Cattle breeding trends eyed at ABS session
LANCASTER - Trends in
cattle breeding were
discussed by Dr. Paul D.
Miller, Director of Sire
Development for American
Breeders Service, at a
District Annual Banquet at
KATOLIGHT
DEPENDABLE
EMERGENCY POWER
f^3/ry
for...
Controlled Environment,
Automated Feeding Operations
Low Cost
Protection Agri-Alternator ► ' ,
Could pay for itself in one blackout Can be run
continuously until power is restored PTO drive vKIT&n. x
Use for portable power, too Sizes to 150 KW [KAT^UOHTj
I I
V S'/»i»ma /
*** itf
r*l -I’' M ft 1 ? % 'I
the Landis Valley Motor Inn
Tuesday night.
Among the topics touched
on by Dr. Miller were future
semen production involving
bulls on allocation, customer
expectations concerning
Among service reps honored at annual district
banquet of American Breeders Service Tuesday
night were, from the left, Ira L. Boyer, Thomas
ville, York County, five years of service; C. Robert
Greider, Bernville, Berks County, five years of
service; Darvin Yoder, Ephrata, Lancaster County,
top representative for 1979; Maurice C. Stump,
genetic improvement, the
future of colored breeds in
AI, expansion of young bull
testing, and long-range
effects of the narrowing of
the genetic base.
In addition, Dr. Miller told
his audience of service reps
primarily from southeastern
Pennsylvania that he is
seeing yet another in
creasing trend the
'Poultry
equipment
n J COMPANY, INC.
4 f. \
growing mcidence of milking
three times a day.
' ‘Milking three tunes a day
is resulting m about a 20
percent production increase
in herds,” he said.
“I recently visited one
herd in which there were
eight two-year*olds
producing more than 140
pounds a day each in their
first lactation.”
*Hog
Katolight Standby Power'
Packages give you the finest
in power outage protection.
Wide choice of models in
sizes to 250 KW. Automatic
or push-button transfer; gas
oline or diesel fuels. Extra
overload capacity. Models
for irrigation, also.
SYCAMORE IND PARK
255 PLANE TREE DRIVE
UNCASTER, PA 17603
(717)393-5807
Route 30 West At
The Centerville Exit
if
o^4i'
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 28,1980—A27
West Grove, Chester County, 20 years of service
and surpassing the 125,000 total unit volume with
133,711 units; and James N. Charles, Columbia,
Lancaster County; surpassing the 50,000-unit
level with 51,223 total unit volume. Yoder and his
wife, Joan, will receive a trip to the ABS Americana
Oct. 1-3.
Dr. Miller explained that
the increasing use of embryo
transplants has stepped up
concentration on the very
best bulls whose semen has
been on allocation. But he
expects the supply situation
to unprove in the near
future. He described semen
production recently in
volving allocated bulls as
phenomenal. In some in
stances production has
doubled over the previous
six months.
Due to the rapid changes
m genetic development, he
said dairy farmers are now
coming to expect annual
production increases of 75
pounds a year.
He went on to explain that
most of the construction
taking place at AI facilities
presently centers on new
barns for young bulls being
sampled m the sire program.
ABS is sampling 130 young
bulls this year, which is
about 25 more than last year
and that number will likely
mcrease next year, Dr.
Miller said.
The future of the colored
breeds appears mixed.
While industry-wide sam
pling is dropping, probably
half of what it was five years
ago, ABS sales in the colored
lines are increasing at a rate
faster than with the Holstein
)v v
jrnamg j
breed. Dr. Miller said ABS
will continue its sampling
program with the colored
breeds.
To realize just how much
the genetic base may be
narrowing, only a glance at
the Sire Directory is
necessary. Just count the
number of bulls not sired by
Elevation, Bootmaker, Chief
or Astronaut, Dr. Miller
said. It comes out to about
32.
Dr. Miller said he par
ticipated in a Dairy Science
Symposium on the question
of how embryo transplants
would further affect the
narrowing of the genetic
base. A population geneticist
was asked to computer
simulate a comparison
between a broader genetic
base versus narrower blood
lines in breeding for specific
purposes.
The group concluded that
there appears to be very
little to worry about con
cerning long-range genetic
effects.
He explained that ABS
sampling last year of young
bulls involved 36 different
sires, providing a broad
genetic base. But it was still
the individual dairyman who
makes the decision of which
bull is selected, he added.—
DA
C i
y£, f
f
: 1