TPI®’s ‘tall, pretty, infertile’ fantasy is bankrupting dairies. Net Merit’s 2025 overhaul—31.8% butterfat, 8% livability—exposes the lie. Your choice: bank $3k/cow with longevity or drown in cull costs. The breeding revolution won’t wait. Adapt or die.
Wake up, dairy farmers. While you’re busy playing genetic roulette with your herd’s future, Net Merit’s April 2025 overhaul will expose your TPI® beauty pageant for what it is—a profit-killing addiction. Your breeding choices aren’t just numbers on a page anymore—they’re the difference between banking $3,000 per productive life completed or watching your “pretty” TPI® princesses flame out after two lactations. It’s time to face the brutal truth: your breeding program is either building an empire or digging its grave. The industry’s polite little dance between TPI® and Net Merit ends today. Let’s rip off the band-aid and expose what’s really bleeding your bank account dry.
The Raw Truth
You’re flat-out lying to yourself if you think TPI® and Net Merit are just harmless tools in your breeding toolbox. They’re ideological battlegrounds, splitting the industry faster than a $5,000 cow replacement bill. TPI®—the Holstein Association’s sweetheart—is peddling the same toxic “tall, pretty, and infertile” fantasy that’s been bankrupting commercial dairies for decades. Sure, it waves around its 46% production and 26% conformation credentials like a trophy, but let’s cut the BS: this index is breeding cows that look like runway models but can’t survive past two lactations. Meanwhile, Net Merit, developed by AGIL and calculated by CDCB, is a cold-hearted accountant who doesn’t care about your Instagram-worthy herd. It’s laser-focused on one thing: cold, hard cash. With 39 traits weighted by economic impact, it’s screaming one truth: pretty cows don’t pay bills.
| Trait | TPI® | Net Merit 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Butterfat | 28.6% | 31.8% |
| Feed Efficiency | 12% | 17.8% |
| Liveability | 7% | 8% |
| Lactations | 2.5 | 4+ |
The 2025 Wake-Up Call
The April 2025 Net Merit update isn’t just a tweak—it’s a gut punch to anyone still breeding Instagram models instead of profit machines. CDCB’s economic sledgehammer is now:
- Butterfat’s getting an 11% surge because cheese markets aren’t buying your “volume over components” fantasy.
- Livability’s 1% bump because dead cows don’t milk, and your $ 3,000 per-cull losses aren’t a business model.
- Feed efficiency finally stops being a buzzword and starts being a bottom line, slashing your feed bill by $0.11 per pound.
- Profit Gap: CDCB’s Net Merit 2025 predicts $486 more lifetime profit per cow than TPI®.
Here’s your reality check:
| If you’re… | Your choice | The hard truth |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Dairy | Net Merit | Stop breeding Instagram models. Net Merit’s focus on longevity slashes cull costs $3,000 per dead cow. |
| Index Breeder | TPI® | Admit it: You’re dressing up corpses. TPI®’s beauty standards (26% conformation) profit from awards, not milk checks. |
| Stuck in the Middle | Custom Index | Stop chasing rankings. Build an index you control—aligned with your herd’s DNA and your bank account’s survival. |
The verdict? If you’re still chasing TPI® points while your herd’s burning cash, you’re not just losing money—you’re losing relevance. Build a custom index or get left behind.
Case Study: Rosy-Lane Holsteins’ Net Merit Success
Lloyd Holterman’s 1,800-cow empire: 40% in 4th+ lactation, 4.5% butterfat, $3k/cull savings. TPI’s beauty queens can’t compete.
While you’re busy chasing TPI®’s beauty pageant queens, Lloyd Holterman’s, Rosy-Lane’s founder, 1,800-cow dairy empire is crushing it with cold, hard cash. His Rosy-Lane operation isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving by defying TPI®’s ‘tall, pretty, and infertile’ fantasy, as Lloyd bluntly describes it.
The proof? Forty percent of Rosy-Lane’s cows are crushing production records in their fourth lactation or higher, while the industry average can’t get past three. That’s not just impressive—it’s a $3,000 savings per cow that doesn’t end up in the slaughter line. While TPI® breeders are polishing their fancy awards, Holterman’s herd is stacking fat checks with 4.5% butterfat and 3.5% protein.
Holterman’s secret weapon isn’t complicated—it’s ruthlessly effective. He cross-references Net Merit with DWP (Disease Wellness Profit) and HHP (Herd Health Profit) to weed out genetic weaklings. The result? A herd that’s built like a tank and milks like a dream. Net Merit’s 2025 overhaul is about to make his strategy even deadlier, with butterfat emphasis jumping to 31.8% and livability getting a 14% boost.
Lloyd’s verdict cuts through the BS: “TPI® is tall, pretty, and infertile—all things we don’t need. Net Merit’s focus on longevity and health turned our herd from a liability into an empire.” When your fifth-lactation cows are outproducing your first-lactation heifers, you’re not just winning—you’re changing the game.
Build Your Own Hammer
Stop gambling your farm’s future on generic indexes built for hypothetical dairies. Custom indices are your dairy’s survival blueprint. They eliminate the “one-size-fits-all” approach of generic tools like TPI®, allowing you to laser-focus on your herd’s specific goals. By weighting traits like feed efficiency ($0.11/lb savings) or disease wellness profit (cutting vet bills), you avoid overpaying for irrelevant traits and build cows that thrive, not just survive.
AI tools from many of the genetics companies simplify this process, letting you cross-ref indices like NM$, DWP, and HHP to weed out genetic weaklings. Generic indices are profit-draining obsessions. Custom indexes are profit-driving strategies. Start building yours today — or let your competitors thrive while you chase outdated rankings.
The Bottom Line
The choice between TPI® and Net Merit isn’t about winning awards or chasing points but survival.
For Commercial Farmers: Net Merit is your lifeline. Prioritizing longevity (+22% in 2025) slashes cull costs by $3,000 per dead cow. TPI®’s “tall, pretty, and infertile” cows are financial landmines.
For Index Breeders: Keep TPI® for the breed improvement, but cross-reference Net Merit’s $486 per cow profit edge. Your awards won’t cover the tab for burned-out heifers.
For Everyone Else: No index is a silver bullet. Build a custom index that mirrors your farm’s DNA.
The Bottom Line? Net Merit’s 2025 overhaul (butterfat +24%, feed efficiency unlocked) is a gut punch to vanity breeding. TPI®’s beauty pageant is over. Profitability’s the new trophy.
Still Confused? Your bank account isn’t.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand that choosing between TPI® and Net Merit is not just a preference but a strategic decision with significant financial outcomes.
- TPI® focuses on traditional attributes like conformation, which might not equate to higher profitability in commercial dairies.
- Net Merit is increasingly focused on economic factors, emphasizing traits like butterfat and livability, making it a pragmatic choice for profitability.
- The 2025 updates to Net Merit provide a wake-up call for breeders to prioritize financial sustainability over aesthetics.
- Successful dairy operations, like Rosy-Lane Holsteins, make informed breeding choices aligned with their farm goals and profitability.
- Tailoring genetic evaluations to specific farm needs can optimize performance and financial returns.
- Deciding your breeding strategy now will impact your operation’s future success and financial health.
Summary:
The TPI® and Net Merit indexes represent a major divide in dairy farming. TPI®, from the Holstein Association, values production and looks, while Net Merit focuses on traits that make money, like long life and health. Experts like Lloyd Holterman say Net Merit is better for commercial farms, and Holterman’s Rosy-Lane Holsteins benefit from focusing on cows lasting through the 4th lactation or more. Due to market changes, the April 2025 update to Net Merit will concentrate more on butterfat and livability. There’s no single perfect index, so farmers often compare different indexes or make their own to match their farm’s needs and goals.
Learn more:
- Evolution of Selection Indices in US Dairy: An In-depth Study of Traits, Standardization, and Impact on Genetic Diversity
- Top 7 Data Points to Track for Optimal Herd Performance
- Holstein USA’s New Fertility Index – August 2024
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