After 30 Years, Primary Focus Of SMS Remains The Same

In 1973, Select Sires introduced the Select Mating Service™ (SMS™). Its primary goal was to assist dairy producers in developing herds of cows that had the correct type and high production genetics they wanted on their farms. The program was driven by the needs and desires of each individual customer, not a pre-established routine. In its first year of operation, 5,800 cows were evaluated.

Three decades later the program has grown to more than 3 million corrective matings annually. This program is used in more than 36 countries, making it the most widely accepted mating system in the world.

The mating program has changed through the years to keep up-to-date with current research on the productive life of a cow. Select Sires has incorporated the use of computers so matings are consistent across the herds and numerous options are made available. Mating reports can be generated in minutes, in keeping with each breeder’s individual needs.

-More Than Three Million Matings Per Year
-Follows your breeding philosophy and goals
-Results in consistent type throughout your herd
-Open to use of all Active A.I. sires
-Saves you time
-Helps you manage semen inventory
-Evaluators are full-time, skilled professionals

SELECT PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

The Select organization takes pride in employing full-time evaluators who have years of experience in the dairy industry. Select Sires Evaluators have the cow knowledge that is needed to help you obtain the breeding goals that are most important to you. They see milking daughters of numerous bulls everyday. They can guide you in the right direction based on physical results, not just computer formulas. Our staff of Evaluators are people you can trust; people who really care about your future. They take pride in returning to your farm years later to see the results that have been generated from those earlier matings. It’s this staff of professional, full-time Evaluators that sets our mating program apart from the competition.

It’s this producer-evaluator relationship that has made the SMS program the most talked about mating system in the business. Its users see the results and they don’t mind sharing their thoughts. Their comments will reassure you that SMS is a time tested service that has the same goal today that it had 25 years ago - to assist you in developing a herd of cows with the type and production that meets your individual needs.

ACCELERATED PROGRESS WITH PEDIGREE MATE

Your heifers are the most valuable animals on your dairy operation. They possess the best genetics. They have the potential to make a tremendous impact on your herd’s future. On the average, 30 to 40 percent of all herd replacements that come into your milk string eventually come from first calf heifers. You can't afford to overlook the importance of a mating plan for this elite group.

The Select Sires Mating program, SMS II Pedigree Mate, helps to maximize the genetic investment you make on these heifers. It combines the best genetics with corrective matings that are based on each heifer’s parentage. The program uses the heifer’s sire and maternal grandsire, plus her dam’s linear breakdown, if her dam has been evaluated. SMS II takes this information and formulates an estimated linear for each heifer, much like a Parent Average (PA).

Sire recommendations are based on the maximum percent of calving ease and the number of bulls you prefer. Pedigree Mate allows you to choose top production sires. At the same time, you can use your heifer’s pedigree to make significant type improvement in the next generation. That’s maximum genetic progress.

WHAT CAN PEDIGREE MATE DO FOR HEIFER A.I.?

-Utilizes top genetics for production and type improvement based on your goals.

-Helps you establish an organized mating plan for the most valuable animals on your farm, your heifers. These heifers will have an enormous genetic influence on your future milking herd.

-Controls inbreeding based on pedigree data.

-Saves you time. Demands on your time can often be greater than availability. With your direction, your SMS Evaluator does the matings, saving you time to make other important decisions.

-Identifies strengths and weaknesses of each heifer based on her parentage.

-Controls semen inventory. With a plan in place, you buy only the semen you need.

-Prioritizes special matings. Heifers from certain cow families require special matings to reach their fullest potential and your goals. Select Sires’ Evaluators add cow sense and industry knowledge to make these matings very elite.

™Select Mating Service and SMS are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.