It’s seems like every day there is some new rumor about an astronomical price being paid for the “next great one” and many breeders find themselves asking themselves “How can they afford to pay that money for those cattle?” While there is still some element of “all I want to do is win” the real way most of these breeders will make money is to sell off the fancy calves out of these great type cattle.
With that in mind we looked at the class winners from the recent World Dairy Expo and analyzed which ones that we feel have the proven genetics that you can be confident will stamp out those top type calves that will bring you the big prices in the sale ring. Here are our top 5:
R-E-W HAPPY GO LUCKY
R-E-W HAPPY GO LUCKY – WDE 2012
Talk about a cow with a bright future. Not only did R-E-W Happy Go Lucky win honorable mention as a milking yearling at the world’s premier Holstein show but also she has the pedigree and sire stack to back it up. Happy Go Lucky is out of Arethusa Outside Leslie (VG-87) and the next dam is All-Canadian Milibro Cousteau Leila (EX-94). Her outstanding type sire stack goes Goldwyn x Outside x Cousteau. While the rumors about just how much Butlerview paid continue, there is no question this is one of the most valuable type cows on the planet.
BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA
BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA VG-89-2YR – WDE 2012
In BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA VG-89-2YR-USA has many great things going on. Linebred by Butlerview and Ruppert’s to be great, Arianna is just that. Her sire Atwood’s 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*. While some would call it inbreeding, anyone who was at the show and saw Arianna and her sisters knows that this is linebreeding at its best. When you look at Adeen’s progeny, you notice an area of potential improvement is the mammary systems and especially her feet and legs, two areas that Atwood excels greatly in. When you look at enough Atwood’s you would say that maybe they would need some improvement in their rumps, something Adeen has proven she can stamp out. There is no question Arianna and her sisters are a great example of modern linebreeding.
BUTZ-BUTLER GOLD BARBARA
BUTZ-BUTLER GOLD BARBARA VG-87-2YR – WDE 2012
When BUTZ-BUTLER GOLD BARBARA VG-87-2YR-CAN sold for $187,000 at the recent International Intrigue Sale, many where asking was she the one? (Read – International Intrigue: The Secret Is Exposed) Well all those questions were answered on the colored shavings. Barbara dominated the class. The freak factor is extremely low on this one as Barbara probably has one of the greatest type pedigrees I have ever seen. Her dam is none other than REGANCREST BRASILIA EX-92-2E-USA DOM 1* who of course is the daughter of 2012 Golden Dam finalist REGANCREST-PR BARBIE EX-92-7YR-USA DOM GMD 3*. For me there is no question that Barbara will just keep stamping out great calves. As both her pedigree and type index show that she will just keep putting out big dairy cows with great legs and udders and boxcar show rumps. As Judge Heath noted, she is just one massive milk truck, both genetically and in the ring.
T-TRIPLE-T GOLD PRIZE
4yr old class – WDE 2012
Now, for me, this next one came in from off the radar a bit. Since winning T-TRIPLE-T GOLD PRIZE VG-89-2YR-USA junior champion at the 2009 World Dairy Expo as well as the Royal I had not heard that much about her. But man did she send a resounding message on the colored shavings at this year’s expo winning the 4yr old class. Prize’s sire stack reads as a who’s who of the show sire world, (Goldwyn x Dundee x Linjet x Chief Mark). In that sire stack you pretty much have every sire of a recent Expo Champion represented (when you factor in that Goldwyn is a James son and Chief Mark is the sire of Skychief). It really should not have been a surprise that Prize has such an amazing udder given that such sires as Goldwyn, Linjet and Chief Mark are in her pedigree. Those are also the exact reasons why you can be confident she is going to produce great daughters.
RF GOLDWYN HAILEY
RF GOLDWYN HAILEY EX-97-2E-CAN EX-94-5YR-USA – WDE 2012
No list is complete without RF GOLDWYN HAILEY EX-97-2E-CAN EX-94-5YR-USA. As we have mentioned before, Hailey is the real deal (Read – The Story Behind How Two Full Sisters Dominated Expo Quebec). Her dam, MELLHOLM LOUIE HANAH EX-92-2E CAN 2* was a show winner in her own right, winning HM. All Canadian Sr. 2YR honors back in 2005. When you cross the chest width, body depth and pin width of Hanah on the bone quality and set of legs and the proven ability to sire show winners of Goldwyn, the real question is, “How could you miss?” When you add in the fact that she also has two full, sisters RF Goldwyn Halona VG-88-2YR-CAN and RF GOLDWYN HALTON VG-86-2YR-CAN then you understand why Hailey is the real deal. It’s for that reason you realize why her daughter sold for $30,000 at the World Classic Sale (Read – World Classic 2012 Highlights).
The Bottom Line
There is no question that if show style and high type indexes are in the pedigree, it shows in the ring. There are exceptions and, no doubt, it’s finding the exceptions to the rule that makes breeding cattle so addictive. Your chances of getting back your investment rise exponentially if show quality is in the pedigree. Smart investors applaud all the winners as it takes a great deal of intelligence, and skill to breed and develop cows to this level. The question then becomes once you have taken a cow to this level how can you maximize your return on your effort? For us that means doing your homework knowing which ones have the highest probability to pass it on.
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Thanks for the reader catch that is it Arianna not ABrianna