m
Profitable Breeding
Strategies
One of the secrets of a success
ful and profitable dairy breeding
program is the consistent use of
top genetic bulls on all cows from
which you intend to keep any
offspring, according to VPI dairy
specialist, Bennett CasseL Each
breeding on your farm, including
services to heifers and problem
breeders, is an opportunity for
making genetic progress in your
herd.
On many farms, one third or so
of the offspring that are bom and
raised for herd replacements come
from first calf heifers and problem
breeders. These heifers and prob
lem breeders should be bred, not
to non-dairy bulls or bulls of
unknown genetic origin, but to
bulls that have the opportunity to
introduce some good genetics into
the herd at reasonable costs. If you
are interested in using A.I. sires on
heifers, but find it difficult to
detect heifers in heat or inconve
nient to constrain them for servic
ing, consult your veterinarian and
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9=Poor, I*Exc«llinl
VersatUrhybdd with outstanding
disease reabtance.
Key traits: Good seedling growth. Very good plant
health. Excellent root strength.
Management Ups: Adapted to a wide range
of soil types and tillage practices. Responds to
higher populations. Very early hybnd for mid-
Atlantic growers, with yield and health required to
take advantage of early com premiums. Excellent
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very good silage characteristics.
Earning Our Way
On More Of Your Acres.
sg
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GLENN’S
UDDERINGS
By
Glenn A. Shirk
Lancaster Extension
Dairy Agent
A.I. personnel about heat synchro
nizing techniques, and if neces
sary. construct appropriate facili
ties for catching and restraining
cattle.
This is not to say that all the
good bulls are in A.I. service.
However, A.I. bulls generally do
have a lot more records making up
their proofs, which means you can
more reliably predict the impact
they may have on your herd. Herd
sires will continue to be used for a
variety of good reasons, some of
which are: convenience, improved
conception in some cases, person
al preferences, developing proofs
to merchandise bulls, etc. The
noint is, if you are going to use
natural service, select healthy, vir
gin dairy bulls out of good genetic
stock and switch bulls frequently
enough to reduce the risk of a
“dud” bull leaving a big hole in
your breeding program.
What are “top genetic” sires?
That varies, depending upon who
you talk to, and upon individual
Breeders’ goals. For one breeder it
might be sires with high PD values
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Our 111-day yield leader. Produces
big yields under a wide range of
environmental conditions.
Key traits; Good stalk quality and excellent
root strength. Very good stress tolerance Good
early stand establishment and seedling vigor.
Medium tall plant with medium ear placement.
Medium shank and husk cover. Girthy ear with
very good test weight and grain quality. Tied for
Ist Place in the 1992 New Jersey NCGA Yield
Contest (Class A Non-Imgated) for Rustin
Farms of Denton with 219.84 bpa.
Management lips; Widely adapted. Excellent
top end yield potential under irrigated and
favorable conditions. Relatively small seed size.
Very good resistance to Southern Com Leaf Blight.
Average Ist and good 2nd generation resistance
to com borer.
for milk, dollars, protein yield,
type, etc. For others, it might be
longevity traits, pedigree strength,
etc.
If you have been selecting ser
vice sires wisely and making
genetic progress with each suc
ceeding crop of calves, the best
females in your herd should be in
your young heifers not yet bred.
You probably would not think of
breeding your best cow in your
milking herd to any old bull of
unknown genetic origin; nor
should you do this with your best
females in the herd, your youfig
heifers!
The trouble is, you don’t know
which heifer will be your best cow
of tomorrow until she freshens
and proves herself. However, your
DHIA reports can give you a clue
if you have been reporting breed
ing information and animal identi
fications accurately. It will show
up on your reports as parent aver
age (PA) or estimated transmitting
ability (ETA). These estimates
consider what the calf has inher
ited from its dam and sire.
On the Penna. DHIA reports
parent averages (PA) of calves can
be found on their dam's Individual
Cow Page.
Several Raleigh DHIA reports
show calves estimated transmit
ting abilities (ETA). It may appear
as ETAM. ETAS, ETA%, ETAF,
ETAP, etc. You can find it on one
of the Individual Cow Records
(DHI-303. but not on DHI-203),
and on die following optional
reports, if requested: Annual Heif
er Calf Listing (DHI-209), Heifer
Calf Management Listing
(DHI-214), and calves Individual
Identification Page (DHI-204).
So. for good genetic progress,
and to keep your breeding prog
ram on a well-planned track, plan
what sires you want to use consid
ering: breeding goals that will
have a positive financial impact
on your business, bull’s genetic
merit and reliability ratings,
semen costs, etc. Here’s where
you might want to solicit the
experience of a breeding
consultant.
Then, determine how much
semen you will need for the next
six months or so. With this infor
mation in hand you are now in a
position to shop for the semen and
breeding services you need in a
very methodic, business-like man
ner. This will help you avoid the
temptation of buying a few straws
of a new “hot" sire or from over
stocking your semen tank.
When die next sire summary is
published, be ready to revise your
list of chosen sires and prepare
your shopping list for the next six
months or so. Remember, proofs
of young sires you chose earlier
may change when their second
crop of daughters come into milk.
With the rapid genetic progress
that is taking place in the industry,
Lancaster DHIA is sponsoring a
breakfast meeting for any agribusi
ness worker, 7:30 a.m„ Tuesday,
Oct. 26, at the Country Table
Restaurant in Mount Joy.
The purpose of the meeting is to
help you understand the Raleigh
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Itop yielding 114>day hybrid.
Key traits:
Contest winning yields. Fast seedling growth rate
Very good plant health. Tall hybnd with medium ear
placement. Large ear. excellent ear (lex length
and girth. Shows yield well. Excellent ear
retention. Tbok Ist Place in the 1992 New Jersey
NCGA Yield Contest for Rustm Farms of Henton
with 209,07 bpa (Class A, Non-Irrigated), and for
Richard Tindall of Henton with 198.02 bpa
(Ridge-Rill, Non-Irrigated).
Management tips: Adapted to varied soil
types and weather condibons, but highest yields
come from better soils at moderate plant
populations Adapted to bean and corn ground
Massive plant excellent silage choice for
tonnage, protein & digestibility.
Contact your local DEKALB
Representative For More Information
Lanc«9t«f farming, IMi-Xbs
Lanemmtmr
'DJSA
L*fjc*stor D*/ry Horcf//nprovamant Assoc.
tS92 O/cf L/n» Pd. Mmnhm/m, PA 17545
f7I7J 665-5960
JAY MYLIN
Manager
Lancaster DHIA
the good bulls of today can quick
ly become quite ordinary with the
influx of genetically superior bulls
of tomorrow.
How well have you been doing
keeping your herd genetically
ahead of the average, and toward
the front of the pack? The genetic
profile of the sires you have been
using is a good indicator. You can
And this on the Raleigh DHIA
Herd Summary Report One goal
may be to strive for an average
percentile rank of service sires of
80% or above..
You may have many opportuni
ties to improve your herd geneti
cally. So do your competitors, so
don’t miss the opportunity to stay
abreast of or ahead of your com
petition. The next challenge then
is being able to manage the herd in
a manner that allows cows to
express their genetic potential and
remain in the herd long enough to
reward you with some good
offspring and profit margins.
Penn State is an affirmative
action, equal opportunity
university.
reports and ways to use them for
herd management
We will be looking at how to use
the 202 Herd Summary for observ
ing strengths and weaknesses in a
herd, ways to use Consultant-Dart
to help the dairyman, and at the
optional reports available.
For reservations, please call Jay
Mylin at (717) 665-5960.
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