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Archive for 2012

The Top 10 of 2012 – The most read articles of 2012

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Monday, December 31st, 2012

Our first 10 months has certainly been eventful for us here at the Bullvine. We have seen our readership grow by about 40% month over month to the point where we now have the 2^nd largest digital readership in the world, and we have by far the largest engaged social readership in the world. We have ruffled some feathers along the way but we have also brought to light many subjects that the others are just too afraid to talk about. The following are our top 10 most read articles of 2012.

The Top 10

10. THE 8 GREATEST NORTH AMERICAN SHOW COWS OF ALL-TIME
Coming off what might have been one of the greatest World Dairy Expo’s of All-Time there seems to be great debate about how some cows stack up in the All-Time rankings. To help determine how we would rank the greatest North American Holstein show cows of all time, we looked at their head to head match ups as well as overall accomplishments and dominance in their era and developed the following list (Read more)

9. $10,000 A DOSE POLLED SEMEN
First it was LIQUID GOLD that caught everyone’s attention when GenerVations released him and his brothers in a limited offering for $750 and $500. That gave all breeders the chance to have equal access to early release semen, instead of playing favorites with preferred herds or contract mattings. Now it’s GOLDEN PP, Kulp-Dale Golden PP-Red that is getting everyone’s attention. When his first five units of semen sold for $50,000, it generated heaps of discussion around the industry. (Read more)

8. WORLD DAIRY EXPO 2012 HOLSTEIN SHOW – A BATTLE FOR THE AGES
Pre-billed as being one of the greatest shows in history the 2012 World Dairy Expo Holstein Show was one for the record books. There was the battle of two EX-97 point cows ….the Rejoice vs. Monique battle … and there was the bull stud battle. (Read more)

7. THE TOP 12 HOLSTEIN GENOMIC YOUNG SIRES TO USE FOR MAXIMUM GAIN
Confused on what group of genomic young sires to use for your breeding program? Not sure which sires are the real deals and which ones are just smoke and mirrors (read The Hot House Effect on Sire Sampling)? We decided to take a closer look at the top 100 genomic young sires from around the world to determine just which ones are worth using and which ones you are better forgetting. (Read more)

6. TOP TEN MOST INFLUENTIAL HOLSTEIN BREEDERS OF ALL-TIME
The great thing about the North American dairy breeding industry is how passionate breeders are about what they do. This is what makes most dairy farmers get up in the morning to do hard work that many would not. Over the years there have been many great breeders that have dedicated their lives to advancing the breed. The following is our top 10 list of the ones who the Bullvine feels have had the biggest impact on the North American Holstein industry. (Read more)

5. $750 DOLLAR SEMEN! ARE YOU CRAZY
When you first read the recent Limited Offering from GenerVations for Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo priced at $750 and $500 and $500 respectively, I am sure some breeders will think: “Are the bulls dead? Are these guys crazy? Are they expecting to get rich? Who the heck will buy that semen?” (Read more)

4. SEMEX – THE RISE AND FALL OF A SEMEN EMPIRE
I have seen men who once screamed EBI green turn to the dark side. Men who used to bleed WOBI blue now openly criticize the organization that was the epitome, half a century ago, of everything Dairy in Canada. The Semex Alliance that once dominated, no longer owns the Canadian marketplace. There is criticism from within. How did the organization that once defined the Canadian marketplace lose control of it? (Read more)

3. SELECT SIRES VS. SEMEX – A CONTRAST IN COOPERATIVES
While many would think that all farmer-owned cooperatives would have the same challenges and the same mandates, there could be no greater contrast than the approaches taken by Select Sires and Semex. Select Sires is a federation of nine farmer-owned-and-controlled cooperative and Semex is a partnership of three breeder owned cooperatives. So structurally they are quite similar with perhaps some significant differences in mandates. However these two artificial insemination companies are headed in very different directions when it comes to approaches to communications and product development. (Read more)

2. THE 2012 ROYAL WINTER FAIR HOLSTEIN SHOW – ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD!
From an outsider looking in, the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show may appear to be somewhat boring. The winners were pretty much the same as, and for all intents and purposes the results whereas per expectation. Yet in my mind, the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show will go down in history as one of the greatest stories ever told. (Read more)

1. 7 SIRES TO USE IN ORDER TO BREED THE NEXT WORLD DAIRY EXPO CHAMPION
Everyone loves winning. No one enters a competition to finish last. Regardless of who you are every purebred dairy breeder dreams of winning supreme champion at World Dairy Expo. Your dream of walking in the spotlight, on the colored shavings, with everyone applauding you, starts with choosing the right sires. (Read more)

The Next 10

The Bullvine Bottom Line

As evident by our top 10 most read articles, 2012 was certainly a great year.

The Big Bad Wolf of the Dairy Industry

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Friday, December 21st, 2012

Last week I suffered a mild heart attack. I say mild heart attack because, as any good farm boy knows, if it’s not strong enough to knock you on your ass and make you beg for the Lord above, it must just be a mild heart attack. So I did as any good farm boy would do, I got back to work so that I could focus on something other than the pain. Now was that the best course of action? Obviously not since I tried to hide it from everyone including my wife and my editors (parents). Now some would say, ”Why did you wait to go to the hospital?” My response. “That’s exactly why I married a doctor!” (Read more – How I used everything I know about animal breeding to choose my wife) and in good order I was feeling much better and was able to continue my introspection and forced bed rest back at home.

Currently I have many irons in the fire including running a company that is responsible for attracting billions of dollars in sales for its clients last year. That company, Inbound Sales Network, and the Bullvine represent my lifelong dream supported by my wife, three kids, and close family. However, the events of last week have me taking time for introspection.

The Big Bad Wolf

I put everything I have into the work I do. The biggest challenge is that there are too many ideas, a lot of wonderful clients and too few hours to fit everything into. This brings me to The Bullvine. Ten months into this amazing project and I love the tug and pull that being both big bad wolf and watchdog brings to my daily routine. It is literally where my heart is and keeps the adrenalin pounding!!

This got me thinking about the great baseball slugger Jose Canseco, who likes to call himself “The Big Bad Wolf of Baseball”, as a result of his tell all book on steroid use in baseball. You see Canseco earned more than $45 million playing professional baseball and yet he isn’t ashamed to admit there’s nothing left and that he plans to file bankruptcy this year because he still owes the IRS $1.1 million. The founding member of baseball’s 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 1988, even if Canseco jokes it’s 40 woman in 40 nights) is flat broke and out of the game he loves so much.

You see in writing “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big”, Canseco exposed his steroid-using former teammates and for that was effectively kicked out of the game. But yet, when surrounded by people, he’ll loudly proclaim the 2005 bestseller saved the game: “You f—king ignorant cave-dwellers, how did I ruin baseball? Baseball is the best game in the world right now because of that goddam book I wrote!”

In thinking about this I see many similarities to the experience I have had since starting the Bullvine. I have put every ounce of myself into this project. I worked at educating the breeders and at times have taken unpopular positions on issues that others are even afraid to mention (Read more – Semex – The Rise and Fall of a Semen Empire, $750 Dollar semen! Are you crazy? and Select Sires vs. Semex – A Contrast in Cooperatives). That is what has me being called the “big bad wolf” of the dairy industry.

Dairy cattle breeders, like baseball fans and well pretty much every other industry out there, need to have transparency and all the information, regardless of how difficult it is to present. Similar to Canseco, “I would do it all again for the love of the (Holstein) game.” As a results have weathered the good, bad and the ugly because I believe what we are doing here at the Bullvine is very much needed in the dairy industry.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The nice thing about having a wakeup call is that it clarifies things and identifies priorities. When I was a growing up, I had the pleasure of growing up and working side by side with my grandfather on our family dairy farm. I watched as he worked hard, loved his work and, when he could no longer do what he loved, he passed away quite suddenly leaving a legacy that inspires his entire family to this day. That taught me a big life lesson: ”Love what you do and do it every day of your life”. I love what I do with all my heart – every minute of every day. Health and financial willing I will continue to be the “big bad wolf of the dairy industry” as some like to label me.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

RF Goldwyn Hailey: Cash Cow or Cash Hog?

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Thursday, December 20th, 2012

2012 was certainly an amazing year for RF Goldwyn Hailey and her owners Gen-Com Holsteins. There was a time that when winning Supreme Champion at both the World Dairy Expo (Read more – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A Battle for the Ages ) and The Royal (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told!) would have been a license to print money. Your name would be legendary and you could milk that cash cow for years and years to come (Read more – The Story Behind How Two Full Sisters Dominated Expo Quebec). However, with recent changes in the marketplace (Read more – Who Killed the Market for Good Cattle? and the Insiders Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Auctions) the question becomes,”Is Hailey a cash cow or a cash hog?”

RF GOLDWYN HAILEY EX-97-2E (CAN)
GRAND QC INTERNATIONAL 2012
GRAND MADISON 2012
RES.GRAND ROYAL 2011

In years past a cow such as Hailey would have been a cash cow for her owners Gen-Com Holsteins. Today she appears to be more of a cash hog, not only is she not providing the rivers of cash that most would expect but actually she requires that capital/cash that being a show cow at the level of Hailey demands.

The Financial Numbers Behind Hailey

Before you think I am certifiably crazy, let’s take a closer look at the numbers. First of all consider the recent World Classic Sale at Madison. Hailey’s Sid daughter sold for $30,000 (Read more – World Classic 2012 Highlights). It is also well known that embryos are in high demand, so let’s put a value of $5,000 per embryo from Hailey. Now a couple of factors that make Hailey a little different from your average cow is that you cannot flush her as often and that she costs a lot to take care of. Often Hailey is housed a custom facility costing a lot more than your average housing. Using the Return on Investment Calculator, we plugged the follow numbers in using a conventional embryo transfer program:

Boarding expense per day $20
Years of productive embryo production – 3
Flushes per year – 4
Flush strike out ratio 25%
Base cost per flush $ 650.00
Cost per embryo $ 150.00
Recipient price $ 1,500.00
Conception rate of recipients 45%
Sale price per embryo $ 5,000.00
Sale price per live heifer $ 30,000.00
Advertising expense/year $ 5,000.00
Other promotion expense $ 10,000.00
Number of embryos per flush 8

What we find, when using Microsoft Excel’s Goal Seek function, is that the current break even value for RF Goldwyn Hailey is $212,808.40. This is what she is worth based on the sale price of her genetics currently. If you think using IVF makes things better think again, remember that you have about an extra $5,000 to $7,500 in expense in order to produce an IVF female (Read more – IVF: Boom or Bust for the Dairy Industry).

Why Pay So Much?

Now I know you’re saying, “Hey Hailey is the greatest show cow in the world, and we see cows like Cookview Goldwyn Monique EX-92 sell for $490,000 at the International Intrigue Sale (Read More – International Intrigue – The Secret Is Exposed).” Looking for answers, I figured I would go directly to the source. In our interview just before the Royal with Monique’s co-owner Jeff Butler of Butlerview Farms, Jeff made a very interesting comment that caught my attention. He pointed out that “Type brings the foot traffic to the farm. But genomics and pedigree get them buying.” (Read more Exciting Times at Butlerview).

COOKVIEW GOLDWYN MONIQUE VG-89-3YR-CAN
Show Winnings:
INT.CHAMP ROYAL 2012
INT.CHAMP MADISON 2012
RES.GRAND MADISON 2012

Think about it. Here is a guy who very clearly understands the marketplace and has invested in what is probably the best show string in the world today. With some of the prices they have paid, you wonder how they could ever make a profit on these animals. But then his comments start to make more sense to me. They don’t need to make their profit from each of these animals. Some of these animals are purchased to get people through the door.

It’s with that single change in thinking that everything becomes much clearer. It’s like having a great playmaker in Hockey. They may not score all the goals (i.e. make all the profits) but what they do is make every player around them play much better. You see you can have a team of super stars but if they can’t work together, you can’t win (Look at the NBA’s L.A. Lakers our Baseballs L.A. Dodgers). The same is true in the elite genomics world. Having a team of show super stars on their own will not make you rich. What you need, in addition to them, are cattle that you paid far less for, but since the super stars are attracting the attention, buyers are willing to pay more for the progeny of these other great animals.

In Butlerview’s case, this model still means buyers are accessing some of the best genomic animals in the world. Furthermore, instead of Butlerview having to spend that much more in marketing or advertising, the money spent on these top show cows helps decrease marketing expense of these Genomic animals, They drive up traffic and demand so that Butlerview can make their margins with the Genomic animals. When you start to look at it as a genetic operation as a whole and not so much on a cow by cow basis only, purchases like Monique make a lot of sense. Dollars and cents.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that everyone loves to win, and that RF Goldwyn Hailey did a lot of that in 2012. It’s also important to make money. That is where the Butlerview model makes a lot of sense. Use the type super stars to get buyers through the door and have plenty of other high genomic and high pedigree animals right there to help convert that traffic into cash. It’s not that you make your money off the super star herself. You make your money from how much easier the super star makes it to sell the genetics from your other cattle. It’s at this point that I realize that some of these show super stars are not cash hogs, but actually agents for other cash cows.

Not sure how much to spend on that great 2 year old or heifer?
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The Magic of Francesca

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Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

Today The Bullvine joins with Beverly Donovan and Richard Caverly of Benton Maine during a sad moment in the breeding journey of Deer Hill Ayrshires, as they mourn the passing of Sweet-Pepper Black Francesca 3E-94. Francesca, wasn’t just a cow who had great show ring accomplishments, she was a cow who won the hearts and minds of breeders the world over. She was one of those rare cows that transcended her breed to be loved by all. Beverly and Richard took amazing care of “Frannie” and gained a close friend in return.

Sweet-Pepper Black Francesca – EX-94-3E (USA)
Grand Champion World Dairy Expo 2012, 2010
Grand Champion Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2012
All-World 6 & 7 Year-Old Ayrshire 2012
Total Performance Winner World Dairy Expo 2012, 2011
Nasco International & Type Production Award World Dairy Expo 2012, 2011
Reserve Grand Champion World Dairy Expo 2011
Grand Champion Eastern States National 2011, 2009

A Firm Foundation

Richard recalls how they found Francesca. “Beverly was looking to add a strong foundation animal to her Deer Hill herd. We visited Craig and Bonnie Hawksley, as Craig has always been the most helpful mentor and friend. He has an uncanny ability to breed Ayrshire cattle.” It was a great consultation that netted results. “Francesca was discussed and later purchased as the cow that would become a focus of Beverly’s Ayrshire passion.”

Dedication, Commitment and Support

Once the choice was made, the focus at Deer Hill became Francesca’s development. Richard describes that attention to detail. “Beverly’s passion to seek the greatest things for each and every one of her animals is something found in very few individuals. If it is chore time, no matter what the job may be, Beverly is there to provide for the animals first and foremost.” He points out that this care is not a 9 to 5 event at Deer Hill. “From the time her feet hit the floor in the morning, Bev’s sole attention is for her animals. We also have the incredible support of a team of trusted and cherished friends, family, and people willing to share their successes and help with our problems.”

Francesca being shown by close friend Jim Strout during the Supreme Champion Parade at the 2012 WDE

Francesca’s Feats

At Deer Hill, Francesca, fondly known as Frannie, made high records including 6-09 (305 days), 34,560 pounds, 4.3% Fat and 3.1% Protein and has had three calves the oldest a son Deer Hill Francis EX91. Francis is the main herd sire at Deer Hill and his two Calimero sisters, Princess, now a yearling and Pixiedust, born in early August 2012, are very promising heifers. Francesca’s feats are even more amazing when you know that she calved six times before her eighth birthday.

2012 Madison Tanbark Legends Frannie with Veronica and Vivid at 2012 WDE Team Arethusa

Francesca Truly Was a Saint!

Obviously, overcome with the loss they must face, Richard explains how Francesca’s perfection was the motivation that inspired all of them. “In many ways she was both magical and determined. She would make you turn your head with her beauty and fascinate you with her ability to excel as a cow, while she appeared to be running on cruise control!” He credits Frannie with presenting two sides to her own story. “On the one hand she made everything easy. Yet was the first to show you that nothing should be taken for granted. She would take unexpected opportunities to bring you into reality as she guided you through a dream.”

A Shining List of Achievements

Sweet-Pepper Black Francesca was the Grand Champion of the 2012 International Ayrshire Show at World Dairy Expo. She was the winning entry from the Six-Year-Old & Over Class, best uddered, the senior champion and the grand champion female of the show, the Nasco type & production award winner, and total performance winner of the show. Francesca was also the recipient of the Udder Comfort $1,000 Cash Award. This was another crowning achievement after being the 2010 Grand Champion and the 2011 Reserve Grand Champion. In 2012, she was the Grand Champion of the Eastern States Exposition for the third time in her show career, and also won Best Uddered Cow, the Nasco Type & Production Award, Total Performance Award, and the Milk Fat Production Award, all awards that she had won in 2011 at that show, too. In 2012 she was also the winning Mature Cow, Senior Champion, Grand Champion and Best Udder at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Earlier this year, Francesca won the All-World Title for Best 6 to 7 Year Old Ayrshire from the World Ayrshire Federation. In both 2010 and 2011, she was named Unanimous All-American. Deer Hill Farm has shown Francesca 6 times at national shows in the U.S.A. and won Grand Champion at 5 of the 6 and Reserve Grand Champion at the other.

The “Frannie Pack”

As already mentioned, Francesca had 6 calves before she was 8 years old. Richard describes her offspring. “The first 3 born at Sweet Pepper were all males. Deer Hill’s first arrival was also a male who we named Francis. Francis is the hub of the Deer Hill program as his calves have truly been incredible and he currently is the service sire of choice with every female within the other families here at Deer Hill.” With justifiable pride, he points out that her daughters excel for him and Beverly as well. “Fairytale Princess is Francesca’s first daughter and the epitome of what we look for in a young female. Fairytale Pixiedust is the family baby, who like momma and siblings inspires us to go to the barn! We are blessed to be working with Craig and Bonnie with Francesca’s dam Feather. At 15 years old she was raised to Excellent 93 in a system that only allows for a 94-point maximum score. She has been a show Grand Champion as well, as recently as this summer at the state fair.” As expected there is true affection for the success of others in Francesca’s family. “She has two sisters who have both won shows in milking form this year. Faith is Francesca’s sister here at Deer Hill. She is a June baby who is truly precious to us.”

Frannie and Beverly Supreme at Skowhegan State Fair (Oldest Continuing Fair in The World)

The Frannie Dream Team is Amazing Both “At Home” and “Away”

As Francesca’s story unfolded Bev and Richard were supported, uplifted and mentored by many others who saw the potential and possibilities facing Francesca. They recognize how much that has meant to them. “With such great family, friends, neighbors, and my employer, we always felt safe with our “home team” watching out for us!” It takes many players to pull together a winning team and Richard starts with “Pam Jeffery – because every great team is known by its cheerleaders!” He gives special recognition to Ernest Kueffner, Terri Packard, Gary and Melissa Bowers, Steve McDonald and Julie Hemp because, as Richard points out “These great individuals let us be part of their wonderful teams at the shows! Team Arethusa, Mac-Ayr, M & J Heifer Care, and Lencrest. So many people, such wonderful individuals! The veterinarians, foot trimmers, truckers, fitters, and that one very special lady who always looked Frannie up to make sure her tail looked glamorous (Joyce Thomas).Also, the ever-important leadsmen Steve White, Gary Bowers, Jim Strout and Mike Duckett.” Richard doesn’t leave out one other important group, the Judges, who contributed to Francesca’s success. “ It was always their decision in the end and for the most part they all did agree!

The Team the helped Frannie at the 2012 RAWF

Ode To Francesca

The support, friendship and love Frannie has received through the years is amazing. “People whom we do not know spent their vacation time and hard earned dollars to travel millions of miles to see her. She brought them to the coliseum and back to the straw pack where they admired her and often had their photo taken with her.” Obviously, Francesca was more than one of the cows she was a superstar at the shows and “one of the family” all the time.

Life Lessons from Francesca

Richard is thankful and declares “It is an honor to share such an experience with so many! For everyone who loved Frannie you all shared in the dream in your own special way. Frannie touched a generation, and if they learned one thing from her she would want them to know “Dream big. Dedicate Yourself and Follow the Dream” Francesca started out in the little state of Rhode Island. Bev gave her homes in Massachusetts and Maine and Francesca conquered the world with love and friendship.”

Francesca and Beverly early one morning at Eastern States Expo

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Bev and Richard have been married 2 ½ years and Francesca has been a shared dream. Faced with a future without her, they sum it up quite eloquently. The magic of Francesca is that she has excelled at showing, milking, producing nice offspring, and winning the hearts of people all over the world. She has been a magical fairytale in our lives by making Bev’s dreams come true. The future may bring more fairytale magic to Deer Hill Farm, and in time, we will see if the ‘Magic of Francesca’ continues through her offspring.

“Loved by All”
Sweet-Pepper Black Francesca
2004-2012

$10,000 a dose Polled Semen

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Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

First it was LIQUID GOLD that caught everyone’s attention when GenerVations released him and his brothers in a limited offering for $750 and $500 (Read more – $750 Dollar Semen! Are You Crazy?). That gave all breeders the chance to have equal access to early release semen, instead of playing favorites with preferred herds or contract mattings. Now it’s GOLDEN PP, Kulp-Dale Golden PP-Red that is getting everyone’s attention. When his first five units of semen sold for $50,000, it generated heaps of discussion around the industry.

The Dairybullsonline Story

Dairybullsonline.com ad

To get a better understanding of the GOLDEN PP story, it’s best to trace it back to its roots. In March 2011, Bryan Quanbury and Roy MacGregor started DairyBullsOnline (Read more – They’re Sold on Polled!!) by developing their website, www.dairybullsonline.com and placing the ad at right in the major dairy publications.

You see these two risk takers had spent many years in the dairy industry and they were very confident that polled was more than just the new red (Read more – Is Polled The New Red?). They were not only confident that the market would come to demand polled genetics, they wanted to be at the front of it (Read more – Polled Genetics: Way of the Future or Passing Fad). Recent sale results have confirmed that they are achieving their goal (Read more – An Insider’s Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Cattle Auctions).

What these two men saw was a different way to sell and promote bulls. Leveraging a different distribution model compared to traditional Artificial Insemination companies, Dairybullsonline.com was looking to be more of your amazon.com than your Wal-Mart (Read more – A Wake-Up Call to All A.I. Companies). As well, they could offer a larger portion of the revenues back to the breeders of the bulls who had been forced to sign very limiting contracts in the past (Read more – Top 10 Questions to ask Before You Sign That A.I. Contract) Hence they developed the ad to attract breeders who were looking for a change.

The Golden PP Story

It was this wanting to partner with breeders and to become champions for polled that led them to help in arranging the sale of Kulp-Dale Snow Gold (Sister to Golden PP) from Kulp Genetics to Benner Holsteins, Steinbach Manitoba. The trust they built up while working with Kulp’s earned them the privilege of sampling and marketing Kulp-Dale Golden PP-Red.

KULP-DALE GOLDEN PP-RED

GOLDEN PP came back with high initial genomic index tests. With bulls you are only able to see genomic results every proof round compared to genomic indexes for heifers are released monthly. Both Dairybullsonline and Kulp’s had to wait to see if they would indeed have the #1 Homozygous polled bull in the world. When Elm-Park Geisha PP-Red topped the World Dairy Classic sale (Read more – World Classic 2012 Highlights) with lower genomic numbers than Kulp-Dale Golden PP Red, they were sure he could be the highest PP bull.

The Power of Social Media and Smart Business Decisions

Golden PP ad from Facebook

Now here is where the story takes an interesting turn. While we were working on preparing a Facebook page to help promote GOLDEN PP, things started to swell. First breeders from all over the world started “liking” the page, while it was still being developed. Then the most unexpected thing in the world happened. They were offered $50,000 for the first five units of semen.

Actual Facebook Conversation

The offer was made by Jerry Jorgensen of Ri-Val-Re Holsteins. The offer came with the condition that no other semen could be sold or used outside his herd for 90 days. This effectively guaranteed that he would have the first progeny on the ground. Even more importantly, his progeny would most likely have a full proof round on the index lists before others would be on it.

Now $50,000 is a lot of money, “How can he ever make it back?” you ask. “Especially on five doses?” Take a closer look.

Let’s say he uses those five doses for IVF. That means he can flush about five different cows 5 different times, or for a total of 25 flushes. Now let’s say that he averages 10 eggs per flush. That would mean that they have about 250 eggs. (Note: On the first round of flushes, Ri-Val-Re made 77 transfers off one unit of semen from nine donors). They would only need to get about $200 more per egg to break even. This is very achievable for a herd that already has some of the top gTPI B&W, R&W, and Polled Genetics.

Take it one-step further.

Let’s say they were to implant all these eggs and end up with 120 pregnancies. If 60 are female, that means they would only need to get $1,000 more at the time of sale. And that does not even factor in the potential revenue that having the next GOLDEN PP could bring.

When you take a closer look at the offer, it really is a very smart business decision.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

I am sure it seems like some of the prices you see top animals selling for these days are unrealistic and that $750 for a single dose of semen doesn’t make sense. I agree that for most breeders it doesn’t. However, if you are in the high-end genetics game, these prices are not only realistic they actually make good business sense and prove that “All that glitters is definitely Golden”

IVF: Boom or Bust for the Dairy Industry

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Monday, December 17th, 2012

With the introduction of Genomics to the dairy industry the marketplace has greatly changed. And while this may be true, the silent factor that many don’t consider is in vitro fertilization (IVF). While Genomics is changing what the marketplace is looking for (Read more – An Insider’s Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Cattle Auctions), IVF has changed who in the marketplace are actually able to make money. Causing boom for a select few but a bust for many others.

Through IVF we can get way more progeny/genetics from the top cattle. This causes an abundance of supply in the marketplace. With greater supply at the top end but not equally greater demand, the prices for all sectors in the marketplace are forced downward.

In the past, when embryo exporters were looking to fill orders, they may be held to a threshold of +2500 LPI or +1,900 TPI. Now since there is so much more supply at the top end, their threshold has risen to +3,200 LPI or +2,500 TPI. Have a look at our recent analysis of the public auction of live cattle. You will see that the very top cattle draw the high prices and then the prices drop significantly (Read more – Who Killed the Market for Good Dairy Cattle?).

No big deal you say?

Well actually it is. When the threshold gets that high you are talking about less than the top 0.5% of the breed. This means that those at the very top who have that base can supply this market. All those others who used to do embryo transfer work, partly for genetic advancement of their herd and partly for profit, now have no market for their embryos. They are having to rethink whether they can even afford to do the embryo work in their herd, without the added revenue from embryo sales, it’s hard to justify the expense.

As pointed out in a recent Holstein International article, Genomics has certainly created a gold rush, but not for the breeders, but rather for the embryo transfer companies. During the gold rush, a few diggers struck it rich, while many others strike out (Just like those in the genomic market). The one sure way to have made money during the gold rush was to be a supplier of equipment, food, or clothing to the diggers. As Holstein International points out, the service provider in the Genomic gold rush is the embryo transfer industry and its range of advanced technologies.

These are Big Changes. Are they Good or Bad?

In our interview earlier this year with Mark Allen PhD, Director of Marketing and Genomics for Trans Ova (Read more – Fast Track Genetics: More Results in Less Time), a company that has performed ovum pickup aspirations on 8,668 in the first 8 months of this year alone, we asked Mark if these changes were good or bad for the industry. The following was his response:

“It is human nature, when presented with the latest greatest technology to look for the downside. You ask yourself, “What is the worst case scenario?” Some breeders may be concerned that the market is being flooded, leaving no room for the middle market cattle. To that comment, Dr. Allan gives this well-considered response, “Many technology improvements have led to dramatic increases in genetic improvement. One of the early changes that led to a giant leap in genetic gain was implementation of artificial insemination (AI) in the dairy industry. This technology is widely accepted today and used by producers large and small. Historically, each time a new technology has been introduced to the reproductive technology continuum, there has been some resistance and trepidation about how it will affect breeders. Changes in the marketplace may require that producers have to make a change in how they utilize their animals coupled with available technology. This may mean changing the current paradigm that exists for some segments of the industry.”

Are you ready to change?

One person who has seen this coming is the forward thinking David Dyment. While David is very well known for his work with Glen Drummond and Dymentholm Genetics, (Read more – Marketing Lessons from Glen Drummond Aero Flower) as well as being the Associate Judge at the 2012 World Dairy Expo (Read more – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A Battle for the Ages). David saw where the market was heading and in 2009 formed a partnership with Mike and Julie Ducket and established Genetic Futures. A 300-acre farm in Wisconsin that has became a satellite base Trans Ova, housing top donors and recipient services are provided.

I think it’s significant when a person like David Dyment, who has worked with high-end show cattle, high-end index animals and, as well, has run the roads filling commercial orders, is now focusing on being a supplier of the service and not the product. The market has changed drastically. Breeders are only left with three options:

You can either purchase and be the supplier of those top genetics, which is extremely costly to buy and almost equally as costly to produce;
You can do traditional embryo for personal use only and avoid the high cost of IVF;
You can go broke trying to compete in a market that is just too saturated.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

As long as breeders of the top genomic index animals continue to over supply the marketplace through technologies like IVF, there will only be a market for the very select few. So next time you decide to do a flush, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. If it’s to advance the genetics in your own herd? Great! If it’s to get rich from embryo sales? Maybe you should think again.

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Semex – The Rise and Fall of a Semen Empire

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Friday, December 14th, 2012

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

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

Canadiens vs. Nordiques

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

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

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

The Bullvine Bottom Line

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

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ: Passion with a Purpose

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Thursday, December 13th, 2012

As we research topics here at The Bullvine there is always an undercurrent of expectation. You never know the “when” or “where” of the next big surprise. Most often it is the “who” that makes our days special. As we began the background work on a series we have planned on robotic milking, we lined up several interviews (Read more – Robotic Milking: More than just automation it’s a new style of herd management). It became obvious that the go-to expert in this area would be Francisco Rodriguez, DVM, Holstein Breeder, Dairy Management Advisor Automatic Milking for DeLaval North America. Not only did we get tremendous insight from his experience in this new and growing field but, once again, we met a passionate cow man who is following a dream.

Five Farming Generations in Colombia

Francisco is the 5^th generation of farmers in Colombia. His grandfather was a dairyman, cattleman and one of the pioneers in the genetic development of the Paso Fino horse. Francisco, like others in his family, inherited that love for raising livestock. He recounts how his own interest was ignited. “Our dairy was relatively small and my Dad needed a simultaneous job to keep up with his new family. Then he joined Semex Colombia as a sales representative, I remember going to the farm since the beginning of my life, but I got in love of Dairy cows when every month a catalogue or a magazine from Canada or USA arrived home. Instead of reading about superman or batman I started reading about Starbuck, Aerostar, Raider, Laurie Sheik, etc. etc. I developed a true love for cows and genetics becoming the foundation of my life together with my passion for business, as my mother has had clothing stores her entire life, allowing me to get the entrepreneur spirit at a very young age.

Single Minded Student

Because of his passion for dairy cows and horses, Francisco decided to go to Vet School after graduating from High School. He had tremendous academic success and was the best student in the faculty for four years in succession. After graduation, Francisco’s internship continued in the USA. “When I finished my Vet School I started an internship in one of the largest and most progressive western dairies in the USA. I learned from the management of an operation milking thousands of cows.”

Vet-Businessman in Colombia

After one year gaining experience, Francisco made the decision to move back to Colombia. His career now became more business focused as he adapted to the opportunities arising there. “When I arrived in Colombia two very interesting things happened. My Dad Francisco Rodriguez and my genetics mentor Juan Pablo Muriel started a partnership and became the exclusive Select Sires Dealership in Colombia!!” This was exciting explains Francisco because of the opportunity it gave him to understand both the genetics industry from both the Canadian and the US perspective. A new opportunity soon presented itself. “At the same time DeLaval hired me as a Sales Manager for The Andean and Caribbean countries, working with farmers from 1 – 30,000 milking cows, from Water Buffalo to High yielding Holsteins, and traveling all over the world learning the different dimensions in milk production. “

More Diversity. More Studies. Big Vision.

By now, it was clear that Francisco like generations before him could comfortably handle several different challenges at the same time. He clarifies. “Simultaneously with my work at DeLaval I continued developing my business skills graduating from Business School as a Strategic Marketing Management Specialist. I am a passionate individual, a dreamer, and I’ve been developing my life under friendship, excellence, focus and education, always starting small but thinking big, with a wide vision.

Achieving the Dream

It isn`t surprising that someone whose family, studies and passion all revolve around cows would want to own them as well. Sure enough he confirms, “Since I was a kid I had a dream of my own registered Holstein herd, I liked my Dad’s commercial cows but that was not enough for me, I wanted purebreds, I wanted to become a real breeder.” With that end in mind he worked very hard to make it become reality. He outlines what it took. “Simultaneously with my position at DeLaval, in 2007 my parents and I founded Colganados RV.” Colganados is a dairy business based on added value strategies, particularly genetics. Francisco explains how they carried out this philosophy. “Colganados started with 15 cows, 30 heifers and 25 embryos selected from the best cow families available in the Colombian Market, most of them coming from well known Canadian and American Blood lines. Today Colganados RV milks approximately 200 registered Holsteins and develops one of the most aggressive Holstein breeding programs in Latin America.”

Open to A New Opportunity

For many, this would have marked the high point in a fast-rising career. For Francisco – dairyman- veterinarian- breeder- businessman it was just the beginning. In 2010 DeLaval offered to relocate Francisco to Madison, WI as the Dairy Management Advisor – Automatic Milking for North America. In describing what this felt like, he says, “I compare it to a pilot being asked to race in Formula 1.” Joking aside he admits that it was a tough decision to make. “I had a life built in Colombia and at the same time I had a unique opportunity in the heart of the dairy industry. My parents and employees gave me the strength and then I accepted the challenge and moved to Madison in 2011.”

Francisco Rodriguez and his wife Sofia Cordabo

Love and Marriage

2011 marked special changes in Francisco’s life. He sums it up, “I got married to a wonderful woman, met wonderful people, made new friends and of course that put in the best place to continue reaching my dreams and accomplishing goals as a professional and as a breeder.”

Seen here are (l-r) Juan David Rodriguez, Francisco Rodriguez and his wife Sofia Cordabo with KHW Regiment Apple A1-Red-ETN.

Enter Robotic Milking

An interesting facet of Francisco’s career opportunity would be that he would be working with Robotic Milking and high end technology. This has been tremendously positive he reports. “It has exposed me to the most progressive farmers and advisors around the world, especially in the North American Market. On average I visit two robotic herds every day, it is amazing to evaluate the quantity of miles and farms we see in a year!!!”

KHW REGIMENT APPLE-RED EX-95-2E-USA DOM 2*
ALL-AMERICAN JR.2-YR 2006
RES. ALL-CANADIAN R&W MATURE COW 2009
GRAND MADISON R&W 2011
RES.GRAND ROYAL R&W 2009
1ST MATURE COW MADISON R&W 2011
1ST JR.2-YR MADISON 2006

Building on a Firm Family Foundation

Even more amazing than the miles Francisco travels, are the achievements he makes on several fronts simultaneously. “In the beginning of 2012 I was missing having my own herd so together with my wife we started looking for the next level. For us that would mean being a dairy breeder in the North American Market with a global Scope.” Never one to dream big without doing his homework Francisco tells what they did next, all the while making it sound easy. “After visiting some of the most influential herds in the USA and Canada we met the foundation of our new project KHW Regiment Apple A1 RED-ETN a clone of the R & W world champion 2011 and million dollar APPLE.” This purchase is a fascinating story on its own. Another day perhaps.

KHW REGIMENT APPLE 1-RED

The Bullvine Bottom Line

And so a passionate cattle man continues on several fronts to build his dream. In April 2012 Colganados began its history as a member of the USA Holstein Association. There have been many dimensions to the journey so far but Francisco recognizes that the diversity is what keeps him passionate “At the end of the day, the combination of all different kinds of knowledge, experiences and daily life bring a unique vision for every person.” Exactly!

Robotic Milking: More than just automation it’s a new style of herd management.

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Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

Everyone agrees that dairy farming is hard work 24-7. Effective labour management is not only a financial cost but it also impacts herd health and production. The past decade has seen increased uptake and considerable improvements in robotic milking. This has been a direct outgrowth of concerns relating to finding, training and financing farm labour.

The Bullvine had the opportunity to meet and interview four robot users. First is Francisco Rodriguez of Madison, Wisconsin who is a recognized authority on the use of robots and brings his experience as a veterinarian, breeder and Dairy Management Advisor Automatic Milking for DeLaval North America (Read more – Francisco Rodriguez – Passion with a purpose). We also talked to three Canadian breeders, Roger Wikkerink (Norwich, ON), Gerrit Wensink, (Innerkip ON) and Terry Howell (Jerseyville,ON).

These gentlemen generously shared their insights with The Bullvine.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ROBOTS?

The simplest answer, in each case, boiled down to “Robots are the right choice for labor efficiency”. Of course, there’s no such thing as a truly one size fits all simple answer and that’s where Francisco Rodriguez gives us a good method for determining if robots are right for your situation. He recommends this: “Ask yourself: ‘Why do I want to buy Robots? If the answer is “I want to be more efficient at managing my herd, while building a sustainable operation and working smarter rather than harder” then you will succeed. However, if the answer is ‘I don’t want to spend time in the barn, robots will help me to do everything’ then sell the cows and play golf, because you still you need to manage your business and work with your cows, whether you use robots or not.”

All three Ontario dairymen went to robots to address labour needs and to find more time to spend with family or to focus on crucial areas of the operation. Gerrit was competing for labour with Toyota and robotics allows his hired staff to have better hours and use their time more productively. For example there is now less time moving cattle and better hours. It took a minimum of three people for each milking (3x). As well, all four gentlemen felt that automated milking is where it is at and especially where it will be at in the future. They made the leap.

Terry Howell & family

HOW DO ROBOTS WORK FOR YOU?

Francisco knows robotics from setup to output and is one of the best North American resources with experience in Colombia as well. He gives this overview. “Automatic milking a proven technology. After 20 years more than 1.2 million dairy cows are milked by robots globally. What makes the main difference from farm to farm is having a well designed barn managed by a knowledgeable proactive dairyman.” He urges anyone considering robotics to “Make sure you choose a layout that fits into your philosophies and management style. This is the key. The best layouts are simple and always expandable.”

Roger Wikkerink milks 70 cows and reports that he “likes cows and working with them”. In his setup, all the animals of all ages are under one roof and when someone is not there, he has cameras to monitor the barn. He set up his first robot ten years ago and used it for 8.5 years. For the past year and a half he has upgraded to the newest technology and reports that “There have been many improvements.”

Gerrit Wensink installed six robots four and half years ago, using three for fresh and three for pregnant cows. He sees his most important role as that of manager and feels that is the highest priority regardless of your milking system. He was challenge and has adapted to working with technology after facing labour that became too expensive in competition with nearby Toyota.

Terry Howell is the newest of our group to take up robotics and milks 60 cows and has one robot. Has 14 months experience under his belt and reports “ I had to do considerable thinking about how to do things better.” and, like the others, found that robotics provided the best opportunity for his situation.

ROBOTS RANK HIGH ON PERFORMANCE

Whether it is with 60 cows in Ontario or 1000+ cows in the US, robotics is meeting and surpassing the expectations of the farmers who have adopted the technology. As mentioned, Roger moved with enhancements and upgraded his robots and Terry is so pleased, at this point, that he has purchased more quota.

Francisco expands on what robots can mean to a dairy operation. “Robots are living up to expectations. They are reliable and becoming more reliable all the time. Robots gives (me) family time and mean not having to hire more labour. A robot milking 60-70 cows for one family plus young stock, gives the farm operator time to observe and manage and gives more time to work with fresh cows or animals that need attention. The breeder works as a manager not the labourer. Robotics is a great tool for business oriented farmers” is how he sums up the benefits.

From the cattle management point of view there are several observations. “Teat ends are much better, cows are not over milked – robot takes off when each teat is done.” Even the environment is changed. “It is quiet in the barn.” This peaceful setting now means that some routine events like bedding, vet checks, herd health, and hoof trimming, can represent enough of a disruption in cows’ milking schedules that they may drop in production at those times.” However all agree that the benefits of a more flexible personal schedule and the fact that they can get “more milk from less cows” are benefits that definitely weigh significantly on the positive side.

SIRE SELECTION FOR ROBOTIC MILKING

The area of specific selection for robotics is relatively new. For Roger Wikkerink it is not an issue and therefore has not changed his bull selection criteria. “I still require that bulls be +12 for Conformation. They must be positive for component percentages. Specifically I want to minimize to minimize use of Oman blood because they lack dairy strength and the median suspensary ligament is not as strong as I would like.” He details his selection. “I am using Goldwyn (still some semen) and his sons – Lauthority and Lavanguard then Dempsey, Fever, Sid, Damion and Windbrook. I have used Shottle but only later – none milking yet, … sires must have type and + components.” He adds, “I must like the pedigree of any sire I use. My preference is to use daughter proven sires.”

Gerrit Wessink reports his method. “Every proof run I sit down and look the bulls over. I pick out one main bull to use for the next four months. Besides ONE proven bull I also use 3-5 high genomic bulls for one proof time (4 months). If I need more variety I do it thru choosing more genomic bulls.” This spreads the risk. “I have been using Manifold – now have 70 milking daughters – and they are fantastic. They will not be the kind for the show ring but I reviewed them (yesterday) and they are significant plus for BCAF + BCAP (that’s what I like). ” Over and over the robotics users emphasize that you want to meet your individual goals with the system. Gerrit also has good news for those concerned about calving ease. “You can in one generation get calving easy into a herd. That is very necessary when staff are not always present in the barn.”

With experience in very large commercial herds, in and out of North America, Francisco looks feels character is a trait to consider. “Aggressive cows are a must since segregating cows in groups by lactation stage is not recommended and according to practical conditions small farms milking less than 60 cows-one robot will have limitations to house young and adult cows in different groups. If the cows don’t have the strength and willingness to compete, they won’t have the same opportunity to perform in a voluntary milking system like this.” He also points out the feet and legs are vital to getting the most from the robotic system. “If cows don’t have good mobility in a system where nobody is there to push them to the parlour, there is no way they will access the robot to get milked by their own.”

For Terry Howell sire selection is simplified in his management system. Knowing, for one example, that udders that are too deep or too shallow can both be a problem, he uses an AI mating program to select sires. In that program he can set the parameters he wants and the program will select sires according to cow his particular parameters.

Resources for Breeders

North American AI organizations are recommending sires to use in robotic herds. Robot Ready Sires from Semex is one example. DeLaval is developing a performance index. Francisco outlines what they are working toward. “Sires that work best in the system are identified. The Performance index measures how fast and easy the robot can attach the teat cups to a cow with an exclusive indicator relating to attachment. Cows over 100% are great for robots, below 99% means they are losing efficiency. Sometimes there are cows with very high milking speed but really poor attachment times and that makes them inefficient in a robotic system.” There are undoubtedly great developments ahead despite the ongoing challenge of the heritability of selecting for a total performance. It is still very low.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

All four gentlemen are excited about the potential of robotic milking and are very satisfied with the choice of going to robotics. Terry Howell is enthusiastic, “So much so that I have just bought more quota.” Gerritt, Wessink and Rodriguez emphasize how robotics allows them and their work force to focus on management.

Management, regardless of the system your dairy uses, is the modern day #1 priority. Robots allow this focus in a sustainable, effective and financially realistic way. They all foresee this as a growing trend in a dairy industry that is moving toward “smart and sustainable” dairy farm management.

Pine-Tree Monica Planeta Is the New Genomic Super Star Maker

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Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Sandy-Valley Farms, located in central Wisconsin, is owned and operated by three brothers, David, Patrick and Frank Bauer Jr. A fourth brother, Greg, helps with the breeding and marketing programs. Frank’s daughter Danae manages the calf program and assists Greg with the breeding and marketing programs. The Bauer family farms 1500 acres and milks 450 Holsteins in a free stall set-up. Embryo transfer and IVF are important tools in their program. We are already familiar with Sandy Valley families which include names like Sandy Valley Bolton, the outstanding sire with top daughters and now sons. It is exciting to talk with Greg about the future they are building toward at Sandy Valley.

Start with Clear Goals and Go Beyond

In talking about their success, Greg clarifies the breeding goals that are the basis they build from at Sandy Valley Farms. “We aim to breed a cow that can respected by the commercial dairymen, yet admired by the type enthusiast.” As simple as that sounds Greg acknowledges that it can be complicated. “When you set your breeding goals it is easy to play it safe. However it is going to take new genetic strategies to meet the needs of the new genetics marketplace.” He says with encouragement knowing that it is only by taking risks that Sandy Valley is making progress. Pine-Tree Monica Planeta-ET is an example of a foundation cow that has the potential to launch superstar generations.

PINE-TREE MONICA PLANETA-ET VG-85-2YR

Attracted by Planetas

Hindsight is always 20/20. That’s why it’s great to hear from breeders who have the good fortune to pick a winner. Greg ticks off the points that attracted Sandy Valley to Planeta: “She was from a proven sire; possessed a high genomic rank in comparison to age-mates and paternal sisters; and she was from a cow family that had has brought us success in the past.” Greg then describes why she fits so well with the Sandy Valley breeding goals, “Planeta is a modern freestall cow. Moderate in stature with plenty of strength and width. She has a nice spring to her rib, a silky hide and an attractive cut to her front end and shoulder. Her udder is soundly attached with great cleft and teat placement. She has somewhat more set to her rear leg than optimal but possesses a clean, flat bone.” He saves the best adjectives for last, “Planeta tracks beautifully and almost glides when she walks.”

New Genomic Stars at Sandy Valley Revolve Around Planeta

First let’s take a look at Planeta’s own record:

Pine-Tree Monica Planeta
Sire: Planet
VG-85 VVV+V @ 2-7 DOM
2-01 2x 184 15564 3.8 598 3.3 508 (incomplete)
GTPI +2239 gTPI 697 NM$ 2.88 PTAT
In August 2012, Planeta was the #12 GTPI cow and dam of the #2 GTPI heifer. She had 4 daughters over 2400G, a Numero Uno son over +2500 and a Sudan son over +2400 GTPI.
The starts in her orbit expanded with the December 2012 Proof Indexes. She now has 9 daughters over DGV LPI 3000: 5 Numero Unos; 2 Epics; 1 Armitage and 1 Banco daughter. Outstanding!

Planeta Daughters Start Their Own Outstanding Orbits

The numbers definitely proclaim that Numero Uno has been the best cross on Planeta. Looking at those first six daughters, there were three over +2400 gPA TPI.


*Penelope*	(Numero Uno)	+2647 gPA TPI +3.50 PTAT +3716 gPA LPI +4156 DGV LPI
*Paxton*	(Numero Uno)	++2524 gPA TPI +2.64 PTAT +3463 gPA LPI +3713 DGV LPI
*Precious*	(Numero Uno)	++2503 gPA TPI +3.22 PTAT +3509 gPA LPI +3892 DGV LPI
*Paisley*	(Numero Uno)	+2447 gPA TPI +3.30 PTAT +3282 gPA LPI +3483 DGV LPI

Planeta & Ammon-Peachey Shauna: These Genomic Hits are Both “Miss”es

Even while we stand in awe of the offspring of Planeta, research tells us that it really could or should have been expected because of Planeta’s shared lineage with the outstanding Ammon-Peachy Shauna (Read more – AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA – 2012 Golden Dam Finalist). Three generations back Shauna and Planeta trace their heritage to Wesswood MH Rudy Missy and her daughters, Miss Martha, in the case of Planeta, and Miss. Monica, for Shauna. They have the exact same sire stack: Planet x Shottle x Oman x Rudolph. Definitely Planeta is a fully functioning contributor to an all-star family.

PINE-TREE MONICA PLANETA VG-2YR-USA	AMMON-PEACHY SHAUNA VG-87-2YR-USA DOM
PINE-TREE MONICA SUELA VG-87 DOM	PINE-TREE MARTHA SHEEN VG-86-3YR-USADOM 1*
PINE-TREE MISSY MONICA VG-85-5YR-USA DOM GMD	PINE-TREE MISSY MARTHA VG-86-4YR-USA DOM
WESSWOOD-HC RUDY MISSY EX-92-3E-USA DOM GMD

Other Prominent Cow Families at Sandy Valley

You know that Sandy Valley has high goals in mind that includes establishing other great cow families. Greg lists them for us: “The Barbies, Dellias, Rudolph Missy, Ravens, Bolton Music, Terry Tory, Juror Faith, Cosmopolitans, and Oman 6121.

Using Genomics to Look Toward the Future

Greg has a simple viewpoint on why you should use young sires on top cow families. “Use young sires to maximize genetic progress.” He states emphatically and then looks into the future realistically, “Granted all high G young sires won’t stay high but then neither do all high proven bulls once their second crop is in the system.” Sandy Valley Farm looks for certain attributes for all young sires they use. “GTPI ranking and overall transmitting pattern are taken into account, as well as the cow family they stem from. We also prefer those out of proven sires such as “Freddie, Man-O-Man, Massey, Snowman and Super.” He notes that “We are currently using a wide variety of high G young sires and a few of the highest GPTI proven sires.

Advice for Those Seeking Sky High Success

Every great herd starts with a plan and Greg advises everyone to start with this end in mind. “Consider your goals. If you’re most interested in building a sound, functional herd with few ‘2yr old mistakes’ stay with proven sires, especially those with 2^nd crop information.” Greg then goes on to suggest another option. “If you’re interested in working at the cutting edge of genetic improvement, incorporate some of the high G young sires.” Like all other parts of the discussion, he rounds out the advice: “When using young sires, it’s often best to spread your risk and use more than just one.” Cautionary and visionary at the same time.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

It is always wonderful when we can benefit from the insights of great cattle breeding families. Sandy Valley Farm is building their success on a solid cow family foundation. We wish them well as they take Planeta and go where genomics has never gone before!

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.

The 12 Holstein Sires to Maximize Genetic Gain

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Monday, December 10th, 2012

With the December 2012 genetic evaluation release and all the changes to the different systems, many breeders are finding it hard to figure out which sires are the ones they should be taking a closer look at for their breeding programs. In typical Bullvine fashion we decided to not only provide you with the top lists (Read more in our Genetic Evaluations Section) but also to look at what sires will help you maximize your genetics, by identifying which ones address certain needs. Here is what we found from the 99% Rank worldwide for their area of specialty.

Overall Performance Improvement

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

COYNE-FARMS DORCY
(Bolton x Bret x Rudolph)
Last proof run, we had concerns with Dorcy as his parent averages and DGVs were higher than his actual daughter performance. However, with his daughter numbers nearly doubling in December, his actual daughter performance is now higher than his PA’s and right on where his DGV had been predicted. Look for Dorcy to sire balanced dairy cattle that have great udders and very good feet & legs, though he will need to be protected for dairy strength fat percent and specifically his body depth and chest width.
LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN
(O Man x Aaron x Bellwood)
There is no question that the story around the world is how well Man-O-Man daughters are performing (Read more – Man-O-Man will he turn platinum?) While we are huge Man-O-Man fans, he has yet to leave a son who has Genomic results that are higher than his own on the CDN system (Read more – Is Man-O-Man really going to be a sire of sons?). When it comes to your breeding goals, he certainly is a sire that should still get consideration even for the most aggressive genomic programs. Look for Man-O-Man to sire outstanding production from cattle who have correct feet and legs and strong mammary systems. One area to watch him for is his rump angle, as his daughters can be a touch high in the pins.
MR LOOKOUT P ENFORCER
(Facebook x Shottle x O Man)
One sire that is certainly going to be on the top of everyone’s list is Enforcer. He may be hard to get your hands on as he is just one year old and Semex will probably only be releasing him for contract matings (Read more – Select Sires vs. Semex – A contrast in cooperatives). This Marbri Facebook son has the highest DGVs in the breed. Look for him to sire extreme component yields from strong dairy cattle with great feet and legs. One area to be cautious on using him is his body depth. Both his sire stack and his DGVs would say this area needs protecting. For those looking for an early release genomic sire, check out GenerVations Liquid Gold born on the same day as Enforcer but yet publically available (Read more – $750 Dollar Semen! Are you crazy?)

Production Improvement

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

ZANI BOLTON MASCALESE
(Bolton x O Man x Adam)
Much like the Nerello grapes that the Mascali area of Italy is famous for, Mascalese is a sire that works best when used to balance out a pedigree by offering a strong production infusion. Mascalese is the perfect mating for Planet’s, Man-O-Man’s and Goldwyn’s, as he will add the dairy strength and rump improvement that is needed.
DE-SU ALTAGOALMAN
(Bolton x O Man x BW Marshall)
Holding strong in the US proving system that saw many sires drop over the last proof round is AltaGoalman. This proven Bolton son from the Genomic powerhouse De-Su, offers extreme production with acceptable percent components, He delivers significant overall production improvement. While AltaGoalman will not hurt your udders and legs, he certainly needs to be protected on body depth and rump. AltaGoalman is most definitely best suited for commercial environments but can also be used for a shot of production, if used carefully.
TRIONE NIAGRA VIGOR
(Niagra x O Man x Throne)
Certainly a sire to consider, for those looking to push the genomic envelope and yet still wanting to find new bloodlines, is Vigor. Vigor is a RI-VAL-RE 2338 NIAGRA son from a TRIONE MAN IDRA VG-89-ITA. She is from one of Italy’s most dominant cow families TRIONE AARON BELLUNA VG-89-ITA. Idra is an O-Man daughter of TRIONE THRONE ELENA VG-88-ITA. Look for Vigor to be the genomic equivalent of AltaGoalman and needs to be protected on rump and dairy strength but offers tremendous production improvement. He is a great option for a progressive breeder looking to develop a more unique bloodline.

Longevity Improvement

Recent changes to the US system for productive life rankings may have breeders scratching their heads. Here are some sires that bring some light to the situation. In addition to Dorcy and Enforcer, other sires to consider for longevity improvement are:

GOLDDAY
(Goldwyn x O Man x Durham)
Goldday is a Goldwyn son from A-L-H DESTINY VG-87-3YR-USA DOM GMD. Destiny is of course the popular bull mother from Markwell Durham Daisy (Read more – Markwell Durham Daisy – 2012 Golden Dam Finalist), proven in Germany. Goldday is also the full brother to former #1 German sire Danillo. Look for Goldday to sire unbelievable udders and legs as well as long herd life. One area where you will want to protect Goldday is rump angle. Be cautious in using him on cattle that need production improvement.
BADGER-BLUFF FANNY FREDDIE
(O Man x Die Hard x Metro)
Freddie’s jump back to the top of the TPI list is not surprising as his daughters continue to perform. Much like his father O Man, Freddie was not given much use, as his low type numbers scared many breeders away. But, also like his father, his daughters tend to last much longer than their type numbers would indicate. That’s because Freddie has outstanding fitness traits that helps him leave low maintenance daughters. They are not angular and they are not deep but they do they milk hard and last long.
CRACKHOLM FEVER
(Goldwyn x Blitz x Mattie G)
Battling with GUTHRIE and the Goldwyn sons of MD-DELIGHT DURHAM ATLEE (Read more – MD-Delight Durham Atlee – 2012 Golden Dam Finalist) Fever may be the best proven Goldwyn son in the world. Fever is just one of the sires that does a lot of things right. He has strong fitness traits combined with great type numbers that contribute to daughters lasting a long time. Considering that production is one of the lower reasons breeders cull cattle (Read more – Fact vs. Fantasy: A realistic approach to sire selection), it’s no wonder that Fever daughters will have a long career in many herds.

Health and Fertility Improvement

As I tried to point out in our recent article, Who killed the market for good dairy cattle?, breeders need to focus more on what their actual management goals are and less on their perceptions, or misconceptions. That means putting a greater focus on health and fertility, when choosing mating sires in your herd. In addition to Enforcer, Fever and Freddie here are some sires to consider:

CERVI PHONIC
(Rolex x Tugolo x AltaFormation)
While not a name that most breeders know, Phonic is certainly going to get some attention from breeders looking to breed to where the industry is headed. With extremely low SCS and high daughter fertility combined with functional type and above average production, Phonic is leaving daughters that are extremely low maintenance. Tracing back to the great Italian brood cow Cervi FIRESTONE, this family has produced such sires as BUXON, WOODSTOCK and PADERNUS. Given his high rump angle, it is interesting that he is such a good calving ease sire.
ZIMMERVIEW BRITT VARS
(Britt x Tugolo x Metro)
In Vars you get one of the top proven sires for daughter pregnancy rate, calving ease and productive life. Surprisingly this Britt son has an outstanding fat percentage coming from his MGS Tugolo. However, his sire stack also dictates that he very much needs to be protected on type, especially udders. It is ironic that a sire with such high herd life also sires deep udders that need improvement in udder cleft.
WALHOWDON RUSSELL COBRA
(Russell x O Man x BW Marshall)
Cobra is an early Russell son from a deep cow family. His genomic test results are extremely high, especially for the health and fertility traits. Breeders looking to enhance the profitability of their herd and push the genomic envelope will certainly be looking to Cobra. Cobra should be protected on bone quality as well as body depth.

Type Improvement

Hey everyone loves a winner and extra value, so that is why we added 3 extra type improvement sires. Great show cows are as much bred as they are “made”, as is evident by some of the great show cows from Quality Holsteins (Read more – Quality Holsteins – Well-deserved congratulations) In addition to the 7 Sires to use in order to breed the next world dairy expo champion, we offer these three sires to consider.

GEN-MARK STMATIC SANCHEZ
(Stormatic x BW Marshall x Winchester)
Breeders who were are the 2012 Royal Winter Fair (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair – One of the greatest stories every told!) will certainly find it hard to argue with this selection. Valleyvillle Rae Lyn VG-89-2YR, sired by Sanchez certainly impressed many and will give even the best Goldwyns a run for their money in 2014 (Read more – Quality Cattle Look Good Every Day). Look for Sanchez to sire extreme frames and superb feet and legs, though he may need to be protected on rear teat position and teat length
TOC-FARM DUPLEX GLAUCO
(Duplex x Allen x Progress)
For those of you looking for something with an international flair but a solid base, there is Glauco. Glauco is the Duplex son of the great Italian show cow TOC-FARM ALLEN AMYLY EX-96-ITA, who is from a EX-93-ITA Progress and then the great brood cow SUNNYLODGE SKYCHIEF AMY EX-95-2E-GBR 5* who of course is from an EX-2E 8* Tab then the legendary SUNNYLODGE PRELUDE SPOTTIE VG-87-3YR-CAN 18*. Glauco daughters are extremely tall and open and have amazing rear udders. He should be protected on the set to his rear legs (curved ), similar to Skychief but with much better bone quality.
VAL-BISSON DOORMAN
(Bookem x Shottle x Goldwyn)
For those of you who breed for type but are willing to use genomic sires, Doorman is for you. This Bookem from a Shottle has no great show cattle in his pedigree, but, at +22, he does have a very high genomic test for conformation. Genomically test speaking, he is the perfect sire for the show ring. Doorman will be a great test to see if Genomics works in the show ring (Read more – Does Genomics Belong in the Show Ring?)

The Bullvine Bottom Line

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

Check out our Genetic Evaluations Section for more information.

Who Killed The Market For Good Dairy Cattle?

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Friday, December 7th, 2012

This past week I was asked to speak at a local county annual meeting about how breeders could “leverage the power of the internet to sell their genetics?” Great topic, but my problem was I could not lie to them.

As I walked in the room, I saw breeders that I had previous connections with. I had dated their daughters, been given my first cattle clipping assignments and had visited with them many times when I was first selling semen. Suddenly it came all rushing in on me how much the market has changed. Sure I could teach them how to set up a Facebook page and keep regular updates on their website. My problem is that focusing on those topics would not have done much for them.

Why you ask? You see the #1 rule of great marketing is to have a great product that people want. Everything turns on this. Am I saying that these breeders don’t have great cattle? Actually the exact opposite is true. In the group was the breeder of the #2 available LPI sire in Canada (FREUREHAVEN NIAGARA Read more – December 2012 World Wide Holstein Genetic Evaluation Highlights). The fact is, there is no demand for the product that these breeders have to offer. In the meeting, Ralph Freure commented “ In the past, when a bull like Niagara came out the breeder of such a bull would have their phone ringing off the hook for embryo orders and bull contracts. These days, other than the A.I. company that sampled him no one called.” Why is that?

Well, the answer is, it’s because, these days, unless you have a 2300 TPI or 3000 LPI cow or heifer, no one is interested. Take our analysis of the recent big sales (Read more – An Insider’s Guide To What Sells At The Big Dairy Cattle Auctions) you will notice that while polled gets some interest and selling a pick from a show cow that is currently winning at the big shows, anything else is just not in demand.

Gone are the days where you could breed a 5+ generation VG or EX cow and expect to get top dollar when selling her or her progeny. As I listened to the group discuss recent changes to the point system for the Canadian Master Breeder awards, I found myself thinking two things. First: the passion these people have for dairy cattle is outstanding and second do their breeding goals fit with their management goals? And that is what I talked about.

The Bullvine Holstein Mature Model Cow

While we all want to breed that next great show cow (Read more – 7 Sires to Use in Order to Breed the Next World Dairy Expo Champion) and we all have a different definition of what that great cow would look like (Read more – The Perfect Holstein Cow) the big thing is will either of these goals pay the bills anymore? Or, is it more important to breed cows that are most profitable where it counts…..the milk check? (Read more – Fact vs. Fantasy: A Realistic Approach to Sire Selection)

The Bullvine Total Performance 2 Yr Old Cow

During the discussion about the requirements for the Master Breeder Shield one of the comments was that a cow should be 15% above the national average in order to qualify for points. This more than anything demonstrated for me how disconnected we have become from what actually pays the bills. Are you telling me that production is not a key component in a great breeding program? Are we saying that having a narrow type focus is all that should be the measure of a great breeder? WOW!!! Dairy breeders are business people? They have bills to pay and kids to feed. The number one revenue source on the farm is the milk check not the livestock sales. And trust me that trouble free GP83 2yr old that milks 12,000 kgs (25,200 lbs) pays a lot more bills than the high maintenance VG-87-2yr old that milks 9,000 kgs (18,900 lbs).

We all want to breed that next great 2yr old, but does the dream pay the bills?

The Bullvine Bottom Line

You can argue that genomics has killed the market for `good` pedigreed cattle and that IVF has flooded the marketplace. To some extent both are true. But I would add another aspect for you to consider. The recent financial stresses in the world have opened many breeders’ eyes to what pays the bills. Breeders are business people first and, as a result, their expenditures and even their breeding goals have changed. Have yours?

December 2012 World Wide Holstein Genetic Evaluation Highlights

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

While the introduction of genomics has certainly changed the dairy industry, this proof round also proves that it’s an evolving science. With adjustments in both the US and Canadian systems, the December 2012 Genetic Evaluations are as much about the changes in the system as it is about the new sires.

In the US, USDA made significant changes to the system including a correction and adjustment of health and functional trait evaluations and reliabilities. These changes have led to a much closer grouping of the top TPI sires (15%). We all know that just as breeders are learning how to use genomics, geneticists are also learning how to evolve this technology and ensure it’s accuracy. In Canada there have also been refinements to the DGV system, including regression analysis as well as a tightening of the range of the top end animals. The number of DGV LPI’s over 4000 has gone down drastically, with many sires seeing about a 400-500 DGV LPI drop.

More than ever these changes highlight that instead of selecting sires by their rank on the list, with such close numbers, it is now more important to make sure that you select the sire that is the corrective mate for your animals.

USA

All is quiet on the American front. Even the story of the top two sires BADGER-BLUFF FANNY FREDDIE and COYNE-FARMS DORCY is about how they held their numbers to move up the ranks rather than increased their numbers.
Even WABASH-WAY EXPLODE, who we were hesitant to endorse last round as his Parent Averages and DGV’s are higher than his current daughter performance, held relatively the same numbers with the addition of 10 more daughters (Note: His DGV’s and PA’s are still higher than current daughter performance).
One interesting newcomer that caught our eye was RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN. Domain is the 1^st proven sire from Trans America Genetics (TAG) and his initial proof was spot on to his expected genomic and parent averages (slightly lower for production but indications are that it will adjust) Bodes well for great things to come from the TAG program.

CANADA

The biggest story in Canada is the official domestic proof of LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN. Man-O-Man didn’t disappoint the many rumors that where swirling (Read more – Man-O-Man will he turn platinum?) but does cause us some concerns about his use as a sire of sons (Read more – Is Man-O-Man going to be a sire of sons?).
A bull that will certainly catch a lot of attention in Canada FREUREHAVEN NIAGARA. This Bolton son from the high index bull mother COMESTAR LAUTELLA GOLDWYN VG-87 2* is leaving daughters that love to milk and that do so from strong udders and great feet and legs.
This proof round for Canada was packed with many high-ranking bulls receiving their first official LPI proof including 25 in the Top 100, 14 in the Top 50 and 9 in the Top 20 for LPI. Most of these were US proven sires receiving their first Canadian proof such as UFM-DUBS AltaEsquire (O Man x Rich-Ro Mark Sam-ET) at #4 LPI and the new #1 for Fat this round; Crockett-Acres Otto-ET (O Man x Crockett-Acres Mtot Elly- ET) arriving at #13 LPI and immediately followed, with a difference of only 15 LPI points, by his full Canadian proven brother Crockett-Acres Eight-ET at #12 LPI.

INTERNATIONAL

Cogent Twist becomes number one UK proven sire in December proof run. COGENT TWIST has continued his climb through the rankings to become the new number one UK-proven sire. Twist combines his PLI of £229 with hardwearing daughter type traits including dairy strength, width and body depth.
In Italy Encino EVONYMON ET TV is the highest new bull for PFT this run (standing 10th in the Italian rankings). Evonymon is one of the highest sires for milk in the Italian PFT ranking at over 1600Kgs. He also has a positive fat and protein %, a functional type with 2.47 feet & legs and positive Fitness traits. The other high new release sire is Encino EGYPTIAN ET TV the full brother of Evonymon and stands 15th on the official Italian rankings. He has excellent fat (0.16) and protein (0.11) with over 1,300 kg of milk. Fertility is high, and is a somatic cell score improver.
Other international stars such as ZANI BOLTON MASCALESE, FLEVO GENETICS SNOWMAN and HEIDENSKIPSTER GOLDDAY all held their numbers as well as international rankings.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While there were certainly some exciting new sires this proof round, the bigger story is about the way current stars are holding their domestic numbers as they receive international proofs. This stability highlights the strengths of the MACE system and shows how different countries are enhancing their use of Genomics to more accurately predict the future genetic stars.

Is Man-O-Man Really Going to be a Sire of Sons?

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Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

This week LONGS-LANG OMAN OMAN (Man-O-Man) received outstanding indexes around the world (#6 TPI and #1 LPI) much like the rumours before this proof round had predicted (Read more – Man-O-Man Will He Turn Platinum?). Now many breeders are again considering him for their breeding programs. While we can totally support the principle of using the best sire to produce the next generation of AI bulls, we are not sure that Man-O-Man will be a great sire of sons. Here’s our reasoning.

When you take a close look at Man-O-Man’s progeny, you find that 6 of his daughters worldwide have a higher gLPI than he has. They are COMESTAR LAUTAMAI MAN O MAN, STANTONS MANOMAN EZRA, SEAGULL-BAY SHAUNA SATURN, BENNER MANOMAN JANESSE, DONNANDALE MANOMAN JAKARTA and STE ODILE MANOMAN MODEL SAPHIR. Three of these daughters have Estimated Breeding Values and three are younger and have Parent Averages. What really stands out and catches our eye is that none of his sons (PA or EBV) have a higher gLPI than he has. In fact his highest gLPI son is almost 5% lower on his indexes than he is. It begs the question, “Will Man-O-Man ever have a son that indexes higher than himself?”

Proven Track Record

When we look at the current CDN Sires of Top 100 LPI Bulls, we find the following sires are proving themselves as sires of sons.

O-BEE MANFRED JUSTICE (O Man)
the sire of Man-O-Man, has 6 sons in the top 100 in Canada with an average LPI of 2496. This is by far the highest LPI average for sons! O Man has 15 genomically tested daughters worldwide higher than himself and 18 genomically tested sons worldwide indexing higher than himself.(Ratio of 45% daughters to 55% sons).
SANDY-VALLEY BOLTON (Bolton)
has the next highest son average LPI at 2137 on 11 sons. Worldwide Bolton has 141 genomically tested daughters and 52 genomically tested sons higher than himself. (Ratio of 73% daughters to 27% sons).
EMERALD-ACR-SA T-BAXTER (Baxter)
follows next. He has 9 sons averaging 2023 LPI. On a global basis Baxter has 292 genomically tested females and 191 genomically tested sons higher than himself. (Ratio of 60% daughters to 40% sons).

These previous three sires have produced BOTH daughters and sons, who have surpassed them. Let’s look at another list that is producing top bull mothers but who have yet to produce a legacy son.

BRAEDALE GOLDWYN
139 daughters genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
36 sons genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
(Ratio of 80% daughters to 20% sons)
ENSENADA TABOO PLANET
91 daughters genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
39 sons genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
(Ratio of 70% daughters to 30% sons)
PICSTON SHOTTLE
379 daughters genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
84 sons genomically tested worldwide higher than himself
(Ratio of 82% daughters to 18% sons)

The anomaly is Bolton. He ranks high for progeny average LPI on both the CDN List for Top 100 LPI Bulls (#2) and on the Sire of Top 1000 GLPI Cows (#3). However, his ratio indicates that he will work slightly better as the sire of bull mothers.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The past foretells the future. Instead of running out to use Man-O-Man to produce that next great sire of sons, he is better used to generate that next great bull mother. Also, instead of looking to use Man-O-Man sons as the next great sires of AI bulls, breeders should perhaps look at sons out of Man-O-Man daughters . History has shown that some bulls are meant to be bull mothers (Goldwyn, Planet and Shottle) and some bulls are more destined to be sires of sons (AltaBaxter, and Oman). Man-O-Man’s numbers would indicate that he is going to be a better producer of bull mothers.

EASTSIDE HOLSTEINS – Where Modern Marketing Rises to the Challenge

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Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

For most of us The Eastside Lewisdale prefix is associated with the fame of “Missy”. Maria Jones, Marketing Manager for Eastside Holsteins modestly summarizes the connection. “Here at Eastside, we were lucky enough to have co-bred Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy EX 95, Grand & Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo and the Royal in 2011. That has really helped our exposure and marketing, not only of the Missy Family, but of other families here at Eastside”. As Bloyce Thompson, owner of Eastside Holsteins, points out, “When Missy took off as a Jr 2 yr old, we needed to be able to capitalize, get on board and go with her success.” The fact that Missy’s sister Amaze flushed well put even more marketing opportunities in front Eastside and partner Lewisdale (Read More – You Can Bank on Amaze to Pump up the Volume). “Our main focus has been selling embryos from well known families and making sure each customer is very satisfied with their purchase.”

EASTSIDE LEWISDALE GOLD MISSY EX-95-CAN
Supreme Champion WDE 2011. Grand Champion WDE 2011.
Supreme Champion RAWF 2011. Grand Champion RAWF 2011

Viewing the Future from EASTSIDE Out!

Bloyce and partner Jamie Lewis, of Lewisdale Holsteins, thought over the potential they were facing and decided to set up a new company Eastside-Lewisdale. They plan to have it underway early in 2013. One of their visions is of an embryo community. In order to do that, they know that they have to plan not only the financial side but also how to brand their genetic products. “We thought about it and decided we need email a web site” and all of the modern technology that puts PEI fully accessible to the marketplace. Bloyce admits “We knew we wanted someone who had great computer skills.” That’s where Maria Jones came into the picture.

Maria Jones
Marketing Manager at Eastside Holsteins

MISSY meets MARIA: Behind Every Super Star There is a Super Marketer!

It wasn’t long before the marketing part of the plan was put into action says Bloyce, with the hiring of Maria Jones. “I knew Maria had computer skills and that she was between jobs. She lived on PEI and started part time which has grown to almost two-thirds time now.” Maria has demonstrated her technical ability and how comfortable she is with global communication. Bloyce is enthusiastic, “She is a person I can give ideas to and she can take it from there.” Sales numbers are backing up the wisdom of the hiring a marketing person.”Since Maria started embryo sales are up 90%”

New Tools Greatly Enhance Familiar Methods

Modesty is contagious around PEI and Maria points out.”Of course, you have to have the product people want and be ready to roll.” As a marketing manager, she wears many different hats and faces the challenges and logistics of, not only marketing the products but getting them delivered. She notes,” In the cattle business it can be very complex and goes beyond the designing to record keeping, financial and managing the workload.” Time pressure is an added incentive. Bloyce states what he feels is obvious, “Holstein genomics is moving so fast that you must always be developing for the future market.” He gives an example. “Hailey has taken over From Missy so we must adapt to that.” Every tool is analysed and critiqued. “Embryo sales at World Dairy Expo time went well. We will likely try that again another year.”

More Information Sourced and Delivered with New Tools

Maria is well aware of modern tools. “We have been using Facebook and Twitter. It really helps communicate to our customers what is going on at Eastside. They know about our new purchases and what embryos we have available. We report show results and just about anything else that is happening.” They see the potential of using social media for real time updates. “On a daily basis, we broadcast to our audience around the world what is happening. It has been a very successful tool for Eastside.” Maria feels this asset also serves another valuable purpose, “It is a great advantage that we have two-way communication with others about what is going on in the industry.”

Good Two-Way Communication = Marketing Progress

Everyone at Eastside agrees that communication is important to their marketing strategy. Maria lists her favorite sources, “The internet, magazines, mixing and communicating with others at Shows and Sales are all great ways to keep up with the industry.” She is always eager to pick up something new. “I just keep an eye on what is going on around me and always notice everyone’s marketing efforts. I enjoy seeing all the new ideas and try to understand why they thought it was a good idea. I always keep in mind that they are in the same boat as I am!” She sums up the three L’s of her marketing philosophy, “I am never one to judge but I listen, look and learn!”

The Challenges of Dairy Marketing

In the fast paced world of modern dairy marketing it is important to know your priorities. Bloyce says the challenge is clear. “You must always plan ahead and have the current product that people want.” There are the usual business pressures to keep costs under control but this team feels that marketing must be able to reach the huge number of potential clients based around the world. Bloyce recalls, “A decade ago, living on PEI was a major disadvantage but, today, with the World Wide Web, location is not a problem.” This opportunity also presents the main challenge, “We are only touching a fraction of the market.” Both Bloyce and Maria recognize that creating interest means constantly facing deadlines. For instance “The website must be updated 3-4 times per week.” Although that might seem simple, it too turns on the speed of responses to email, phone calls and messages. Maria acknowledges,”It can be frustrating.” But admits that “Marketing can be a fun and enjoyable career.”

Walk in Your Buyer’s Boots and Walk Fast

Bloyce repeats business maxims we all know to be true, “The way that you position yourself, how you use words and how you treat customers are all very important.” He sees dairy breeding evolving to produce “a more functional cow with stronger immunity, better female reproduction and requiring minimum labour.” Maria agrees that the market drives demand, “We have turned to more of what the market will be looking for in the future, namely the polled breed and genomics.” Acknowledging that everyone is not interested in the same thing she feels that “Eastside has got you covered” by providing show cattle, type and genomics.

Develop Marketing Skills Where You Find Them

Drawing on his positive experience, Bloyce sums up the best advice he has for those looking to market their dairy genetics. First and foremost he feels “It is absolutely necessary that you have a product people want to buy.” Once you have met that hurdle, he suggests “Get with technology both on the farm and in marketing.” He points out what he feels is an obvious resource to develop, “Why not bring your children into the business via the marketing side of the farm, instead of just through the labour side.” He sums up his reasoning quite convincingly, “Kids run computers with their eyes closed.”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

At the end of the day, marketing only works if the story moves off the planning page and produces measureable results. Eastside and Lewisdale are banking on good marketing based on a philosophy of “Listen, Look and Learn” to promote their supply of genetics that the market is asking for. The future looks ready to shine brightly for Eastside-Lewisdale.

To learn how to get your farm on Facebook download this free guide.

Quality Cattle Look Good Every Day

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Monday, December 3rd, 2012

For years the comments have been made that show cows look very different in the ring than they do most other days of the year. I have heard breeders make comments about some great show cows that look All-World in the show ring and not even All-County in the barn. One of the biggest changes I have noticed in the past 10 years is how much this situation has changed.

More and more we are seeing cattle with consistent show pedigrees or type winning the shows. Does that mean that there are not as many “freaks” out there? Or, does it mean that show ethics and better management practices have led to the top genetic animals rising to the top? I think the latter is true.

Here are two great examples from my recent visit to Quality Holsteins

QUALITY GOLDWYN FLANSCO

This past week Flansco was scored EX-95 and I wanted to check her out. Flansco is the first third generation EX-95-CDN cow. Her dam was QUALITY GIBSON FINSCO who was HM. ALL-ONTARIO 5-YR 2008 & 2ND 5-YR ON DISCOVERY 2008 and her 2^nd dam was none other than QUALITY B C FRANTISCO EX-96-3E-CAN 18* and 2 time Royal Grand Champion as well as the 2005 Holstein Canada Cow of the Year. So there is no question that Flansco has a female line as well as strong type sire stack (Goldwyn x Gibson x Charles) behind her

Therefore it is certainly not surprising that I was able to get this great udder shot. After all, Flansco won grand at the recent Autumn Opportunity show (Read more – Autumn Opportunity Holsteins Show Results)

She looked this good when I visited just before milking time

VALLEYVILLE RAE LYNN

It’s also not surprising that, when I took a quick peek at Rae Lynn, the recent 2^nd Sr. 2yr Old from the Royal (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told!), I got this shot

She looked just as good on an average day on the farm

It’s obvious Rae Lynn has the complete package. Her dam is an EX 2E Champion sister to the 2011 Royal Winter Fair and Madison Supreme Champion EASTSIDE LEWISDALE GOLD MISSY, from the great STADACONA OUTSIDE ABEL VG-88-4YR-CAN 29*. Rae Lynn is also in the top 10 in Canada for her EBV for Conformation. However, as we all know it takes more than just great genetics to win at the big shows. More is exactly what these two cows have. The care they receive from the team at Quality Holsteins (Read more – Quality Holsteins – Well-Deserved Congratulations) and key team member Don Schwartz (Read more – Don Schwartz: “Love what you do and do the best you can!”) is second to none. It’s for that reason these cows that have the great genetics are all able to fulfill their potential. It is also the reason why these cows look so amazing day in and day out.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Gone are the days when you could take a complete meat bag cow to a show and expect her to do well. Between the progress in show ethics and in how we evaluate cows, the cream really is rising to the top. For me there is nothing better than going to the herds where these top cows reside and seeing that they look just as good in the barn as they did in the show ring…..well with a little more sh*t on them.

Lead, Follow, Or get out of the way!!!

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Friday, November 30th, 2012

When I was a kid, my father, who at the time was running type classification and breed improvement for Holstein Canada, had a plaque on the wall that read “Lead, follow, or get out of the way” by Thomas Pain. That is the philosophy that my father has lived his life by and has instilled in his children, It pretty much sums up everything we are doing her at the Bullvine.

Lead….

There is no question that, when you take a leadership position in anything, you open yourself up to extra scrutiny. That is why you may have noticed that other dairy magazines get so afraid of offending people that they become paralyzed by politics.

I can understand their concerns. There is no question that putting your comments and thoughts out there, opens you up to disapproval and lack of support. Over the course of the last nine months we have been the target of criticism. Many have said to me, “man you must have one thick skin.” And yes, here at the Bullvine, we do, either that or we are really bullheaded. But it’s not because we don’t care. Rather it is because we feel that there is a real need for such things to be said. We are willing to take that condemnation, knowing that in the end the industry as a whole is better because people are talking about the key issues that we all face.

In my opinion, in order to lead, you need to tell the truth and build the coalitions required to get communities moving forward. If no one is leading the discussion about the tough subjects that face the industry, how are we going to progress?

A vacuum cripples the industry. That is why we create things like the Bullvine Performance Index (Read more – Top BPI Heifers From Around The World) or talk about the management of organizations like Select Sires or Semex (Read more – Select Sires vs. Semex – A Contrast In Cooperatives), because no industry can progress in a vacuum.

Follow….

Fortunately the response we have received from many breeders has been outstanding. In just nine, months we have developed the second largest digital readership in the world. The growth rate and the response are far beyond what we could ever have expected.

What started out as one person thinking they had something to say, has developed into a megaphone for breeders around the world. The number of breeders who tell us that, “Hey that is exactly what I have been saying for years. Finally someone is speaking up about it”.

I am sure many people think that most of the stuff we talk about comes out of some weird place in my head. Actually it’s many heads. On any given day I will have 15 to 20 different chats on Facebook with breeders from around the world. The conversations I have had with these breeders are dynamic and inspire many of our most popular articles.

Get of the way

While those expressions of appreciation for what we do by far outweigh the negative, there have been those who seek to quiet or control us. They try this, because, in the past, they have been successful in squashing others who expressed their opinions. What they are now learning is that there is no stopping us. Threats of legal action, private slander, and public snubbing have no effect.

We are not here to appease the powers that be. We are here to give those that have not been able to have a voice, an opportunity to speak freely. The interactive comments and conversations we share with breeders on Facebook and on our own website are exactly why we are not going away.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that taking a leadership position has challenges. It also has it rewards. The numbers of amazing breeders we have met in the past nine months has been outstanding. It’s these great breeders and the other followers of our content that drive us every day to do better. For those who look to quiet us, all we can say is, “…… get out of the way”.

Top BPI Heifers From Around the World

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Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Since the DNA revolution (i.e. Genomics) AI organizations worldwide are more and more frequently using heifers as bull dams. With so many different countries and different systems it’s hard to determine just what heifers truly are the best in the world. We here at the Bullvine decided to bring some clarity. The following is our analysis.

There are many different indexes and each index offers “home field advantage” to animals that are tested and developed within that country. It is hard to compare animals from around the world on one single ranking. It seemed logical to develop the Bullvine Performance Index (BPI). In the BPI we use direct genomic values instead of parent averages and we also incorporate reliabilities, in order to account for animals whose indexes stand the best chance of being stable over time. As far as what traits we looked at, we have used an equally balanced weighting between production, longevity and health and fertility, as we see that emphasis represents where the market is heading. Instead of trying to be reactionary to the marketplace like most composite indexes, we are trying to be leading and ahead of the market. We also are publishing BPI as a percentage so that it is clear just how far apart each animal is from each other. Since this is a ranking index we felt it was more important to show the range between animals than to give a number that technically means nothing.

Top 50 BPI Heifers

Name	Country	Sire	MGS	BPI (%)
SANDY-VALLEY NU PENELOPE	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	100.0
DE-SU UNO 2145	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	DE-SU OBSERVER	99.0
S-S-I UNO MARA 8395	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	LADYS-MANOR PL SHAMROCK	95.1
SANDY-VALLEY UNO PAXTON	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	93.1
MS LOOKOUT PSC COBRABRYN	USA	WALHOWDON RUSSELL COBRA	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	92.8
DE-SU 1851	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	CO-OP BOSSIDE MASSEY	91.6
LEVEL-PLAIN GONZO DEMI	USA	CURRAJUGLE GONZO	RIDGE-STAR JAMMER	91.6
SANDY-VALLEY NU PRECIOUS	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	90.1
S-S-I GARROLD MORT 7923	USA	WELCOME GARROLD	RAMOS	90.1
STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA	CAN	PELLERAT MOON	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	90.1
DE-SU 1451	USA	LADYS-MANOR PL SHAMROCK	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	89.9
DE-SU ECOYNE 2024	USA	ECOYNE ISY	RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN	89.8
LOOKOUT PESCE PONDE KARLA	CAN	GENERVATIONS EPIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	89.5
MS MOVIESTAR SHAKER	USA	ROYLANE SOCRA ROBUST	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	89.5
MS DAYA DAIRY QUEEN	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN	89.0
STANTONS UNO EDDY	CAN	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	DE-SU OBSERVER	88.0
BLUE-HORIZON OSTYLE GEM	USA	BLUE-HORIZON OSTYLE GEM	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	87.8
OCONNORS LAST HOPE	CAN	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	87.4
LOOKOUT PESCE EPIC HUE	CAN	GENERVATIONS EPIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	87.3
DE-SU 1861	USA	VA-EARLY-DAWN SUDAN CRI	CHARLESDALE SUPERSTITION	87.3
S-S-I MOGUL SUPER 7913	USA	MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL	CHARLESDALE SUPERSTITION	87.3
FUSTEAD MOGUL LILAC	USA	MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL	SANDY-VALLEY BOLTON	87.2
DE-SU LARGE 2128	USA	GLEN-TOCTIN SUPER LARGE	DE-SU OBSERVER	86.6
SANDY-VALLEY HUNTER LUELLA	USA	COOKIECUTTER MOM HUNTER	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	86.3
DE-SU 363	USA	DE-SU OBSERVER	PICSTON SHOTTLE	86.1
OCD IOTA BANDANA	USA	REGANCREST ALTAIOTA	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	86.0
HFP LUCETTE	DEU	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	BRAEDALE GOLDWYN	85.9
SERIC EPIC MAYANA	CAN	GENERVATIONS EPIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	85.6
MAPEL WOOD SUDAN LICORICE	CAN	VA-EARLY-DAWN SUDAN CRI	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	85.4
MS DREARY DELOREAN	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	END-ROAD PVF BOLIVER	85.2
WILLSBRO UNO PLAN EDDA	GBR	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	ENSENADA TABOO PLANET	85.1
LESPERRON UNO DAZZ	CAN	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN	85.0
T-SPRUCE UNO 7165	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	CHARLESDALE SUPERSTITION	85.0
DE-SU PARADISE 2204	USA	REGANCREST PARADISE	DE-SU 521 BOOKEM	84.9
BOLDI V S G SUPERSONIC ALYSSA	CAN	MISTY SPRINGS SUPERSONIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	84.7
EDG DESIRE UNO DELLIA	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	MAPLE-DOWNS-I G W ATWOOD	84.6
T-GEN-AC UNO ROSANA	USA	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	BOSSIDE ALTAROSS	84.4
DE-SU 1918 KOOL	USA	HAMMER-CREEK ALTAKOOL	LAESCHWAY JET BOWSER	84.2
S-S-I MCC EDEN 8290	USA	DE-SU BKM MCCUTCHEN 1174	PINE-TREE BRET MINOS	84.2
SKYREACH N O SANTA MARIA	CAN	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO	DE-SU OBSERVER	83.9
DE-SU ECOYNE 1982	USA	ECOYNE ISY	RONELEE TOYSTORY DOMAIN	83.8
OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM	CAN	GENERVATIONS EPIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	83.5
DE-SU LITHIUM 1960	USA	S-S-I DOMAIN LITHIUM	DE-SU OBSERVER	83.4
S-S-I MOGUL SALTS 8018	USA	MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL	CHARLESDALE SUPERSTITION	83.3
S-S-I MOGUL MAYHEM 7963	USA	MOUNTFIELD SSI DCY MOGUL	RAMOS	83.2
BOMAZ ARMITAGE 5668	USA	RMW ARMITAGE	CHARLESDALE SUPERSTITION	83.1
CO-OP SHMRK YOPLAIT 6605	USA	LADYS-MANOR PL SHAMROCK	WA-DEL SEBASTIAN	82.9
CO-OP BLUMEN YANO 4156	USA	CO-OP UPD PLANET YANO	CO-OP TOYSTORY IRONIC	82.9
TAG-LANE 8383 YANO 6767	USA	CO-OP UPD PLANET YANO	REGANCREST-HHF MAC	82.8
KNS REALITY	DEU	GENERVATIONS EPIC	LONG-LANGS OMAN OMAN	82.5

Key Findings

By far the leading breeder of the top 50 was De-Su with 11 heifers on the list, followed by Select Sires with 6 and Sandy Valley with 4. There is no question that De-Su has been pushing the genetic accelerator to the max and this dominance of the list demonstrates the success they have been having.
36 of the top 50 animals are from the USA and 9 of the top 10. Canada follows with 11 and Germany with 2. This is mostly an indicator of how the national indexes (TPI and LPI) differ. Since TPI and Net-Merit in the US have more health and fertility in them, and breeders tend to breed towards the national index, it’s understandable that the USA would dominate our list since we have put so much more emphasis on health and fertility.
Numero Uno leads the way with 17 daughters on our list including the top 4 animals. He is followed by Epic with 5 and Mogul with 4. Considering Numero Uno’s ability to consistently leave progeny whose DGV’s are higher than their parent averages and combining that with his high health and fertility and balanced genomic indexes, it’s not surprising that he would dominate the list.
Man-O-Man is the maternal grand sire of 10 animals on the list (Read more – Man-O-Man will he turn platinum?) followed by Planet with 9. It is interestingly to note that the 3^rd and 4^th on the list, Observer and Superstition would have been test sires at time of mating.

Highlights

Topping our list is SANDY-VALLEY NU PENELOPE. Penelope is the Uno daughter of the #12 GTPI cow in the USA PINE-TREE MONICA PLANETA-ET VG-85-2YR. Planeta is starting to become the next genomic superstar to join the likes of Ammon Peachy Shauna. She is consistently able to produce progeny that are chart toppers and well above their parent averages. In fact Planeta has 4 daughters on our list.
2^nd on our list comes from the Sully Shottle May family, DE-SU UNO 2145. 2145’s dam is an Observer daughter of May who just turned 2yrs old herself. 2145 is a great example of how De-Su is pushing the genetic advancement and, if we hadn’t incorporated reliabilities into our index, would have been #1 on our list. But since her dam is yet to score and produce a milk record and she has 2 generations of genomic sires, her reliabilities are lower than Penelope’s.
The top Canadian animal on our list is STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA. Amaluna recently sold in TAG’s Genomic Power Sale for $110,000 (Read more – TAG’s Genomic Power Sale Averages an Outstanding $30,167). Amaluna is the #5 GPA LPI heifer in Canada. Her Man-O-Man dam is due to calve in January 2013 but her 2nd dam is LES091 BAXTER MODEL RUBIS VG-87-3YR-CAN who is the #27 GLPI Cow in Canada. This heifer has it all – production, durability, health and fertility as well as a very advanced sire stack, Moon x Man-O-Man x Baxter x Goldwyn.
The top European animal on our list is HFP LUCETTE. From Denmark this heifer traces back to the Lou Etta family from the US. Lucette is also the #1 TPI animal from Europe and is actually only 76 gTPI points behind the #1 gTPI animal in the world De-Su 1438.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

With genomic indexes coming out monthly and each country having their own index with apparent bias, it can be very hard to keep track of all the top animals and compare them accurately. Comparisons are instructive for informed decision making. That is why we developed the BPI formula. As is evident from our analysis of the top heifers from around the world, there is no question that the USA is leading the way when it comes to the bull dams of the future and that breeding programs like De-Su, Select Sires and Sandy Valley are at the front of that charge.

MAN-O-MAN will he turn Platinum?

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Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

As we approach the next index release day, December 4, The Bullvine is hearing considerable speculation about Man O Man, the #2 GTPI daughter proven bull and the top GTPI bull with second crop daughters. Many expect that he will be the top total index daughter proven sire in many countries. What people differ on is will he merely exceed all others or whether he will significantly outdistance the field. The Bullvine decided to summarize some of the highlights and some of the facts as we know them today.

From L to R: GenerVations MOM Lola (VG-86 2yr), Gen-I-Beq MANOMAN Bibi (VG-85 2yr), Mapel Wood MAN OMAN Bambi (VG-85 2yr), Misty Springs MOM Santana (VG-85 2yr), Mapel Wood MAN O MAN Bombi (VG-85 2yr), Morsan MANOMAN Fools Gold Red (VG-85 2yr), Mapel Wood Man O Man Lucy (GP-84 2yr)

Man O Man died during his waiting period and so his semen was always in limited supply and therefore he was used primarily on high indexing females. Of course we all know that second crops proof for bulls whose semen is higher priced or in limited supply can often result in elevated values in a second country as the analysis can not totally remove the high merit of the mates nor any preferential treatment of daughters. The fact remains Man O Man progeny are performing extremely well in many countries and his daughters are in demand.

Man O Man Sons

Man O Man does not have any daughter proven sons. Quite likely daughter proven sons will not be available for another 2.5 to 3 years.

Man O Man’s top ten sons in the USA for PA GTPI are:

Amighetti Numero Uno – 2587
Ladys-Manor Man-O-Shan – 2522
Texel Beauty Cosmo – 2451
Holbrick-ML Limocar – 2421
GenerVations Lexor – 2420
Cookiecutter MOM Hunter – 2409
Cabon Fernand – 2407
GenerVations Lingo – 2390
Hood M-O-M Emmett – 2387
Ladys-Manor-RD Shimone – 2387

A search of the CDN August 2012 Genomic Bull list shows that 18 of the top 50 bulls are Man O Man sons and their average indexes are:

GLPI +3038
Milk +1728 kgs
Fat +94 kgs (+0.28%)
Protein +81 kgs (+0.24%)
SCS 2.75
CONF +10
Herd Life 108 .

COOKIECUTTER MOM HUE VG-86-2YR-CAN

Daughters of Man O Man

Man O Man daughters do not take a back seat to his sons. Outstanding daughters can be found in every country and websites and magazine articles are full of these females.

The Bullvine studied his top ten DVG LPI daughters. Our thought is that by looking at their DVGs we would minimize any bias due to preferential mating or treatment. Their almost off-the-charts DGV averages are:

LPI +3437
Milk +1837 kgs
Fat +106 kgs ( +0.41%)
Protein +88 kgs (+0.27%)
SCS 2.75
CONF +12, MS +9, F/L +10, DS +9, R +7 ,
Daughter Fertility 102, and Herd Life 108

RALMA-RH MANOMAN BANJO VG-88-2YR-CAN
9th Jr. 2yr old RAWF 2012

Recent auction sales have seen Man O Man daughters in high demand. Those selling for over $50,000 in the fall 2012 sales are:

Cookiecutter MOM Hue
$200,000 (Sale of Stars 2012)
Ralma-RH Manoman Banjo
$131,000 (Gillette Visions 2012)
Gen-I-Beq Manoman Bibi
$83,000 (Genetics by Design 2012)
Comestar Lautamai Man O Man
$ 80,000 (Sale of Stars 2012)
Mapel Wood M O M Lucy
$ 77,000 (Genetics by Design 2012)
Morsan Manoman Fools Gold Red
$ 64,000 (Genetics by Design 2012)

GEN-I-BEQ MANOMAN BIBI VG-85-2YR-CAN

It is too late to start using Man O Man as his semen supply is nearly exhausted. However, most AI organizations have used him as a sire of sons or have sons from Man O Man daughters. Breeders who have already used him like their hard working trouble free Man O Man daughters that are above average for functional traits. They may show a bit of Oman’s rounder turn of rib and lack of style but they are significantly better that Oman’s for median suspensor and dairy quality. One profit oriented milk producer recently summed it up quite well for the Bullvine – “I could milk a whole herd with only Man O Man daughters in it”.

COMESTAR LAUTAMAI MAN O MAN VG-86-2YR-CAN

The Bullvine Bottomline

In less than a week’s time, we will know Man O Man’s updated American proof and his first official proof in some other countries. Breeder satisfaction and their decisions to continue to invest in his daughters speaks volumes for what we can expect to see.

What Happens after She’s Sold?

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Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

In much the same way that walking down the street with a cute puppy attracts comments and conversation, keeping in touch with your heifers after they sell often brings great exchanges and insights from other dairy breeders. Three months ago we at The Bullvine started communications with the Crosbie Family of Caron, SK (one hour west of Regina). Our mutual interest was a Huntsdale bred cow, Shottle Crusade, who had classified EX93. A mutual friend then emailed us that Crusade had won the 5 yr old class at the 2012 Westerner Show in Red Deer and vouched that he heard “many individuals around the ring say that she could be the nicest Shottle daughter in Canada”. Biased friendships aside, hearing that she went on to HM Senior Champion inspired us to exchange emails and then talk on the phone to Ian Crosbie. Once again, what starts out on the cattle trail ends up bringing people together too!

HUNTSDALE SHOTTLE CRUSADE EX-93-CAN

A Boy’s Passion for Cows

At twelve Ian showed a great interest in Holstein breeding, so his parents, Neil and Betty Jean, and his uncle Blaine gave him the responsibility of selecting the sires to be used on the Benbie herd. Back then the Crosbie’s milked 90 cows through a parlour and housed the cattle in pack barns. Ian had the challenge of choosing sires for both their commercially oriented operation and also those that he and his siblings would take to 4H shows. Folks we need to remember that Caron SK is not downtown central for the Canadian Holstein breed and believe it when Ian says that he read every book and magazine he could get his hands on and talked cows with Holstein breeders whenever and wherever the opportunity presented itself.

Ian Crosbie (2nd from right) – showing the Reserve Champion calf at the 2010 Western Canadian Classic.

Parents’ Passion for Developing Youth

All the Crosbie children have been encouraged and supported in attending college or university. For Ian that meant attending Lakeland College in Alberta. Along the way he helped show herds and took part in every 4H competition that he could. It was in fact through 4H that he met his future wife, Nicole Hylkema who was from Chilliwack, British Columbia (Hyljon Holsteins Ltd.). What started out as competition at the Western Canadian 4H Classic has developed into a lifelong relationship as Ian and Nicole are now husband and wife. After college Ian spent some time working and showing cattle for other herds, while Nicole got her university degree in Ag Business at the University of Saskatchewan.

Home to the Family Farm

In January of 2012 Ian and Nicole returned to Benbie and joined the farming operation with his parents after his uncle left the dairy farm. Since then, another pack barn has been built, quota has been purchased and the parlour updated and expanded to a double twelve. Prior to the expansion, the 90 cows were all housed on one bedded pack. Benbie Holsteins are now milking 135 cows and have put up another addition, which includes two more packs. One of the packs is for first lactation animals and the second pack is large enough for 6-8 head, which will be for show animals. The remainder of the herd is housed on the original pack. These changes are already results. To answer your question the herd’s diet is the common one for Western Canada: barley silage, alfalfa haylage, some dry hay, rolled barley and supplements fed as TMR.

BENBIE GOLDWYN SADIE VG-86-2YR-CAN
Res Int Champ Western Canadian Livestock Expo
Sold to Silvermaple Holsteins B.C.

Benbie Believes in Balanced Breeding

Ian has a clear vision of the Benbie breeding philosophy. He explains, “We are aiming towards a balanced breeding philosophy. We strive to breed a modern cow- high scoring and stylish, yet long living and trouble free. We look for a cow with a balanced dairy frame, a great udder and a correct set of feet and legs. Production and health traits are also considered when making mating decisions. We try to use bulls with a minimum of +12 Conformation, <3.00 SCS and positive figures for components and milk.”

Benbie uses 3-4 proven sires at one time and have started using a variety of genomic bulls. Current daughter proven sires are Fever, Lauthority and Windbrook. Genomic bulls used over the past year include- Meridian, McCutchen, Gold Chip, Day, Sajac, Numero Uno, Shamrock, Hefty, AltaHaley and Airlift.

Recent Heifer Purchases

WINDY-KNOLL-VIEW PASIAN

Before we return to Crusade who brought us to Benbie Holsteins in the first place, let’s take a quick look at other more recent heifer purchases which include: Windy-Know-View Pasian (Braxton x Pledge) due in June to Gold Chip; Speek-NJ Chrm Debbie Rae (AltaChairman from the Roxie Family) due to AltaHaley; and Winright Bolton Sugarshack (Bolton from the Splendor Family) who did well at shows in 2012 and is due to Windbrook.

Auction Fever Strikes

So that purchased animals can learn to fit into the Benbie management system and also in order not to expend high dollars, females are purchased as calves or yearlings, sometimes for 4H projects. In 2007 one of those purchases was Huntsdale Shottle Crusade. As Ian tells it, “Crusade was purchased as a heifer when my Uncle Blaine could not contain the Crosbie itch at an auction sale. She was one of 10 head bought that day at the 2007 Rocky Mountain High Sale. Even though the average price he paid was only $2800, they all had great pedigrees and the chance for a diamond in the rough was there.” We at Huntsdale love the next part. “Crusade was a very raw heifer. It wasn’t until she freshened as a two year old that she caught your eye. While she possessed an exceptional mammary system, she lacked power and depth and was scored GP84.”

Crusade Hits the Show Trail

Ian was pretty sure great things were ahead for Crusade. “When Nicole and I arrived home in early January, Crusade was in the close-up pen. She had grown into quite a cow. We were excited to calve her in and, a month after freshening, we began to prepare her for the upcoming spring shows. As part of our first full string as Benbie, Crusade did not disappoint. She was named Grand Champion of the Western Canadian Livestock in Saskatoon in April. Throughout 2012 Crusade won or placed high at four shows. She is now scored EX93 and continues to develop. She is completing her third Superior Lactation, with an average 4.2% butterfat and low SCC. She was flushed twice give 25 good embryos and is now short bred as we are hoping to have her back for the 2013 show season.” What an incredible first year at Benbie for Ian and Nicole.

WINRIGHT BOLTON SUGARSHACK
2ND JR.1-YR WESTERNER CHAMP. 2012

Where to Look for Advice

It seems quite obvious that this young couple have a vision for where they are going and can offer advice to others who are starting out too. “Being relatively young, we are always looking for more advice on showing and marketing top cattle! Lots of people are willing to give advice and opinions, but the best advice always comes from those that have been successful.” They continually seek out and share with other breeders and Benbie Holsteins can be followed on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BenbieHolsteins).

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Sometimes we make our path into the future far too complicated. Ian suggests that moving forward can be summed up quite simply. “Be open minded. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. The moment you stop progressing you being regressing.” What good advice that is coming from someone who has already launched a Crusade!

Braedale Goldwyn: Is He The Greatest Type Sire Ever?

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Monday, November 26th, 2012

Recently Braedale Goldwyn became the 1^st sire ever to produce 1000 Excellent daughters in Canada (Read more – Goldwyn First Ever to 1000 EX in Canada). At this year’s Royal Winter Fair Goldwyn sired 27% of the animals shown, including Grand, Reserve, Honorable Mention, Intermediate, Reserve Intermediate and Honorable Mention Intermediate Champions (Read More – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told). It is no surprise that many enthusiasts declare Goldwyn to be the greatest type sire ever.

Grand Champion Selection at the 2012 Royal Winter Fair. All sired by Braedale Goldwyn

At the Bullvine we wanted to determine the secret to Goldwyn’s tremendous success. When you look at Goldwyn’s conformation values for Chest Width (-3) and Body Depth (-4) you don’t instantly assume that he would be such a dominant type sire. In order to analyze Goldwyn’s type transmitting ability versus other great sires, we looked at his ability to sire the pinnacle of the breed – an Excellent cow. To make it a level playing field, we looked at sires that had a significant number of their daughters that were 5 years or older. In other words, that were eligible to go Excellent. Here is what we found.

Sire	Born	Conf	%GP	EX	VG	GP	G	F	%EX
ERBACRES DAMION	23-Jul-00	15	90	104	962	1254	257	7	4
BRAEDALE GOLDWYN	3-Jan-00	12	85	1017	10837	14493	4450	271	3
SHOREMAR BKB ALLEGRO	1-Sep-00	11	88	22	103	136	33	2	7
WILCOXVIEW JASPER	5-Jun-99	11	84	159	2517	3926	1211	56	2
INNWOOD TERRASON	21-Jun-96	10	82	238	1583	2562	914	48	4
LADINO PARK TALENT-IMP	31-Mar-98	10	79	517	4624	8843	3583	194	3
BKB AFFIRMED	17-Sep-01	10	84	3	77	144	42	0	1
RENAISSANCE TRIUMPHANT	7-May-95	9	88	101	446	434	131	5	9
FUSTEAD EMORY BLITZ	2-Mar-96	9	75	213	2118	4399	2062	153	2
SUNNYLODGE LINJET	1-Mar-92	8	87	282	392	1244	365	7	12
EK-OSEEANA ASPEN	4-May-00	8	83	24	101	161	54	6	7
REGANCREST DUNDEE	3-May-99	8	83	480	3871	5737	1984	91	4
ROYLANE JORDAN	1-May-96	8	81	195	1591	2583	1022	47	4
WINDY-KNOLL-VIEW PRIMETIME	8-Mar-00	7	81	91	529	468	317	9	6
DUPASQUIER CARISMA	25-Sep-01	7	83	59	714	1377	417	9	2
BOSS IRON	17-Jul-96	7	75	21	427	948	439	23	1
MARKWELL KITE	12-Mar-99	6	79	77	619	1017	432	27	4
VALLEYRIVER RUBEN REDMAN	17-Jun-99	6	80	91	814	1403	536	25	3
INDIANHEAD ENCOUNTER	28-Nov-99	5	79	17	200	353	148	7	2
OSEEANA ASTRONOMICAL	15-Sep-90	4	81	219	1157	1582	638	55	6
HANOVER-HILL-R SPIRIT	26-Dec-92	2	80	127	569	783	347	16	7
HANOVERHILL STARBUCK	26-Mar-79	-1	71	419	7257	19324	10818	177	1
DONNANDALE SKYCHIEF	24-Aug-86	-2	74	277	2573	4429	2423	124	3
MARSHFIELD ELEVATION TONY	6-Aug-72	-6	73	36	776	1869	960	7	1

What stands out when looking at these sires is that, even though Goldwyn has a high conformation index, there are no less than 12 sires (Linjet, Triumphant, Allegro, Aspen, Spirit, Primetime, Astronomical, Damion, Terrason, Dundee, Jordan and Kite) that actually had a higher percentage of their classified daughters score EX. Linjet, Triumphant, Allegro, Aspen, Spirit, Primetime, and Astronomical have more than double the percentage of their daughters scoring Excellent compared to Goldwyn.

RF GOLDWYN HAILEY EX-97-2E-CAN
2012 Supreme Champion World Dairy Expo
2012 Supreme Champion Royal Agriculture Winter Fair

Let’s take a closer look at Linjet, Triumphant, Allegro and Aspen. These sires not only have a higher percentage of daughters classifying Excellent, they also have a lower percentage scoring Good or lower. This highlighted something very interesting. On average, the 2 yr old daughters of this group of sires actually scored lower than Goldwyn’s daughters, but as they matured, they tended to significantly increase in score. Since the sire conformation index only uses classification scores as 2 year olds, this age improvement was not reflected in all of their conformation scores. Not being able to foretell this age improvement had a significant effect on semen sales of these bulls because most breeders use conformation to determine what type sires to use. As a result breeders missed out on these sires whose daughters matured later and scored higher later in life. This was especially true for Allegro and Aspen, whose later-maturing daughters developed outstanding dairy strength post first lactation.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that Goldwyn has had the most number of Excellent daughters, nearly double the number produced by second place sire, LADINO PARK TALENT-IMP. But why is this? Is it the result of his great type transmitting ability, or is it his type proof combined with his high LPI proof resulted in much greater use. In other words, is it volume or is it quality? Undoubtedly, Goldwyn has been the most dominant type sire of the past decade, the bottom line question is,”Does Goldwyn dominate because of ability or because of opportunity?”

Looking to find out what to breed your Golwyn’s to? Check this out Breeding the Next Show Winners

An Insider’s Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Cattle Auctions

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Friday, November 23rd, 2012

There is no question that most breeders buy on instinct as much as from anything else. They do their homework on the pedigree of the animal and take a close look at the conformation , but for the most part when determining just what that animal is worth, they rely on instinct as much as anything else. In trying to put numbers to this use of instinct we took a closer look at the recent most recent major cattle sales, Genetics By Design, Sale of Stars and Genomic Prospects Sale, and tried to see what trends appeared. The following is what we found.

Summary

Segment	#	Avg. LPI	Avg. Sale Price
Picks	74	2789	$28,622
Heifers	203	2528	$24,588
Cows	23	2330	$46,839
Total	300	2476	$27,289

We all know that cows sell for more than heifers and top picks can draw some good prices. We wanted to take a closer look at this so we broke down each group to see what trends came out.

What motivates buyers?

In looking to see what types of animals get the top prices, we looked at the results in the following segments >3000 LPI, <3000 but >2000 LPI, < 2000 LPI, R&W, Polled and show pedigree animals. The results are as follows:

Segment	#	Avg. LPI	Avg. Sale Price	Price/LPI Point
>3000LPI	80	3286	$60,021	$18.26
>2000 LPI <3000	164	2589	$16,384	$6.51
<2000 LPI	56	1637	$8,879	$5.42
R&W	26	2093	$24,600	$11.75
Polled	26	2275	$37,076	$16.30
Show Heifers or All-Canadian Pedigree	52	2005	$17,154	$8.56

It is significant, to say the least, by how much top index animals outsold all other purchase motivators. Animals that had GLPI’s over 3,000 outsold all other animals by a whopping 61%. Even though they only had on average LPI’s that were about 700 points higher than the group of animals between 2000 and 3000 LPI they outsold them by almost three times. This highlights the importance of being within striking distance of the top of the list (within 10% or 300 LPI points). Anything outside of that just doesn’t get the same level of demand.

Also interesting was how much having polled adds value to an animal. Even though on average the polled consignments had a lower LPI than the 2,000-3,000 LPI group, they attracted more than double the average sales price. This indicates that many breeders are seeing and responding to the demand for polled genetics (Read more- Polled Genetics: Way of the Future or Passing Fad?). It is especially noteworthy that Polled Genetics received 39% premium per LPI point compared to Red and White animals (Read more – Is Polled the NEW Red?).

Top Index Cows Draw Top Dollars

As the chart below indicates, the closer you get to having a over 3000 LPI cow the greater the price.

Segment	#	Average LPI	Average Sale Price	Price/LPI Point
Picks	27	3268	$40,056	$12.26
Heifers	50	3288	$63,004	$19.16
Cows	3	3426	$190,000	$55.46

What this also brings to light is just by how much high index cows outsell others. This trend continues in heifers as well.

Segment	#	AVG LPI	Avg Sale Price	Price/LPI Point
>3000LPI	50	3288	$63,004	$19.16
>2000 LPI <3000	103	2571	$13,221	$5.35
<2000 LPI	38	1514	$7,691	$5.08

Of interesting note is how this changed with picks. Picks from current show stars and polled picks actually attract similar dollars as the top genomics animals.

Segment	#	Average LPI	Average Sale Price	Price/LPI Point
>3000LPI	27	3268	$40,056	$12.26
>2000 LPI <3000	33	2739	$19,092	$6.97
R&W	12	2000	$27,542	$13.77
Polled	17	2298	$39,219	$17.07
Show Heifers or All-Canadian Pedigree	6	1666	$39,917	$23.96

Continuing a downward trend is how much less top show animals or progeny from top show animals are commanding at these sales. Top show cattle are still in demand, however, the recent sales performance would indicate that picks for cows that are showing this year command higher prices than those from years past.

Segment	#	Average Sale Price
Picks	6	$39,916
Heifers	41	$11,531
Cows	3	$35,940

Looking at what sires attracted the highest prices, we see daughters of Uno, Epic and Man-O-Man come to the top. While daughters sired by the limited supply sire, Snowman, and the outcross sire, Sudan, actually don’t seem to sell as well as equivalent LPI animals. A strong market also exists for the top polled sires, Earnhardt-P and Colt-P.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There are many additional aspects for what drives the top dollars at sales, such as flush ability (Read more – What Comes First the Chicken or The Egg?),however, as we found out in our article 6 Ways to invest $50,000 in dairy cattle genetics, the numbers clearly support that you need to GO BIG OR GO HOME, when it comes to investing in the top genetics at sales today!

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

“COLD CALVES” – The Next Drama Coming to a Calf Pen Near You!

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Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Thanksgiving in the US is the time for many breeders when the weather starts to get a lot colder. Cold weather just like hot weather can have detrimental effects on the health and well-being of your calves. Here are 12 things you can do to prepare your calves for the cold winter months ahead.

Why are they stressed?

Cold stress in calves is caused by the environment surrounding them and includes low temperatures and wind chill factors. Even temperatures that we might consider moderate, like the ones we are experiencing this week, can cause cold stress in newborn and young calves. It is particularly stressful for calves younger than 3 weeks of age. Newborn calves experience cold stress at just below 60 degrees F. Calves more than 21 days old can be cold stressed at 42 degrees F. They are susceptible to cold stress because they consume very little calf starter and have little or no stored fat to draw extra energy from. By the time the temperature reaches zero, a calf should receive 50 percent more energy (calories) just for maintenance.

Keep in mind that if an 88-pound newborn calf has to start using its own fat storage to stay warm, it has less than one day’s worth of energy and could easily die because energy for growth and developing immune function becomes short or nonexistent.

When to begin?

Start with what you know for sure. If you feel more comfortable wearing longer sleeves or a warm sweatshirt while doing chores, it’s probably time to consider increasing calf rations. Even though we’re ready to look after ourselves, research suggests that 67% of dairy producers do NOT make changes to their calf feeding practices in cool weather. It’s definitely too late if you wait until temperatures are consistently below freezing.

Key Management Factors to Limit the effects of Cold Stress

The following options can help reduce the effects of cold on calves. Work with your nutritionist and veterinarian to determine the best options for your operation.

Monitor the weather
Monitor temperature and increase feeding in response to cold weather. At temperatures below 60 degrees F, calves must increase their energy consumption just to maintain their core body temperature.
Protect animals from the Wind
Wind markedly increases cold stress. Producers should provide housing that allows a space for calves to have fresh air yet protects them from drafts.
Bed well.
Providing adequate dry bedding makes a significant difference in the ability of calves to withstand cold stress. Bedding should be clean, dry and deep enough to completely hide a calf’s legs when they’re lying down. Proper insulation will help calves stay warm without relying on energy reserves to regulate body temperature. Calf blankets can also be used to help keep them warm. A deep bed of long-stemmed straw allows caves to burrow in and preserve body heat. One way to determine proper bedding depth for cold weather is to look at the calf while it is lying down. If you cannot see the calf’s feet, the bedding is deep enough
Keep bedding clean and Dry
Wet bedding can cause problems. Also their coats must be dry. Wet coats have greatly reduced insulating properties and make calves more susceptible to cold stress. Mud-caked coats also reduce the insulating properties of the hair. Calves have much greater heat loss through wet bedding compared with dry bedding.
Keep Calf clean and dry
The calf’s coat must be clean and dry to provide maximum protection. Dirt or moisture on the coat reduces its insulation value dramatically.
Provide additional Feed
Feed more hay and grain. If wet feeds are fed, make sure they are not frozen. By implementing a cold weather feeding program that meets increased energy requirements, producers can keep their calves healthy and growing.
For example, a 100-pound calf at 50 F requires 1.1 pounds of dry matter just for maintenance. That is equivalent to 8.8 pounds, or about 4.25 quarts, of milk. In the case of milk replacer, that is about 0.5 pound of powder mixed to make 2 quarts.
If producers only feed the minimum amount, calves will struggle to keep healthy and there will be a surge in mortality, especially among fall-and winter-born calves.
Feed at least two gallons of liquid nutrition each day.
Calves fed less than two gallons of milk or milk replacer are more likely to fall behind on weight gain. They are also more like to get sick. Feed calves a full potential ration; calves fed a maintenance diet (less than 1.8 lb. Milk replacer daily) are more likely to fall behind on weight gain and become sick.
Add a third feeding of milk or milk replacer
A third feeding of milk or milk replacer provides extra energy to the calf. The additional helping, especially during cold weather, preferable late in the evening provides extra energy for young calves. Calves fed three times a day show improved growth, better starts prior to weaning than calves fed twice daily.
Switch milk replacer for cold weather
Milk replacers are available that are designed specifically for cooler temperatures. These calf milk replacers have been developed to deliver optimal combinations of protein, energy and technologies to help during times of cold stress.
Provide Free Choice Water Available at all times
Provide warm water with morning and afternoon feedings, and consider adding a third watering as well. By feeding liquids at closer to the calf’s body temperature of 102 degrees F., you can reduce the additional drain on its energy reserve to warm it. Other practices may include offering warm water two to three times daily to support calf starter intake. As the rumen develops, the calf’s nutrient intake and ability to grow and develop immune functions improve.
Warming
If a calf is cold-stressed, it will be more susceptible to disease, so warming the calf may be necessary. The best method to use depends on your facilities. Once the calf has been warmed, provide colostrums and maintain body temperature. When the calf is warm and the situation has stabilised, move it back to its mother.
1. Warm bath
2. Warm blankets
3. Hot box or warming box
Vaccination
Cold stress leaves calves vulnerable to a host of health problems, including Pasteurella pneumonia, one of the leading causes of bovine respiratory disease. According to bovine veterinary practitioners, the most important diseases to vaccinate against include infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhea, parainfluenza-3 and bovine respiratory syncytial virus. Many herds will benefit from using a coccidiostat and a vaccine to help prevent Pasteurella pneumonia in calves. Producers should watch their calves very carefully for the first sign of respiratory disease. Some advise calves be given a coccidiostat labeled for prevention and treatment of coccidiosis. If not treated 12 to 21 days after infection, coccidiosis causes dramatic clinical signs, such as diarrhea, inability to absorb nutrients, depression, weight loss, secondary infections and sometimes even death. Once signs of coccidiosis appear, much of the damage already has been done and a preventive strategy is best. Disease can progress quickly and treatment must be done early to be successful. Waiting too long can lead to irreversible lung damage and chronic or dead calves.

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE:

We can’t control the weather but we can do everything reasonable to reduce the effects of cold on calves. A well managed calf can survive and thrive in cold temperatures.

Whispers Heard ‘Round the Royal

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Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

From my ringside perch at the Royal Holstein Show two weeks ago I heard knowledgeable Holstein breeders remarking, “There are seven breeders’ herds lined up out there and they’re all good ones! Wow!” Their amazement was echoed by Judge McKinven. (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told) When giving his reasons for his placing he pointed out lack of maturity in some entries or less uniformity in others but he opened with the comment. “It is great to see seven high quality Breeder Herds’” and then he led the crowd in an enthusiastic round of applause.

Wilhelmina’s Herd In the Royal Ring

Watching the exhibitors carefully place their animals, I mused to myself that that it really is quite an achievement to reach this top level with three exceptional animals. No doubt there were seven stories (or more) for each of the seven herds. Wouldn’t you know one of those stories fell on my attentive ears as we were walking back to the cattle barn and Dr David Chalack mentioned that all three of Rocky Mountain’s animals, although young, were daughters and in fact full sisters from Raeland Leduc Wilhelmina. Can you believe it? Not only three from one herd but three from one cow. Talk about dam good genes (Oops that’s another writer’s byline). For now let’s look back at how Wilhelmina got her start.

Wilhelmina daughters part of the RockyMountain breeders herd at the 2012 RAWF

Wilhelmina’s (almost) Royal Beginnings

From Rae Stadder we found out that Wilhelmina’s great grand dam came to the Stadder’s because she was too late in gestation to travel as a bred heifer to Ohio. The story as Rae relates it goes like this. “My dad, Blake Stadder, travelled in our area with cattle buyer, Ken Brown from Ohio. One day they bought 4 bred heifers from a dairy farmer in Walpole and when it came time to ship them the Marquis Ned heifer, Wilhelmina’s great grand dam, was too close to calving to take the truck ride to Ohio. Dad agreed to take her for the price Mr Brown had paid for her.” Not headed to the party. Now that’s a Cinderella story for sure! Especially when you hear that this was not the typical Ned. “She was dairy and had a super udder – classifying VG and milking well’. Rae continues on with the history behind Wilhelmina “We bred the Ned to Unique, another Marquis son and that double cross to Marquis seemed to put into the family excellent feet & legs, high fat, stature, great udders, great reproduction and more heifers than bulls calves.” The line began and continued. “No matter what bulls were later used on the family all those traits came through”. Eventually, the family developed to comprise 35% of the Raeland Herd, with many family members the prominent cows in the herd in 2012. The Stadders then used Lincoln, Red Marker and Leduc to come up with Wilhelmina.

RAELAND LEDUC WILHELMINA EX-92-2E-CAN 5*
RES. ALL-CANADIAN JR.3-YR 2004
GRAND CALGARY SPRING 2005

Wilhelmina Becomes the Wildcard

Wilhelmina was the first family member sold by Rae. In the spring of 2002, Ken Empey and Brent Howe came to Raeland seeking consignments for The Shore Spring Sale and were impressed with Wilhelmina. By this time, she was a tall dairy, good legged year old, so off to the sale she went. And, unlike her grandmother, she made it all the way there. She was bought and moved to Alberta ownership where she classified VG85 and producer 7602 kg milk 4.0%F and 3.3%P.

Go West and Win Young Wilhelmina

David Chalack showing Goldwyn Winnie at the 2012 RAWF

Dr David Chalack relayed the following to us “Wilhelmina was one of the first purchases made by RockyMountain. The year was 2004 and she was the winning Jr 3yr old at the Calgary Spring Show. We bought her that day and she went on to be Res All-Canadian Jr 3 yr old. She returned to the Calgary Spring Show in 2005 and was Grand Champion as a 4 yr old. For RockyMountain she has shown her power as a transmitter of outstanding type and high butterfat. For RockyMountain she has had 2 Superior Lactations, classify EX92-2E and to date she has 26 daughters that carry the RockyMountain prefix. Of those twenty-six, 23 are owned by 23 different breeders. Sound business breeding on RockyMountain’s part – breed great animals and merchandise them to have a revenue center beyond the milk cheque. It was interesting for me to learn that Rocky Mountain is waiting to implant Goldwyn and Braxton embryos in December to produce more heifers to be born in September 2013. Yes more Wilhelmina show heifers will be seen in the future.

Wilhelmina’s Royal Family

ROCKYMOUNTAIN GOLD WISHES VG-89-2YR-CAN
HM. ALL-QUEBEC JR.2-YR 2011
2ND JR.2-YR QC INTERNATIONAL 2011

Every cow has a best mate and for Wilhelmina that mate is Goldwyn (Read more – Goldwyn first ever to cross 1000 EX daughters in Canada). To date there are nine Goldwyn daughters with seven in lactation classifying EX94, VG89, VG88 (2 yr), 2 VG86 (2 yr) & 2 GP (2 yr). In first lactation they averaged Mammary VG85, Feet & Legs VG86, Dairy Strength VG86, Rump VG87 and 9252 kg M (305D) 4.0%F & 3.3%P. Like Dr Chalack says “she never misses producing tall, dairy, good uddered Goldwyns”. No wonder RockyMountain is producing more Goldwyn x Wilhelmina daughters.

Wilhelmina All The Way

ROCKYMOUNTAIN GOLD WINTER EX-94-CAN
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN SR.3-YR 2011
HM. ALL-QUEBEC SR.3-YR 2011

Years of observation and experience, would lead any judicious cattle fan to conclude that one cow cannot produce a winning breeder’s herd all on her own. Especially, at a show of the quality of The Royal. At least, that’s what you would have said until November 2012. Wilhelmina along with her best mate did it this year. The members of the RockyMountain Breeder’s Herd was 3^rd Jr 2 yr old Goldwyn Winnie (VG88 2yr), 3 yr old Golden Winnie (VG86 2yr) and 4 yr old Gold Winter (EX94 4yr).

ROCKYMOUNTAIN GOLDWYN WINNIE VG-88-2YR-CAN
HM. ALL-WEST JR.1-YR 2011
3RD JR.2-YR ROYAL 2012

Bullvine Bottom Line

QUESTION: Can one cow make a Breeder’s Herd all on her own?

ANSWER: Yes! Wilhelmina can.

NEXT QUESTION: Could an entirely new group of full sisters win at a future Royal?

OBVIOUS ANSWER: Of course. Where’s there’s a Wilhelmina, there’s a way!

Who will win the 2012 Jersey Canada Cow of the Year?

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Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

The 2012 Jersey Canada Cow of the Year contest has three outstanding cows whose individual impact will be felt in the years to come. Sofie (Bri-Lin Ren’s Sofie EX90), Marmie (Pine Haven SSM Marmie EX94) and Becky (RJF Remake Becky SUP EX 96-6E) have received nominations and await the final decision.

Jersey Canada- Criteria

“When selecting the three nominated animals, Jersey Canada took into consideration the performance of the cow herself in milk production, conformation and show ring success. Of high importance as well was the merit of her progeny and the impact that they are having on the breed.”

You Have Until December 1^st to Vote

The selection of the 2012 Cow of the Year rests in the hands of Jersey breeders and enthusiasts. Join The Bullvine as we take a look at these exceptional individuals.

BRI-LIN REN`S SOFIE Excellent 90

Her Progeny Excel Especially for Type.

BRI-LIN REN`S SOFIE EX-90

Bred by the Raymer Family, Bri-Lin Farms, Bright, Ontario, Sofie is a Hollylane Renaissance daughter out of Bri-Lin Imperial Snow, 6 Star Brood Cow. Currently she is owned by Tom Breakell, Goshen, Connecticut.

Sofie had show ring success as Reserve Jr Champion at Oxford Parish Show, was 5^th at World Dairy Expo as a Sr 2yr old and 1^st 4 yr old at the New York Spring Show and the Eastern States Expo. She has become an outstanding brood cow. To date she has 11 EX and 11 VG daughters. Her top daughter is EX94 and a three time winner at World Dairy Expo. Becky`s impact will be through her more than 26 progeny and numerous granddaughters and great granddaughters that are also winning in the show ring.

Classification

VG 87 (First Lactation)
EX 90 (Third Lactation)

Production Record

Best record: 4yr 305d 9,775 kg M 5.2%F 3.8%P
Lifetime (5 lactations) 32,690 kg M 5.4%F 4.0%P

Show winnings include:

1st 4 Year Old, New York Spring Show, 2000
1st 4 Year Old, Eastern States Expo, 2000
5th Senior 2 Year Old, World Dairy Expo, 1998
Reserve Junior Champion, Oxford Parish Show, 1997

Progeny

11 Excellent and 11 Very Good daughters

PINE HAVEN SSM MARMIE, Excellent-94

Leading Lady on the Tanbark Trail

PINE HAVEN SSM MARMIE – EX-94

Bred by the Thompson-Dillman Families, Pine Haven Farm Ltd., Oxford, NS, Marmie is a Select-Scott Minister daughter out of Pine-Haven MBE Kitty. She is currently owned by the Sauder family of River Valley Dairy, Tremont, Illinois.

Marmie has an un-equaled and celebrated record of winning in the Jersey show ring. She started out by being named the Reserve All Canadian Milking Yearling in 2008 and each year from then until 2011has won her class at World Dairy Expo. Marmie has the singular accomplishment of being the Intermediate Champion twice and Grand Champion Jersey and Reserve Supreme Champion in 2011. She has also won in milking form at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the All American Jersey Show. Marmie’s impact on the Jersey breed beyond the show ring will continue with her next generation to be born at River Valley starting in September 2012. Nearly 30 heifer pregnancies are due by: Fire, Tequila, Verbatim, Centurion, Remake, Sambo, Impulse and Response.

Classification Record:

EX 91 (First classified in Second Lactation. Maximum score.)
EX 94 (Fourth Lactation. Maximum score.)

Production Record:

Best Record 3-09 305d 9,122 kg M 5.2%F 3.8%P
Lifetime (1.395 days) 36,626 kg M 5.1%F 3.8%P

Show winnings include:

Reserve Supreme Champion & Grand Champion, World Dairy Expo, 2011
Back-to-Back Intermediate Champion World Dairy Expo, 2009, 2010
1^st 4-Year-Old, World Dairy Expo & All American Jersey Show (All-American 4-Year-Old), 2011
1^st Sr 3-Year-Old, World Dairy Expo & Royal Winter Fair (All Can Sr. 3-Year-Old), 2010
1^st Sr 2-Year-Old, World Dairy Expo, 2009
Reserve All Canadian Milking Yearling, 2008

Progeny:

Marmie’s first ET daughters were born September 2012. 30+ heifer pregnancies are due Dec 2012 to June 2013. Prior to that she had one daughter by Jewels Barbaro.

RJF REMAKE BECKY SUP EX 96-6E

Becky Sets the Bar High for Production

RJF REMAKE BECKY SUP – EX-96-6E

Bred and owned by the Jarrell Family of RJ Farms Inc., Corbyville, Ontario, Becky is a Rock Ella Remake out of RJF Lester Beth.

Becky started out well in both classification and production and improved with each lactation until in 2012 she achieved Supreme EX96-6E. At 12-01 (305d) she became the All-Time Jersey Production Leader with 17,407 kg milk, 4.3%F, 3.6%P. In eight lactations she has produced 92,506 kg. milk. In addition, Becky placed 4^th at The Royal as a 5 year old and again as a Mature Cow. She has also been the Production Award Mature cow at The Royal. A 9 Star Brood Cow, Becky now has 5EX and 7VG daughters. Becky`s impact on the breed is by the example she has set for combining type and production. It will continue through her daughters and their progeny.

Classification Record

VG 85 (First Lactation)
Sup EX 96 – 6E (Eighth Lactation)

Production Record

Best Record 12-01 (305D) 17,407 kg 4.3%F 3.6%P
All-Time Production Leader for Milk, Fat and Protein in a single lactation
Lifetime (8 lactations) 92,506 kg M 4.4%F 3.7%P

Show winnings include:

1^st Jr 3 yr old & Best Udder Quinte Championship Show 2002
4^th 5 yr old RAWF 2004
4^th Mature RAWF 2005
Production Award Mature Cow, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2011

Progeny:

5 EX and 7 VG daughters
9 Star Brood Cow

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There you have it – three great nominees. Take the opportunity to choose the ideal 2012 Jersey Cow. The Bullvine encourages Jersey Enthusiasts to vote. Go to http://www.jerseycanada.com/pages/cow-of-the-year-contest.html

Who’s The Next Great One?

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Monday, November 19th, 2012

Watching the 2012 Royal Winter Fair (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told) Heifer Show got me asking myself which one of those heifers could be the next Hailey, Monique or Monica? With so many great heifers that are so exceptionally tall, dairy and correct, how come more of them don’t turn out to be the next great show cow?

Because the odds should be in their favor, we decided to look at the top 10 heifers from each of the classes to see which ones have the best chance of becoming the next great one.

Junior Calf

COBEQUID GOLDWYN DANNY – 2nd place Junior Calf 2012 RAWF

COBEQUID GOLDWYN DANNY (2^nd Place)
Danny comes to light as having the greatest potential in the junior calf class of being the next great young show cow.. Her dam, LOOKOUT DUNDEE DANIKA scored VG-88 as a 2 year old and was Intermediate Champion at the Atlantic Spring Show in 2010. Her sire stack of Goldwyn x Dundee has already proven to be one of the top crosses (Read – Breeding The Next Show Winners). Follow that by an EX-94-2E Lee, ROSWITHA LEE JODY D who was nominated All-Canadian as a Mature Cow and a Jr. 2 year old and you can see why Danny has a very bright future.
CHERRY CREST LAVANGUARD ROZ (3^rd Place)
If you`re looking for the heifer that is probably the most complete package in the class, you would probably choose Roz. This Comestar Lavanguard has a PA LPI of over 2000, and seven generations of VG or EX (averaging over 90 points). She is the only heifer in the top 10 that has a PA for production over 1000 and adds to that a PA for Conformation of +13. Certainly a heifer with potential for greatness.

Intermediate Calf

PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY – 1st place Intermediate Calf 2012 RAWF

PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY (1^st Place)
Sidney is coming off a year of three big wins. She was 1^st at the Royal, QC International and also Expo. QC Sidney`s great year is not surprising since her sire stack of Goldwyn x Jasper x Triumphant spells show type. Her dam BRABANTDALE JASPER SPADES scored VG-88 as a 4 year old and was honorable mention All-Quebec in 2007. Her 2^nd dam is the great BRABANTDALE TRIUMPHANT SPOOKY EX-2E-CAN 48*, which gives a clear indication that Sidney has the pedigree to produce.
SUNSPARK WINDBROOK EXTRA (3^rd Place)
Certainly a heifer that will give Sidney a run for her money is Windbrook Extra. Extra is sired by one of the top type sires in the breed, GILLETTE WINDBROOK and her dam CARSTAR GOLDWYN ELEANOR scored VG 89-4YR and had a 91 point mammary system. Following that Extra 3^rd dam is an 87-point Leduc followed by an 85 point Rudolph.

Senior Calf

MD-DUN-LOAFIN LAUTH ELLI- 1st Senior Calf and Junior Champion 2012 RAWF

MD-DUN-LOAFIN LAUTH ELLI (1^st Place)
Winning Junior Champion at the Royal as a senior calf certainly predicts a great future for the next year. The question is can it continue in milking form? Well when it comes to Elli, the future certainly looks very bright. Her sire stack of Lauthority on Rubens should provide her with a very snug udder. Behind that Elli has an EX-91 Linjet grand dam from none other than KRULL BROKER ELEGANCE EX-96-3E-USA GMD DOM 1*.
IDEE GOLDWYN LIVIA (4^th Place)
Certainly another heifer to watch for is Livia. Her dam is a VG-89-3yr (90 MS) Sam that traces back to IDEE JOLT LIZA VG-89-4YR-CAN 2* , RES. ALL-CANADIAN JR.2-YR,4-H SUM.1-YR, and then ultimately RAVENSWELL LYDIA EX-92-3YR-USA DOM 19* dam of IDEE LUSTRE EX-95-3E-USA 9* the 2002 Royal Grand Champion.

Summer Yearling

CO-VALE FEVER CAMILA – 1st place Summer Yearling 2012 RAWF

CO-VALE FEVER CAMILA (1^st Place)
Camila had an outstanding year, going undefeated in her class. It’s hard to get a read on Camila as her Carisma dam, DUCKETT CARISMA EVA was not scored (Note: Aaron Eaton who owns the dam helped us fill in the blanks Her dam is scored VG-88-2YR and was HM Int. Champion at NY Spring Show. She is fresh and ready for the classifier as well as the shows), fortunately her 2^nd dam CURR-VALE DURHAM EVE is scored EX-94-2E EX-94MS and was Reserve Junior All NY Sr. 3-Year-Old ’08. Looking at her sire stack of Fever on Carisma should bode well for her getting a strong mammary system and have Camila as one of the Jr. 2yr olds to watch for in 2013.
BELFAST GOLDWYN LASENZA (2^nd Place)
First of all Lasenza is a Goldwyn on a Durham – a cross that has proven to work even though you would wonder if it had enough dairy strength (Read – Breeding the Next Show Winners). Then add to that Lasenza dam is a VG-89-3yr (91MS) from a EX-91 Cousteau form THIERSANT LILI STARBUCK EX-94-5E-USA 2* the 2^nd dam of the LYLEHAVEN LYLA Z EX-94-CAN 14* the $1.15 Million dollar cow (Read – Lylehaven Lila Z : Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?). Is that same Goldwyn Durham cross that produced COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89 whose progeny sold for over $2,500,000 at the recent Genetics By Design Sale (Read – Genetics By Design – Crosses the $4,000,000 Mark). So there is certainly no question that Lasenza’s pedigree posses a strong genetic punch.
PETITCLERC SID SUNKISS (7^th Place)
Looking at Sunkiss, we see that she is from the VG-2YR full sister to the dam of PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY (1^st place Intermediate Calf).Combine those credentials Sid, who is +17 MS, and you have a can’t miss proposition. After seeing Sunkiss, you could also think that maybe Sidney should be bred or flushed to Sid.

Junior Yearling

JACOBS ATWOOD LILLY BOY (3^rd Place)
Coming off a strong 2011 show season where Lilly Boy was nominated All-Quebec as a Jr. Calf, she continued her winning ways in 2012. When you consider that Goldwyn on Dundee worked so well, you would have to think that Goldwyn’s son Atwood from the 2012 Golden Dam Finalist MD-DELIGHT DURHAM ATLEE EX-92-USA GMD DOM 2* would also have to work pretty well. If that is not enough for you, Lilly Boy’s dam CRASDALE DUNDEE LIZA VG-89-4YR-CAN has an 89 point mammary system and is the daughter of CRASDALE LYSTER LOTTERY EX-94-2E-CAN1* from the great RAVENSWELL LYDIA EX-92-3YR-USA DOM 19*.
CRESTOMERE SANCHEZ VITAL (6^th Place)
Vital comes to the top in a class that has some really outstanding type sire stacks. Vital is that Sanchez daughter of an EX-91-3E (94MS) Dundee. This is a cross that on paper should produce an outstanding daughter and it did in Vital.
BVK ATWOOD ANA (7^th Place)
Ana catches my eye because she is the full sister to the this year’s World Dairy Expo winning junior 2yr old, BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA VG-89-2YR. (Read – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A battle for the ages). Arianna and Ana are line bred by Butlerview and Ruppert’s to be great. Their sire Atwood’s dam MD-DURHAM ATLEE EX-92-4YR-USA DOM GMD 2* (2012 Golden Dam Finalist) is a granddaughter of Arianna’s own dam the great MS KINGSTEAD CHIEF ADEEN EX-94-2E-USA DOM 2*. (Read more – World Dairy Expo Winners: Investment Worthy).

Intermediate Yearling

PETITCLERC ALEXANDER AMYCALE -1st Intermediate Yearling and Reserve Junior Champion 2012 RAWF

PETITCLERC ALEXANDER AMYCALE (1^st Place)
On paper the cross of Alexander on PETITCLERC STORM AMY EX-92-2E-CAN 9* should work and, with Amycale, it did. While maybe not the most modern of type sire stacks (Storm x Starbuck x Tab), Amycale’s pedigree does have substance. She should be considered as a senior 2 year old to watch for in 2013, if she can get the best that both her sire and maternal lines have to offer.
KINGSWAY SANCHEZ ARMADILLO (2^nd Place)
With probably the highest type sire stack in the class (Sanchez x Goldwyn x Dundee x Terrison), Armadillo has a lot going for her. Her dam, KINGSWAY GOLDWYN ABRAKAZOO VG-88-2YR is from 3 generations of EX dams. No question that Armadillo is bred to show and her 2012 results prove it. Armadillo should calve in with a high wide rear udder, with great texture and snug fore udder, certainly a senior 2 year old we all will be watching.

Senior Yearling

KINGSWAY SANCHEZ MAGICIAN – 1st Senior Yearling 2012 RAWF

KINGSWAY SANCHEZ MAGICIAN (1^st Place)
Coming off her 2^nd place finish at Madison, Magician took advantage of the absence of Kingsway Goldwyn Artichoke from the Royal to win the class. Magician should be a strong consideration for 2013, as her cross of Sanchez on Roy should produce an outstanding mammary system. Her dam KINGSWAY ROY MADGE EX-93-2E has a 93 point mammary system and completes 3 generations of EX.
SIGNATURE GOLD KEYNA (9^th Place)
A sleeper for some might be Keyna. I am actually surprised they didn’t calve her in as a senior yearling as her dam, SIGNATURE JASPER KAT VG-88-2YR-CAN was nominated All-Canadian in 2010 as a milking yearling. Her sire stack is just dripping with type (Goldwyn x Jasper x Leader x Astre x Asto Jet) and has Kenya as a sleeper to watch for in 2013.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While show heifers that become great show cows are few and far between, there are the exceptional cases such as R-E-W HAPPY GO LUCKY and BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA who had success as heifers and continued their winning ways in milking form. In our opinion, one of the above heifers is waiting to take the spotlight. Look into your crystal ball. “Who will be the next great one?”

Breeding the Next Show Winners

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Friday, November 16th, 2012

Holstein USA recently released their analysis of the pedigrees of winning animals at the 11 National Holstein Shows held in 2012. Here at the Bullvine, we found the results very interesting and decided to take a closer look. The following is what we found:

187 Holstein heifers placed in the top three in their respective age classes at the National Holstein Shows, sired by 67 different bulls.
254 Holstein cows placed in the top three in their respective age classes at the National Holstein Shows, sired by 84 different bulls.
441 Holsteins placed in the top three in their respective age classes at the National Holstein Shows, sired by 125 different bulls.

The Heifer Story

Leading Sires of Heifers

RANK	NAME	# OF DAUGHTERS	PTAT	Udder Comp	F&L Comp	Body Comp	Dairy Comp	Stature
1	BRAEDALE GOLDWYN	23	3.03	2.59	2.56	1.93	2.03	3.1
2	MAPLE-DOWNS-I G W ATWOOD-ET	21	4.16	3.41	3.46	3.44	2.97	4.31
3	REGANCREST S BRAXTON-ET	17	3.57	2.11	2.01	4.19	3.27	4.52
4	GEN-MARK STMATIC SANCHEZ	14	3.07	2.17	2.44	3.34	2.83	3.91
5	CRACKHOLM FEVER-ET	9	2.28	1.76	1.49	1.97	1.82	3.11
5	GOLDEN-OAKS ST ALEXANDER-ET	9	2.26	1.58	2.17	0.35	0.99	0.77
5	MS ATLEES SHT AFTERSHOCK-ET	9	3.32	2.7	2.24	2.3	2.57	2.45
5	REGANCREST DUNDEE-ET	9	2.06	2.18	0.75	1.29	1.55	1.18
9	WILCOXVIEW JASPER-ET	7	2.89	1.94	0.73	2.56	2.52	3.22
10	KINGSMILL GDWYN ASTEROID-ET	6	2.61	1.69	2.16	2.66	2.52	2.72

Some really interesting points came out regarding these sires of the top heifers. First that Goldwyn, after all this time, is still dominating the list. Secondly his own son Atwood appears to be the heir apparent. Finally, GOLDEN-OAKS ST ALEXANDER has Body Comp, Dairy Comp and Stature all below 1 point all key traits in breeding a show heifer and yet he still had 9 daughters place in the top 3 at the National Shows. And lastly that most of Atwood’s daughters and all of Aftershock’s daughters were a result of their use as young sires. Case in point, the winning Junior Yearling and Winter Yearlings at Madison were both sired by Aftershock (Read – World Dairy Expo 2012 Show Results)

Lafontaine Aftershock Arrie – Junior Champion World Dairy Expo 2012

Leading Sire Stack of Winning Heifers

RANK	NAME	# OF DAUGHTERS
1	ATWOOD X DUNDEE	6
1	SANCHEZ X GOLDWYN	6
3	FEVER X DURHAM	5
3	GOLDWYN X DUNDEE	5
5	GOLDWYN X ASPEN	4
5	GOLDWYN X DAMION	4
5	PICOLO X ADVENT	4
8	BRAXTON X GOLDWYN	3
8	CONTENDER X ADVENT	3
8	DUNDEE X GOLDWYN	3
8	JASPER X GOLDWYN	3
8	SANCHEZ X DUNDEE	3
8	SPIRTE X ALLEGIANCE	3

When looking at what crosses work well, the following came to light. It’s no surprise that the Atwood on Dundee cross would work well since it improves the feet & legs and provides the dairyness that many Dundee’s need. Dundee provides the body depth that Atwoods need. A great example of this cross is Jacobs Atwood Lilly Boy the 2^nd place Junior Yearling at Madison who is an Atwood x Dundee cross The same is true for Atwood’s sire Goldwyn when crossed on Dundee. The Sanchez on Goldwyn also appears to be a great cross as Sanchez provides the Dairy Strength improvement that many Goldwyn’s need and Goldwyn provides the bone quality and squareness of rump needed for the show ring. A great example of this cross is Welk-Shade Sanchez Kate the 2^nd place Summer Yearling from Madison. The cross that strikes me as interesting is Fever on Durham. While there is no question this cross offers extreme dairyness, I would wonder if there was enough width of chest as well as body depth in this cross to compete at the major shows.

Jacobs Atwood Lily Boy
2nd Junior Yearling at WDE 2012
3th Junior Yearling at Royal 2012

The Cow Story

Leading Sires of Cows

RANK	NAME	# OF DAUGHTERS	PTAT	Udder Comp	F&L Comp	Body Comp	Dairy Comp	Stature
1	BRAEDALE GOLDWYN	55	3.03	2.59	2.56	1.93	2.03	3.1
2	REGANCREST ELTON DURHAM-ET	21	2.47	2.31	2.13	1.7	1.98	2.13
3	KHW KITE ADVENT-RED-ET	19	2.53	2.24	1.6	2.04	1.65	2.41
4	REGANCREST DUNDEE-ET	18	2.06	2.18	0.75	1.29	1.55	1.18
5	GEN-MARK STMATIC SANCHEZ	14	3.07	2.17	2.44	3.34	2.83	3.91
6	WILCOXVIEW JASPER-ET	11	2.89	1.94	0.73	2.56	2.52	3.22
7	ERBACRES DAMION	8	3.2	2.22	3.17	2.83	2.72	2.76
7	MAPLE-DOWNS-I G W ATWOOD-ET	8	4.16	3.41	3.46	3.44	2.97	4.31
9	PICSTON SHOTTLE-ET	6	2.66	1.97	1.79	2.42	2.3	2.71
9	ROYLANE JORDAN-ET	6	2.07	1.94	0.32	1.53	2.06	1.93

In the cow classes there really are not any surprises, as many of the usual suspects are well represented. The biggest thing in the cow classes is how much Goldwyn dominates, having more than twice as many daughters as any other sire. It is interesting to note that Atwood has 9 daughters represented on this list. His oldest daughters are just Junior 2yr olds. There are big things yet to come.

RF Goldwyn Hailey – Grand Champion World Dairy Expo 2012

Leading Sire Stack of Winning Cows

RANK	NAME	# OF DAUGHTERS
1	GOLDWYN X DURHAM	13
2	SANCHEZ X GOLDWYN	5
3	ADVENT X RUBENS	4
3	GOLDWYN X DUNDEE	4
3	GOLDWYN X GIBSON	4
6	ADVENT X SEPTEMBER STORM	3
6	DAMION X BLITZ	3
6	DUNDEE X LEDUC	3
6	DURHAM X LEDUC	3
6	DURHAM X ROY	3
6	JASPER X GOLDWYN	3

There is no doubt that the Goldwyn on Durham crosses works. You might wonder if there is enough frame in this cross to make it happen, With 13 of these crosses topping the National Shows (more than twice any other cross) and Atwood himself being a Goldwyn son of 2012 Golden Dam Finalist, MD-Delight Durham Atlee, the simple answer is that it just does. (Read more – Golden Dam 2012 Finalists) With 6 daughters topping heifer shows and 5 in the cow classes, Sanchez is appearing to be the sire to mate your Goldwyns to. It also highlights why young sires like Regancrest-GV S Bradnick will also work well on your Goldwyns as he has Sanchez, Shottle and Durham in his sire stack. The Shottle on Durham cross has also produced MS Atlees Sht Aftershock the sire of Lafontaine Aftershock Arrie, the Junior Champion from Madison. (Read more – 7 Sires to use in order to breed the next word dairy expo champion).

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that Goldwyn is dominating the show scene today. If he’s to get a run for his money, it will most likely come from his own son Atwood. If you’re ready to take your Goldwyns to the winner’s circle, the 2012 National Show results put the spotlight on Sanchez, his sons and Aftershock.

From Fantasy to Reality – Top sires to address herd culling problems

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Thursday, November 15th, 2012

In our recent article, Fact vs. Fantasy – A realistic approach to sire selection, we highlighted the need to choose sires not just on ideal conformation goals, but to also match your sire selection to the key management challenges your herd faces. In typical Bullvine style we wanted to take this one step further and to go from fantasy to reality and identify just what sires will help address these top culling issues.

The Bullvine’s Realistic Approach: Breed to Minimize Your Profit Thieves

In the previous article, we recommended minimum sire proof levels for total index, female fertility, somatic cell score and feet & legs in both the US and Canadian genetic evaluation systems. Since we only have access to DGVs from CDN, all values quoted in this article will be in Canadian terms.

Some considerations set for sires to qualify for consideration are worth repeating:

A minimum LPI/TPI value (+2000) was set to address the problem of cows being culled for low production;
Sires had to be on an active marketing list of a North American AI organization; and
Sires with only genomic evaluations had to have been born in 2011 or, in other words, they are in the initial stages of their sampling time.

Just a reminder of the minimum values The Bullvine set for bulls to be considered.

Lifetime Profit Index > +2000
Daughter Fertility > 100
Somatic Cell Score < 2.90
Feet & Legs > +5

INFERTILITY: You can’t make milk if you can’t make calves

Breeders know that there is a difference in bulls’ daughters’ ability to become pregnant. It’s probably one of the most important profit metrics on most herds. This is measured as Daughter Fertility in Canada and Daughter Pregnancy Rate in the USA. This information has been available for some time, yet it still seems to be given little heed when sires are selected for use in A.I. and herds.

The Bullvine offers the following sires for use by herds wishing to genetically address infertility.

GENOMICALLY EVALUATED SIRES: ranked by DGV Daughter Fertility Index

111 Ever-Green-View FONSY (Super x Shottle)
110 Brant-View ALTAOTIS (Observer x Active)
110 Latuch Trigger TREK (Trigger x Ramos)
109 Rosylane-LLC JOSIAH (Jives x Ramos)
109 Blue-Horizon ALATASUPLEX (Super x Planet)

DAUGHTER PROVEN SIRES: ranked by Daughter Fertility Index

110 Badger-Bluff Fanny FREDDIE (Oman x Die-Hard)
107 Synergy ALTAJENKINS (Mac x Shottle)
107 Mainstream MANIFOLD (Oman x Marshall)
107 Co-op Oman CAVANA (Oman x Hunter)
106 Crackholm FEVER (Goldwyn x Blitz)

MASTITIS – a bane to producing high quality milk

No producer wants mastitis, the cost of loosing a valuable cows, or the possibility of having a tanker load of milk lost due to antibiotics in the load. Additionally milk producers don’t want their vet visit time consumed with mastitis problems. Can mastitis be lowered by using genetic evaluations? “Yes!” claim many producers who know from experience that the daughters of bulls with an SCS over 3.10 are problems. Sure, they may be fine in their first lactation but in later lactations they are usually more prone to mastitis. The Bullvine offers the following sires for use in herds that wish to avoid mastitis, as much as possible:

GENOMICALLY EVALUATED SIRES: ranked by DGV SCS Index

2.22 Coyne-Farms JACY (AltaIota x Massey)
2.32 Welcome ADOLF (Shameless x Ramos)
2.40 Oconnors BAROMETER (Garrett x Shottle)
2.47 De-Su ALTAHALEY (Alta Meteor x Goldwyn)
2.48 Stantons EVEREST (Observer x Shottle)

DAUGHTER PROVEN SIRES: ranked by SCS Index

2.45 Co-op Bosside MASSEY (Mascol x Bret)
2.54 Lirr Drew DEMPSEY (Goldwyn x Derry)
2.62 Coyne-Farms DORCY (Bolton x Bret)
2.62 Coppertop DOBERMAN (Shottle x Granger)
2.63 Crackholm FEVER (Goldwyn x Blitz)

Feet and Legs – Vital for High Performing Cows

The heritability of feet & legs is low (.20 to .25) but there are significant differences between sires in their ability to sire animals with functional feet and legs, especially feet. The costs mount up when you consider that cows with sore feet do not come in heat. And their feet must be trimmed more often. On top of that they require medication. In the end, there is milk withdrawal and definitely there is a loss of milk production. The Bullvine offers the following sires for use in herds that care about reducing their costs and losses due to feet and leg problems.

GENOMICALLY EVALUATED SIRES: ranked by their DGV Feet & Legs Index

+16 Blue-Horizon ALTASUPLEX (Super x Planet) Side View +7, Rear View +10, Foot Angle +7
+15 Ronelee Shottbolt DENZEL (Shottbolt x Outside) Rear View +12, Foot Angle +7.
+14 Seagull-Bay HEADLINER (Robust x Planet) Rear View +12, Foot Angle +10.
+14 De-Su RANSOM (Robust x Ramos) Foot Angle +10, Heel Depth +7. Bone Quality -1.
+13 Farnear –TBR- BH CASHMONEY (Observer x Goldwyn) Rear View +10.

DAUGHTER PROVEN SIRES: ranked by Feet & Leg Index

+16 Gen-I-Beq BRAWLER (Baxter x Shottle) – Foot Angle +12, Heel Depth +13.
+15 Crackholm FEVER (Goldwyn x Blitz) – Bone Quality +10, Rear View +11, Rear Set +13.
+14 Lirr Drew DEMPSEY (Goldwyn x Derry) – Foot Angle +11, Heel Depth +8, Rear View +9.
+14 DANILLO (Goldwyn x Oman) – Foot Angle +12, Rear View +13.
+12 Va-Early-Dawn SUDAN (Jammer x Sailor) – Foot Angle +8, Rear View +13. Rear legs straight.

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

The sires recommended here are genetically superior for reducing the nagging problems of fertility, mastitis and feet. At the same time, they are superior for their Lifetime Profit Index. Bulls’ daughters that do not reach their potential due to any or all of these limiting factors are not needed on your farm or in the national herd. Choose the best sires that correct the actual problems that you face and thereby give you the opportunity to increase your profit per cow per year. This method of selecting sires is not showy like winning in the show ring is but your bottom line on your year-end financial statement will be a larger number. Taking your goal of greater profits from fact to reality.

Looking for more mating recommendations and insights…click here.

DON SCHWARTZ: “Love what you do and do the best you can!”

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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

Don Schwartz is definitely a gentleman and a quiet one at that. Don opens up when talking about cows but is very humble when speaking of his own success. As the 26^th recipient of the Curtis Clark Achievement Award he declares quite simply, “This is a wonderful honour.” Like Curtis Clark himself, Don does not seek the spotlight. “It was the last thing I was thinking of.” Being called to the show ring during the 2 yr old class was both “a surprise” and “a bit of a funny story.”

“It was All a Blur”

Looking back on how he learned of the award Don says, “Apparently Ari told my brother David at nine on show morning and the crew also knew. The big question was how they would get me to the ring.” Don is definitely most happy to be the guy in the barn. He goes on, “The two year old had gone out and someone called out that she was having trouble and I had to get to the ring. I grabbed an antihistamine and a needle and took off.” It’s been reported that Don could have won the running with the bulls in Pamplona he was moving so fast!” He continues the story. “When I got there I looked at her to see if she was hiving up or reacting. She seemed okay. I couldn’t understand it!” And then the conspiracy continued. “Ari said, ‘I just wanted you to be here to see her show.’ Still confused, I replied, “I’ll take her back to the barn.’ Ari said, ‘Let Manuel take her, you stay here.’ As the plot thickened, Don was still in the dark, “I thought that was really strange. Then I looked around and Steve Fraser and Gary Vanderpost were nearby.” A light went off. “I asked, ‘I didn’t win that award did I?’ Gary squeezed me so hard I couldn’t believe it! The next thing I knew I was joining that amazing lineup.” Don says he has no idea what they actually said about him over the microphone. With only 4 minutes to prepare himself, he concludes, “The rest is all a blur!”

Family Role Models and Lifelong Friends

Clearly moved by receiving this recognition from such respected peers, Don says “I never dreamed of such a thing. From day one it has always been about my passion for dairy cattle.” His admiration for his father Jim inspired his lifelong desire to be a farm manager. “At home we showed a Guernsey Herd. Hank Vanderpost was herdsman there for 15 years. Tannery Hill Farms earned 23 Breeder and Exhibitor Banners.” In his usual understated style he says, “That was quite a thing.” Indeed, for Don, it laid the foundation for what would lead him to his future career.

“I had the opportunity to be around the best showmen of all breeds. I learned from the respect that was given to these ‘guys in overalls’ that they were important people. I have always tried to learn from the best.”

He points to his 23 years with Quality Holsteins and what it means to him. (Read more – Quality Holsteins – Well-Deserved Congratulations) “The passion and dedication of Paul – the perfectionism for fine detail of Ari – they both reinforce what I believe in.” It has been a wonderful team says this modest man who feels that his role is to fill in the blanks. “I love to see the udders bag up and feed to fill the frame. I want them to eat as much as they can.” He enthusiastically expands, “I like to develop the cow. I do all the feet and trim them three or four times before showing – always planning ahead for who will be there on the day and who isn’t quite ready.”

“Keep An Open Mind”

The annual trip to “The Royal” is a never-miss-family-tradition. Although, it may seem that it’s easy, there is always something to learn. Don advises those who aspire to winning. “I think the best thing you can do is to keep an open mind. When you’re working at shows always look back afterwards at what worked and what didn’t. I model myself after others who are willing to try things. When you try new ideas some might think it’s crazy but it’s always best to keep an open mind.”

He has coped with many challenges in his years in the trenches of cattle preparation. You never know what surprises will pop up. Your window of opportunity may be only 30 days from calving to the show ring as Don reports it was with Valleyville Rae Lynn. No wonder he was pleased that they met the challenge and was second place two year old at the Royal.

Valleyville Rae Lynn VG-89-2YR 2nd Senior 2yr old RAWF 2012

Valleyville Rae Lynn VG-89-2YR
Under Don’s watchful care

“The Goldwyn Factor”

Over the years, Don could have written a veritable how-to book on cattle preparation. In that time, he has witnessed many changes. He gives one example. “There’s what I call, the Goldwyn Factor. Udders are so much better. Cows are more dairy. Commercial breeders can appreciate the cows that are winning in the show ring today.” This improvement has impacted preparation of cattle. This year’s 2 yr old, Rae Lynn is an example. “I only had 11 hours of milk in that cow. People walking by were commenting. “They’re not going to have enough milk in the cow.” He chuckles, “They were probably wondering if they should have trusted this guy to get the job done?” The show ring results support the confidence in Don, with a resounding, “Absolutely!”

Valleyville Rae Lynn VG-89-2YR
2nd Senior 2yr old RAWF 2012
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN MILKING 1-YR 2011
RES.INT. ON SPRING DISCOVERY 2012
2ND SR.2-YR ROYAL 2012
1ST SR.2-YR ON SPRING DISCOVERY 2012
1ST MILKING 1-YR AUTUMN OPP. 2011

Winning Spirit. Winning Record.

Don points with pride to previous Curtis Clark Award winners, such as Harold Patterson. “I was so honored to be in that lineup and shake his hand. I’m sad that Milking Shorthorns are out of the Royal! Think of the great ones, you’ll never see!” Like this man whom Don admires, the sheer volume of successes of the Quality show strings sets him apart as exceptional too. “I love to develop each cow.” This hands-on, 24-7 dedication has contributed to 20 Quality Breeder’s Herds and a record setting seven All-Canadian awards.” It’s no surprise to hear that his favorite thing to do on his day off is to “drop in on my neighbours and look at their cows before milking.”

QUALITY B C FRANTISCO EX-96-3E-CAN 18*
ALL-CANADIAN MATURE COW, 5-YR, 4-YR, SR.3-YR, MILKING 1-YR
HM. ALL-CANADIAN MATURE COW, SR.2-YR
GRAND ROYAL 2005, 2004
INT.CHAMP ROYAL 2002
HM.GRAND ROYAL 2002

“It’s always all about the cows”

Don admits that he never considered any other career. “I always admired a good cow, whether it was a good Jersey or Ayrshire.” He affirms his passion for Holsteins and then adds, “I can be happy to see a great Brown Swiss too. That’s what I love about the Royal. I get the chance to socialize as much with Jerseys as with Holsteins.” If you want to gets his enthusiasm really overflowing, talk to Don about the many, many cows that are his favourites. “Of course there is Quality BC Frantisco (Ex-96-3E-18*) and Quality Astre Felice (ex-27*). Quality Carlton Pam (Ex-97-6E-3*) and Quality Leadman Lady have also won his permanent affections, although Lady’s life was cut short when she was struck by lightning.

QUALITY CARLTON PAM EX-97-6E-CAN 3*
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN 5-YR 2003
NOM. ALL-ONTARIO MATURE COW 2010
RES.GRAND AUTUMN OPP. 2002

“Home Bred Makes Me Happy”

Don has seen many changes over his years preparing for the show ring. “I miss that you don’t see as many herds like Spring Farms and Romandale .. the homebred herds.” He respects herds like Ferme Jacob and explains,” That is what I love about Quality Holsteins. People think of you as a breeder first.” He is amazed at some aspects of the modern cattle breeding business. “Now days it’s kind of funny. You read who won Madison and two days later she’s sold to someone else.” This accepting and adaptable guy says, “That’s okay but for me I love taking care of homebred cows. From the day they are born until they are famous, I take pride in the success of our homebred herd.” He would never criticize other’s paths. “It’s great to have a good eye for a cow and I like to make great purchases” but this Curtis Clark winner admits, “I want to look back on the success of the cow and her mother and her grandmother before her. That is the true measure of what success means to me.” He proudly points out how the offspring from Frantisco and Astre Felice are making their way to the winners circle today.

QUALITY GOLDWYN FLANSCO EX-94-CAN
ALL-ONTARIO SR.3-YR 2010
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN SR.2-YR 2009
GRAND AUTUMN OPP. 2012
INT.CHAMP AUTUMN OPP. 2009
1ST 4-YR ON SPRING DISCOVERY 2011
1ST 5-YR AUTUMN OPP. 2012
Grand daughter of Frantisco

Not Just Show Day But Every Day

Even though Don always sets his personal standards very high, he is humbled to be with the smart business men and cattle men who have preceded him as Curtis Clark winners. “I’m the barn guy 24-7 at the barn. I have no desire to be a leadsman but I take pride in taking show cows home after the show and having them look as good as they did at the show.” Like Gerald Coughlin who Don admires he says, “I’m happy to be in the trenches.” Regardless of what challenges face Don he feels that the cows are a blessing that will see him through. “If I have a tragedy, or people are sick … or when my Dad died when I was thirteen … I always know I can go out to the barn, where the cows are calm, and I will feel their calmness.” Unconditional love works both ways.

Don being presented the 2012 Curtis Clark Achievement Award

Gentle Man. Powerful Example.

Son Randy signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a non-draft free agent in January 2009.

With emotion in his voice, Don shares a family concern that the “Royal” cattle tradition could end with him and his brother David, whom he admires and respects as a mentor too. It’s been talked about by his son and daughter. Son Randy had been drafted by The Blue Jays baseball team and is now married and teaching in Florida and daughter Erin manages a marina in Parry Sound. He talks so proudly of them and concedes that “perhaps” their success is part of that 24-7 gene that he has passed on. “Oh my wife has that too!” he enthuses. “Linda works in the Quality Seed business. She is a tremendously hard worker.” He pauses to recall how happy Linda was when he came home with his award.”I never saw her cry so much ” he says with modest amazement. “It was an emotional moment for both of us.” When Don called his mother with the good news her voice was also filled with emotion when she said, “Look what my boys have done!” There may be new places and different careers, but Don and Linda needn’t doubt that the Schwartz family legacy lives on.

The Bullvine Bottom Line.

Following the example of other special men in overalls, Don Schwartz is a very special man himself. He is a fine example of how far you can go by loving what you do and doing your best every day.

It is a pleasure to extend heartfelt congratulations to Don Schwartz the 2012 Curtis Clark Achievement Award Winner!

FACT VS. FANTASY: A Realistic Approach to Sire Selection

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Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

How often do you select a mating sire for the reasons you typically cull animals, as opposed to what your perceived ideal cow looks like? Further to our discussion about what the Perfect Holstein Cow looks like we here at the Bullvine started to ask ourselves, “How often do we choose our matings based on what we think the perfect cow looks like? vs. what our true management needs are?” Far too often sire selection is based on the fantasy of breeding that next great show cow or VG-89-2YR instead of facts needed to breed that low maintenance cow that will stay in your herd for many lactations and produce high quantities of milk. Do your sire selections overlook your management needs?

Speedy Selection. Long-Lasting Problems

Discernment is the hardest part of sire selection. Seeing your herd for what it is and what its genetic needs are is step one. Step two is choosing what will work for you almost three years from now when the daughters of the sires you use today will be entering the milking string. The old adage was “breed for type and feed for production.” But how many breeding stock animals have you sold recently based solely on conformation? How many will you be selling in three years based on their type? What are the revenue sources for your farm now and in the future? If your answer is “We get our revenue from the milk cheque from as few cows as possible and with as much profit per cow as possible” then selecting for type could mean that your sire selection is out of alignment with your management needs.

How Can You Tell If You Are You Out of Sync?

One place to determine where your herd has issues is to look at the reasons for and the frequency of culling. Every cow that leaves your herd for any reason other than a profitable sale is an indicator of the issues that could be arising from sire selection that is out of alignment with what is going on in your herd.

The Bullvine found the following information on milking age females that are removed from herds:

Over 35% of cows in a herd are replaced annually. That is costly!
The top known reasons for culling or removing cows are:
- Infertility / reproduction 23.1%
- Sold for dairy purposes 21.4%
- Mastitis 13.8%
- Feet and Legs 9.6%
- Low production 7.6%
- Total 75.5%
The other known reasons for culling or removing cows are:
- Injury 10.0%
- Sickness 7.0%
- Old Age 2.4%
- Diseases 1.8%
- Bad Temperament 0.9%
- Difficult Calving 0.9%
- Conformation 0.9%
- Slow Milker 0.6%
- Total 24.5%

Are You Breeding to Spend Money or Are you Breeding to Make Money?

You may be comfortable with your culling rate especially if it isn’t too far off “normal”. However when you look closely at the cows that remain in your herd how “needy” are they? Staff time, vet calls, hoof trimming, semen, drugs, supplies, extra time in the dry cow pen and removing cows from herds before they reach maturity – these all add up to significant dollars down the drain. Therefore, anything that can be done in sire selection to minimize these costs goes right to improving the financial bottom line. All unbudgeted costs mean less profit. If an animal is culled early, it does not matter where she placed at the local show or that her sire was a popular bull that left fancy udders. If he also left poor feet and low fertility, that costs you money.

A More Realistic Approach: Breed for the Bottom Line Not Just the Top Number

Often top bulls for total index are put forward to breeders for their use, without regard for the bull’s limiting factors. The Bullvine doesn’t support that approach. We recommendation that minimum sire selection values be set for the reasons cows are culled so that sires used in a herd don’t create new problems while the breeder tries to solve the current ones.

Here are the Bullvine we recommend the following requirements bulls should meet to be considered for use by bottom line focused breeders:

In Canada
- Lifetime Profit Index > +2000*
- Daughter Fertility > 100
- Somatic Cell Score < 2.90
- Feet & Legs > +5
In USA
- Total Performance Index > 2000*
- Daughter Pregnancy Rate > 1.0
- Somatic Cell Score < 2.90
- Feet & Legs Composite > 1.0

* A high minimum value has been set for both LPI and TPI to address the removal of cows for low production and so animals sold for dairy purposes can be in demand for their milk producing ability.

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

Every dairy breeder wants a superior herd and wants to eliminate the daily annoyances, costs and loss of valuable cows due to infertility, mastitis and feet problems and low production. Breeders should choose the best sires that correct the actual problems that they face in their herd instead of chasing a fantasy that has nothing to do with their reality.

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.

People are talking….

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Monday, November 12th, 2012

Coming off an amazing week at the Royal that culminated in one of the greatest moments I have ever seen at a cattle show (Read – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told) the feedback from our readers has been off the charts. While we get much-appreciated compliments from our readers all the time, the feedback we got face to face during the many events at the Royal was extremely humbling.

One of the comments that seemed to come up more often that I thought it would was “Man I loved your article about X, Y and Z, but I am surprised that more people didn’t comment about it”. As the person who looks after monitoring the comments on our website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, this caught me totally by surprise.

To me it seems that I am nonstop replying to comments, or answering people’s questions, so that is why these comments surprised me. But then I got to thinking and realized the reason why it seems that there are not many comments…..Facebook. (Check out our Facebook page here)

Yep. It really is that simple. While we do allow any comments on our site by anyone who doesn’t leave their real name, about 99% of the discussion is happening on Facebook. Take our recent article about The Perfect Holstein Cow (Read – The Perfect Holstein Cow). It would appear to have a limited numbers of comments

In reality it could not have been farther from the truth. The big thing is that breeders are taking to Facebook to share their comments. Check out the social sharing stats from this article (Right) you will notice that more than 178 people liked this post on Facebook, which is great. However, of even greater interest is that over 355 people not only liked this article, but also actually shared it on Facebook with their friends. They often add their comments to it and start discussions on their own Facebook walls, where they can have great conversation with their friends and, in this case, about exactly what the perfect cow looks like.

The reason for this is that instead of wanting to put the comments on our website, many of our readers like to share our articles with their friends, which we greatly appreciate, and then the conversation continues on Facebook instead of on our website.

The big reason why this is dramatically different from most other dairy magazine websites is the whole perspective on what we are trying to do. Instead of using Facebook as a teaser to try to drive traffic to our website, so we can put bigger stats in front of our advertisers and drive up our own ad revenue, we actually see it the other way around. We see our website as a platform to stimulate conversation wherever breeders want to talk. Since we are not posting articles to drive ad sales but rather posting our articles to inspire conversation, we will go wherever breeders want to talk, and the breeders are talking on Facebook in a big way. If that means that we spend 90% of our time joining the conversation on Facebook, so be it.

Another great example of this is when we run competitions like The Golden Dam, The 8 Greatest North American Show Cows of All-Time , The 12 Greatest North American Colored Breed Show Cattle of All-Time or The Top 10 Most Influential Holstein Breeders of All-Time. The conversation about who ranked where and which animal should have been on the list that wasn’t happened on Facebook as opposed to our website. If you really want to see some interesting discussion, check out the ripple effect when we make mating recommendations like The 7 Sires to Use In Order to Breed the Next World Dairy Expo Champion or The Top 12 Holstein Genomic Young Sires To Use for Maximum Genetic Gain.

Of course nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to the stir that gets going after we do a “little edgier” article such as Select Sires vs. Semex – A contrast in co-operatives or $750 Dollar Semen! Are you Crazy. The back-and-forth that these articles started on Facebook was insane. Talk about stirring the hornets’ nest.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The big thing I have learned from managing accounts in many different industries is that the conversation is already happening. It isn’t necessary to control what is being said but rather to join it. Oftentimes people think that I deliberately provoke conversation about touchy issues. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The conversation is already out there. The real question is, “Are you part of it?”

To learn how to get your farm on Facebook download this free guide.

The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told!

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Saturday, November 10th, 2012

From an outsider looking in, the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show may appear to be somewhat boring. The winners were pretty much the same as Madison (Read – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A Battle for the Ages), and for all intents and purposes the results where as per expectation. Yet in my mind, the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show will go down in history as one of the greatest stories ever told. (For complete show results click here)

Judge Callum McKinven and associate Bruce Mode discuss a tough placing

By all accounts Callum McKinven of Canton de Hatley, QC did an outstanding job. He was consistent in the pattern he set and did an outstanding job even going so far as quickly explaining personally to each exhibitor in the class the reasons for their placing. While he didn’t do the “Jimmy Superfly Snuka” slap as the 2012 World Dairy Expo Judge Mike Heath did in naming his champions, Callum did do a great job of explaining the reasons why he went with the winners he chose on this day (Read – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A Battle for the Ages). Although his family couldn’t be at ringside when Callum was naming his Grand Champion (they were exhibiting in the Jersey show), Callum had the support of his Holstein family as the perfect judge for the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show.

Junior, Reserve and Honarable Mention Junior Champion

Because World Dairy Expo Junior Champion – Lafontaine Aftershock Arrie was not in Toronto we were unable to get a head-to-head matchup between her and MD-Dun-Loafin Lauth Ell. Elli was not at Madison because of being owned by the WDE ‘12 Judge Michael Heath and his associate David Dyment. However, judging by Judge McKinven’s pattern I don’t think that would have changed anything. Ellie looked great and personified just what Callum was looking for. Following Elli were Petitclerc Alexander Amycale from Ferme Jean-Paul Petitclerc, QC for Reserve Junior Champion and Honourable Mention Sharp Acres ST Jessy exhibited by Clarkvalley Holsteins & Ronald C Werry & Casscrest Holsteins, ON.

Milking Year Class

While many of the class winners stayed consistent with WDE, there were certainly some significant changes in some lineups. First off, in the Milking Yearling class R-E-W Happy Go Lucky ET owned by Jeff Butler & Joe, Amber, Jeff & Terry Price continued her outstanding ways. This time she did not have a battle with Brackleyfarm Chelios Cheerio, the Semex Walk of Fame member, but instead found herself doing battle with Dougal Lea Goldwyn Danita exhibited by Gencom Holsteins, QC who nudged out Happy Go Lucky for best udder in their class

Junior 2 year old parade

Moving up from her 4^th place finish at Madison, Roquet Jasmine Sanchez exhibited by Gen-Com Holstein Ltd., QC end up second not quite able to pull ahead of the outstanding Madison winner BVK Atwood Arianna, owned by Jeff Butler & Frank & Diane Borba & Ponderosa, IL.

Sr 2yr old class

In the Sr. 2 yr old class it was an extremely tight two-way battle, that saw both cows holding the number one spot in the class during the decision making. Butz-Butler Gold Barbara exhibited by Jeff Butler & Don Berry, IL got a run for her money from Valleyville Rae Lynn exhibited by Quality Holsteins & Granja Ponderosa & Al-Be-Ro Land & Cattle, ON. Both Barbara and Rae Lynn looked amazing with Judge McKinven giving Barbara a slight edge in her mammary system over the extremely framey Rae Lynn whose udder has veins that seem to go on for miles.(Read more about Rae Lynn in our recent interview with Ari Ekstein of Quality Holsteins)

Jr 3 yr old class

The first cow class winner of the day, that had not also won in Madison. was the winning Jr. 3yr old, Robrook Goldwyn Cameron exhibited by Gen-Com Holstein Ltd., QC. Coming off her win at the recent Quebec International Show (Read more – Expo International Holstein Quebec Results) Cameron looked amazing. Following closely behind her was the 2^nd place Madison winner Blondin Goldwyn Subliminal exhibited by Budjon Farms & Peter Vail, WI.

Cookview Goldwyn Monique

Continuing her dominance was Cookview Goldwyn Monique exhibited by Jeff Butler & Joe & Amber Price, IL (Read…Butler article) in the Senior 3 year old class. Monique’s frame and capacity and fore udder were just too much for Dubeau Jasper December exhibited by Gen-Com Holsteins Ltd., QC. Monique went on to be named Intermediate Champion followed by the 1^st place Junior 3 year old Robrook Goldwyn Cameron and then the 1^st place Senior 2yr old Butz-Butler Gold Barbara.

4yr old class

The 4-year-old class was won by the recently scored EX-94-CAN Macpes Fortune Koquine exhibited by Marcel Martin & Real Belanger, QC. Placing second was Bourgival Goldwyn Oriel (Goldwyn), Pierre Boulet, QC (Read – New 1^st Time Excellents in Canada Over 92 Points). Following her was Eby016 PSS Trinity (Sep. Storm) exhibited by Pleasant Nook Farm, Ayr ON who were just starting what was to become one of the most memorable days of their lives.

5 Year Old Year Parade

Wendon Goldwyn Allie exhibited by Ferme Laitiere Rayon D’Or, QC continued her dominance of the 5yr old class and using her outstanding mammary system to edge out Bonaccueil Maya Goldwyn exhibited by Drolet & Fils & Ferme Jacobs Inc. & Ty-D Holsteins & A&R Boulet Inc., QC.

Mature Cow Parade

In what turned out to be a much closer class than many expected, RF Goldwyn Hailey exhibited by Gen-Com Holsteins, QC, finally got the run for her money that many anticipated she would get at Madison, but didn’t foresee happening here at the Royal (Read – Who’s Next? World Dairy Expo Holstein Show Preview). Stepping up to the plate to give Hailey the battle was Ebyholme Goldwyn Marcia exhibited by Brian Eby & Pleasant Nook Holsteins, ON. In his reasons, Judge McKinven explained just how close the battle was and foreshadowed things to come.

Longtime Production Class

Starbrite Lyster Lyndsay exhibited by Starbrite Holsteins & Hodglynn Holsteins, ON continued to build fans as this now 9-year-old cow won the Longtime Production Class. Lyndsay was followed by Goldenflo Lheros Bubble Gum exhibited by Pierre Boulet, QC who was 5^th at Madison.

Grand Champion Presentation

In naming RF Goldwyn Hailey Senior and Grand Champion, Judge McKinven really didn’t surprise anyone. Where he did surprise everyone was in naming the 2^nd place Mature Cow Ebyholme Goldwyn Marcia for his reserve. Ebyholme Farms sold out this summer and Marcia was purchased by Brian’s son Rob and his wife Julie, for their Pleasant Nook Holsteins. (Read – Ebyholme – The End of an Era). I can still remember at the sale Jeff Stephens (2012 Royal Winter Fair Jersey Show Judge) saying “Hey if someone was looking for a cow that will give you a little excitement this fall, Marcia could be the one.” He then placed a phone call and was the contending bid on Marcia that day.

Brian and Rob Eby embrace

Ebyholme are three time Master Breeders and at the time of their sale, I lamented that this could be the last time we would hear the Ebyholme name. While I was sure that the talents of Rob and Julie would continue to great things, no one could have predicted what was to come so soon. Well no one but Rob, Julie and the crew who have become more like family for Rob and Julie then just friends. After the show, in talking with Greg McLean, longtime friend of Rob’s and key crewmember, you could see the emotion on his face that had also been so evident on Rob’s in the ring. Probably the most touching moment I have ever witnessed at the Royal was when Brian made his way into the show ring to congratulate and embrace his son. Watching those two, and then Julie, smiling and hugging through their tears, created one of those “Royal” moments that will forever touch our hearts.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While the class headliners may not have looked that much different from Madison, the story behind the results from the 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show was truly amazing on all levels and for me one of the greatest stories ever told. Someone should make a movie out of it.

Exciting Times for Butlerview

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Friday, November 9th, 2012

The dairy cattle business is built by people who have the passion and persistence to bring their dreams to reality such as Butlerview Farm of Chebanse, Illinois. Butlerview, which is owned and operated by Jim and Jeff Butler and their mom Joyce, is a state of the art facility, where brood cows and show animals are on display at all times in one location. It is the realization of a family dream based on their passion for cattle.

Cookview Goldwyn Monique EX-92 EX-95 MS
Reserve Grand Champion, Intermediate Champion, 1st Sr 3-Year-Old/Best Udder
Owned with Joe & Amber Price

Field of Dreams Facility

The original facility from the 1970s has undergone major renovations, with utmost attention to cow management, comfort and presentation. From hutches, through the heifer facility, to the box stall barn, every detail has been carefully considered to provide the best environment and allow the animals to reach their full potential. Separate housing for bulls and complete federally approved flushing facilities round out this field of dreams cattle genetics business.

REGANCREST S CHASSITY EX-92-4YR-USA DOM
Dam of Gold Chip GTPI+2450 – #2 Genomic Sire 4/11
Her daughter, Goldwyn Cash GTPI+2324 is the #1 GTPI Goldwyn of the Breed 4/11

Build It and They Will Come

Years of experience in sales and marketing and a passion for cattle have come together in this start to finish home for the production and marketing of elite dairy genetics. Jeff admits that attracting clients can be a two step process. “Type brings the foot traffic to the farm. But genomics and pedigree get them buying.”

R-E-W Happy Go Lucky-ET
HM Intermediate Champion, 1st Milking Yearling/Best Udder WDE 2012

Growing Pains: Challenges and Opportunities

Jeff acknowledges the challenges they face. “Like most businesses that are going through rapid expansion, there are certainly growing pains along the way.” The logistics alone require constant attention to detail.” We need to turn our animals 2.5 times per year for proper facility utilization. That means keeping most newborn animals no more than 4-6 months. This means we have to plan what sales animals are going to, contact people that have purchased 1^st choices from us and get them to pick their animals, decide what bulls studs the qualified males will go to and arrange all of the proper testing.”

REGANCREST G BROCADE EX-92 DOM
Goldwyn daughter of 2012 Golden Dam Finalist REGANCREST-PR BARBIE
Daughters currently at Butlerview by Supersonic, Bookem, Shamrock (GTPI +2443), Snowman, Greatest (GTPI +2358), Large (PTAT +4.13), Epic & Numero Uno

Butlerview Success Formula: People, Talent and Time Off

Even though the vision is quite large the success formula is quite simple explains Jeff. “We try to have the best employees we can find because they are the most important asset we have. We teach them how we want things done and then let them do their jobs without micromanaging them.” He adds that, “It is important to make sure that employees get some time off to prevent burnout in this type of environment.”

BVK Atwood Arianna-ET VG-89
1st Jr 2-Year-Old/B&O/Best Udder WDE 2012
Owned with Frank & Diane Borba

Marketing Strategy says “No!” to the Familiar and “Hello Wow Factor!”

The environment Jeff is referring to is the one where every animal and client benefits from the facilities and expertise offered by Butlerview Farm, Jetstream Genetics and Butler Fellers Auctions. These are the three pillars of success according to Jeff. “I think what helps the success of Butlerview is that there are synergies between having the farm and having the auction company in Butler-Fellers to market the animals.” He points to the advantages. “This allows us to have a pulse and relationships with the buyers and sellers in the marketplace.” Each auction is an event in and of itself but Jeff doesn’t leave out the additional benefit of having the Jetstream bull stud. “This provides another avenue to market some of our bulls.”

Ms Atlees Shottle Aubry VG-88 EX-MS
Full sister to AFTERSHOCK

Buyers Come Through the Door for Type but Stay for Genomics and Pedigree

A keen observer of the marketplace, Jeff homes in on what is most important to clients. “For show cows the most important thing I look for is the udder. The other things I look for are style and show appeal, width of rump, openness and angularity, functional feet and legs and great front ends, with smooth blending of shoulders and long necks extending upward out of the shoulder. If they have all of that, then I look at size and length of body to make sure they are big enough.” On the genomic side he has priorities as well. “For genomic animals, I look at three things in order: 1 Cow families and maternal lines; 2. Conformation of the individual; 3. GTPI score. Milk, fat, protein and high Type are the most important numbers that I look at. When trying to market offspring from them, I think those are the most important characteristics that the majority of our customer base looks at.”

RockyMountain Talent Lisorice EX-95
All-Canadian 2012 & 2011
All-American 2011

Butlerview Seeks to Provide Exclusive Genetics

The team at Butlerview never loses sight of the fact that the goal is to be a world leader in top-ranked genomic and breed-defining type sires. “For type and show cows, we are using Gold Chip, Atwood, Brokaw, Sid, Colt 45 and Numero Uno because we really like the calves. We anticipate using Licorice’s 2 sons that will be coming out in early 2013 at Jetstream Genetics: a red Destry son and a RC Goldwyn Son.” He outlines how they are approaching the genomic sires. “For genomic sires we are using Cashcoin, Cashmoney, Colt .45, Numero Uno, Supersire and have also ordered some Liquid Gold semen that we will be using.”

MS ATLEES GOLDWYN ARIEL EX-92
2nd Jr. 2-Yr-Old World Dairy Expo 2009
Res. All-American Jr. 2-Yr-Old 2009
Full Sister to Atwood & maternal sister to Aftershock

World Vision for Butlerview

These are exciting times to be in the dairy breeding business and Jeff offers this opinion. “Probably the two biggest game changers have been the ability to IVF animals which allowed a much quicker and more profitable ROI on the purchase of elite animals and then the invention of genomic testing which provides a tremendous tool for identifying the elite animals.” He looks ahead to an exciting future with three important developments: “I see the value of high genomic males increasing for farmers as they move closer to 2013, when they will be able to test their own bulls. I see high genomic males topping public auctions much like high genomic females currently do. I see the price of early semen from the high genomic bulls increasing rapidly in price, which will greatly benefit farmers.”

Ms Dundee Belinda-ET EX-94 EX-94 MS
3rd 5-Year-Old/1st Bred & Owned at 2012 World Dairy Expo

Butlerview Shares Advice With Young Breeders

Jeff’s passion for the industry extends to everyone who shares his enthusiasm and particularly those just starting out. “When it comes to acquiring animals, I would encourage young breeders to look very closely at the maternal line.” His reason is based on years of experience.” It is much easier to market an animal when people around the world recognize the cow family that you are trying to market from.”

Micheret Alexandra Sid VG-89
5th 4-Year-Old WDE 2012

Innovation Changes Butlerview. Butlerview Innovates Change

If you stand still as the industry changes, eventually you will be left behind. Through his new endeavours and keen eye for analysis Jeff talks about how modern marketing is based on engaging with the customer. He advises, “I would use the social media such as Facebook, print media and websites to get your message across to people.” He adds. “Today’s market is truly a global market. You have to design messages that will reach and appeal to people all around the world.”

Peirstein Goldwyn Frisou EX-94
7th 5-Year-Old WDE 2012
Owned with Frank & Diane Borba

Bullvine Bottom Line

As Butlerview moves toward an exciting future Jeff is enthusiastic. “There are unlimited possibilities ahead.” They look forward to working to grow their own business and those of their clients.

The Perfect Holstein Cow

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Thursday, November 8th, 2012

Does such a thing even exist? Or is the perfect cow like the Unicorn that only exists in myth and mystery? For years there has been ongoing debate about what the perfect Holstein cow would look like and what it would take to achieve such an animal. Here at the Bullvine we wanted to take it from our imagination into reality. We decided to tackle what the perfect Holstein cow would look like.

In discussions with breeders and while developing our recent article with Bonnie Mohr (Read – Bonnie Mohr – Science and Art Creates a Holstein Love Story), we started thinking about which cows in history have had the best Mammary System, Feet & Legs, Rump and Dairy Strength. In the same way that breed associations have used pictures of some of the greatest cows in history to develop their true type models, so did we. Moreover, what would that cow look like if you put all the best parts into a single image?

As is typical with most things around here, we decided to put thought into action and see what would happen. We first went to Facebook to get other opinions on what was the best of all time. However, finding a level of consensus was almost impossible. Everyone had ideas on what the perfect cow would look like. With so much variety of opinions, we then turned to the highest classifying cows of all time, those that have scored EX-97, the closest thing to living perfection. The following is what we can up with for the Bullvine Holstein Mature Model Cow.

The Bullvine Holstein Mature Model Cow

Not satisfied to stop there. We again got to thinking. If that is what she looks like at maturity, what does she look like as a two year old? So we went to some of the VG-89-2YR olds for inspiration and developed the following image of our Bullvine Holstein Model 2yr:

The Bullvine Holstein Model 2yr

This sparked a lot of debate among the Bullvine team. We all admired the appearance of these cows but wondered how practical they would be in the real world. We asked ourselves,”How is the perfect conformation cow different from the perfect breeding cow?”

If you look at many of the top total performance cows in the breed and compare them to the top show cows you notice some significant differences. First off, the performance or breeding cows tend to be a little thicker throughout and have a rounder turn to them as well a little deeper udder to accommodate for the extra production. These are some of the key things the committees that have developed the true type models in the past have tried to represent. So, similar to the way we developed the Bullvine Model Mature Cow as well as the Bullvine Model 2 yr. old, we started looking at the parts of some of the greatest total performance cows and developed the following image of the Bullvine Total Performance 2 Yr Old Cow.

The Bullvine Total Performance 2 Yr Old Cow

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Everyone has a different definition of what the perfect cow would look like. What we have found is that, depending on what your breeding goals are, you have a different image in mind. The perfect show cow would look different from the perfect classification cow (Less slope from hooks to pins and a little straighter in the feet and legs) and she would also look a little different from the perfect total performance cow (less overall condition, shallower udder and more angular turn to her rib). While we are sure there will be great discussion about what the perfect cow actually looks like, what we urge everyone to think about is, what does your perfect cow look like and what are you doing to achieve her in your breeding program.? As is true with anything, when you have a clear image of what you’re aiming for, it makes it that much easier to achieve.

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT IMAGES PRESENTED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ARTISTS RENDERINGS FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY AND DO NOT IN ANYWAY REFLECT THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER.

Genetics by Design – Crosses the $4,000,000 Mark

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Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Before a standing room only crowd, one of the greatest cattle genetics partnerships, GMO (GenerVations, Mapel Wood, and O’Connor Land & Cattle Co.) reaped the fruits of their investments for an outstanding average of $27,666 on 175 lots. Vision, commitment and hard work came together at the Genetics By Design Sale.

Albert Cormier and LYLEHAVEN LILA Z

Fueled by the original purchase of COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89-5YR-CAN as a heifer for just under $60,000, this group has developed one of the most in-demand cow families in the world. Of course Lilac’s dam is none other than the $1.15 Million cow, LYLEHAVEN LILA Z EX-94-CAN 14*, who, at the time she sold, had many wondering if she was really worth it? (Read – Lylehaven Lila Z: Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?) It is evident from this sale, that those questions have been answered. As auctioneer Brian Craswell emphasized, “It’s not how much the animals will bring but how much you will make” that was spurring on eager investors.

Leading the way was the #1 GLPI cow in Canada OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN. She and her ten daughters and fifteen first choices from her and her daughters totaled $2,119,500 or an astounding average of $81,519.. Very impressive even for one of the most in-demand young cows in the world. (Read – The Sensational 6 Top North American Genomic Holsteins We Would Invest In). Lucia herself drew the second highest bid of the day selling at $410,000 to Bert DeBruyn of Select Genetics LLC, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. One of the key things about this entire cow family is that they flush well, which is a key component in any genetics program (Read – What Comes First The Chicken Or The Egg?)

Numer Uno daughters of OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN

As Mapel Wood’s Len Vis points out to our readers ”You need to invest in the best and forget the rest.” (Read Mapel Wood Farms – Invest In The Rest Forget The Rest!) That is exactly what Oscar & Eric Dupasquier, Guelph, Ont., Cormdale Genetics Inc., Bethany, Ont., Impact Agr. Div. LA, Burlington, Ont., and Al.Be.Ro. Land & Cattle, Piacenza, Italy did in purchasing OCONNORS LAST HOPE for $475,000. She is currently the number one GTPI “Numero Uno” sired calf in the world with a +2672 GTPI and a +3534 GPA LPI. While not the highest of the Numero Uno daughters, Last Hope is an outstanding individual in her own right and sparked great interest. This heifer really is the complete package. She has that rare combination of personal conformation, production, durability, and health and fertility numbers. In talking with Oscar and Eric Dupasquier they said, “In today’s marketplace you have to work with the very best, there really is no mid-market anymore.” In purchasing part of Last Hope, that is exactly what they have done.

In a re-tooling initiative, Stanton Brothers were the major Genetics By Design buyers. They were the contending bid on Last Hope and ended up purchasing her higher genomic index full sister, MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE for $365,000. Last Dance is the highest GPA LPI daughter of Lucia, and is the #1 GPA LPI Numero Uno in the world. Not done there, Stantons also purchased OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA, the Mapelwood Boulder (Man-O-Man x Gen-I-Beq Shottle Bombi) from Lucia. Luna is a full sister to the much talked about new release sires from GenerVations, Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo. (Read – $750 Dollar Semen! Are They Crazy?) Obviously Stanton’s have been reading the Bullvine. (Read – Top Three Things To Consider When Investing In High Genomic Cows)

Another cow family that generated high interest and top prices was that of GEN-I-BEQ SHOTTLE BOMBI EX-92-6YR-USA 3*. A Flevo Genetics Snowman daughter, Oconnors Snowman Bermuda, out of Bombi’s highest index daughter GEN-I-BEQ MANOMAN BIBI VG-85-2YR-CAN, sold for $125,000. Bermuda has an outstanding DGV LPI of +4077, 294 kg of Fat and Protein and is the #6 GPA LPI heifer in Canada. Also topping the sale from the Bombi family was her polled and red carrier Colt-P daughter MAPEL WOOD COLT BRENDA who sold for $113,000. Brenda’s first choice Earnhardt daughter that was guaranteed to have at least one homozygous female option sold for $115,000.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The GMO partnership provides an outstanding model for how A.I. and top breeders can work together to accelerate their genetic programs. These three first came together under the mentorship of Albert Cormier (Genetics By Design sale manager) and have developed a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship.

The Rest of the Story

Lot 1- $410,000-Oconnors Planet Lucia VG-86 2YR #1 GLPI Cow in Canada @+3823 GTPI +2429 Back by the great Lila Z family
Lot 1A- $30,000-1st Choice Mascalese from 4 females due May ’13 x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12 Lot 1B- $85,000-1st choice McCutchen from 3 Females due May ’13 x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12
Lot 1C- $70,000-1st choice Supersire from 1 female due Jun’13 x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12
Lot 1D- $85,000-1st choice Earnhardt from 3 pregs x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12
Lot 1E- $70,000-1st choice Numero Uno from 2 pregs x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12
Lot 1F- $30,000-1st choice from 6 Cashcoin & 6 Man O Man transfers due Aug’13 x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12
Lot 2- $475,000- Numero Uno x OConnors Planet Lucia GTPI+3823 #1 Cow in Canada, Numero Uno’s last Hope #1 GTPI Numero Uno in the World, #4 GTPI overall GTPI in World (09.12)
Lot 3-$365,000- Last Dance #7 Heifer in Canada GLPI+3710 #1 GPA LPI Numero Uno in the World Buyer: Stanton Farms, ON
Lot 4- $90,000-Mapelwood Snowman Lexus GTPI+2356 GPA LPI+2673 DGV+3798 (Snowman x Planet Lucia-#1 Cow in Canada (08/12) Buyer: Stanton Farms, ON
Lot 4 A- $37,000- Choice Mapelwood Snowman Lexus GTPI+2356 x Ernhardt pregs due in june guaranteed 1 polled female
Lot 4B- $20,000- Choice Mapelwood Snowman Lexus McCutchen & Supersire pregnancies
Lot 5- $45,000- OConnors Snowman Lexie GTPI+2194 PTAT+3.01 (Snowman x Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada)
Lot 5A- $15,000 1st Choice Supersire, McCutchen & Numero Uno due July 13 x OConnors Snowman Lexie GTPI+2194 PTAT +3.01
Lot 6- $135,000 – OConnors Boulder Luna GTPI+2499 PTAT+3.23 GPA LPI+3357 DGV+3656 #1 Boulder in the World (boulder x Planet Lucia # 1 GLPI Cow in Canada)
Lot 6A-$38,000- 1st Choice Hunter pregs due July ’13 x OConnors Boulder Luna #1 Boulder in the World
Lot 6B- $35,000-1st Choice Supersire & Cashcoin due July ’13 x OConnors Boulder Luna #1 Boulder in the World
Lot 7- $70,000- Mapel Wood Boulder Limerick GTPI+2394 PTAT +3.17 GPA LPI+3537 DGV+3578(Boulder x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 GLPI in Canada)
Lot 7A- $18,000 – 1st Choice x McCutchen & Ernhardt PO & Supersire females due July’13 x Mapel Wood boulder Limerick #2 Boulder in the World tied for #13 GPA LPI heifer in Canada
Lot 8- $49,000- OConnors Epic Last chance GTPI+2319 PTAT+3.38 GPA LPI+3465 DGV+3569 #20 Heifer in Canada 08/12 (Epic x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12) Buyer: Stanton Farms
Lot 9-$14,500- Mapel Wood Sudan last Time GTPI+2174 PTAT+2.52 GPA LPI+3050 (Sudan x OConnors Planet Lucia #1 Cow in Canada 08/12)
Lot 10 -$14,500 Mapel Wood Willrock Lovelace GTPI+2286 GPA LPI+3003 DGV+3151 #1 GTPI & GPA LPI Willrock in the World (Willrock x OConnors Planet Lucia)
Lot 10A- $8,000-1st Choice Hunter female due July ’13 x Mapel Wood Willrock Lovelace #1 Willrock Heifer in the world
Lot 11- $9500-OConnors Willrock Lovable GTPI+2235 PTAT+3.55 #2 GA LPI & GTPI Willrock in the World
Lot 12- $77,000-Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GP-84 2yr GPA LPI +3299 sells with embryo contract 6 @$3000 MAS full sister to Lexor dam Lilac x Lila Z) Buyer; Morsan Farms Ltd.
Lot 12 B- $29.000- 1st choice from 2 Ladd P females due Nov ’12 1 guaranteed polled female x Mapel Wood OM Lucy GP-84 2yr
Lot 12A- $30,000-1st choice 2 Mogul females due Nov’12 x Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GP-84 2yr
Lot 13A- $6500-1st choice 4 females by Snowman x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89
Lot 13B- $16,000-1st Choice Numero Uno female due Dec’12 & Jan’13 x Comestar Goldwyn Lilac VG-89
Lot 13C-$14,000-1st Choice 1 Sid female preg x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89
Lot 14- $95,000 – OConnors Living the Dream GTPI+2515 GPA LPI+3755 DGV+4144 DGV+19 Type #2 GPA LPI Epic dtr in the world (Epic x Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GPA LPI+3299 x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 147 – $20,000- Cedarwal Aftershock Lady Z fancy Aftershock x Lylehaven Lila Z
Lot 15- $16,500-Mapel Wood Epic Limitless GTPI+2280 GPA LPI+2960 DGV+2949 DGV+17 Type (Epic x Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GPA LPI+3299 x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 16- $8,000- O Connors Epic Lotto GTPI+2230 PTAT+2.37 GPA LPI+2951 Jul’12 (Epic x Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GP-84 2yr GPA LPI +$3299)
Lot 17- $8000-Mapel Wood Sudan Lexie GPA LPI+3178 DGV+195 kg combined F&P GTPI+2273 (Sudan x MOM Lucy GP-84 x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 18 – $6200- O Connors Sudan Lullaby GTPI+2182 PTAT+2.41 (Sudan x MOM Lucy GP-84 x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 19- $60,000- Mapel Wood Ladd laine PO RDC PA LPI+2728 (Ladd P x Mapel Wood MOM Lucy GP-84 2yr GPA LPI +3299)
Lot 20 – $12,500 Genervations Freddie Lasby preg due Epic GTPI+1985 (Freddie x Godlwyn Lilac)
Lot 21- $12,500 Genervations Freddie Lisa GTPI+2149 due Mar to Brawler (Freddie x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 21A- $400 per embryo
Lot 21B- $400 per embryo
Lot 23- $8500-O Connors Epic Langley GTPI+2056 PTAT+2.54 (Epic x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 24- $15,000- OConnors Epic Lilac Breeze GTPI+2335 GPA LPI+2985 DGV+3011 (Epicx Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 25 – $17,000-Mapel Wood Shottle Lacey VG-86 2yr Shottle sister to Planet Lucia (Shottle x Comestar Goldwyn Lilac VG-89 x Lila Z)
Lot 26- $8500- OConnors Boulder Lie to Me GLPI+2116 PTAT+3.24 GPA LPI+2334 (Boulder x Mapel Wood Shottle Lacey VG-86 2yr)
Lot 27- $17,000-Mapel Wood Shottle Lilac GP-83 2yr x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89 x Lila Z)
Lot 27A- $4800-1st choice of 3 McCutchen pregs due May ’13 x Mapel Wood Shottle Lilac GP-83
Lot 27B- $600/emb 5 #1 embryos by McCutchen x Mapel Wood Shottle Lilac GP-83
Lot 28 – $8000-Hazbro Sid Loca (Sid x Mapel Wood Shottle Lili VG-88 x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 29- $3000- Jul 12 Windhammer x Goldwyn Lilac
Lot 30 – $2900- Sept 2012 Windhammer x Goldwyn Lilac
Lot 31- $3500- Sept 2012 Windhammer x Goldwyn Lilac
Lot 32-$3600-OConnors Million Lilly (Million x Godlwyn Lilac)
Lot 33- $1600-Brewmaster x Million Lilly
Lot 34- $2500-OConnors Ladd Lacy GPTI+2016 GPA LPI+2352 (Ladd P x GoldwyN Lilac)
Lot 35- $33,000- Mapel Wood Epic Lauren (Sept 12 LPI+2531 Epic x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 36- $OConnors Ladd Lula (Ladd x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 37-$2900-O Connors Brewmaster Latte GTPI2095 GLPI+2495 (Brewmaster x Goldwyn Lilac)
Lot 38- $2800-OconorsLadd Lakisha (Ladd P x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 39- $2200 – Mapel Wood Ladd Lana LPI+2531 (Ladd P x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 40- $4100- Mapel Wood MW Brewmaster Lorina GTPI+2224 (Brewmaster x Goldwyn Lilac VG-89)
Lot 41- $2300
Lot 43-$32,000
Lot 44- $600
Lot 45-$5500
Lot 46-$14,000
Lot 47-$8000
Lot 48-$4000
Lot 50-$2600
Lot 52-$4800
Lot 53- $2400
Lot 54- $2600
Lot 55- $2400
Lot 57- $2600
Lot 63-$4000
Lot 64-$2900
Lot 67-$10,500
Lot 68-$6100
Lot 69-$3100
Lot 69a- $400 per embryo
Lot 69B- $400 per embryo
Lot 70-$1600
Lot 71-$2100
Lot 72-$5200
Lot 75- $113,000- Mapel Wood Colt Brenda RDC PO (Colt P x Geni I Beq Shottle Bombi EX)
Lot 86 -$83,000-Gen I Beq Man O Man Bibi VG GTPI+2217 GPA LPI+3156 DGV+3328 (Man O Man x Shottle Barbi full sister to Bombi, Bibi is maternal sister to Brawler)
Lot 86A- $21,000-Ladd or Supersire pregs x Man O Man Bibi VG
Lot 86B- $2200 per embryo-6 nbr 1 McCutchen embryos, Galaxy, Mascalese x Man o Man Bibi VG
Lot 87- $125,000-OConnors Snowman Bermuda GTPI+2338 GPA LPI+3711 DGV+4077 DGV+294 combined F+P (Snowman x Manoman Bibi)
Lot 88- $18,000- Mapel Wood Epic Believe in Me GTPI+2247 GPA LPI+3140 DGV+3154 (Epic x Manoman Bibi)
Lot 89- $15,000 choice of 4 females
Lot 89A- $44,000- Choice of 2 Ladd P Females 1 polled female one due Dec`12 from Manoman Bibi VG
Lot 90-$14,000
Lot 90A – 6,500
Lot 90b – $13,500
Lot 90C 9,500
Lot 90E 20,000
Lot 90F 9,500
Lot 91 23,000
Lot 92 3,900
Lot 94 7500
Lot 95 3000
Lot 96 10000
Lot 97 3000
Lot 98 2200
Lot 100 2100
Lot 101 4400
Lot 103 5200
Lot 104 38000
Lot 105 2200
Lot 106 11000
Lot 107 2500
Lot 108 17000
Lot 108a 3500
Lot 109 3500
Lot 110 1900
Lot 116 3200
Lot 115 2100
Lot 114 1700
Lot 117 1800
Lot 118 2200
Lot 119 23000
Lot 120 6200
Lot 112 2750
Lot 113 1100
Lot 124 3800
Lot 124a 1750
Lot 124b 1300
Lot 122 3200
Lot 123 2500
Lot 133 3100
Lot 125 2700
Lot 126 3400
Lot 127 1600
Lot 129 2900
Lot 134 64000
Lot 135 2900
Lot 139 24000
Lot 136 3500
Lot 138 2700
Lot 140 5500
Lot 141 3400
Lot 143 5000
Lot 144 3100
Lot 145 2000

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Categories : Show and Sale Recap

Tags : COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC, GEN-I-BEQ SHOTTLE BOMBI, Genetics by Design, Lylehaven Lila Z, MAPEL WOOD COLT BRENDA, MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE, OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA, OCONNORS LAST HOPE, OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA

The 12 Greatest North American Colored Breed Show Cattle of All-Time

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Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

As a follow up to our 8 Greatest North American Holstein Show Cows of All-Time we now turn our focus onto the Colored breeds. With many breeds with cows from different eras this was certainly one of our of biggest challenges to date. To choose we focused heavily on how much they dominated in their breed and era, as opposed to overall personal conformation. Here is what we found.

#12. INDIAN ACRES MM PISTACHIO PIE EX-94-USA

INDIAN ACRES MM PISTACHIO PIE EX-94-USA
Photo by Cybil Fisher

Born April 23, 2002
EX-94-5Y (USA)
Sire: Four Winds Magicman
Dam: Indian Acres Fays Pumpkin Pie
Exhibited by: Ashley Elise Sears, South Deerfield, Massachusetts, USA
Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2007
Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo, Jr. Show – 2007
Grand Champion – National Guernsey Show – 2007, 2006
Grand Champion – National Guernsey Show, Jr. Show – 2007
Senior Champion – National Guernsey Show – 2007, 2006

#11. LLOLYN JUDE GRIFFEN EX-95-USA

LLOLYN JUDE GRIFFEN EX-95-USA
Photo by Cybil Fisher

Born: September 02, 2000
EX-95 10-00 yrs (USA)
Sire: Master C Tops
Dam: Llolyn Fred’s Gold 31B EX-2E 4-07 yrs (CAN)
Exhibited by: Peter Vail & Budjon Farms, Lomira, Wisconsin, USA
Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2008, 2007
Senior Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2008, 2007
Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo Jr. Show – 2004
Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo Jr. Show – 2004
Grand Champion – All-American Jersey Show – 2007, 2006
Senior Champion – All-American Jersey Show – 2007, 2006
Nasco Type & Production Winner – All-American Jersey Show – 2007
1st Place Aged-Cow – All-American Jersey Show – 2007
Reserve Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2007
Reserve Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2010, 2004
Reserve Senior Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2010
Intermediate Champion – World Dairy Expo – 2004

#10. PENN DEL VICUVIUS GLENNA EX-96-USA

PENN DEL VICUVIUS GLENNA EX-96-USA
Photo by Julie DeLavergne

Born : November 23, 1983
EX-96 6-05 yrs (USA)
Sire: Penn Del Hornet Vesuvius
Dam: Penn Del Flame Goldilocks
Exhibited by: Fowler & Emily Branstetter, Edmonton, Kentucky, USA
Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo – 1989, 1988
Senior Champion – World Dairy Expo, Jr. Show – 1989, 1988
Grand Champion – National Guernsey Show – 1989, 1988, 1987
Senior Champion – National Guernsey Show – 1989, 1988, 1987

#9. VALEVUE BBK MINERVA EX-96-2E

VALEVUE BBK MINERVA EX-96-2E
Photo by Cybil Fisher

Born June 08, 2002
EX-96-2E @ 6-06 (USA)
Sire: Blackaddar B B Kellogg
Dam: Yellow Briar Patricks Mint VG-85 4-07 yrs (CAN)
Exhibited by :Steve & Vicki Searles/Stillmore Cattle Company Pine Island, MN
2005, 2006 & 2008 – Grand Champion – WDE
2005 – Intermediate Champion – WDE

#8. LYNDALE CONVINCER ELAINE EX-5E-93

LYNDALE CONVINCER ELAINE EX-5E-93
Photo by Kathy DeBruin

5E93 @ 15-05 (USA)
Exhibited by: Lyndale Swiss, Nebraska, USA
World Dairy Expo Grand Champion Cow 1988, 1989 & 1990
Supreme Champion World Dairy Expo 1988 & 1989

#7. VANDENBERG AMEDEO GORGEOUS EX-97-3E

VANDENBERG AMEDEO GORGEOUS EX-97-3E
Photo by Vicki Fletcher

Born: 05/14/01
EX-97-3E @ 8-05 (CAN)
Sire: Piedmont Grove Amedeo
Dam: Vandenberg Jude Georgina VG-85 @ 3-02 (CAN)
Exhibited by: Rapid Bay Jersey Farm Ormstown, Québec, Canada
Supreme Champion – 2007 Royal Winter Fair
Grand Champion Royal Winter Fair ,2007 2005
Reserve Grand Champion, RAWF 2006

#6. WAYMAR PATRICK NADINE EX-97-USA

WAYMAR PATRICK NADINE EX-97-USA
Photo by Frank Ronbinson

Born: July 22, 1991
EX-97-6E @ 11-01 (CAN)
Sire: Nabdon Master Patrick 7R
Dam: Waymar Silver Jay Norah 5T VG-85 10-11 yrs (CAN)
Exhibted by: Piedmont Jersey Inc, Coaticook, Quebec, Canada
Res. Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo 1996 & 2000
Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo 1996, 1997, 1998 & 2000

#5. WESTLYNN TOM DEE EX-96-USA

WESTLYNN TOM DEE EX-96-USA
Photo by Maggie Murphy

Born: October 04, 1988
EX-96 10-05 yrs (USA)
Sire: Westlynn Emory Tom
Dam: Westlynn Pepper Delight
Exhibited by: Kortus, Mark Rueth & Clark & Joy Vilter, Hartland, Wisconsin, USA
Reserve Supreme Champion – National Guernsey Show – Madison, WI (WDE)
Grand Champion – National Guernsey Show – 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992
Senior Champion – National Guernsey Show – 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992

#4. GLENAMORE GOLD PRIZE EX-97-6E-CAN

GLENAMORE GOLD PRIZE EX-97-6E-CAN
Photo by Patty Jones

Born: 09/18/89
EX-97-6E @ 11-00 (CAN)
Sire: Glenamore Goldust 15R
Dam: Glenamore Royal Prize 38T
VG-85 @ 3-07 (CAN)
Exhibited by: Shamrock Genetics, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Grand Champion Royal Winter Fair 2000, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1994

#3. DES PRAIRIES TOUTOU EX-96-3E

DES PRAIRIES TOUTOU EX-96-3E
Photo by Patty Jones

Born: July 18, 1993
EX-96-3E @ 10-05 (CAN)
Sire: Woodland View Jupiter-ET
Dam: Des Prairies Toupie 2 VG-85 @ 2-06 (CAN)
Exhibited by Bruce, Susan, and Kelsey Mode
Grand Champion Royal Winter Fair 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 & 2003
Supreme Champion Royal Winter Fair 2003
Grand Champion – World Dairy Expo 2002

#2. HURONIA CENTURION VERONICA 20J EX-97-USA

HURONIA CENTURION VERONICA 20J EX-97-USA
Photo by Cybil Fisher

Born: September 01, 1999
EX-97 8-09 yrs (USA)
Sire: Sooner Centurion-ET
Dam: Genesis Renaissance Vivianne, VG-87 2-01 yrs (CAN)
Exhibited by: Arthusa Farm , Litchfield, Connecticut, USA
Supreme Champion – World Dairy Expo 2006
Grand Champion World Dairy Expo 2004, 2005, 2006,

#1. OLD MILL E SNICKERDOODLE OCS EX-4E-94-USA

OLD MILL E SNICKERDOODLE OCS EX-4E-94-USA
Photo by Kathy DeBruin

Born: October 14, 1998
4E94 12-00 yrs (USA)
Sire: Victory Acres Jubilation Emory
Dam: Old Mill E Cookie
Exhibited by: Allen Bassler, Jr., Upperville, Virginia, USA
Grand Champion World Dairy Expo 2009, 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003 & 2002

The Bullvine Bottom Line.

While I am sure you can debate which cows were actually better than others, the only way to fairly judge was to look at how much they dominated in their own breed and era. The one thing that comes to light for sure is just how much Snickerdoodle has dominated the Brown Swiss breed, and hence her being named the greatest North American Colored Breed Show Cow of All-Time.

The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show Preview

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Monday, November 5th, 2012

It would be easy to just take the winners from this year’s World Dairy Expo (Read more – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A battle for the ages) and predict that they will win at the Royal. But that is not always the case. It’s a different day, different judge, and new animals have calved and others have been fresh longer. Instead let’s take a look at the highlights of what is sure to be a truly Royal show.

The Judge

Callum McKinven – 2012 Royal Holstein Show Judge

At Lookout Holsteins in North Hatley, QC, Callum McKinven, his wife Kathy Beerwort and their three daughters work hard to create a comfortable, low-stress environment for their herd of show winners and genomic stars. When they first built their facility in the beautiful hills of Quebec, all details were put into place for sensible cow comfort. Callum has shown well-known heifers and cows to victory at major shows, including World Dairy Expo and the Royal. McKinven is a very active, respected judge, both domestically and internationally. Lookout in partnership has had several sale toppers lately including LOOKOUT PESCE EPIC HUE at the Planet Holstein Sale (Read – The Planet Explodes at World Dairy Expo – 2012 Planet Holstein Sale Recap) and RALMA-RH MANOMAN BANJO VG-88-2yr at the Gillette Visions sale (Read – Gillette Visions 2012 Sale – Great People, Great Cattle = Great Results)

The Contenders for Junior Champion

Lafontaine Aftershock Arrie – Junior Champion World Dairy Expo 2012

While the Junior Champion from Madison, Lafontaine Aftershock Arrie, certainly has to be considered the early favorite, it really could go any way. Nowhere is there greater variance every year than in the nod for Junior Champion. While many might go on to win their class at the Royal, winning Madison does not guarantee the Royal win that many would expect. Other heifers to watch for include the recent Quebec International Holstein Show Junior Champion Jacobs Jordan Babe (Read more – Expo International Holstein Quebec Heifers Results). Another one to watch for is Crovalley Knowledge Akika who looked very impressive winning junior champion at the recent Autumn Opportunity Show (Read more – Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Results). In addition, note that the Madison Reserve Junior Champion Jaslyn Aftershock Avila will not be there as she is owned in partnership by Lookout Farms.

The Contenders for Intermediate Champion

Cookview Goldwyn Monique (Right ) and Whittier Farms Jasp Kinetic (Left) – World Dairy Expo 2012

While Cookview Goldwyn Monique looked extremely impressive (Read more – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A Battle for the Ages) and is the early front runner, other contenders include fellow class winners from Madison, Butz-Butler Gold Barbara and T-Triple-T Gold Prize (Read more – World Dairy Expo Winners: Investment Worthy). Other contenders would have to be the recent Intermediate Champions from Quebec, Robrook Goldwyn Cameron and from Ontario Quality Gold Danzi (Read more – Quality Holsteins – Well-Deserved Congratulations). Another X Factor might be Craigcrest Rubies Gold Rejoice. While not looking her best at Madison, don’t let her fall too far off your radar. With her massive frame and dairyness, the two times All-American and All-Canadian is always within striking distance.

The Contenders for Senior Champion

RF GOLDWYN HAILEY- Grand Champion Quebec International Show 2012

I would like to say it’s in doubt, but that simply is not the case. If RF Goldwyn Hailey EX-97 comes out looking as good as she did at Madison and the recent Quebec International Holstein Show, there really is no doubt. She is on a roll that doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon, and she should easily assume the crown (Read more – The Story Behind How Two Full Sisters Dominated Expo Quebec). Other cows to keep an eye out for include Boulet Goldwyn Chalou and Quality Goldwyn Flansco.

The Red and White Story

Blondin Redman Seisme EX-96 (98-MS)

Just like Hailey, Blondin Redman Seisme, should be considered the strong favorite to win Grand yet again.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While you never know how the cows will settle in and what they will look like on show day, this group certainly has to be considered the early contenders.

$750 Dollar Semen! Are You Crazy?

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Friday, November 2nd, 2012

When you first read the recent Limited Offering from GenerVations for Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo priced at $750 and $500 and $500 respectively, I am sure some breeders will think: “Are the bulls dead? Are these guys crazy? Are they expecting to get rich? Who the heck will buy that semen?”

Limited Offering from GenerVations for Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo

What Makes Them So Special?

In reality, it may not be as crazy as some would think. According to David Eastman, what GenerVations is trying to do here is to give every breeder access to their top Genomic Index sires at the same time albeit at a premium price. Now you might say that premium is hefty and it is. When you consider that sires like Numero Uno, Supersire, McCutchen and Cashcoin can be purchased for under $100, the $750 price tag for Liquid Gold seems pretty steep. Are these sires that far ahead on his genetics? Let’s take a look.

Std	Breed	Code	Name	Milk	Fat	%F	Protein	%P	SCS	PTAT	TPI
200	HO	7450	AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO-ET	1196	96	0.2	53	0.06	2.55	3.17	2587
7	HO	11351	SEAGULL-BAY SUPERSIRE-ET	2524	112	0.08	78	0.01	2.77	2.73	2564
7	HO	11477	DE-SU BKM MCCUTCHEN 1174-ET	1488	74	0.08	57	0.05	2.75	4.01	2525
534	HO	10	FARNEAR-TBR-BH CASHCOIN	1375	74	0.1	49	0.03	3.27	2.92	2495
250	HO	1049	GENERVATIONS LIQUID GOLD	1597	102	0.17	80	0.12	2.8	3.48	2543
250	HO	1047	GENERVATIONS FUZION	1355	85	0.14	72	0.12	2.79	2.37	2460
250	HO	1048	GENERVATIONS GIZMO	1902	80	0.03	69	0.05	2.81	3.37	2475

As you can see by the numbers above, these GenerVation bulls are not any higher than the current top GTPI sires. The biggest difference is that breeders who take this offer will get instant use of the semen. This is unlike some of the other sires on the list that have contract matings that will produce daughters that are 6 months older than the daughters from the first publicly available semen. If you look at the first registered daughters of each of these other sires you will see that they are all for contract matings or with preferred herds. Instead of making breeders sign an agreement for the sampling rights from the resulting progeny from the selective early released semen, GenerVations is giving each breeder the opportunity to be ahead in the marketing of the genetics they have purchased.

Big deal you say. Well actually it is a big deal. In the past, contracts were signed when heifers were 30 months of age, after they had calved, been classified and were 60 days into production. Now high indexing heifers are being flushed at 12-14 months of age. So a six month head start is a big deal!

Marketing Potential

Think about it. According to GenerVations,”Progressive breeders will have the opportunity to access the latest genetics and would likely use them immediately on a variety of mates..” In other words breeders get a unique product and can charge more for the resulting embryos, bulls and heifers. How long would it take to make up the $1,500 (2 doses of semen per flush, though often with IVF it only requires one dose) on a flush? That’s an extra $200-$300 per embryo. On the elite females that these bulls will be used on, that is easily done.

Another interesting aspect of this offering is that GenerVations is limiting the semen to North American breeders. This is more a result of health protocols and semen access than anything else. Ordinarily, by the time these sires clear all tests and protocols, breeders outside of North America would already be behind on getting the semen. So it is much better for those breeders to purchase embryos from top North American breeders from these sires.

How will this affect their bull proofs?

With the current practice of selective sampling of top genomic sires (selective early release and semen price) the issue of sampling bias will come to light long before any of these three sires get their proofs. Also, if you look at these three bulls, they are only 83 TPI points apart. Given the current range of genomic sires and where they end up with official proofs, it is hard to say which one will actually be the higher one, once they all have daughter information.

Are they doing it to get rich?

Well yes and no. Anyone who tells you they are doing it for the good of the industry is blowing smoke up your butt. What they are actually doing is trying to help the breeders of top sires like these get the market reward they deserve. In the typical scenario with most studs, this highly valuable early release semen is given away for contracts and the breeder of the sire sees none of this in their royalty contracts. Something GenerVations could easily do since they are a private company and own their own females. (Read – Should A.I. Companies Own Females)

GenerVations is taking it to the other extreme. They argue that the first released semen is the most valuable semen that the sire will ever produce and they are pricing it accordingly. Does that mean that after the 6 months the semen price will drop? Most definitely. But for those breeders who want to stay at the cutting edge of the genomics race, they can afford and pencil out paying these prices. (Read – The Genomics Advancement Race)

What this move also does for GenerVations is that once the market for bulls opens up in March 2013 GenerVations is showing breeders of top sires that they “have other options to maximize their revenues”. No longer do you have to sell your bulls to a stud where they might sell 30,000 doses at $40 a dose. The GenerVations model is 1,500 doses at $750 or $500 a dose.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

From a marketing viewpoint there are many aspects to this story that catch my interest. First that someone has the gumption to stand up and take a risk. Dave Eastman, throughout the years that I have known him, has always been thinking of ways to advance his sire selection programs as well as how to grow GenerVations. This is just another indication of David thinking outside the box and looking for new ways to improve the system. Simply crazy? Or simply smart? Breeders will decide.

The 2012 Royal Sales Preview

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Thursday, November 1st, 2012

With over 300 of the top animals in the world about to be sold over the next two weeks we thought it would be worthwhile to help Bullvine readers navigate around the three main sales: the Genomic Power Sale (GPS) on November 2^nd; the Genetics by Design Sale on November 6^th and the Sale of Stars on November 9th. It can be hard to compare animals across sales. We compiled lists of all the sale animals and here are the lots that we will have our eye on. They are outstanding!

Top GLPI Animals

NAME	Sale	Lot	GLPI
OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA	Genetics By Design	1	3823
STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA	GPS	16	3798
OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM	Genetics By Design	14	3755
MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE	Genetics By Design	3	3710
MAPEL WOOD SNOWMAN LEXUS	Genetics By Design	4	3673
OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA	Genetics By Design	6	3537
MAPEL WOOD BOULDER LIMERICK	Genetics By Design	7	3537
OCONNORS LAST HOPE	Genetics By Design	2	3534
BENNER FORK JANARDAN	GPS	1	3493
OCONNORS EPIC LAST CHANCE	Genetics By Design	8	3465
OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL	Sale of Stars	5	3460
GEN-I-BEQ LEXOR PLAGE	Sale of Stars	45	3398
VELTHUIS SG LAVAMAN ENVY	Sale of Stars	46	3372
MARBRI UNO BEAUTY	GPS	11	3328
MAPEL WOOD M O M LUCY	Genetics By Design	12	3299
ROCKYMOUNTAIN LEXOR EDEN	GPS	32	3289
WELCOME-TEL ECOYNE ABBIE	Sale of Stars	12	3286
ZIMMER WENDON UNO CAMI	Sale of Stars	35	3268
OCONNORS SNOWMAN LEXIE	Genetics By Design	5	3255
BOLDI V S G EPIC ASTER	Sale of Stars	7	3240

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA (Lot #1 Genetics by Design)

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN

Leading the way is none other than the #1 GLPI cow in Canada. This is only the second time that the current #1 LPI cow in Canada has been offered at public auction. The first time being when Crackholm Comestar Memory sold in the Vente Comestar Edition Sale 2000 for $77,000 to Wauregan Farms in Maine from consignors Comestar and David Crack. There is nothing more marketable than being #1 (Read more – The Sensational 6 North American Genomic Holsteins We Would Invest In). If you are looking for an investment opportunity where the work is done, and you just need to flush and make money, Lucia could be the one for you. If you want a heifer, there are 10 Lucia daughters, 9 of them over LPI +3000, also being sold in the Genetics by Design Sale.

STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA (Lot #16 GPS)

Topping the GPS sale and the highest DGV heifer available is STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA. Amaluna is the #5 GPA LPI heifer in Canada. Her Man-O-Man dam is yet to classify but her 2^nd dam is LES091 BAXTER MODEL RUBIS VG-87-3YR-CAN is the #27 GLPI Cow in Canada. This heifer is also the #1 DGV LPI animal that will be offered at +4188. While I will want to check out the rump on this heifer she has it all, production, durability, health and fertility as well as a very advanced sire stack, Moon x Man-O-Man x Baxter x Goldwyn.

OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL (Lot #5 Sale of Stars)

This highest GPA LPI animal in the Sale of Stars is OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL. Fuzzy Navel’s dam, OCD Man-O-Man Fantom, recently scored GP-83 at 2 weeks fresh, and she will score higher. She is off to a great record so far, producing 83 lbs. milk with 3.9% fat and 2.9% protein on her first test. Navel’s 2nd dam by “Shottle”, Felic Forgive VG-85-DOM, has a record of 28,020 lbs. milk, 4.0% fat and 2.9% protein as a 3-year-old.

Genomically Gifted

NAME	Sale	Lot	DGV GLPI
STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA	GPS	16	4188
OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM	Genetics By Design	14	4144
MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE	Genetics By Design	3	3818
MAPEL WOOD SNOWMAN LEXUS	Genetics By Design	4	3798
BENNER FORK JANARDAN	GPS	1	3744
OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL	Sale of Stars	5	3727
OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA	Genetics By Design	6	3656
LANGS-TWIN-B MOGUL 4915-ET	GPS	13	3592
MAPEL WOOD BOULDER LIMERICK	Genetics By Design	7	3578
OCONNORS EPIC LAST CHANCE	Genetics By Design	8	3569
ROCKYMOUNTAIN LEXOR EDEN	GPS	32	3563
OCONNORS LAST HOPE	Genetics By Design	2	3561
MARBRI UNO BEAUTY	GPS	11	3552
FUSTEAD MGL SEBRING 8037	Sale of Stars	23	3534
OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA	Genetics By Design	1	3520
B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081	Sale of Stars	47	3513
GEN-I-BEQ LEXOR PLAGE	Sale of Stars	45	3454
VELTHUIS SG LAVAMAN ENVY	Sale of Stars	46	3448
WELCOME-TEL ECOYNE ABBIE	Sale of Stars	12	3448
COOKIECUTTER MOM HUE	Sale of Stars	2	3420

OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM (Lot #14 Genetics by Design)

Following closely behind Amaluna for the highest DGV LPI in the breed let alone available at public offering is OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM. Living the Dream is the Epic daughter of the Man-O-Man sister to Planet Lucia, MAPEL WOOD M O M LUCY. She is gifted in many ways, not only is she from the Lylehaven Lyla Z family, but she also one of the highest daughters in the family for health and fertility. This heifer’s DGV’s are through the roof, with her DGV’s for all the major conformation traits being at least 1 to 2 points higher than her GPA’s. It will certainly be very interesting to see who sells for more between Amaluna and Living The Dream.

BENNER FORK JANARDAN (Lot #1 GPS)

BENNER FORK JANARDAN

The second highest DGV heifer in the GPS sale is BENNER FORK JANARDAN. Selling open and ready to flush Janardan is from the #3 GLPI cow in Canada BENNER PLANET JAKOVA GP-83. Janardan is the #1 De-Su Fork daughter in Canada. A first choice Mogul from Janardan sold for $75,000 in the World Classic Sale (Read – World Classic 2012 Highlights). This heifer has a DGV for Conformation of +19, combine that with high production and outstanding durability and she is ready to be flushed to the top health and fertility sires, such as Lithium or Krunch to get the next great one (Read – Top 12 Genomic Young Sires To Use For Maximum Genetic Gain).

B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081 (Lot #47 Sale of Stars)

The highest DGV LPI heifer in the Sale of Stars is B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081. Paris is the #3 GPA LPI Hunter daughter in the world. Her DGV LPI of 3513 is 321 points higher than her outstanding Parent Average. This heifer is very similar to Janardan in that she has amazing production, durability and type numbers, but could also mate well to some of the top health and fertility sires.

6 Other Lots Catching Our Eye

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING (Lot #40A Sale of Stars)

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING is the Snowman daughter from none other than AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA. Darling has 4 generations of #1 TPI Sires (Snowman x Planet x Shottle x Oman). Combined with that, her dam was recently selected one of the top five most complete cows in the world today (Read – 2012 Golden Dam: The Results Are In). Here is a rare opportunity.

1^st Choice MAYFIELD x TRAMILDA OBSERVER LYNN (Lot #48 GPS)

For those of you hoping to cash in on a sleeper, there is the 1^st Choice MAYFIELD from TRAMILDA OBSERVER LYNN . Lynn has a DGV LPI 472 points higher than her PA GLPI. This De-Su Observer daughter is from an outcross pedigree (Socrates x Lou x Forbidden). She is among the top 10 TPI Observer daughters in the world. Though, this balanced heifer has it all, I will be checking out her rump very closely.

SUNTOR MAN O MAN JELENA (Lot #3 Sale of Stars)

Catching our eye earlier this year was OCONNORS GOLDWYN JASMINE EX-92-CAN the Goldwyn Sister to Oconnors Jay (Read – The Bloom Is On Oconnors Goldwyn Jasmine). Selling in the Sale of Stars as lot 3 is her VG 2yr old daughter SUNTOR MAN O MAN JELENA. Jelena really is a great package, she has a great type and production pedigree, proven sons coming out of the family and she herself has a strong genomic test. A great opportunity to get into an emerging cow family.

MAPEL WOOD SUDAN KAYLEIGH (Lot #91 Genetics by Design)

Maybe lost in all the great Lyla Z progeny at this sale will be WIAMY KYANA BOLTON VG-88-3YR-CAN and her daughters. The highest of her daughters is MAPEL WOOD SUDAN KAYLEIGH and she sells as lot 91. Possessing a little bit of an outcross pedigree (Sudan x Bolton x O Man) for most Canadian pedigrees this heifer has strong production, durability and health and fertility numbers. I will be watching to see if her rump and dairy strength are enough to potentially go VG as a 2yr old.

COOKIECUTTER MOM HUE (Lot #2 Sale of Stars)

After selling her daughter LOOKOUT PESCE EPIC HUE for $130,000 at the Planet Holstein Sale (Read – The Planet Explodes at World Dairy Expo – 2012 Planet Holstein Sale Recap) Lookout and Pesce are now selling MOM Hue herself. There is no question Hue is becoming a genomic super star as all her daughters are over 3,000 LPI and most are well over their parent averages. Hue herself has DGVs much higher than her parent averages and will certainly command a lot of attention at the sale.

MAPEL WOOD EPIC GOLDRUSH (Lot #135 Genetics by Design)

For those of you looking for something with a little colour to it, there is MAPEL WOOD EPIC GOLDRUSH. This high genomic red heifer is the #7 GPA LPI R&W heifer in Canada. Her 2yr old dam MORSAN MANOMAN FOOLS GOLD RED recently scored VG and is off to a great record. Goldrush has a great balance between production and type and will be sure to attract lots of attention for those in the Red market.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

With so many great animals set to sell there are sure to be many great buys. Find the one that is right for you!

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Quality Holsteins – Well-Deserved Congratulations

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Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

“Congratulations on winning!” That’s one of the nicest things you can hear when you show cattle. Congratulations is fine for winning the lottery or celebrating a birthday, but “well deserved” is reserved for people who put in the effort and the time and took the risk to get somewhere. Today we are looking at why the success of Paul and Ari Ekstein of Quality Farms Ltd. in Woodbridge, Ontario is well-deserved

Quality Shows to Win

QUALITY B C FRANTISCO EX-96-3E-CAN 18*

Quality Holsteins is at the forefront of dairy cattle breeding and showing and Ari Ekstein of Quality Farms Ltd. attributes much of that to one cow, QUALITY B C FRANTISCO EX-96-3E-CAN 18*(Read more – The 8 Greatest North American Show Cows of All-Time). “Frantisco is having a great impact on our herd. There is no doubt that the two years that she was Grand at the Royal the Quality herd became more famous in the world. Her greatest impact is through her daughters and granddaughters (Read – Great Show Cows Can They Pass It On). This family is one of the most consistent breeding families in the world. The success of this family has helped keep Quality in the forefront of the Holstein industry. Both the Grand and Reserve grand cows at this year’s Autumn Opportunity go back to the Frantisco family.” (Read – Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Results)

QUALITY GOLDWYN FLANSCO EX-94-CAN – GRAND AUTUMN OPP. 2012 – Grand daughter of Frantisco

Quality Winners Don’t Happen by Coincidence

You can’t count on luck or chance in cattle breeding. You have to make a plan and stick to it. When you breed show cows, you’ve got to prove it with winners at the major shows. Ari is familiar with analyzing and planning for show success. “There is no doubt that WDE is one of the greatest shows in the world.” However he points out that Quality’s plan was different. “The last time we exhibited at Madison was with Quality Astro Sheri. She was second prize three year old in 1988. We are only a half an hour from the Royal and we decided to continuously show there rather than Madison.” They have had tremendous success at the Royal. Perhaps this will be doubled in the future as Ari reports “You will see Quality at Madison again in the next few years.” Obviously, the key is to know where you’re showing and how to win there.

Winning today (vs. winning tomorrow)

QUALITY GIBSON FINSCO EX-95-3E-CAN 4* – HM. ALL-ONTARIO 5-YR 2008 – dam of Flansco and daughter of Frantisco

There can be high excitement and frustrating disappointments in the show ring … but everything you do today has an impact on tomorrow’s successes. Quality’s winners, in the barn and in the show ring, start before each cow is mated. Current stars in their lineup are, “Quality Goldwyn Flansco, Quality Gibson Finsco, Quality Gibson Ficoe, Quality Gibson Fantisco, Quality Carlton Pam, Quality Gold Danzi, Pine-Tree Finley Minnie and Valleyville Rae Lynn.

VALLEYVILLE RAE LYNN VG-89-2YR-CAN – RES.INT. ON SPRING DISCOVERY 2012 – 1ST SR.2-YR ON SPRING DISCOVERY 2012

The Quality Strategy

“We try to breed the best type cow possible that will milk easy with no health issues. We are very particular in what bulls we use and we try and make sure we make the best mating every time. We love great type cows and we will continue to try and breed a “champion” cow every time.” Quality sets the benchmark high.

Change is Part of the Breeding Business

Everyone must find a way to deal with change and usually it starts with recognizing that it is happening. “I am sure everybody involved in this industry will tell you that genomics has had a huge impact in the value of cattle.”

Ari feels it isn’t’t just the sales ring but also the show ring that has seen change. “We have also seen a dramatic change in the style of today’s show winners. Goldwyn has set the new standard in today’s show ring.” says Ari, who then goes on to point out the benefits brought to the dairy industry because of evolving genetics. “Today’s modern dairy genetics have also bred cows that are profitable because they have the ability to milk throughout their lactation. The days of cows peaking in the first three months and barely milking in their last three months should come to an end.”

QUALITY GOLD DANZI VG-89-3YR-CAN – INT.CHAMP, RES.GRAND & 1ST SR.3-YR AUTUMN OPP. 2012

Genomics Is a Quality Tool

Ari reports that Quality Holsteins uses genomics. “We have concentrated more on the bulls that combine the extremely high type with high production and health traits.” This may surprise those who feel genomics and type are mutually exclusive. The top 10 bulls that Ari lists are: Windbrook, Sid, Goldchip, Fever, Dempsey, Braxton, Atwood, Brokaw, Bradnick, Brawler. When you break down their attributes you see that they are all high type and that there is a 70/30 split between proven and genomic sires. (Read more – Does Genomics Belong in The Show Ring and 7 Sires to Use in Order to Breed the Next World Dairy Expo Champion)

PINE-TREE FINLEY MINNIE EX-91-CAN DOM 2* – Dam of PINE-TREE SID – Owned by Quality Holsteins

Type Leads the Way

Ari points out that even with genomics, he focuses on type. “We believe that type is still very important and we refuse to give up type for the sake of numbers. Whether you are a commercial breeder or someone who is trying to breed a show cow, the better typed cows are always worth more. When you go to a commercial sale barn the better typed cows always sell for more than the poor typed cows. Needless to say the cow in first is usually worth more than the one in 10^th.”

Quality Formula Based on Hard Work

You could be forgiven for assuming that it has been easy for Quality Holsteins to achieve their outstanding show ring success. After all they are in the winner’s circle year after year. Sometimes we forget that the hard work really begins long before the ribbon is awarded. There is no book, “The Lazy Man’s Way to Champions!” Ari attributes success to this finely honed formula: “The combination of dedication, hard work and passion from the Ekstein family and some of the best employees in the world has contributed to our success.”

QUALITY CARLTON PAM EX-97-6E-CAN 3* – NOM. ALL-CANADIAN 5-YR 2003 – NOM. ALL-ONTARIO MATURE COW 2010 – RES.GRAND AUTUMN OPP. 2002

Only Elite Breeding will have Value in the Future

Experienced in the seed industry as well as the dairy industry, Ari knows that all businesses evolve with changing markets. Ari points out where the future is headed. “The farms keep getting bigger and the importance of high producing, healthy typey cows continues.” Rather than fret about this and worry about the impact, Ari analyzes what lies ahead. “As we move forward we will see that only the true elite animals will hold their value. Anything that is rare will always be valuable. The extremely high genomic animals and the great show cows of the breed will always be valuable. It is very hard to breed both of these and the cows in between will not increase in value.” Simply put, when all of your competitors are busy increasing value by cutting prices, Ari points out that you can actually increase your returns by breeding only the cows that are valued in the marketplace.

Quality Focuses on Success

Sometimes we assume that if we just copy the bull selection of an elite breeder like Quality Farms Ltd., our herd will rise in the rankings too. Ari’s advice disproves this simplistic idea. “I think it is important to realize what your goal is as a breeder, and make sure you focus on what your idea of success is.” You have to know your herd, your cow and yourself before you make even one mating decision. Of course, there are some basic rules to follow. “It is very important to try and breed from the most consistent breeding families in the breed.” Ari says. “There are many good cows with good pedigrees but very few have the ability to consistently breed.” The third piece of advice is probably the most important, “Once you realize what family you want to focus on it is equally as important to use the right bulls. Making the proper mating is very important and do not just use a bull because he has a good proof. It is important to use the bull that is the best mating for each cow or heifer you are breeding.”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

You might think a breeding discussion with Quality Holsteins would boil down to a choice between genomics or type. Again, the assumption would be wrong. The Quality answer is that, based on your own clear goals, there is something of value in the proper use of both tools. The real foundation of success Ari points out is that,”The will to succeed, devotion and hard work will eventually pay off.” That’s when the title “Quality” is well-deserved.

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Archive for 2012

The Top 10

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The Bullvine Bottom Line

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The Big Bad Wolf

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The Financial Numbers Behind Hailey

Why Pay So Much?

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A Firm Foundation

Dedication, Commitment and Support

Francesca’s Feats

Francesca Truly Was a Saint!

A Shining List of Achievements

The “Frannie Pack”

The Frannie Dream Team is Amazing Both “At Home” and “Away”

Ode To Francesca

Life Lessons from Francesca

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The Dairybullsonline Story

The Golden PP Story

The Power of Social Media and Smart Business Decisions

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No big deal you say?

These are Big Changes. Are they Good or Bad?

Are you ready to change?

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Canadiens vs. Nordiques

The Bullvine Bottom Line

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Five Farming Generations in Colombia

Single Minded Student

Vet-Businessman in Colombia

More Diversity. More Studies. Big Vision.

Achieving the Dream

Open to A New Opportunity

Love and Marriage

Enter Robotic Milking

Building on a Firm Family Foundation

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WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ROBOTS?

HOW DO ROBOTS WORK FOR YOU?

ROBOTS RANK HIGH ON PERFORMANCE

SIRE SELECTION FOR ROBOTIC MILKING

Resources for Breeders

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Start with Clear Goals and Go Beyond

Attracted by Planetas

New Genomic Stars at Sandy Valley Revolve Around Planeta

Planeta Daughters Start Their Own Outstanding Orbits

Planeta & Ammon-Peachey Shauna: These Genomic Hits are Both “Miss”es

Other Prominent Cow Families at Sandy Valley

Using Genomics to Look Toward the Future

Advice for Those Seeking Sky High Success

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Overall Performance Improvement

Production Improvement

Longevity Improvement

Health and Fertility Improvement

Type Improvement

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