How to read “Maternal” pedigree data on sires

 

For dairymen interested in breeding and mating selection, the trend among large AI systems in favor of Genomic [trait/index] data, eliminating ancestor and phenotypic information, becomes unpopular.  The Reliability of Genomic indexes (60% for production, 50% for linear type, 40% for “health” traits) is not mentioned.    Progeny evaluated sires are no longer emphasized (“the new youngsters are so much better”) so the high number that do not live up to Genomic expectation is not recognized.     IF your breeding goal is to make every mating count, minimizing the rate of herd turnover (so that an optimal percentage of the herd is milking at mature-cow levels) is not guaranteed from blindly following the latest technology breeding theories.

How do we select in favor of realizable mature production volume?

Biologists (whose observations often contradict data-driven geneticists) tell you the two most important attributes to longevity are  (1)  long-life parents, and  (2)  adaptable physiques.   Now that we recognize that linear selection favors dysfunctional extreme physical traits in so many physical characteristics (driven by that 1970s desire to feed more corn to ruminant species, so that by 1990s it also required oilseeds to meet cow’s energy demands) – how do we “balance” our matings so that lifetime function can be maintained?

The majority of AI systems we represent favor sire selection on consistency of maternal lines.   As a result, you still find multiple generation cow performance data behind the dams of each sire we offer.    Here is how to “read” that information:

5-00  2x  365d  50,710  3.7%  1860  3.0%  1502   (best lactation for dam of “Porsche” 566H1303)
5-00  means   “calving at the age of 5 years and 0 months”
  2x    means   “milked twice daily for this lactation”
365d means   “the first 365 days of that lactation”   
50,710  is   the actual pounds of milk yield given by this cow during that lactation
3.7%     is   the average percentage of butterfat content during that lactation
1860     is   the actual pounds of butterfat yield  [calculated as 50,710 pounds x 3.7%]
3.0%     is   the average percentage of protein content during that lactation
1502     is   the actual pounds of protein yield  [calculated as 50,710 pounds x 3.0%]

Lifetime:  2586d  215,353  5.1%  10,953  3.2%  6963   (dam of “Forrest” 525HO122)

Consider this:  the average commercial dairy cow in the USA only completes two lactations.   On average, lifetime production is only 820 days in milk and (Holsteins) 47,000 pounds.  Sire choices  who show exceptional productivity and longevity for a multiple of maternal generations help to improve the functional lifetime length and production yield per cow in your herd.

Zoetis says mature cows milk 30% more than heifers.    That is greater than any PTA Milk ever.