Aim for production through AI says Everett
>
By SALLY BAIK
Staff correspondent
university park -
For an economical!} suc
cessful breeding program
dairymen should use the
Save
Energy
and get
WATER...
w* S
N 'W,.
~ _ , •* >,» »-n«-K-,
with thfc .
revolutionary...
FRE-HEATER 1
375 gal. DeLaval
350 gal. Esco
425 gal. Esco
625 gal. Esco
650 gal. Esco
500 gal. Mueller
QUEEN ROAD REFRIGERATION
Box 67, Intercourse, Pa. 17534
After 5 P.M.
JOHN D. WEAVER 768-8355
GiD DIENNER 768-8521 SAM STOLTZFUS 768-3594
OR Answering Service 354-4374 24 HOUR SERVICE
We Stock Hess's Farm Supplies, Check Our Prices on Animal Medications
services of the artificial
breeding industry and
should breed for production
rather than type in their
selection of sires, according
to Robert Everett, of the
■» t "s
M ' *
[Sr -
USED TANKS
300 gal. Mojonnier
400 gal. Mojonnier
800 gal. Mojonnier
D-2 500 gal. Girton
300 gal. Girton
department of animal
science at Cornell Univer
sity. Everett is in charge of
the dairy cattle breeding
program there.
Speaking to the 260 men
**•
Diitr'
£ '
W
Vs 1 £ i
-
4' -
600 gal. Girton 1-Cyl. Deutz
400 gal. Dari-Kool (2) SR2 Lister-1 Sold
500 gal. Milkeeper
D-2 400 gal. Girton
and women attending the
dairy herd management
conference sponsored by The
Pennsylvania State
University, Evertt said that
artificially inseminated
cows are gentically superior
by 500 to 800 pounds of milk
tonon-Alcows.
Everett said the sire’s side
of the pedigree contributes
76 per cent of the total
genetic progress while the
cow’s side contributes only
six per cent. He said, “If a
dairyman is not using AI, his
progress is about 24 per cent
of the progress in AI. All
genetic progress is coming
from AI bulls.”
Both genetic progress and
environmental progress
contribute to a successful
herd. Since 1957, Everett
said, genetic progress has
averaged about 100 pounds
of milk per cow per year in
the AI population and
dairymen have increased
management skills to
produce another 125 pounds
of milk per year.
Everett pointed out that
some traits which a
dairyman might wish to
breed into his herd have a
!*k'
USED DIESEL
Phone 717-768-7111
V -t»
*■ £-fr *"
*£ I
l( "t 1
r
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 11,1978
Robert Everett
very low heritability.
Dairymen indicated that
longevity is an important
trait since this would make a
smaller percentage of im
mature two-year olds in the
herd and add to the total
profit. However, heritability
of longevity is low - .08 per
cent - and is difficult to
select. But there is a direct
and positive genetic
correlation between milk
production and longevity, so
a dairyman can get both
desirable traits by selection
of high production bulls.
Studies done by Everett
and by the Holstein Freisian
Association show that high
bulls on type are the lowest
on both production and
longevity, two of the most
desirable traits in selecting
for genetic progres..
It may seem difficult for a
dairyman to decide how to
handle the selection of sires
to provide what he wants for
his herd. Everett said, “The
solution rests in putting full
faith and confidence m the
AI industry. The AI industry
spends hundreds of
thousands of dollars each
year collecting and in
terpreting data on type and
functional traits of cows, and
any bulls transmitting un
desirable attributes in ope or
more traits are culled.”
Since a sire contributes 76
ail Your
HUSKEE-BILT MAN!
Also Ask About Our
CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT BUILDING
A Thrive Center controlled environment building means
heavier, healthier-animals, reduced labor and feed costs
and almost no manure handling or odor They par for
themselves in no time 1
per cent of the genetic
progress, a dairyman’s
genetic program is protected
from undesirable type and
functional weakness through
the use of AI sires, Everett
said.
Return on investment is
the most critical criteria in
deciding how much to pay
for semen. Everett
recommended that
dairymen should never pay
over $15.00 per breeding unit
for semen. No matter how
good the bull is, the cost of
high-priced semen can never
be recovered through extra
milk production, Everett
noted. The only way to
recover' the price of that
semen is to sell the offspring.
Everett also cautioned
against semen speculation.
“By the time a dairyman
can stock up on a venture
bull, another better bull is
already coming out of the
system which makes the
venture bull less saleable.”
In addition, the amount of
capital tied up in semen is
then unavailable to use in
other parts of the dairy
business.
Dairy herd improvement
records are a big help in
increasing the profit in dairy
breeding, Everett said,
especially when* the in
formation provided is
studied for individual cow
records and used as a culling
guide.
Studies indicate that the
“larger the herd, the more
profitable your herd and the
larger the return on fees” in
the dairy herd improvement
testing programs. The
owner-sampler program
makes a larger return on
investment than the
traditional dairy herd im
provement program. Fur
thermore the return on in
vestment is positive on a 30-
head or larger herd, and the
return increases each year a
dairyman stays on the dairy
herd improvement program,
E ’ett id.
YOUR
HUSKEE-BILT MAN
MERVIN MILLER
RD2, Keener Road,
Lititz, Penna.
Phone (717) 626-5204
111