Archive for Herd Improvement

Germany’s August 2025 Holstein Rankings Reveal New Genetic Kings

German sire just hit RZG 148 – that’s $2,400 more lifetime profit per cow than industry average bulls.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Just spent the morning analyzing Germany’s August 2025 Holstein evaluations, and the results are frankly stunning. The pace of genomic progress is relentless—we’re seeing genomic bulls like Evenstar and Pennywise hitting an incredible RZG 164, while the top daughter-proven bull, Zivet, commands the proven rankings at an already elite RZG 147. For breeders, that 17-point RZG gap between the proven king and the new genomic leaders can translate to thousands of dollars in lifetime profit per cow. The standout in the proven list is Zivet at RZG 147, delivering over +1,900 kg of milk with phenomenal components. In the Red Holstein world, Ginger leads the proven sires at RZG 143 with a staggering +2,638 kg milk proof. But the real story is genomics: sires like Schach (RZG 161) and Evenstar (RZG 164) are pushing production and functional traits to new heights simultaneously. Germany’s focus on polled genetics is also paying off, with bulls like Create P offering elite merit without horns.

Holstein genetics, genomic testing, dairy profitability, herd improvement, German bull proofs

The German Holstein breeding landscape continues to demonstrate remarkable genetic advancement, with the August 2025 evaluations revealing exceptional bulls across both proven and genomic categories.

Daughter-Proven Excellence

The daughter-proven category is dominated by Zivet, who commands the rankings with an RZG of 147. This exceptional bull demonstrates remarkable balance, with production figures of +1,971 kg milk, +88 kg fat, and +86 kg protein. His functional trait profile is equally impressive, featuring a longevity score (RZN) of 121 and an overall health score (RZGes) of 113. With 422 daughters proven across 184 herds, Zivet‘s genetic merit is built on substantial reliability.

Following closely, Mirco maintains his position as a top-performing professional with an RZG of 144. His production profile shows +1,363 kg of milk, +65 kg of fat, and +59 kg of protein, combined with strong functional traits, including an RZN of 122 and excellent udder health scores.

Genomic Innovation

In the genomic sphere, Evenstar leads with an outstanding RZG of 164. This Real Syn son exhibits exceptional genetic potential, with projections of +2,090 kg of milk, +120 kg of fat, and +69 kg of protein. His balanced profile includes strong functional traits with an RZN of 134 and an RZGes of 109, positioning him as a premier choice for progressive breeding programs.

Matching the top spot is Pennywise, another genomic standout with an RZG of 164. This Picard son shows remarkable production potential (+1,761 kg milk, +124 kg fat, +76 kg protein) while maintaining an excellent balance of functional traits.

Red Holstein Distinction

The Red Holstein proven category showcases Ginger at the pinnacle with an RZG of 143. Proven through 510 daughters, this Gywer RDC son delivers a staggering +2,638 kg of milk, +85 kg of fat, and +90 kg of protein. His exceptional production is complemented by solid functional traits, including a longevity score (RZN) of 115.

Ghost Red emerges as another proven leader with an RZG of 139. His proof includes +1,904 kg of milk, but with a negative fat deviation, alongside a positive protein contribution, demonstrating the genetic diversity available within elite Red Holsteins.

Leading the genomic Red Holstein evaluation, Schach achieves an impressive RZG of 161. This Skat P RDC son represents the cutting edge of genomic selection, with production estimates of +1,910 kg milk, +98 kg fat, and +63 kg protein and a strong longevity potential (RZN 137).

Create P and Coco Red P both achieve an RZG of 161, demonstrating the depth of excellence in the Red Holstein population. Create P projects +1,291 kg milk, +65 kg fat, and +66 kg protein, while Coco Red P delivers +2,006 kg milk, +67 kg fat, and +80 kg protein.

Key Genetic Trends and Market Implications

The August 2025 evaluations highlight several key trends shaping the modern dairy industry. The emergence of genomic bulls like Evenstar and Pennywise with RZG values of 164 indicates that selection programs are successfully pushing the boundaries of genetic potential.

This genetic gain is directly translated to the milk tank. Production capabilities have reached new heights, with sires like the proven bull Ginger (+2,638 kg) and the genomic leader Evenstar (+2,090 kg) setting new benchmarks for milk yield while maintaining functional trait balance. This addresses the core need for profitable and productive cows.

Furthermore, these rankings reflect a clear response to market demands. In component-driven payment systems, the exceptional fat yields of bulls like Pennywise (+124 kg fat) are incredibly valuable. Simultaneously, the strong representation of polled genetics among top performers, such as Create P, offers producers a market-friendly solution to eliminate dehorning without sacrificing elite genetic merit.

Looking to Get Ahead? You Need To Break Out of the Herd Mentality

Today’s dairy cattle breeders live in exciting times. The information and tools available are expanding at lightning fast speed. Traditional methods for improving herds and generating revenue from the sale of breeding stock have gone by the wayside. (Read more: Is There Still Going To Be A Market For Purebred Cattle In 10 Years? and Which Is Your Most Profitable Cow?) The breeding of elite animals rests in fewer hands every year.

What’s In the Future for Breeders

Until five years ago breeders limited the traits they selected for to those for which data was captured by DHI and Type Classification Programs. The future will be different.

  • Cow Efficiency Will Be Key
    With milk producers getting a smaller and smaller portion of the consumers’ dollar spent on milk, breeders need to supply breeding stock that are more efficient. Feed and labor account for about 70% of cost at the farm level. Genetic indexing for feed conversion and labor efficiency hold out great promise as areas where breeding could help. To date capturing feeding and labor data at the farm level is not happening. Some research is underway on feed efficiency. Stay tuned as researchers study these areas. However no longer will longevity be #1. Cows will need to be efficient every day of their productive lives. (Read more: North Florida Holsteins: Aggressive, Progressive and Profitable, 30 Sires that will produce Feed Efficient Cows and Feed Efficiency: The Money Saver)
  • Food Safety Will Be a Must Have
    Higher and higher demands will be put on the quality of milk coming off farms. Even moderate levels of mastitis will not be tolerated. It is very interesting to see that CDN has just announced that, effective December 2013, it will publish an Official Genetic Evaluation for Mastitis Resistance. This report is well worth the review by discerning breeders. Information like the fact that for the best sires 6% of their daughters get mastitis whereas for the worst sires 22% of their daughters get mastitis.  These evaluations will be significantly more accurate that using SCS alone. Now that’s news breeders want to hear. Additionally it is quite exciting to read that in the future CDN plans to publish genetic rankings for other disease resistance traits.
  • Island Mentality Won’t Work
    Breeding dairy cattle will be just like running any sustainable business. You need all the information and you need KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).  Breeders will need all the details which include the relationship of a trait to all other traits when making breeding decisions.  Think about it. How much more valuable is it to know all of the performance, nutrition, rumination, estrus, body temperature, health, DNA, classification, financial and other management information. Selecting for only a few traits will become a thing of the past. On-farm data capture systems will be much more extensive in even just a few years from now and it will be stored in the cloud.  Are you ready for on-farm testing for fat, protein, CLAs, protein fractions, and hormone levels? That list will grow quickly. Breeders will need 24-7 access to data and information. Data storage systems by breed societies and DHI’s will likely be a thing of the past. (Read more: Why Dairy Farmers Need To Know Their Key Performance Indicators)
  • Get Used to Global
    The world of dairy cattle breeding has gone totally global. The current Interbull system for ranking bulls will be a thing of the past. Consider the fact that Scandinavia has had cow and heifer health data recording for many years now. Think how useful it would have been to use that data to develop genomic indexes for health traits for the world. The best animals in the world will not be limited to a few countries. Can you imagine only implanting sexed female embryos that are genomically tested and in the top 5% globally? (Read more: Who Really Has The Best Dairy Cattle Genetics In The World?)
  • Less Instinct More Facts
    We often hear about the art versus the science of breeding cattle. Well get ready for the art of applying the science. So much will be known about the genetic make-up of our animals that the breeder instinct will be replaced by programs that analyse and give recommendations to breeders.

It has Already Started

Over the past few years, the breeding of dairy cattle has gone viral.  Communication by hard copy is dying quickly. Communities of breeders around the world talk every day without even leaving their office or picking up the phone. (Read more: The Shocking Speed of Social Media and the Dairy Industry) No one owns the patent on improving dairy cattle. It is a shared opportunity taken by those who want to breed improved cattle and generate income from owning the elite. Oocyte recovery will be possible from cows and heifers no matter where they are located.  And new technology and information will be available daily or weekly not every four months as is now the case with genetic evaluation releases.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Now is the time for more global collaboration. Thinking beyond the present is a must. When it comes to breeding the ideal cow for 2020 or beyond she will need to be more complete than she has ever been before. (Read more: The Perfect Holstein Cow) If you haven’t considered one or more of the above changes you may already be in danger of falling behind.

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