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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
Table
1. Correlation of FeedPRO and other Indexes
Milk
Fat
Protein
NM$
TPI
.62
.74
.78
.84
.66
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.
Code
Name
Milk
Fat
Pro
NM$
TPI
7HO6417
O
MAN
1101
77
59
779
2039
7HO6838
MATCHES
2012
69
51
422
1774
7HO7043
DISON
1440
22
47
458
1730
7HO7475
RI-VAL
1769
68
57
410
1719
7HO7560
BLITZ
JINTX
2406
61
41
414
1668
7HO7901
RELIABLE
1618
64
41
386
1689
7HO8081
PLANET
2581
86
77
763
2154
7HO8236
SPARTACUS
2206
86
57
431
1704
7HO8344
COOP
1377
59
53
462
1744
7HO8361
DOMINGO
1406
67
41
612
1901
7HO8492
ELIAS
603
67
28
555
1870
7HO8530
AUTUMN
724
77
33
518
1803
7HO8534
PENNY
934
39
42
467
1708
7HO8553
ASTROLGER
1544
51
51
517
1956
7HO8559
BOGART
996
70
44
644
2036
7HO8612
BOB
1491
75
60
478
1809
7HO8625
BUTCH
1197
61
61
574
1859
7HO8661
COURAGE
1034
91
42
526
1868
7HO8715
OFFICER
362
58
37
519
1846
7HO8744
SECRET
1082
75
51
609
1902
7HO8747
BRONCO
2020
71
64
635
2072
7HO8856
NIAGRA
2399
85
77
587
2041
7JE620
MAXIMUS
-29
99
29
422
193
7JE714
MATINEE
1218
99
38
481
207
7JE817
KWARTZ
1847
76
50
459
217
7GU395
AARON
1030
66
28
307
208
7GU398
ALSTAR
1104
49
26
418
177
7GU405
GRUMPY
726
43
23
295
146
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.