote that this new, small A.I. center had a reliable product. We blasted that message around the world making sure everyone knew that GenerVations had the #1 in the world. Because we all knew that there was about a 2-3 year window before competitors would have their own Champion sons, or he would no longer be the top bull. Today we are looking at an even smaller window of opportunity. . With new genomics bulls coming out pretty much monthly, things can change in a heartbeat. The Select Sires program at least gives them 8 months advantage on the sires and total control over the dams (since they own them). This gives them the ability to offer their customers a distinct advantage by doing business with them. Some may look at it negatively and yet, from a purely business perspective, it makes total sense. In the end, it will look like a very shrewd investment in a market in which it so is hard to differentiate yourself.

Service vs. Price

Therefore, when you can no longer differentiate your company on product, it only leaves you two other options, service, and price. You are either going to become the Wal-Mart of the A.I. world or you are going to become Nordstroms’s. Both can exist in the same market place you just have to become extremely great at what makes you different.

If you want to become the Wal-Mart of the A.I. world, you are going to offer the lowest price for a very commercial product. This means you need to have your production facilities running super efficiently and your overhead at a bare minimum. This position plays extremely well to commercial producers who are looking for the lowest costs possible. For years, companies like ABS, Alta Genetics, and Select have battled very aggressively. Since most of these companies more or less were just selling a commodity, there really was not any brand loyalty. Since most large herds did their own insemination work, they eliminated the close link that is developed between producer and the A.I. center through the regular visits by the technicians doing the insemination work. While the major A.I. companies tried to lock in that connection again by offering mating programs and other services, since they all were pretty much the same and, often, not used by producers, they were only able to gain marginal difference. And like the Wal-Mart model, margins are tight and profits are slim.

Therefore, if you cannot compete on product and you cannot compete on price, that only leaves service. With the majority of the marketplace doing their own insemination, A.I. companies have to look outside the scope of traditional marketplace to provide services. While this has been the case for many years in the commercial marketplace, it is also fast becoming the case in the entire marketplace. While you may be able to get a slight premium when you have the #1 bull, otherwise you will live and die by the quality of service you offer your customers. We have already seen this happen. Many A.I. companies have gone to offering many non-genetic products in order to become a complete service organization, rather than just a supplier of genetics.

Also of interest, is how the roles of sales and sire analysts have also changed. While many have called the modern sire analyst a glorified tail hair puller, they are now becoming more of a breeding advisor mixed with a negotiation specialist. This is exactly what they have to do. They can provide insight to breeders about the daughters of the top mating sires and maybe a little insight that his proof will not tell you. Even more so, they are now the chief negotiator for their A.I. center. If I were a GM of an A.I. company, I would invest heavily in negotiation and relationship building training for these individuals. Realistically, unless you run a program like Select Sires, this will be your only way to get the top sires from many breeders.

The Bottom Line

Like most mature market places, there is little room for grey areas when it comes to the future of the A.I. industry and where the major A.I. companies position themselves. It will take strong action now either to develop very aggressive genetic programs like Select Sires has, or you will need to decide if you are going to be the lowest cost provider or offer the greatest service. And yes, I know there are many small micro A.I. companies that will be able to turn a profit. I get that, they are able to keep their overhead so low that they will be able to offer a niche product to small segments of the market place. However, when it comes to the big players, they need to ask themselves, “Am I going to get aggressive and develop distinct bloodlines?” “Are we going to be the lowest price provider?” Alternatively, “Are we going to become legendary for the quality of our service?” Anything that is a smorgasbord of these will only end in extinction in the end. Don’t think so? Look what happened to your local hardware store, when Home Depot moved in, or the independent grocer, when Wal-Mart put up one of their super centers in the same community. Where do you shop today? Who will be your provider tomorrow?

What do you think? Comment below our join the discussion on our facebook page.

Charting the Right Course at Seagull Bay Dairy

· Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

The Andersen Family of American Falls, Idaho knows what it means to focus on family generations. Thirty-five family members strong. Including twenty-five grandchildren, they have the perfect resources to build a dairy team. Currently that effort is headed by Dad Alan, who is the CEO and Mom Norma, the CFO. Son Greg manages Seagull Bay Dairy which is a 600 cow freestall operation with about 80 registered Holsteins while son Ben manages a 1500 cow commercial operation, Andersen Dairy, Inc. which supplies 1800 replacement heifers for both dairy operations.

GENERATING BUSINESS: Built on Generous Goals

With thirty years experience, Alan knows exactly what their success has been built on, “Our goal is to breed elite sires and females that will benefit other breeders and commercial dairymen as well as ourselves.” This strong focus on the people side of the business complements the cattle knowledge that is the foundation of Seagull Bay Dairy. “We like cows that excel in production of milk components (pounds of protein and fat), have quality mammary systems, and are low maintenance.” By each of these measures, the family business is topping the charts but, in the end, it always comes back to people, “We like to sell animals that can make a nice profit for their new owners and generate repeat business that will last for generations.”

Seagull Bay Dairy has had outstanding success. Let’s look at Shauna, Daphne and Minnow who are three outstanding examples:

SOARING WITH SHAUNA

AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA VG-87-2YR-USA

Alan starts the role-call of the generations with Ammon-Peachey Shauna who is a VG-87 Planet X VG-86 Shottle X VG-86 Oman X EX-92 Rudy Missy. Shauna is probably the top genomic bull mother in the breed right now with her top 6 sons averaging over 2450 gtpi and 3500 GLPI. Of five sons now released, she has two top 5 GTPI (Seagull-Bay Supersire & Seagull-Bay Headliner) and two top 5 GLPI (Seagull-Bay Sargent & Seagull-Bay Shaw). Her two snowman sons (Seagull-Bay Platinum & Seagull-Bay Diamond) 2512 GTPI & 3728 GLPI will be a year old this summer. Shauna has a total of 13 sons already accepted into AI with eight of them coming available later this year. Of course, this generates a ripple effect for Andersen’s dairy business, “Shauna and her daughters are undoubtedly our most sought-after females at this time. We have requests for embryos or sale consignments weekly.” Keeping up with demand is a great problem to have. “Shauna’s only Windbrook daughter (Seagull-Bay WNBRK Sunday) sells as Lot #1 in the Canadian National Convention Sale April 19th.” Looking ahead he reports, “Shauna’s oldest daughters will begin flushing in the next couple of months. We have daughters here from Shauna by Snowman, Robust, Plato and Gerard.”

DAPHNE IS A DAIRYMAN’S DELIGHT

PINE-TREE SHARLA DAPHNE VG-87-2YR-USA

Alan then moves on to another performer, Pine-Tree Sharla Daphne (VG-87 2yr). Daphne is also from the Rudy Missy’s and is the #1 GTPI Die-Hard of the breed. She boasts a sire stack of Die-Hard X DOM Shottle X VG-87 Outside X EX-92 Rudy Missy. For Alan her popularity is based on three things, “She offers a unique pedigree with nearly 3 PTAT points and is milking very well.”

THE MINNOW FAMILY: Big Momentum with Minnow

You might think these first two cows could justifiably explain why Seagull Bay is showing up more and more frequently on top dairy breeders’ radar. However, the growing generations of great cattle don’t stop there and Alan shares another notable success story. “We are proud to have developed the Minnow cow family here at Seagull Bay. Lynmead Celsius Minnow (EX 91) had a lifetime total of 255,000 lbs and produced 49,500 lbs as a 4 year old.” He goes on to explain the developing generations which is the Andersen family breeding goal. “Minnow has transmitted outstanding production and type through several generations of her offspring. We now have nine and ten generation VG & EX lines in the Minnow family. Since purchasing Minnow as a milking two year old in 1994 her offspring have consistently risen to the top at Seagull Bay and in several other herds through the years. Just a few highlights include her granddaughter Seagull-Bay Oman May EX-92 as one of Oman’s highest scoring daughters. Oman May is the dam of Seagull-Bay May Pauline, the (VG-86 EX MS) Planet that is the #11 NM cow of the breed.” These are excellent stats in everyone’s measure, but there are more to come. “Minnow’s daughter Seagull-Bay Manat Mirage is the dam of 1 EX and 19 VG daughters so far at Roorda Dairy in Iowa. From the December GTPI lists you could find Mirage and Minnow in 10 of the top 25 GTPI females of the breed. Six females were sired by Mirages grandson Robust while 4 heifers were from the #1 GTPI cow in December Roylane Shot Mindy (VG 85 Shottle X VG-86 Oman X EX Mirage X EX 91Minnow).” Great stats but, lest you think Minnow family members are only on the genomic charts, Alan adds these great numbers, “Mirage’s Oman son Seagull Bay Mano is the current #17 proven sire andMirage is the grand dam of Major (7HO9471) who is the #8 UDC bull of the breed. The currentU.S. cow lists show 3 Minnow family members in the top 50: Roylane Shot MIndy #3, Seagull-Bay Oman Mirror #11 (@ 7 years old), and Seagull-Bay May Pauline #43.” This family has got what it takes and buyers are happily demanding to be part of the success which Seagull Bay strives to meet. “From the Minnow family we have Roorda Observer Majic15272 (GTPI 2422) who is now being flushed. Also flushing are 2 daughters of T-C-G Shottle Minnow (VG-89 1st lactation and All-Idaho Sr. 2) Shottle X VG-87 Toystory X VG-87 Oman X EX Mirage X EX-91 Minnow) by Super (GTPI 2257) and Observer (GTPI 2203).”

Seagull-Bay Oman May EX-92

YOUNG SIRE or PROVEN BULL? Know When the Time is Right Says Andersen

A recurring question among dairy breeders is whether to use young sires or proven bulls. “We use both young sires and proven bulls on our top cow families.” Says Alan Andersen. “If you look closely at Shauna’s offspring most all of them are sired by daughter proven bulls. Now that Shauna has increased in reliability with a great score and production record, we are more comfortable mating her with young sires. We use the young sires to accelerate the genetic progress while realizing there is risk as well as reward.” Timely decision making is working for Seagull Bay.

Proven Sires currently used at Seagull Bay Dairy: Planet, Man-O-Man

Young sires currently used at Seagull Bay Dairy: Supersire, Headliner, Sargeant, Shaw, Numero Uno, Mogul, Lithium, Mayfield, McKutcheon, Lexor, Punch

ANALYZING GENOMIC RISKS: Potential Genetic Progress vs. Potential Genetic Regret

In the same way that all breeding tools are scrutinized by the Seagull Bay team, genomics is carefully considered, “While we believe that the top group of genomic sires will be better than the current top group of proven sires, the obvious risk is that a chosen mating sire for our top females will turn out to be a disappointment. If a hot genomic bull falls out of favor when milking daughters enter his proof, then you have a hole in a previously solid pedigree.” The Andersen’s identify the possible impact of this risk but go on to say,” We continue to use genomic young sires as mating sires because we believe the potential genetic progress outweighs the potential failures. On a cow like Shauna, through IVF we are able to use several different young sires in order to lessen the risk involved if we were only using 2 or 3 different sires to breed the next generation of Shaunas.” Careful planning.

SIRE SELECTION: Pedigrees and Predicted Linears

The same care is taking in choosing sires. “Simply speaking, we use the highest bulls available that have pedigrees and predicted linears that match well with our donors. We also use bulls that have pedigrees that we are excited about. For example, we never used the Facebook bull because his dam is sired by Airraid. While Airraid sires great udders and great components, his stillbirth percent is so high that

we wouldn’t use him even though his TPI is extreme. We will also use the predicted linear of a young bull to protect a cow in an area that needs attention. Young bulls with strong maternal lines will also receive an advantage over bulls with similar indexes but less proven cow families. We used Robust on Shauna because we knew the cows behind him so well that it gave us confidence in him. So far it looks like a great decision and we are pleased to have two breed leading bulls (Supersire & Headliner) and two outstanding heifers (Miss America & Miss Universe) with Seagull Bay on both sides of the pedigree.”

GENOMIC PROGRESS: Seagull Bay Dairy is Flying Toward the Future

This family team is generous in sharing their experience with cattle breeders. Alan warns against following trends. “I wouldn’t advise breeders to change their breeding philosophy too much if what they are doing now is working and bringing them satisfaction. I foresee the genomic predictions continuing to improve. While I think the breed is benefiting from an increased rate of genetic progress with genomic predictions, I also appreciate breeding from strong maternal cow families with several generations of high producing VG & EX cows. The top young sires could have hundreds of daughters in their first crop proof so the production and type data from these daughters will help in the genomic predictions of all bulls. Top sires with outcross pedigrees will continue to be very important as well. As genetic progress accelerates with genomics so will the increase in the breed’s inbreeding percentages. If someone would like to try using genomic young sires then I would advise them to use several sires and try to match complementary pedigrees and linears. Remember that the reliabilities of genomic sires are better than just a parent average but are still well below daughter proven bulls with over 100 daughters. Certainly their proofs will change over time. We just don’t know how great of a change will occur.”

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

“Mating the best available sires to the best available females will on average produce the elite of the next generation. We enjoy working with good cows and always strive to make the next generation better not only for ourselves but for the breeders we do business with” Alan Andersen, Seagull Bay Dairy, Idaho.

To learn more about some of Seagull Bay’s top sires check out our analysis of the Top Genomic TPI sires, and the Top Genomic LPI sires.

Top 10 GPA LPI Review – April 2012

· Comments (1)

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Continuing our look at the top genomic young sires, we now look at the top 10 GPA LPI young sires from Canada. Unlike the US list (Top 10 Genomic TPI Young Sires Review – April 2012) we see a more balanced mix of type and production, as is expected given the differences between the TPI and LPI formulas.
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GLPI-4-12-EBV.csv” icons=”true”]

The following is our analysis of the top 10 GLPI young sires from the April 2012 Genetic Evaluations:

#1 – DE-SU PHOENIX 588

Maintaining his top rank as the #1 GPA LPI young sire in Canada is PHOENIX. From Select Sires, PHOENIX is a Planet from DE-SU 7902 GP-81-2YR-USA DOM, whose dam De-Su Oman 6121 VG-86-2YR-USA DOM GMD has over 20 daughters on the locator list and is the dam of De-Su Observer, the high genomic young sire from Select Sires. PHOENIX combines outstanding production and components with strong conformation. Though a Planet x Bolton cross may raise some concerns about rumps, PHOENIX should inherit his maternal line’s rumps and be ok. The area of strong concern that he does need protected on is his Health and Fertility traits, specifically his daughter fertility and milking speed. PHOENIX will work well on GOLDWYN, SHOTTLE, FEVER, LAUTHORITY, JORDAN blood lines.

#2 – LOOKOUT P ETERNITY

The #2 sire on the list comes from Semex, and WABASH-WAY-I SHOTTLE EMBER VG-85-2YR, who is the Shottle sister to Wabash-Way Emilyann-ET VG-88 DOM who is a former #1 GTPI & CTPI cow of the breed who is the 2^nd generation to hold that title as their dam CROCKETT-ACRES ELITA VG-87-4YR-USA DOM 2* was also a list topper. Look for ETERNITY to sire outstanding production though he may be slightly lower on his components than his pedigree would indicate. Much like his young sire father, Observer (Planet x O Man), ETERNITY will transmit the outstanding mammary systems that come from Observer’s maternal line, DE-SU OMAN 6121-ET VG-86-2YR-USA DOM GMD. Also look for ETERNITY to hold true to his sire stack and need protected on Feet & Legs and Dairy Strength though he has a much better Rump, much like his sire. Look for ETERNITY to work well on GOLDWYN, FEVER, JORDAN, LAUTHORITY blood lines.

#3 – CABON FERNAND

Coming in at #3 is the French bred sire CABON FERNAND. FERNAND’s mother, DANOISE VG-87-3YR-FRA is a fantastic Bolton daughter who stood 3^rd in a strong class of Jr. 2yr-olds at the National Show in Le Mans ’11. According to Angelo Pozzatti (Semex), “This is one of the most consistent transmitting cow families in Europe.”, as is evident by the fact that FERNAND’s direct genomic values far out perform his sire stack and parent averages. Watch for FERNAND to sire much more production and components than his pedigree would indicate, with solid conformation, and better feet & legs than expected. However, he will need to be protected on dairy strength and especially rumps. FERNAND will work best on FEVER, LAUTHORITY, MR BURNS, SHOTTLE blood lines.

#4 – SEAGULL-BAY SHAW

Despite dominating the US GPA TPI list, Selects top Canadian GLPI sire comes in at number 4. SHAW is the Freddie brother to US chart toppers Supersire and Headliner, from AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA VG-87-2YR-USA who is the popular Planet bull dam at Seagull-Bay, tracing back to WESSWOOD-HC RUDY MISSY EX-92-3E USA DOM GMD. As is consistent with the Seagull-Bay breeding program, SHAW has an extremely impressive sire stack (Freddie, Planet, Shottle, O Man) with many of the top sires represented. Watch for SHAW to sire extreme production and component kgs. Similar to his brothers, SHAW will transmit solid conformation and much more dairy strength than his extended pedigree would indicate. SHAW will offer breeders a solid option that can mate well with many top bloodlines.

#5 – GENERVATIONS LEXOR

Former #1 LPA-LPI sire LEXOR holds strong at #5 for GenerVations. LEXOR is from the illustrious COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89-5YR-CAN, All-Ontario Sr. 2-YR 2008 and Nom. All-Canadian Sr 2YR 2008 from the legendary 1.15 million dollar cow LYLEHAVEN LILA Z EX-94-CAN 11*. Watch for LEXOR to sire the Canadian Kind, solid components, and balanced production, with better fat and percentage components than his pedigree would indicate. Picking up from his maternal grandsire, Goldwyn, LEXOR will sire much better feet & legs than you would expect as well as greater dairy strength, coming from his maternal side. LEXOR should work well on FEVER, GOLDWYN, JORDAN, LAUTHORITY, SHOTTLE blood lines.

#6 – RUGG-DOC ARTFUL

The second OBSERVER son on the list and #6 is ARTFUL. ARTFUL is from the same maternal family as former #3 LPI sire Morningview Ashlar also from SEMEX. Tracing back to the great foundation cows MORNINGVIEW CONVERSE JUDY EX-93-5YR-USA DOM GMD. According to Tom Schmitt, “Judy was 15 years ahead of her time from a health trait standpoint.” This cow family has done extremely well in many different herds all around the world, with Heidenskipster Shottle Silver VG-87-NL-2YR and La Felce Seratta VG-88-IT drawing great attention in Europe. Look for ARTFUL to sire extreme fat improvement with solid production. ARTFUL will also sire the balanced type that is the core of the Semex program. He leaves much greater dairy strength and rumps than his sire stack would indicate, offering the outstanding mammary system improvement that is the staple of his paternal line. Expect him to mate well on PLANET, FEVER, GOLDWYN, JORDAN, BOLTON daughters.

#7 – LEOTHE DEXTERMAN

In much the same way that Select Sires dominate the GPA TPI list, Semex is dominating the CDN GLPI list with their third of five sires. DEXTERMAN offers outstanding component improvement though he should be protected on overall production. Not surprising considering his dam LEOTHE BAXTER DAPHNEE VG-86-2YR-CAN just squeezed out 10,799 kgs in a 365-day record. DEXTERMAN’s maternal line shows generation after generation of solid confirmation with average production. Look for DEXTERMAN to offer solid durability and health traits with balanced conformation. DEXTERMAN will fit the bill when looking for extreme component improvement, though considering his sire stack (Man-O-Man x Baxter) he does underperform on the milk side. Look for him to breed much as his maternal line strong conformation, outstanding components, but needs protected on overall production. Watch for DEXTERMAN to mate well on MR BURNS, SHOTTLE, LONGTIME, ALTAALLEGRO, ALADDIN daughters.

#8 – DE-SU 541 BARTLETT

BARLETT’s dam DE-SU 7049-ET VG-85-2YR-USA DOM is a Shottle sister to the popular Planet young sire DE-SU OBSERVER. Progeny from DE-SU OMAN 6121 VG-86-2YR-USA DOM GMD has dominated the top GTPI cow lists. BARTLETT, Select’s 3^rd sire on the list, to offer a very balanced package, with much greater fat improvement than his pedigree would indicate. Much like his sire, Planet, BARTLETT will sire outstanding mammary system improvement, as well as good feet and legs. However, I would be cautious in looking for him to be a rump improver, as other than Shottle, many of the sires in his pedigree need to be protected in this area. BARLETT should work well on FEVER, GOLDWYN, JORDAN, LAUTHORITY blood lines.

#9 – SULLY HART MERIDIAN

MERIDIAN is another son of a young sire RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN (Toystory x Outside) from Trans-America Genetics. His dam SULLY PLANET MANITOBA GP-83-2YR-USA DOM is a Planet sister to US chart topper MCCUTCHEN from SULLY SHOTTLE MAY VG-85-3YR-USA DOM. May is believed to have more offspring genomic tested over 2200 & 2300 GPTI than any other cow in the breed. Much like the other sires in his family MERIDIAN will sire extreme balance of production and conformation with the potential for breed leading conformation. His direct genomic value (DGV) for conformation is an outstanding 21 and his DGV’s for mammary system (20) and dairy strength (19) are equally impressive. One area to protect MERIDIAN is %F as his DGV’s for % fat is -0.38.

#10 – HFP ALTAQUANTUM

AltaAQUANTUM’s dam, BERSAGLIO O-MAN QUALISIASI VG-87-2YR-ITA is one of the highest contracted dams in Europe and one of the best O Man’s in the world. During her first lactation this well balanced, shallow uddered )-Man daughter scored the maximum score of VG-87 as a 2YR old and produced almost 13,000 kg of milk. Grand dam of AltaQUANTUM is the very fancy BERSAGLIO MTOTO LOCANDA VG-87-3YR-ITA, one of the best and most requested Mtoto daughters in Europe. Next dam is Bersaglio Corsa VG86, a powerful, deep cow sired by Del Santo Corsaro (Aerostar x Chief Mark). The cow family behind AltaQUANTUM has lots of production, health and functional type in the pedigree. Watch for AltaQUANTUM to sire strong production with balanced type. Contrary to what his sire stack would indicate, he will sire strong conformation improvement (DGV of 17 for conformation compared to EBV PA of 7). Also, expect AltaQUANTUM to be a strong mammary system improver with a very similar type-breeding pattern to his sire, Planet, but with a little bit better rumps.

For more information check out The Bullvine Bull Book or our Genetic Evaluation Resource Center.

Top 10 Genomic TPI Young Sires Review – April 2012

· Comments (4)

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

With 8 of the top 10 Genomic TPI™ young sires being themselves sons of young sires, there is no question that breeders of these top animals have confidence in genomics and are using it to shorten their genetic intervals.
[csv2table source=”https://www.thebullvine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Top-10-Genomic-TPI-Young-Sires-–-April-2012.csv” icons=”true”]
The following is our analysis of the top 10 GTPI young sires from the April 2012 Genetic Evaluations:

#1 – AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO

Holding on to his #1 spot despite 7 new members in the top 10, NUMERO UNO from Semex possess an international pedigree. Sired by a MAN-O-MAN he is only one of two sires on this list that are not themselves sired by young sires. His dam AMIGHETTI SHOTTLE AVE VG-88-2YR-ITA in an unparalleled Italian source for GTPI. The foundation of the family is Center-Field Elevation Berta, directly imported from the U.S. Watch for NUMERO UNO to sire well-balanced cattle that have strong mammary systems and great feet and legs. Surprisingly watch for him to be an outstanding Rump improver that you may not expect from a Man-O-Man son. A couple of areas that he may not perform as well as his sire stack may indicate are his overall production and protein kgs. NUMERO UNO will mate well with typical daughters of Planet, Bolton, Stol Joc and Mr Burns.

#2 – SEAGULL-BAY SUPERSIRE

#2 on the GTPI list is SUPERSIRE, the more genomicically gifted of the Robust full brothers from AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA VG-87-2YR-USA who is the popular Planet bull dam at Seagull-Bay. Both being sampled at Select Sires, and tracing back to WESSWOOD-HC RUDY MISSY EX-92-3E USA DOM GMD. SUPERSIRE himself is a son of a test sire ROYLANE SOCRA ROBUST (Socrates x O-Man) that is from another Seagull-Bay cow family SEAGULL-BAY OMAN MIRROR VG-86-3YR-USA DOM who is the #1 O Man of the breed. SUPERSIRE sires outstanding production with solid components and sound durability and health and fertility traits. SUPERSIRE will sire solid confirmation across the board. Watch for SUPERSIRE to sire much better components than his full brother. Though some may consider it risky using a young sire who himself is a son of a young sire, SUPERSIRE will work well on many of the top sires though he needs to be protected on milking speed.

#3 – DE-SU BKM MCCUTCHEN 1174

Also from Select sires comes MCCUTCHEN from SULLY SHOTTLE MAY VG-85-3YR-USA DOM. May is believed to have more offspring genomic tested over 2200 & 2300 GPTI than any other cow in the breed. MCCUTCHEN is himself a son of a young sire DE-SU 521 BOOKEM (Planet x Ramos). MCCUTCHEN`s genomic pattern shows the potential to sire extreme balance of production and conformation with the potential for breed leading conformation with the ability to improve all major composites. Similar to SUPERSIRE, MCCUTCHEN will work well on many of the top sires though he needs to be protected on milking speed.

#4 – SEAGULL-BAY HEADLINER

The full brother to #2 on the list, SUPERSIRE, HEADLINER will sire a little more protein than his higher ranked full brother. The biggest difference between the two may be SUPERSIRES ability to leave more desirable rumps. HEADLINER and his full brother SUPERSIRE are a testament to keeping the genetic interval as tight as possible, with the tight cross of young sire on Planet then Shottle followed by O Man and Rudolph. Their dam Shauna has the unique ability to sire top ranking sires in both the US (TPI) and Canada (LPI). HEADLINER will work well on many of the top sires though he needs to be protected on milking speed and calving ease.

#5 – MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL

The second of the previous top 10 GTPI young sires to retain his top rank is MOGUL. He, is also a son of a young sire COYNE-FARMS DORCY and like many others on this list is also from Select Sires. MOGUL is a testament to his strong maternal lines as his EBV’s far outperforms his sire stack. Look for MOGUL to offer a strong balanced offering but needs to be protected on his rump. Though he will leave much greater dairyness and strength than this sire stack would indicate. Similar to SUPERSIRE and HEADLINER, MOGUL’s maternal pedigree traces back to WESSWOOD-HC RUDY MISSY EX-92-3E USA DOM GMD. Mogul’s Dam MOUNTFIELD MARSH MAXINE VG-88-2YR-USA DOM being a great granddaughter. MOGUL offers a nice outcross as there is no GOLDWYN, PLANET, or SHOTTLE in it. MOGUL makes a nice cross for SHOTTLE bloodlines.

#6 – S-S-I DOMAIN LITHIUM

Continuing their dominance of the top GTPI lists Select adds LITHIUM. Similar to the other additions LITHIUM is himself a son of a young sire, RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN (Toystory x Outside) from Trans-America Genetics. LITHIUM is a riskier choice to use, as his Genomic values are significantly lower than that of his parent averages, or sire stack would indicate. Of specific note is the much lower values for dairy strength, rump, fat and overall production. LITHIUM will sire strong udders and feet and legs with solid production. Though additional consideration should be given to lactation persistency and milking speed.

#7 – DE-SU 1263 “RANSOM”

From Androgenetics comes another ROYLANE SOCRA ROBUST (Socrates x O-Man) son. Similar to SUPERSIRE and HEADLINER, RANSOM is genomically gifted beyond his sire stack, transmitting much more milk, fat and rump improvement than his pedigree would indicate. RANSOM will sire extreme improvement in feet and legs though may need to be protected on dairy strength. Continuing in the breeding pattern of other sires from De-Su, RANSOM has a tight genetic sire stack with a young sire being used on a Romas daughter from Shottle followed by O Man.

#8 – RONELEE SSI O DADDY

At this rate we are going to need to start to call this the Select Sires New Release list (For more on this read Should A.I. Companies Own Females?). Like so many others on this list, DADDY is a son of a young sire himself (For more on this read The Genomic Advancement Race – The Battle For Genetic Supremacy) that also traces back to breeding at De-Su. His sire is Observer (Planet x O Man) son of DE-SU OMAN 6121-ET VG-86-2YR-USA DOM GMD. However, unlike many of the other sires on our list after his sire, DADDY’s pedigree is actually a little dated and contributes to him being one of the lowest sire stacks in the top 10. This puts a lot of weight on his sire to carry a lot of the genetic weight. Daddy will sire strong production though will need to be protected on Fat. The surprising part, given his sire stack, will be his ability to sire strong dairy cattle that walk on a solid set of feet and legs. However, much like his pedigree predicts he will need to be protected on Feet & Legs. His daughters should be extremely durable though may need to be protected on milking speed.

#9 – ROYLANE BOXER PUNCH 4311

Would you be surprised if I told you that PUNCH is also from Select? Well he is. Again he is a son of young sire, Boxer (Shottle x Goldwyn) that is from the Barbie’s at Regancrest. PUNCH is a brother to the heavily used young sire ROBUST, that is the sire of SUPERSIRE, HEADLINER, and RANSOM from our top list. Watch for PUNCH to sire strong components and very balanced type. Watch for PUNCH to sire much more durable daughters with better health traits that his sire stack would indicate. His daughters will be much stronger than you would expect with O Man, Manat, and Celsius in the pedigree. While his daughters may not be as high production as others, watch for PUNCH to add the balanced that you would expect from the conformation from his paternal side and production from the maternal side.

#10 – MINNIGAN-HILLS DAY

The third sire of the previous top 10 sires to maintain their status on the list, DAY, offers a great combination of type and production. While DAY’s pedigree might spell just average type watch for him to be a potential breed leader. He will sire outstanding udders, feet & legs and surprisingly rumps and strength. The part that he does not live up to his pedigree or sire stack on is his production. He does need to be protected on production, though he will sire better components than expected.

For more information check out The Bullvine Bull Book or our Genetic Evaluation Resource Center.

They`re Sold On Polled!!

· Comments (0)

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

The next time dehorning rises to the top of your to do list, you might want to think about information provided by Bryan Quanbury and Roy MacGregor of Dairy Bulls Online. They are promoting polled genetics as the solution that saves labour, reduces stress and improves consumer image. What more could you ask when faced with one of the most disliked jobs on the farm?

NO Horns PLEASE! It solves problems on both sides of the fence

Consumers both on and off the farm are concerned with animal welfare issues. Good farmers always seek the best for their livestock. In Europe many details of animal treatment have become legislated. Dairybullsonline states it in easily understood terms. “Any job on your farm that you cannot do in front of a bus load of school children is a job that will not be tolerated in the very near future.” Therefore “Dehorning at conception is the cleanest, easiest, safest, and most humane way to remove horns, and because the polled gene is also a dominant trait it can be bred into existing lines quickly. With polled you see the value 50% of the time on Heterozygous bulls and 100% polled calves with bulls carrying both genes (Homozygous).”

Find Your Niche in this Un-Common Market

For Holstein breeders the market for polled cattle is relatively new, yet the challenge of the small population is a potential opportunity. “The biggest challenge without question has been the small population, however, there are breeders who would argue the rarity or scarcity of polled genetics has been its biggest marketing advantage and provides them with a niche in a crowded marketplace.” There have been many changes in the past five years with the shifting focus toward genomics. Bryan recognizes that “Bulls with genomic potential are selling briskly in the genomics market.” Having said that he notes “The best young genomic bulls are selling out!”

The Market is Hot on Polled

The market is looking closely at polled genetics for several reasons. One, as stated previously, is that animal welfare concerns are growing and the presence and power of social media is demanding transparency in regards to the animal welfare practises on our farms. Polled genetics is a proactive response to this concern. Secondly the potential is huge. Bryan points out, “Less than 1 % of the Holstein population is polled. When you factor in the prices polled females have been bringing lately and take a look at those who have been buying them you can see the market is heating up.” Everyone takes notice when there is market demand and good sale prices coming together. “Ask anyone with a polled female at or near 2000 GTPI what kind of interest they are getting, and they will all tell you everyone is trying to buy them, and the A.I and embryo interest is extreme.” These are all good indicators that the time is right for polled genetics. Roy and Bryan add two more: “Breeders are mating some of the world’s top cows to polled bulls. There is a six month waiting list for the best young genomic heterozygous polled bulls.”

Broad Market Appeal

It is just good business to know where your market is before you jump onto the latest bandwagon. Dairybullsonline see a reassuringly wide response. “All markets have expressed interest from breeders to large scale commercial operations to organic producers and European markets. There are some who are looking for an outcross alternative or for genetics with that little extra edge for embryo and A.I. interests.” Having said that the partners sum up with, “It may actually be easier to ask what markets are not pursuing polled genetics!”

Answer the Tough Questions

At this point, you might be asking yourself, “Why would I use a polled sire that is much lower genomically than non-polled sire?” The DairyBullsOnline team answers, “They are not much lower. In fact they are within one generation. The Genomic predictions on polled bulls are comparable to proven bulls. In December there are 50 Proven bulls over 2000 TPI and there were 9 Polled bulls above 2000 GTPI.” If you need more convincing, they say to consider this, “Genomics has shown polled is within one generation (9 months) of being on an equal playing field with all the top animals. Anyone that breeds their top animals say 2400 GTPI to one of those top genomic Polled bulls can instantly create polled offspring that PA’s around 2200, and the law of averages says half of these will be higher genomically than their PA. Any polled bull this high is extremely marketable. The next generation can be bred back to the very top of the gene pool creating even more marketable polled genetics.”

VENTURE GOLDWYN SOUP P, Dam of #1 & #6 TPI Polled Females

The Time is Right to De-Horn In

If you’re still sitting on the horns of this dilemma, you will be interested in the success stories that Bryan and Roy give as examples. “In 2011 16 polled females from the top of the polled list sold at public auction. They averaged over $35,000 and two polled picks averaged $40,000 At $82,000 the top seller at the 2011 World Classic was a polled female.” If that whets your appetite, here are some more great stats: “The two largest offerings of top Polled animals at auction were at Arron Doon Dispersal 2008. The herd average was $4800. The average of the 12 Polled females was $13000. The Pine-Tree 2011 Sale averaged $11,000 with 14 Polled animals averaging over $15,000.” Everyone in the market place is looking to stand out. Quanbury says, “Anyone with a female at or near 2000 GTPI today knows it’s hard to draw attention, but if you have a polled female that high both A.I and embryo contracts will be coming at you from all directions.” If that makes you want to sharpen your investment pencil, there are obviously many considerations ahead of you.

LOOKOUT PESCE MAGNA P SARAH, #2 GTPI Red Polled heifer in North America and Top Seller at World Classic 2011 Holstein Sale

Polled Genetics is as easy as 1,2,3,4

MacGregor and Quanbury list four guidelines for taking advantage of this market.

Pay attention to who is buying those top polled females. Watch what they are doing.
Use a polled bull on only 10% of your flushes, to create that polled female or male everybody wants.
As top polled females are currently very expensive you may need to partner up and spread your risk.
Start.

BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

“We know the breed will not be polled in 10 years, but we believe in 10 years bulls that transmit the recessive horn trait will be very hard to market. Today there are about a dozen polled bulls over 2000 GTPI. Next year that will double. We expect that trend to continue for some time.” Bryan Quanbury and Roy MacGregor.

Has Genomics Knocked Out Hot House Herds?

· Comments (1)

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

For years there has been an unspoken awareness that some herds appeared to be able to “work the genetic indexing system.” These herds clearly understood how genetic indexing systems work in their country and how to manipulate the composition of their herd in order to achieve the highest ranking possible for some top members of the herd. It was possible to pick these herds out, they had top females and even though they had many sons sampled out of them, seldom were able to produce a top ranking sire, especially for total merit. This scenario played out in all major countries that use the BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) system. Fast forward to the top total merit rankings since genomic testing has become available. At first glance it appears there might be a lot less of those animals on the list. The question is: “Has genomics knocked out all of these animals from the top lists?”

How It Was Done In The Past

First it is necessary to understand what was happening in the past. Since indexing calculations are based on the variance compared to herd and genetic base, the greater the difference the greater the gain or loss in the result. Putting that into practice takes two areas: conformation and production evaluations. The following is a breakdown on how both were done.

Conformation

In order to get maximum results from their genetics programs, many top programs needed to have their top cattle score significantly higher than the other animals scored that same day. While many people deemed these herds “Hot Houses”, in reality they are just working the BLUP system to get maximum results. Since the calculations also took into account the genetics of the other animals scored, these “hot house” herds needed to have daughters of high type bulls that would score lower than the selected cattle that were typically sired by bulls with lesser conformation scores. For example, you have a low value cow sired by a +14 conformation sire that goes 79 points, and a high conformation cow sired by a +6 conformation sire that goes 86 points. This would provide the selected cow with the greatest difference over the expected value and have significant improvement in their EBV for conformation and thereby in their overall total merit.

It’s in these herds that you may have seen a “good group” and a “bad group” of the herd, with a corresponding difference in management and presentation of the groups. While it’s normal in any herd to have the high value or “family favorites” get some level of preferential treatment, these herds took it to a new level. While this sounds bad, in reality it was necessary in order to achieve top rankings. For the classifier visit the good group was show ready and the bad group was ready to head for beef. (Though if you read “Tom Byers: It’s Classified” you realize that this really does not make that big a difference for the professional classifier).

In contrast to the “hot house” herds who try to have a high herd average score (for example the average 2yr old score of 83+ points) find it very hard to get high indexing conformation females. With very little difference in scores from the top to bottom of the herd, there is less herd variance, contributing to a lowering of their overall rankings. Since these herds where not a cross section representation of the breed population and BLUP treats them as if there were, these cattle actually get somewhat penalized for being a member of a great herd.

In order to have maximum impact, herds wanting to have high index’s needed to have maximum within herd variance. This meant that they have to have a true cross section of the breed present in their herd, as opposed to just the best of the best, like many of these breeders would have liked. It’s also for these reasons why niche type sire sampling programs need to be used in all types of herds not just high conformation breeding programs.

Production

The story is not that different on the production side. Here the comparisons are for milk, fat and protein yields on a within test day basis. Adjustments are made for a cow’s age, lactation number, stage of lactation, month / season…etc.

In order to maximize the increase in production genetic evaluations, these “hot house” herds needed to have underperforming daughters of high production sires, that were being out produced by the selected females that were typically sired by more balanced sire who’s production index may not be as high. In Canada, this is where you would see females with very high (i.e. +200 and more) BCA deviations. Sometimes you would see deviations that were greater than even their herd average BCA. You ask yourself “How could one cow on the same feed, same treatment, same exact program, produce twice as much milk as another cow?” While it sounds unrealistic, it was necessary in order to gain maximum results. All breeders have seen cows that can out produce herd mates by 30, 40 even 50%, but when you see them doing more than double (100%) it raises questions in the minds of people with practical cow sense. Hence why some herds are stamped as “Hot House’s.”

How Genomics Has Changed Things

With the introduction of genomic evaluations in August 2009, the effects that any “hot house” efforts can have has been reduced in the genetic indexing systems. This is because for young cows in first or second lactation, the relative weighting for Direct Genomic Value (DGV) compared to traditional Estimated Breeding Values (EBV) is roughly 55:45 (Source: Canadian Dairy Network). What that means is that if a “hot house” cow would have had a 300 point jump from these types of efforts, they now would only see a 165 point jump. While it would still have an effect, genomics has greatly decreased the “hot house” effect. Remember that the female family members of each cow are being re-evaluated as well. Additionally those females formerly lower on the listings, but that were in herds where practices are normal, could now move up the genetic index rankings.

The other factor that Genomics has brought into play is that, if a particular animal is not gifted with the best genomics her parents had to offer, she will also see a significant drop. So let’s say that a cow has an EBV-PA of +2500 LPI or TPI, but her genomic panel comes back with a LPI or TPI value of +1500. That cow would see a drop of about 450 points. Dropping her to an LPI or TPI of +2050. This takes her from being near the top of the list to almost out of consideration. All this is outside the control of any on-farm practices. It’s for these reasons I am sure that some owners now get nervous when opening their genomic results letters. This single test can have the biggest effect on the genetic profitability of any cow. It can even have a greater effect than the classification. With GLPI’s and GTPI’s now over 60% reliable, adding animal performance information now has much less influence than in the past.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The great news is that genetic indexes that contain animal genomic information are not as influenced by preferential treatment or herd variance as traditional genetic indexes are. Since genomic values are based on evaluations of thousands of cattle in many different herds, in many different environments, and in different countries, the ability of a “hot house” to greatly change results has been significantly diminished. That is not to say it has been totally removed. Remember that 45% of the new GLPI formula is still based on an animal’s performance compared to contemporaries. Therefore, these efforts will still have an effect. It is for these reasons that you see some previously prominent cows and cow families are now absent from the top female lists. Am I saying that these cattle may not be great investment? No, what I am saying is consider these factors when making your purchase decision. Do your homework before selecting, breeding, merchandising or buying. GLPI’s, GTPI’s and DVG’s will help you make more informed decisions, but remember they are just a tool.

Not sure what all this hype about genomics is all about?

Want to learn what it is and what it means to your breeding program?

Download this free guide.

Should A.I. Companies Own Females?

· Comments (6)

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

The debate is back! While Artificial Insemination companies have owned females for many years, with recent dominance by some AI breeding programs on the TOP GTPI list in the US and the upcoming ability for breeders to sample their own bulls, the debate is at the forefront again!

Lessons from the Past

Over the years there have actually been many examples, with mixed results when A.I. companies have owned their own female bloodlines.

AltaGenetics
Back in 2001 Alta Genetics caused considerable stir when they planned to take their embryo program and convert it into a 1000 elite females test herd to have sires sampled through 100 contracted progeny test herds. While the program had many supporters from the genetic advancement side, it was seen as very risky and ultimately was put on hold when Alta purchased Network Genetics. The herd was then dispersed to farms owned by Alta in Canada and Holland and in four independent herds in the U.S.
GenerVations
GenerVations is probably a great example of an A.I. program that has had a lot of success owning their own female bloodlines. Starting with Albert Cormier’s part ownership of Skys-The-Limit Claire where he was able to maximize profits from both sides, thanks to Champion. Continued by GenerVations part ownership of Lylehaven Lila Z, owning female bloodlines has been what enables GenerVations to compete on a global scale. Not being able to have a large sampling program, GenerVations has had to focus on potency rather than volume. Selecting on the very top bloodlines and putting all your eggs in a few baskets means GenerVations has to take a larger risk than the big A.I. companies. Owning top females has helped them manage the risk.
Genex CRI
The Genex CRI Genesis program has been around since 1989. While heavily focused on top Index cattle they have been able to achieve success on the female side with such cattle as MS Pride Plnt Tasket 788-ET who tops TPI and Lifetime Net Merit lists. On the male side, the Genex program has proven to be very stable in their bull program. The 54 Co-op prefix bulls averaged a mere $1 drop in Lifetime Net Merit (LNM) as they transitioned from genomic-only genetic evaluations in August 2010 to daughter-proven genetic evaluations in December 2011 (minimum of 40 daughters). The average change among the 1,879 bulls industry wide over the same time period was a $22 decrease.
St. Jacobs ABC
While the St. Jacobs ABC’s Judges Choice program has been around for many years marketed in partnership with ABS Global. They have more recently entered into the ownership of top female bloodlines with the purchase of Ashlyn, Hezbollah, and Barbara. Choosing to focus on established show cattle has meant that the Judges Choice program has been focused on young sire sales with sires achieve proven status being an added bonus.
Select Sires
Probably the A.I. Company making the biggest waves today is Select Sires. Select has been very aggressive in the ownership of top genomic females to the point that on the December Top 200 Genomic Female list they owned 18% of the top 50 new genomics heifers in the US. With Ladys-Manor PL Shamrock and others, Select Sires is investing heavily in ownership of top genomics females in order to produce the next generation of top TPI Sires.

The Genomic Game Changer

The biggest reason this issue is coming up again is because genomics is changing the prominence of industry sires with no daughter proof data, and virgin heifers are now in heavy demand as for contract matings. Genomics has deceased the risk to such a level that it can be very economically viable for these A.I. companies to invest in top bloodlines and increase their genetic advancement rate faster than their competition. By being able to control the matings on these top females and use top (often unproven ) genomic sires on these virgin heifers they will be able to greatly increase their rate of advancement over their competition, and in fact fast than even top breeders. That is because they will have access to their own top genomics young sires sooner. They can use them on contract matings far faster than any breeder can. This gives them a distinct competitive advantage over both other A.I. companies and over breeders.

The Question of Ownership

A.I. companies owning females seems to be a very touchy issue for many breeders. While many of these companies are perfectly within their rights legally, it comes down to a question of public perception. Many companies, such as Semex, have taken a very vocal position that they do not own females. Given that Semex is a member owned co-operative, it’s understandable that they do not want to be in competition with their breeders, many of whom are the top suppliers of sires to many A.I. companies worldwide. However, Select Sires is also a federation of nine farmer-owned-and-controlled cooperatives. You could not have two more extremely opposite positions from two very similarly owned companies.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Genomics has changed the breeding world. However, it has also created a wild wild west environment where both breeders and A.I. companies are figuring out what the new world will look like. Will A.I. companies be nothing more than service companies that deliver genetics from many sources (much like a Wal-Mart) where they are more based on quality of service and customer experience than the genetics they have to offer? Will more and more top breeders try to increase their own profits and sample their own sires? (Watch www.thebullvine.com for articles on these issues coming shortly) The important thing to note is that some A.I. companies have taken early steps to control the source and supply top genetic animals to their customers. The world is changing and so will the inter-relationship between breeders and A.I. companies, in many cases they are no longer just a customer they are now a competitor.

What do you think? Leave your comments in the box below.

Why Breeding Recommendations are like Butts

· Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

It’s all depends on the genes. Still determining what sire to mate your cattle to can be very challenging. Your local A.I. representative will probably tell you to mate the cow to their highest ranked sire or whatever bull seems to be the flavor of the month. Your neighbor will tell you to mate your cow to whatever sire worked well in their herd. In addition, the local feed salesmen or cattle dealer are no different they all have an opinion. So what is a breeder supposed to do?

Do you mate for production, do you mate for index or maybe it’s the next great show calf? No matter what your goals are, you need to have clear ones. Due to heritability of traits, t can take many generations to improve certain traits significantly. That’s why you can often infuse production into a pedigree in 1 or 2 generations, but it can take 3-6 generations to have a significant effect on calving ease, feet and legs and other less heritable traits.

You will often find that the A.I. studs will contract top cattle to the extreme sires, leaving the breeders with the risk of getting the duds. That’s not because they want to screw up your breeding programs. It’s because they are looking for the extremes. They are typically working with the donor population that has proven to excel in both type and production, and are looking to produce that extreme sire. They are willing to sample 2-3 sons out of cow to get that one that hits the mark. For their profitability and breeding program that is a measured risk that they are willing to accept.

On the other hand, as the cattle breeder who wants to gain maximum genetic gain as well as marketability can you afford to use these extreme cases? The answer is most likely, “No!” From a genetic standpoint by having, “dud” females hit your donor’s proof you end up hurting her index. From a marketing standpoint having “less than attractive” daughters of your top cattle can be a sales killer.

This is why you always need to protect the matings on your top donors. While it would be worthwhile to do one or two matings for the extremes to produce the next generation of bull dams or donor cattle you really need to mate to the balanced approach as well.

With that in mind, we have prepared balanced mating recommendations for 50 of the top in demand sires in the world.

Search

Archive for Genomics – Page 3

Why haven’t breeders adopted polled genetics?

Should breeders care?

Are there any polled genetics worth using?

How can you tell if your calf is a polled carrier?

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

Top GTPI Cows

Top Genomic LPI (GLPI) Cows

Top GTPI *RC and R&W Females USA

Top GTPI Polled Females USA

Top Genomic Females in the U.S.

Top GLPI Heifers

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

Jersey the More Efficient Engine

New Zealand Leading the Way

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

What is Heritability?

Why Should You Care About Heritability?

What Should You Do About Traits With Low Heritabilities?

What is the Heritability of Type Traits?

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

Genetic Advantage

Service vs. Price

The Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

GENERATING BUSINESS: Built on Generous Goals

SOARING WITH SHAUNA

DAPHNE IS A DAIRYMAN’S DELIGHT

THE MINNOW FAMILY: Big Momentum with Minnow

YOUNG SIRE or PROVEN BULL? Know When the Time is Right Says Andersen

ANALYZING GENOMIC RISKS: Potential Genetic Progress vs. Potential Genetic Regret

SIRE SELECTION: Pedigrees and Predicted Linears

GENOMIC PROGRESS: Seagull Bay Dairy is Flying Toward the Future

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

Other posts you might like:

#1 – DE-SU PHOENIX 588

#2 – LOOKOUT P ETERNITY

#3 – CABON FERNAND

#4 – SEAGULL-BAY SHAW

#5 – GENERVATIONS LEXOR

#6 – RUGG-DOC ARTFUL

#7 – LEOTHE DEXTERMAN

#8 – DE-SU 541 BARTLETT

#9 – SULLY HART MERIDIAN

#10 – HFP ALTAQUANTUM

Other posts you might like:

#1 – AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO

#2 – SEAGULL-BAY SUPERSIRE

#3 – DE-SU BKM MCCUTCHEN 1174

#4 – SEAGULL-BAY HEADLINER

#5 – MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL

#6 – S-S-I DOMAIN LITHIUM

#7 – DE-SU 1263 “RANSOM”

#8 – RONELEE SSI O DADDY

#9 – ROYLANE BOXER PUNCH 4311

#10 – MINNIGAN-HILLS DAY

Other posts you might like:

NO Horns PLEASE! It solves problems on both sides of the fence

Find Your Niche in this Un-Common Market

The Market is Hot on Polled

Broad Market Appeal

Answer the Tough Questions

The Time is Right to De-Horn In

Polled Genetics is as easy as 1,2,3,4

BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

Other posts you might like:

How It Was Done In The Past

Conformation

Production

How Genomics Has Changed Things

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Other posts you might like:

Lessons from the Past

The Genomic Game Changer

The Question of Ownership