Adam Oswalt Dairy Sire Marketing Select Sires Inc.
In addition to next Tuesday bringing us new proof information, an updated Net Merit $ formula will be rolled out as well. The 2017 revision has the aim to create a healthier and more efficient kind of cow! NM$ 2017 Revision key points: 1) Increased emphasis on Fat, a little less emphasis on Protein and the formula uses a lower milk price 2) Weight on Productive Life is reduced to make room for the addition of Cow Livability (Liv) 3) Body Weight composite (BWC) replaces previous Body Size composite (BSC) See below…
Overall the NM$ values will be lesser in April and the AIPL reports for recent bulls, the 2017 and 2014 NM$ indexes are correlated by 0.989.
Relative value percentage on traits included:
|
Relative value (%) |
||||
|
NM$ |
CM$ | FM$ |
GM$ |
|
|
Protein |
18 |
22 | 0 |
16 |
|
Fat |
24 |
20 | 24 |
21 |
|
Milk |
−1 |
−8 | 20 |
−1 |
|
PL |
13 |
11 | 14 |
8 |
|
SCS |
−7 |
−7 | −3 |
−6 |
|
Udder |
7 |
6 | 8 |
8 |
|
Feet/legs |
3 |
2 | 3 |
3 |
|
Body weight |
−6 |
−5 | −6 |
−6 |
|
DPR |
7 | 6 | 7 |
18 |
|
HCR |
1 | 1 | 1 |
3 |
|
CCR |
2 |
1 | 2 |
5 |
|
CA$ |
5 |
4 | 5 |
4 |
|
Livability |
7 | 6 | 8 |
5 |
Producers that expect low future protein premiums should select on FM$; those that expect high protein premiums should select on CM$; breeders targeting the U.S. average price should select on NM$. GM$ has higher emphasis on fertility to maintain seasonal breeding. Source: AIPL, Net merit as a measure of lifetime profit: 2017 revision
Expected genetic progress from NM$:
|
2014 NM$ PTA change/year |
2017 NM$ PTA change/year | 2017 NM$ breeding value change/decade | |
|
Protein |
3.5 | 3.4 |
68 |
|
Fat |
5.1 | 5.3 |
106 |
|
Milk |
100 | 93 |
1,866 |
|
Productive life |
0.65 | 0.65 |
13 |
|
SCS |
−0.02 | −0.02 |
−0.42 |
|
Udder composite |
0.03 | 0.03 |
0.53 |
|
Feet/leg comp. |
0.01 | 0.01 |
0.25 |
| Body weight comp. | −0.05 | −0.07 |
−1.35 |
|
Daughter preg. rate |
0.27 | 0.26 |
5.2 |
|
Heifer concept. rate |
0.22 | 0.21 |
4.1 |
|
Cow concept. rate |
0.43 | 0.42 |
8.4 |
|
Calving ability $ |
3.5 | 3.6 |
72 |
|
Cow livability |
0.31 | 0.37 |
7.4 |
BWC uses dairy form to account for presence or absence of fat in addition to skeletal size.
BSC = .5 * stature + .25 * strength + .15 * body depth + .10 * rump width BWC = .23 * stature + .72 * strength + .08 * body depth + .17 * rump width – .47 * dairy form Using BWC instead of BSC in NM$ reduces the selection against stature, body depth and dairy form.
|
Trait |
BSC | BWC |
|
Stature |
0.96 | 0.64 |
| Strength | 0.87 |
0.94 |
|
Body depth |
0.92 | 0.72 |
| Rump width | 0.75 |
0.59 |
| Dairy form | 0.45 |
-0.16 |
Source: HAUSA, New Body Size composite
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