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A Better Bottom Line is a Breeding Away with FeedPRO

A better bottom line is just a breeding away with FeedPRO sires. High feed prices and lower milk prices have created a renewed interest in selecting for improved feed efficiency. Unfortunately, directly measuring and selecting for feed efficiency is not practical because of the expense to measure individual cow feed intakes. However, our current genetic evaluations measure a large variety of traits, so Select Sires took another look at feed efficiency to see if we could identify some key indicator traits among those that we currently evaluate.

The Science Behind FeedPRO - Researchers in the U.K. have done studies of body traits, body condition score and feed intake. They developed an index that combines milk, fat and protein yield with stature, chest width, body depth and rump width. The index they developed had a 90 percent correlation with feed intake.1 Additional research articles have confirmed the relationship between body size and feed intake. Unfortunately, this research does not allow us to identify cows that more efficiently digest the feed they consume. But, we can identify the majority of feed intake differences in our dairy cows using traits we already measure.

Building the FeedPRO Index - Based on these research articles, as well as others, Select Sires has built an index that identifies sires whose daughters offer the most income over feed cost. A variety of trait combinations were considered for the FeedPRO index. These indexes were then tested by applying them to the Active A.I. list and selecting the top bulls. Averages of the selected bulls were then entered into an income over feed supplement cost calculator developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This tool was used to estimate income over feed costs for the various trial indexes. Through this exercise, Select Sires learned that selecting for a balance of production, body size, and other traits was more cost effective than simply selecting for more production. Select Sires used these tools to identify the combination of traits that maximized income over feed costs.

Comparison of FeedPRO to other Indexes - You may be asking how the FeedPRO index compares with other selection indexes that are currently available within the industry. As Table 1 shows, the correlation of FeedPRO is moderately high with production traits, Net Merit and TPITM. This means that FeedPRO is aggressively selecting for increased production, but still identifies a noticeably different group of bulls. FeedPRO sires have the ability to produce a higher producing, moderate-sized animal that will provide you with greater income over feed cost!

1 R.F. Veerkamp 1998 J Dairy Sci 81:1109-1119. Selection for Economic Efficiency of Dairy Cattle Using Information on Live Weight and Feed Intake: A Review

FeedPRO can be used alongside existing designations like HealthMark™, Herdlife Builder™, Calving Ease and Superior Settler™ to easily find sires to meet any breeding goal. FeedPRO may also be included as part of a custom-selection index that can be created by your Select Mating Service™ (SMSTM) genetic consultant. Look for the FeedPRO logo for More Income, Less Feed!

Below is a listing of sires from our August 2009 sire summaries designated as FeedPRO sires.

™FeedPRO, HealthMark, Herdlife Builder, Superior Settler, Select Mating Service, and SMS are trademarks of Select Sires Inc. TPI is a trademark of Holstein Association USA.

Why FeedPRO?

 

Chuck Sattler Vice President Genetic Programs Select Sires

With today's dairy producers experiencing higher feed costs and lower milk prices, income over feed cost is more important than ever. That's why Select Sires took a closer look at key indicator traits which lead to improved income over feed cost to identify the new FeedPRO™ category of sires. The sires that carry this designation will be labeled as such in the August sire directory.

"Every dairy producer in the country today would love to know which bulls sire daughters with lower feed costs," said Chuck Sattler, vice president of genetic programs for Select Sires, who was instrumental in developing FeedPRO. "And that's exactly what we set out to discover – we took a close look at current research to identify the genetic traits that correlate to improved feed efficiency." With the support of a variety of current research, including an income over feed supplement cost calculator developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Select Sires learned that selecting for a balance of production and body size was more cost effective than simply selecting for more production. Select's FeedPRO index includes production and body size traits along with additional information to assure that the resulting cows are metabolically healthy.

"Select Sires is always working to offer solutions and FeedPRO is a solution that is very much needed in today's dairy environment," Sattler said. "Bulls carrying the FeedPRO designation have the ability to make a higher-producing, moderate-sized animal that will provide customers with greater income over feed cost."

Using the April 2009 Holstein lineup, the sires that would qualify for the FeedPRO designation are, on average, nearly double the active-A.I. Holstein average for pounds of Milk, Fat and Protein.

FeedPRO can be used alongside existing designations like HealthMark™, Calving Ease, Herdlife Builder™ and Superior Settler™ to easily find sires to meet any breeding goal. FeedPRO may also be included as part of a custom-selection index that can be created by Select Mating Service™ (SMS™) genetic consultants. A listing of FeedPRO sires will be available at www.selectsires.com soon after the August sire summary.

™FeedPRO, HealthMark, Herdlife Builder, Superior Settler, Select Mating Service and SMS are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.