Sunday, August 20, 2017

YOUR ACCESS TO THE WIDE WORLD OF ALTERNATIVE GENETICS

From the May-June 2016 Dairy Newsletter


It is not enough today for a company to be competitive.    It is even more important to be relevant.     The competitive companies got us to where we are today, but the product and service of relevant companies gear themselves to help you succeed tomorrow.

When it comes to dairy genetics, the rapidly diversifying dairy product and market niche developments require corresponding gene pools that offer the key components your dairy will need its cows to possess, either to qualify for a market (as with A2A2 Beta Casein) or to be adaptable in a market (as in grass-fed milk) or to optimize production under specific production parameters (as in certified organic marketing).     The “one size fits all” index ranking that dominates competitive genetics faces obsolescence under the rapidly evolving dairy product landscape and consumer-driven pressures for premium milk categories, as well as the increasing diversity in facility and feeding designs.   

When it comes to on-farm management of cow reproduction, selection in favor of natural fertility capability will reduce costs over the current vogue for OvSynch that has come to cost so much more than the semen used, that genetic selection has become commoditized.
Higher cow fertility levels makes compensatory mating more cost-effective.   The rapidity of Genome-based advances in gene selection for non-rankable factors will drive dairymen toward phenotypic mating and genotype selection as a combination superior in results to the “throwing of darts” of breeding on genetic rankings alone.   The real risk of inbreeding as ranked Genomics focus on an ever-narrowing set of ancestors (seeking that single ideal genotype) is greater than ever before.    You will need outcross sires, and a basis on which you know when it is time to use them.

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