Longevity is heritable – you get it from your parents

Are you tired of turning over your cow herd every three years?    Does it bother you to never have cows to sell for more than beef price?    Have you resorted to using “sexed” semen to produce enough herd replacements?    

Genetic selection could be the cause of this.    A different, more perceptive approach to genetic selection and recognizing the benefit of compensatory mating on qualities of the physique (rather than ineffective linear trait mating) could become the solution.

In times of low milk prices, when the emphasis must be on lowering costs of production (rather than increasing production) to regain profitability, it is worthwhile to reflect on the genetic contribution to our current frustration.    The highest ranking animals in each generation are selected for all the milk yield possible regardless of cost.   The best sire choices, usually not identified until a later generation, are those that optimize milk yield at profitable costs of production over the longest effective lifetime.

This is our focus at Mich Livestock Service—your source for “The Best in Bulls”