Fall Selections 2016

FALL 2016 August 2016 Proof Highlights

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Adding Value with gender SELECTed Semen

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Tap into Your Herd's Full Genetic Potential

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YOUR SUCCESS YOU Our Passion.

Turn to page 14 to learn more about how Select Sires' technician force can help you reach your reproductive goals.

S ELECTIONS

PROVIDING VALUE IN ALL AREAS

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e are proud to serve you, our customer-owners, and work with you to improve your herd with reproductive and genetic solutions. In this issue you'll find stories about how Select Sires can add value to your dairy operation by using the best genetics with the best service team in the country.

Is Free Cheap Enough?

by David C. Thorbahn, president and C.E.O. If you were buying a new tractor, a parlor or a herd of cows, would you buy the cheapest or would you seek the best value for your money? Tough question, but I bet you follow Warren Buffet’s advice, "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

The genetics you purchase are the foundation of your business and the same decision process applies even in today’s tough economic environment.

Joel Mergler, vice president of international market development, has regularly shared pictures of cows from former Soviet Union countries where semen was provided free of charge to producers. These cows were often poor-producing and evidence that “Free was not cheap enough!” So, how does this story apply to you?

If someone offered you semen from a +400 Net Merit (NM$), +0.0 Sire Conception Rate (SCR) sire today for free, it would be a bad decision to use it based on what is available, just like the free Soviet semen.

Dr. Chad Dechow, associate professor of dairy cattle genetics at Pennsylvania State University, published an article in Hoard’s Dairyman earlier this year demonstrating that there is $17.31 more value per unit of semen for every +100 NM$ for herds at 35 percent conception rate for proven sires. Two research papers from the University of Florida (DeVries) and Pennsylvania State University (Dechow) published the value of SCR at $2.78 and $6.50 per point of SCR respectively. These facts show that a sire that is +100 NM$ higher and one point more of SCR

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is worth $20 more per unit!

In this issue you will see that Select Sires dominates the highranking proven and genomic young sire lists for NM$ and GTPI®. Select Sires has 18 Holstein proven sires over +600 NM$ and more than +1.0 for SCR. Select Sires has 17 that are more than +700 NM$ and +2.0 SCR. That is double our closest competitor and more than all other competitors combined.

When you can see these highranking lists showing Select Sires dominating for NM$ and SCR, it’s not bragging, it’s value! Although free, or nearly free, semen may seem like a good idea upfront, there is plenty of evidence that shows using high-ranking sires provides a return on investment.

As a farmer-owned and farmerdirected cooperative, part of the Select Sires mission is to enhance productivity and profitability for dairy and beef producers! That requires focus during this current depressing global dairy industry.

Don’t let discounters and dealcutters rob you of the value in your herd that you will be stuck with for years to come! Contact your local Select Sires representative or farmer-owned cooperative to conduct a genetic audit and put you on the road to improved productivity and profitability.

Back To The Basics of Genetic Evaluations

by Chuck Sattler, vice president genetic programs, Select Sires Inc. As sire summaries come and go along with our hectic schedules it’s easy to get lost in the numbers and forget about the information that genetic evaluations deliver. From time to time it’s worthwhile to step back and refresh ourselves about what the numbers mean.

What do the genetic evaluation numbers mean?

In U.S. dairy genetic evaluations, the evaluations for the majority of traits are presented as Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs).

PTAs provide two important pieces of information. First, they help us rank animals from highest to lowest to know where animals stand in comparison to the rest of the population. This is the most common use of evaluation information and it’s common throughout the industry to see rankings of A.I. sires for a variety of traits.

PTAs also provide us with the actual performance difference that we can expect to see in the

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daughters of A.I. sires. A lot of effort goes into scaling PTAs appropriately so that they indeed are relative to the results you will see on your dairy. This second feature of PTAs is often ignored.

However making use of both features is important in making the best choices with your semen investment dollars.

PTAs are used to present genetic evaluations for the production traits, Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR), conception rates, calving traits, Somatic Cell Score (SCS), Productive Life (PL) and for Type final score. While everyone wants to use top sires, it’s also important to understand how much genetic change a sire will transmit. PTAs provide this

level of information. For instance, a simple comparison of the PTA protein for 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE at +73 to 7HO11123 WRIGHT at +18 tells us that SUPERSIRE daughters will produce 55 pounds more protein per lactation than WRIGHT daughters (73 – 18 = 55). A similar comparison can be done for DPR. In this case, WRIGHT at +5.5 DPR has the advantage over SUPERSIRE at -1.0 DPR. Comparing these two values tells us that WRIGHT daughters will have a 6.5 percent higher pregnancy rate each breeding cycle. Knowing the performance difference you will see in bulls’ daughters is a great help in knowing how much you can afford to pay for semen.

Will this work on my dairy?

PTA values are scaled based on the average dairy participating in DHI testing. This may or may not represent your dairy. Some herds may get more improvement than predicted while some herds may get less. Select Sires can analyze your herd management records and take a look to see if the performance of your cows matches up to the predicted

genetics of the A.I. sires used in your herd. In general, the herds with good identification that we’ve analyzed quite consistently get as much or more improvement than the PTA values of their service sires predicted.

How do I make sense of all the numbers?

Of course, as you can see from the example below there are tradeoffs that almost always need to be made and it can get complicated quite quickly. This is where selection indexes can be very helpful tools. Creating selection indexes involves assigning a weight to each of the traits in which you are interested in selecting and then creating a formula to calculate an index value for each animal. This index value can then be used to sort a large number of animals and quickly focus on the ones that best fit your needs. Selection indexes are the most effective way to select for all the important traits at the same time.

A variety of indexes are routinely published and a comparison of TPI®, Net Merit (NM$) and Dairy Wellness Profit Index™ (DWP$™)

can be seen below. If the makeup of these indexes fit your needs, then it makes perfect sense for you to follow these values in the animals you are selecting and use these to guide your breeding decisions. If these examples don’t quite fit your needs, a reasonable alternative is to create your own selection index specific to your herd’s needs. Select Sires personnel have tools and expertise that can assist you with this process.

Interestingly, NM$ and DWP$ are also presented as PTA values.

They both are expressed in dollar values and both provide an estimate of the lifetime profitability difference that can be expected in a bull’s daughters.

These then become very helpful tools in understanding the value of your semen purchases. It’s important that semen purchasing dollars spent today turn into additional performance two to four years from now. Typically the very best sires sell for higher prices than average sires.

Running quick comparisons of what the semen costs to what level of indexes the bulls deliver can help assure that you are getting the most genetic improvement from your semen purchasing budget.

What to remember about PTAs and genetic indexes: • PTAs indicate ranking of bulls as well as the amount of improved performance delivered to offspring.

• Combining PTA values in an index is the most effective way to select for multiple traits at the same time.

• Indexes like NM$ and DWP$ can be used to maximize the return on your semen investment dollars.

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August 2016 Sire Summary Highlights Once again Select Sires offers the most elite and diverse genetics following the August 2016 sire summary. Read the highlights on the next two pages!

PROVEN TPI With 41 of the top 100 and 29 of the top 50 TPI® sires on Holstein Association USA’s Top TPI Bulls list, Select Sires has placed its largest number of sires on the list in history. Select Sires also leads the industry with the most sires (35) on the Holstein Association USA Top 100 Daughter Proven Plus (75 daughters in 50 herds) TPI list. Select Sires consistently offers more elite, highly reliable genetics than any other A.I. organization.

7HO11621 MAYFLOWER

7HO11752 BOB

Westvaleview May Rose (VG-85) Westvale View Dairy LLC, Nashville, Mich.

Kings-Ransom Bob Rasher-ET (VG-86) Kings-Ransom Farm LLC, Schuylerville, N.Y.

NET MERIT Of the top 25 proven sires for Net Merit (NM$), 15 are Select sires, as well as 24 of the top 50 and 37 of the top 100.

Top Active A.I. Sires for NM$ 1. 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE 3. 7HO11833 RENNIE 5. 7HO11621 MAYFLOWER 6. 7HO12165 MONTROSS 7. 7HO11839 MONOCEROTIS 8. 7HO11708 ROOKIE 10. 7HO11525 DONATELLO 12. 7HO11519 RACKET 13. 7HO11752 BOB 16. 7HO11383 MORGAN 19T. 7HO11546 EMULATE 19T. 7HO11395 MYSTIC 21. 7HO11585 STERLING 23. 7HO11314 MOGUL 6

Holstein Association USA's Top TPI Bulls List 2. 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE 3. 7HO11621 MAYFLOWER 4. 7HO11752 BOB 6. 7HO11708 ROOKIE 7. 7HO11585 STERLING 9. 7HO11383 MORGAN 10. 7HO11314 MOGUL 11. 7HO11839 MONOCEROTIS 12. 7HO11525 DONATELLO 13. 7HO11419 HEADLINER 18. 7HO11546 EMULATE 21. 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN 22. 7HO11833 RENNIE 24. 7HO11519 RACKET 25. 250HO1009 BREWMASTER

7HO11833 RENNIE

7HO12165 MONTROSS

Top to bottom: Green-Meadow Rennie Siena (GP-82), Green Meadow Farms Enterprises, Elsie, Mich.; Ladys-Manor Mtrs Lovey-ET (GP-82), Ladys Manor LLC, Monkton, Md.

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Select Sires is home to an industry-leading four sires over +3.00 PTAT and several top-10 Feet and Leg Composite (FLC) and Udder Composite (UDC) sires.

7HO11596 DEFIANT

7HO11926 DEFENDER

Top to bottom: Skycrest Defiant Last Call (VG88-VG-MS), Skycrest Holsteins LTD, Athabasca, Alberta; Ladys-Manor Dnd Sh-Daisy-ET (VG-86), Ladys Manor LLC, Monkton, Md.

Top Active A.I. Sires for Type 1. 7HO11596 DEFIANT 2. 7HO10506 G W ATWOOD 6. 7HO11118 BROKAW 8. 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN Top Active A.I. Sires for FLC 5. 7HO10506 G W ATWOOD 6. 7HO11926 DEFENDER 7T. 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN 7T. 7HO11279 MOONBOY 9. 7HO10999 BRADNICK 10. 7HO11596 DEFIANT Top Active A.I. Sires for UDC 5. 7HO11926 DEFENDER 6. 7HO11118 BROKAW 7. 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN

JERSEY LINEUP 7JE1274 AXIS

Kash-In Axis 43558-ET (VG-84%) Rancho Teresita Dairy, Tulare, Calif.

7JE1251 METALICA

Lady-Lane Meta Picture Perfect-ET (VG-88%) Garry Jay Jansen, Mulino, Ore.

7JE1184 NEWS remains the No. 3 GJPI sire at +207 and is joined in the top 15 by 7JE1149 DIMENSION (+192) and newcomer 7JE1274 AXIS (+183). NEWS ranks second for Milk (+1,756) while AXIS is the No. 7 active A.I. sire for Milk at +1,334. 7JE1038 VALENTINO (+2.0), 7JE1219 OLIVER-P (+1.9), 7JE1169 TOPEKA (+1.9) and 7JE1163 IRWIN (+1.8) are among the top 15 active A.I. sires for Type. IRWIN (+28.0), 7JE1088 COLTON (+24.5), OLIVER-P (+24.0) and new graduate 7JE1251 METALICA (+21.4) are top-15 JUI sires.

Top Active A.I. Sires for SCR 1. 7JE1254 JAMMER {4} 4T. 7JE1242 NITRO 6T. 7JE1149 DIMENSION

Top Genomic Young Sires for SCR 2. 7JE1405 RANDI 3T. 7JE5032 VICTORIOUS 8. 7JE1354 TEXAS

HIGH CANADIAN COMPONENTS LEADERS Our high-components breeds sires also excel at total performance, type, fitness and fertility. The following sires lead the industry:

7AY84 BURDETTE No. 1 active Ayrshire for Sire Conception Rate and Type

7AY93 BERKELY No. 1 active Ayrshire for Heifer Conception Rate

7BS826 AUGUST No. 1 active Brown Swiss for SCR and Somatic Cell Score

7BS854 BUSH No. 1 active Brown Swiss for UDC

7BS852 BOSEPHUS No. 1 active Brown Swiss for Type

7GU447 PHONZE No. 1 active Guernsey for Percent Protein

250HO1009 BREWMASTER has now held the top GLPI spot in Canada for four consecutive sire summaries at +3173 and has regained the top position for Pro$ (+2342). 7HO11314 MOGUL (+3163) is the No. 2 sire for LPI while 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN (+3065), 250HO11837 MCCORD 250HO11837 MCCORD (+3024) and 250HO1043 AIKMAN (+3002) are top-16 GLPI sires. MOGUL (+2233), MCCORD (+2143), 7HO11207 PUNCH (+2090) and 250HO1002 EPIC (+2076) rank in the top 20 for Pro$. TOPEKA (+1843) and IRWIN (+1782) rank in the top 10 for LPI. For Pro$, IRWIN is the No. 2 sire Ladys-Manor McCord Ocean-ET (EX-90-EX-MS) at +1591 while TOPEKA (+1366) and Ladys Manor LLC, Monkton, Md. VALENTINO (+1336) are top-10 sires.

GENOMIC YOUNG SIRES Select Sires’ Super Sampler™ lineup is home to the top five GTPI young sires available for purchase: 7HO12600 MODESTY, 507HO12671 BANDARES, 7HO13250 JEDI, 507HO13373 FLAGSHIP and 507HO12797 LEGENDARY and all five are sired by five different sires. These five are part of the 29 Select young sires that exceed +2646 GTPI. There are 17 Super Samplers and GenerVations young sires that transmit more than 150 pounds of Combined Fat and Protein (CFP) and there are 12 genomic young sires at Select Sires that exceed +1,000 Dairy Wellness Profit Index™ (DWP$™). Select’s Super Sampler lineup contains 22 sires that exceed +3.0 for SCR including the No. 1 young sire in the industry 7HO13281 MILLER-P.

507HO12600 MODESTY

Top Active Genomic Young Sires for NM$ 1. 7HO12600 MODESTY 2. 507HO12788 FRAZZLED 5. 7HO12821 EVEREST 7. 507HO12671 BANDARES 8T. 7HO13250 JEDI 10. 507HO12811 LOPEZ 15. 507HO12797 LEGENDARY 20. 507HO13373 FLAGSHIP

Top Select Sires Young Sires for DWP$ 1. 507HO12788 FRAZZLED 2. 507HO12797 LEGENDARY 3. 7HO12600 MODESTY 4. 7HO12556 PAGEONE 5. 507HO13398 SUPERFLY 6. 7HO12803 MR MAX 7. 7HO12602 HANG-TIME 8. 7HO12854 MANTON

Top Active Genomic Young Sires for Type 2. 250HO12589 JACOBY 10. 7HO12353 BEEMER 13. 7HO12593 UNION 15T. 250HO12805 CALLEN

MODESTY photo by Robinson.

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Adding Value with gender SELECTed Semen Making an investment in gender SELECTed™ semen may seem daunting because of the higher expense. In this roundtable discussion, four herds describe how they choose to use gender SELECTed semen to add value to their dairy operations.

Describe your dairy operation.

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: We are home to 1,500 milk cows and 1,300 replacement heifers. The cows are milked three times-a-day averaging 28,000 pounds of milk. Since we don’t use bST, we try to keep our calving interval and days dry low. This way we maximize milk per cow per day while keeping feed costs low.

Little Brook Dairy: Our family manages the day-to-day operations. We purchased our farm over 10 years ago and started to make necessary changes to accommodate for the future. We just built a new tunnel-ventilated barn and we are expanding to 500 Jersey cows.

We raise all the heifers and steers and sell the Jersey bull calves.

West Ridge Dairy: West Ridge LLC is a family operation with 440 milk cows housed in sand-bedded free stalls. We milk two times-a-day in a double-14 parallel parlor with no bST. The cows average 87 to 88 pounds per day.

Desert Hills Dairy: We are a familyowned dairy that milks about 5,000 Holsteins cows and farms 2,000 acres.

We also raise our own heifers and steers for beef.

When did you start using sexed semen?

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: When we first started milking cows in 2009, we didn’t know any of the pedigrees of the cows or heifers. We kept records from that point forward and when we knew the pedigree of the animal’s dam, we would breed her to sexed semen.

Little Brook Dairy: We developed and implemented a program to utilize sexed semen to fill the new barn almost two years ago. We wish we would have started sooner so we’d be at full capacity now.

West Ridge Dairy: We started using sexed semen in 2007. We stopped using it for a time in 2009 and 2010 when the dairy economy was struggling. Then we started up again and have been using it ever since.

Desert Hills Dairy: We have been using sexed semen for about twoand-a-half years. We started when we began genomic testing our herd with CLARIFIDE®.

Describe your breeding program.

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: All cows are bred to conventional semen, following a Presynch/Ovsynch program starting at

Van Bedaf Dairy LLP, Carrington, N.D. (left to right) Dries, Conny, Corne, Maartje and Piet van Bedaf

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38 days in milk (DIM). We cherry pick after the second Presynch shot with about 60 percent of the cows bred at this point.

Our replacements are all bred to sexed semen for the first two services.

We use visual heat detection and start breeding at 12 months. If they have not shown any signs of heat at 14 months, we start them on a PGF2 protocol. If they are not pregnant after two breedings, they are bred to conventional semen.

Our lower-ranking cows are bred to Lim-Flex® semen to improve the value of our young calves. We project how many replacements we need and use Lim-Flex semen accordingly. It doesn’t make sense for us to raise replacements that we don’t need.

Little Brook Dairy: We use sexed semen on all cows until they are 120 DIM. If they have not shown heat by 60 DIM, they are enrolled in an Ovsynch program. After 120 DIM, the cows go into a pen with a Wulf Cattle Limousin bull.

The Jersey/Limousin crosses are the real deal. We finish out the steers and at the sale barn they sell for as much as the other beef breeds and more than the Holstein steers. When milk prices are down, it is nice to have some supplemental income and consistent cash flow. Wulf Cattle offers the buyback program whether you use Wulf semen from Select Sires or one of their bulls. We have not used that program

yet because we have the facilities and the corn to feed them out. In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer for anyone with Jerseys.

We have had more success with our Jersey heifers when we breed them off natural heats. We use sexed semen for 42 days on a group of heifers. After that, we put in a Jersey bull.

West Ridge Dairy: We mate all our animals using Select Mating Service™ (SMS™).

For our heifers, we use sexed semen for two services on at least the top 30 percent genomic Net Merit (NM$) animals. If they need to be bred a third time, they are bred to conventional semen. When the individuals that have been genomic tested as calves enter the milking string, we continue to use sexed semen on the top animals for one service and then turn to conventional semen.

Since Select Sires’ introduction of the Breeding to FeedingSM program in the summer of 2014, we have been breeding the lower genomic animals to Lim-Flex semen. The fertility of this semen has been great; hovering around 70 percent Conception Rate. We get a premium for these bull calves – about $50 more than Holstein calves. After three years of using this program, we are really happy with the results.

Desert Hills Dairy: We genomic test all of our heifers and now have about half of the milking herd tested. We breed based on genomic profile and herd Little Brook Dairy, Kensington, Minn.

Mark Fernholz

records. Our best animals (ranked on an index that focuses on NM$, Productive Life, Somatic Cell Score and Daughter Pregnancy Rate) are bred to sexed semen. Right now, 20 percent of the milking herd and most of our heifers are bred using sexed semen.

The next group below our top animals is bred to conventional semen while a few of the animals get bred directly to beef semen if they didn’t test well genomically.

Why do you use sexed semen?

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: We first used sexed semen because we were in expansion mode. Now we use it for faster genetic improvement.

Little Brook Dairy: Utilizing a complete program is allowing us to reach our goals in several ways. Currently, we are expanding our herd quickly from within.

It’s exciting when you have 24 heifer calves born in a row!

We like to get as many heifers as we can – ideally about 250 heifers each year and 250 beef calves. Once we reach 500 milking cows, we still plan on continuing with this program.

At that point, we will be able to cull heavily and use sexed semen on the top genetics in the herd.

West Ridge Dairy: When we first started using it, we wanted to be ready in case we wanted to expand. Now we are using it in a targeted breeding program. We have been genomic testing our calves about four years. We want more heifers from our best animals so the top genomic individuals are bred to sexed semen, the lower end to Lim-Flex, and the rest to conventional semen.

Desert Hills Dairy: Because we have

identified our best animals we want to breed them to the best bulls. We use high-quality, high-index sires. We want to make sure we get heifers out of our best cows for future replacements.

What requirements do you have for sexed-semen sires?

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: We use the top sires available for both sexed and conventional semen. We want sires with high NM$, TPI®, components and Sire Conception Rate (SCR). For our dairy, health traits are just as important as production traits. We avoid sires whose daughters are too tall.

Little Brook Dairy: We use sires that are plus components, +160 JPI™ or higher, more than +15 Jersey Udder Index™ (JUI™), +1.5 Type or higher, high SCR and good DPR. Select Sires has done a nice job of getting new genetics and more sires out of good cow families. We use 80 percent genomic young sires and 20 percent proven sires. We have no problem using proven bulls that have stood the test of time. We also try to use some polled genetics.

West Ridge Dairy: We want to use the best sires available: high TPI and NM$ with at least +1.50 Type. Using the Heatime® system, we are getting more pregnancies and using less semen. This has allowed us to use the best sires for both sexed semen and conventional semen.

Desert Hills Dairy: Our criteria is at or above +650 NM$, +3.0 PL, 3.00 SCS and +1.0 DPR.

West Ridge Dairy, Bellingham, Minn. (left to right) Jim, Ryan, Ben and Peter Barthel

What is your return on investment of sexed semen?

VanBedaf Dairy LLP: Because heifers have the best genetics on our farm, we want heifer calves from this group to improve genetic progress. Using sexed semen on our best genetics results in enough replacements so we can breed our lower-end cows to Lim-Flex semen.

The higher value from selling the resulting beef calves more than makes up for the extra cost of sexed semen.

We see the benefit at calving time.

Heifers go through a lot of changes when they calve. Because of this, a fast recovery and smooth transition into the milking herd is very important. With sexed semen and female calves, you reduce the number of difficult calvings.

It is a fact that a smooth transition translates into higher peak milk production and benefits reproduction.

In my opinion, the extra cost of sexed semen is a small price to pay.

Little Brook Dairy: When you do the math it’s a no-brainer for the return on investment. It’s a good investment and it’s paying off for us. Although we pay twice as much for the sexed semen compared to conventional, we remain at about 2.5 services per conception and have at least 90 percent heifer calves. You also need to factor in what it would cost to buy replacements if you didn’t have heifers.

Sexed semen speeds up our genetic progress. Getting heifer calves from our good cows is huge. Using conventional semen, we would get about 45 percent heifer calves. It always seemed that we never got heifer calves from our best cows. With our heifers, the ease with which they calve translates into

a trouble-free transition and quickly reaching peak production.

West Ridge Dairy: We are genetically propelling our herd at a faster rate. Not only are we getting the best from our best animals but there is much less stress on the heifers when they have a female calf. They start producing right away and those numbers are huge.

We don’t want poor genetics. So, it’s an easy decision and I know it makes economic sense.

Because we have the facilities, we raise all our female calves until about one year of age. We use it as a hedge.

If we decide to expand, we'll keep the heifers. It’s also an insurance policy just in case something unforeseen would happen and we lose animals. If neither of those things happen, we take the bottom 10 percent of the yearlings to the sale barn. As the genetics of our herd continues to improve, the quality at the bottom of the herd keeps getting better. Recently, I took 17 yearlings to the sale barn and they brought as much as the springers.

Desert Hills Dairy: We don’t have a specific number, but we know there is a high return mainly because we pair it with genomic testing. We are specifically breeding our best animals to the most expensive bulls (sexed semen). We recently ran the numbers on our first service pregnancy rates on cows we have genomically tested.

The cows we are using sexed semen on are running a five percent higher pregnancy rate than the cows we use conventional semen on because of the emphasis we are putting on cow fertility when choosing which cows to breed with sexed semen.

Desert Hills Dairy, Yerington, Nev. ena na (left to right) Lencho Espitia, Kenny Roseborough (Select Sires MidAmerica), Antonio Urena and Chad Turner

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Why is sexed semen usage going up?

by Chris Sigurdson, general manager Minnesota Select Sires Co-op Inc. In my summer travels to dairies in Minnesota and North Dakota, I’ve been asked a common question about gender SELECTed™ semen usage. The utilization by our customers this year is up; in fact it’s WAY up. So, “Why?” When making an investment, each individual has a level of risk that falls within their comfort zone.

People are more likely to make an investment when the risk is low and the potential return is high.

It appears that we have entered an era that the return with gender SELECTed semen is higher than ever.

Also, enhancing genetic potential seems to be getting more attention now than ever before. I believe insights gained from genomic testing of females is part of that.

When we couple that with an opportunity to precisely select the result (gender SELECTed semen) along with a product that has steadily improved in fertility, I believe we have the answer to increased usage.

So why is the risk lower?

The sorting process for sexed semen has significantly advanced over the last 10 years and now utilizes digital sorting machines with less trauma to the semen. This has led to improved conception rates for sexed semen. In addition, new extenders (tested through Select Sires’ Program for Fertility Advancement™ or PFA™) also show advances in conception rates.

With the developments in sorting technology and processing, today’s sex-sorted semen from Select Sires is achieving conception rates that are about 80 to 85 percent

of conventional semen. Better pregnancy rates from the use of gender SELECTed semen improves the return on investment compared to previous options. Thus, the investment risk is lower.

Does genetic level matter?

Yes! As I look at which sires are being purchased, it’s obvious to me that customers are not using genetic slouches or using it to “just get more heifers.” Utilization has become much more strategic and aligned with the fastest rate to improve genetics in their herds. With 507HO11351 SUPERSIRE leading the list of units sold in our area (he’s in front by an impressive margin), it’s clear that milking his daughters three years from now is what producers want.

We are proud to offer the industry’s best sires gender SELECTed.

You need a strategy Because sex-sorted semen can produce up to 90 percent heifer calves, producers have the opportunity to integrate it into a precision breeding strategy to determine which cows or heifers in the operation should be targeted to provide a majority of future herd replacements. Using a precision breeding strategy that incorporates the use of sex-sorted semen from elite sires can greatly accelerate your dairy operation’s genetic improvement.

Is it just about genetics?

Studies have shown that twoyear-old replacements that calve a heifer are more productive in their first lactation. In most cases, this includes a reduction in calving issues and improved calf livability.

Any dairy seeking a place in the future knows you need to continue to advance your business in all areas. In the case of genetics a really important question is: what will the potential be of the heifers you will be milking in 2018?

Ultimately it depends on which cows replacements will come from and the service sires you choose from Select Sires.

Our Best are Sexed Elite Proven Sires NM$ 507HO11351 SUPERSIRE +895 507HO11621 MAYFLOWER +769 507HO12165 MONTROSS +765 507HO11839 MONOCEROTIS +761 507HO11708 ROOKIE +756 507HO11525 DONATELLO +734 507HO11752 BOB +713 507HO11383 MORGAN +705 507HO11585 STERLING +692 507HO11314 MOGUL +689 507HO11836 MILES +661

Elite Young Sires NM$ 507HO12600 MODESTY 507HO12788 FRAZZLED 507HO12671 BANDARES 507HO13250 JEDI 507HO12811 LOPEZ 507HO12797 LEGENDARY 507HO13373 FLAGSHIP 507HO13403 KAMINSKY 507HO13398 SUPERFLY 550HO13267 DUKE 507HO13093 DAMARIS

+978 +970 +900 +899 +898 +888 +881 +855 +852 +842 +818

The reward to use sexed semen is higher than ever and Select Sires offers the most elite sires in gender SELECTed semen.

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In August, 7HO12165 MONTROSS received his first, exciting production proof while 7HO12600 MODESTY remained at the top of young sire lists. These elite sires both descend from the emerging brood cow, Unique-Style Bolton Money (EX-93-2E-EX-MS-GMDDOM), who has established herself as a transmitter of profit-driven genetics.

“Bolton Money was identified as a potential bull mother through the normal genetic evaluation process,” explains Rick VerBeek, sire analyst. “However, it wasn’t until she was purchased by BaconHill Holsteins and made the short move from breeder Brian Campbell’s herd to Welcome Stock Farm in Schuylerville, N.Y. that the story began to unfold.”

It was there, as a part of an aggressive flush program, Money proved herself by producing offspring that ranked well and attracted global interest for Bacon Hill Holsteins, a partnership of Welcome Stock Farm and Fly-Higher Holsteins.

MONTROSS, sired by 7HO11314 MOGUL, is one of the first to prove Money’s transmitting ability. At +2,523 Milk, +159 Combined Fat and Protein (CFP), +765 Net Merit (NM$) and +2613 GTPI®, he was

the top newly proven sire that graduated in August. Although he currently has no daughters in his type proof, reports on his first classified daughters are extremely exciting.

“Dairy strength and extreme milk, fat and protein are the dominant traits in this family,” says VerBeek.

“This family knows how to make milk and does it with low stress and beautiful udders.”

The MODESTY Story MODESTY is the next generation of Money to make an impact. Since his debut in December 2015 he has been the top genomic young sire available for purchase.

MODESTY’s dam, Bacon-Hill Suprs Modesty-ET (VG-85-DOM), was actually the third highest 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE daughter for GTPI. After the highest full sister was sold privately, Bill Peck of Welcome Stock

The Pedigree

On the Money Unique-Style Bolton Money (EX-93-2E-EX-MS-GMD-DOM) sired by Bolton Dam: Pasen Rolex Mummy (EX-90-EX-MS) sired by Rolex 2nd Dam: Pasen Trent Mermaid-ET (VG-85) sired by Trent 3rd Dam: Pasen Amel Matilda-ET (GP-80) sired by 7HO4985 AMEL 4th Dam: Pasen Labelle Minx-ET (VG-85-DOM) sired by Labelle 5th Dam: Pasen Mascot Marble-ET (VG-87-GMD-DOM) sired by Mascot 6th Dam: Pasen Leadman Madam (EX-90-GMD-DOM) sired by Leadman

decided to place Supersire Modesty in his conventional flush program.

“7HO12139 PETY was a bull we were using as a mating sire at the time and Bill had semen in the tank so the decision was made to flush her to PETY,” says VerBeek.

“The flush resulted in three heifers and one bull, MODESTY. Two of the full sisters are fresh and recently scored 82 and 85 on their first classifications.”

One of the original SUPERSIRE full sisters from Money, Bacon-Hill Suprsre Mindy-ET (VG-86-DOM), also became a bull mother for Select Sires resulting in 7HO12854 MANTON, a 7HO13093 DAMARIS son.

“The unique thing about this family is how appropriately named

it is!” explains VerBeek. “The Money family is a profit-driven family and the males and females from the family have returned tremendous profits to their owners. The Money sons and grandsons like MONTROSS, MODESTY and MANTON should all sire terrific udders that are built to handle maximum production and easily handle stress.”

It is through her sons and grandsons that Money will continue to influence the breed. There are already several high-ranking MONTROSS sons available as part of the Super Sampler™ lineup with MODESTY sons to come that will transmit her trademark production, udder and dairy strength traits. Left: MODESTY's dam, Bacon-Hill Suprs Modesty-ET (VG-85-DOM) was entered into the conventional flush program at Welcome Stock Farm resulting in MODESTY. Below: MANTON's dam, Bacon-Hill Suprsre Mindy-ET (VG-86-DOM).

Left: Unique-Style Bolton Money (EX93-2E-EX-MS-GMD-DOM) has proven herself as a brood cow through her son MONTROSS and grandsons MODESTY and MANTON.

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Tap into Your Herd's Full Genetic Potential

by Lyle Kruse, vice president U.S. market development Select Sires Inc. Thanks to the addition of genomic selection, the A.I. industry has seen a significant advancement in genetic improvement available to dairy operations. However, many dairy producers are not utilizing the tremendous opportunities they have to keep ahead of the genetic pace of the industry.

On the August 2016 active A.I. Holstein sire lists, there are 947 proven Holstein sires and 2,173 genomic young sires listed as being available to purchase. There are certainly some very elite sires on these marketing lists but there are also many average to below average genetic options listed. If You are hoping to maximize your genetic investment, you may need to use more aggressive selection standards.

Here are a few statistics on the many genetic options available based on the August 2016 active A.I. Holstein sire lists.

Looking at the list of active Holstein daughter-proven sires available for purchase in the U.S.: • There are currently 235 active proven Holstein sires above +2200 TPI® and 172 active proven Holstein sires above +500 Net Merit (NM$).

• Select Sires leads all sources with 64 proven sires above +2200 TPI and 52 proven sires over +500 NM$.

Turning to the list of active Holstein young sires available for purchase in the U.S.: • There are currently 331 active Holstein young sires above +2600 GTPI and 372 active Holstein young sires

•

above +750 GNM$.

Select Sires leads all sources with 55 young sires above +2600 TPI and 50 young sires over +750 NM$.

Fertility is part of the equation In addition to the broadest selection of elite genetics no matter what your areas of emphasis are, it is also clear that Select Sires leads the industry with an extensive selection of sires that combine elite genetics with great fertility. On the Select Sires lineups for proven Holstein sires and Holstein young sires, you'll find 114 sires that have a Sire Conception Rate (SCR) of +1.0 or higher. There are 151 Holstein proven and young sires on our current lineup that have an SCR evaluation and these sires average +1.8 for SCR, which is significantly above all other stud

averages and demonstrate the significant fertility advantage available to you with Select Sires semen. Our fertility advantage isn’t limited to Holstein sires only.

In a comparison of active proven and young sires in the Jersey breed, the Select sires have a combined SCR average of +2.1, which is far above most other competitor sire programs for SCR. SCR values also offer an opportunity to discuss return on investment for dairy owners.

Based on a recent article written

by Chad Dechow and published in Hoard’s Dairyman titled “How much can we pay for high-end bulls?,” Dr. Dechow documents a $6.50 return on investment for each point of SCR value.

So, in addition to the genetic contribution elite sires can make to the operation, the return on investment is even more pronounced when you factor in the SCR value. Sires like 7HO12165 MONTROSS, 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE and 7HO11621 MAYFLOWER are great examples of elite NM$ sires that also combine a high SCR rating to offer a significant return on investment.

Also in Dr. Dechow’s recent article are some calculations on the value of NM$ which is an index that predicts the difference in lifetime profit of a sire’s daughters compared to other sire options. Dr. Dechow calculates

that you can justify paying $17.31 more per unit for each $100 in NM$ when purchasing proven sires and $15.91 more per unit when purchasing genomic young sires. SUPERSIRE is currently the highest NM$ proven sire in the Holstein breed at +895 NM$, which is 561 NM$ points above the average active proven Holstein sire with the August 2016 sire summary. This translates into a huge profit potential for SUPERSIRE daughters in the herd compared to daughters from an average sire and using Dr. Dechow’s calculations for semen value, you could justify paying $97.11 per unit more for SUPERSIRE genetics than an average active proven Holstein sire. SUPERSIRE also has an SCR evaluation of +2.7 and according to Dr. Dechow, you can also justify paying an additional $17.55 per unit for SUPERSIRE over a sire with a +0.0 SCR evaluation.

These are prime examples of the tremendous value elite sires like SUPERSIRE offer today.

With so many sires in the industry to choose from, to maximize your genetic investment, you have ample opportunity to tap into your herd's full genetic potential when you use Select Sires, the industry leader in elite genetics and great fertility.

Value of a Straw of Semen: Select Sires vs. Another Sire Select Sires Lineup Sire

NM$

7HO11351 SUPERSIRE 7HO11833 RENNIE 7HO11621 MAYFLOWER 7HO12165 MONTROSS 7HO11839 MONOCEROTIS

+895 +795 +769 +765 +761

SCR Other Sire +2.7 +1.1 +1.8 +2.8 +1.2

Cabriolet Munition Rainier Sympatico Saloon

NM$

SCR

+849 +768 +712 +710 +697

+1.5 +0.9 -0.1 +0.6 -0.1

Additional Value/Straw +$15.76 +$5.97 +$22.22 +$23.82 +$22.78 13

Getting to Know Select Sires' Technicians Across the country Select Sires and its member cooperatives employ a vast, diverse group of nearly 1,000 field staff. Technicians make up a large part of this dedicated group that serve customers across the country. Read on to learn more about just a few of our technician force.

Dedication and commitment to service are a common theme among these featured technicians with several working many hours a day ensuring that their customers’ needs are met.

“A typical day for me is very busy and very entertaining,” explains Caleb Garcia, a technician with All West/Select Sires near Tulare, Calif. “Between breeding cows I make sure to communicate with customers to make sure things are going well and to make things better. When you think things are good, they can always be better.”

Not only do technicians work closely with customers to achieve their reproductive goals, it is often their favorite part of the job.

“I love working with dairy producers and cows and enjoy seeing genetic progress through each generation,” says Jeff Hostetter, A.I. technician in Pennsylvania with Select Sire Power. “It’s satisfying to help farmers reach their goals.”

“The part of my position that I enjoy the most is the relationships that I have grown with my customers,” explains Eric Gudex, an A.I. technician with East Central/Select Sires in Wisconsin.

“Seeing them build a new barn, buy a new tractor, build a new house or sell dairy replacements has provided me with incredible joy.”

The Select Sires advantage “While Select Sires may be known for our outstanding

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genetics, it is our people that set us apart from the competition,” says Gudex. “I have seen firsthand how dedicated all of our employees are to our customers.

How personal they take it if we lose a customer or don’t get a new customer’s business that we have been working to get and how prideful they are when one of their dairy producers achieves something. Each and every one of us truly lives Your Success, Our Passion.”

Teamwork is very important to technicians. Not only do they often work in teams to breed cows, they also work with sales representatives and other field staff to provide the best genetics and service to customers.

“What I enjoy most about working for Select Sires is being a small part of a great team of talented people that are very dedicated to our farmer-owned co-op,” says Cormac Irwin, a technician with COBA/Select Sires in Ohio. “The quality and fertility of our industry-leading genetic lineup is backed by a great team of dedicated people who are there to serve their member-owners.”

“I’ve been with companies where people are not fun to be around,” says Garcia. “Here, we are a team and it’s amazing.

Everyone is very helpful and we are always looking out for each other. All-around we have more people out here working for us.

Any question you have, we have someone on the team that can come in and help you with that.”

Name: Collin Benson Location: Caledonia, Minn.

Job Title: Service Specialist, Minnesota Select Sires Co-op, Inc. Benson grew up in a suburb of the Twin Cities and attended the University of Wyoming where he took an animal science class by chance. After that, he switched his major and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science. He joined Minnesota Select Sires as a relief technician in the summer of 2014 after posting his resume in the Dairy Star newspaper.

Name: Caleb Garcia Location: Tulare, Calif.

Job Title: Technician, All West/Select Sires Garcia’s agriculture experience began when he started working in his uncle’s auction yard in third grade. At 19, he took an A.I. training course through All West and a year later he began working for Select Sires as a technician. Garcia has received Service Elite recognition from Select Sires. He resides near Tulare, Calif. with his wife, Brittany.

Name: Eric Gudex Location: Oakfield, Wis. Job Title: Technician, East Central/Select Sires Gudex grew up on a 65-cow dairy farm in south central Wisconsin. He attended UWMadison’s Farm and Industry Shortcourse and then worked as a herdsperson. In early 2002 he started as a relief technician at NorthStar Cooperative before moving into a relief technician role at East Central/ Select Sires later that year. He has received the East Central Member Service Representative of the Year Award and been named a Super Achiever. He recently bred his 100,000 cow. He and his wife, Heidi, have two children: Chloe and Braxton.

Name: Cormac Irwin Location: Big Prairie, Ohio Job Title: Reproductive Services Client Manager, COBA/Select Sires Inc. Irwin grew up on the Atlantic shore on Long Beach Island, N.J. with no direct agriculture experience, however he spent time on his cousins’ farms in Kansas and Northern Ireland. At 15, he moved to Ohio to attend Olney Friends School and was exposed to their small Jersey herd. He earned a dairy science degree from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. He joined COBA in 2004 as a relief technician in east central Ohio. In 2010, he received a Super Achiever award from Select Sires. He and his wife, Jody, have three children: Anna, Laura and Sarah.

Name: Jeff Hostetter Location: Annville, Pa. Job Title: A.I. Technician, Select Sire Power Hostetter grew up on a 50-cow dairy farm in south central Pennsylvania and received a bachelor’s degree in dairy and animal science from Penn State. Before joining Select Sire Power in 2007 he worked for five years in dairy nutrition. He has earned the Super Achiever award twice. Hostetter is involved in his county Holstein club and helps coach the county’s dairy bowl team. He and his wife, Heather, have four children: Jared, Landon, Travis and Isaac.

Name: Dave Lindberg Location: Mayville, Mich.

Job Title: A.I. Technician, NorthStar Cooperative Lindberg grew up on a small polled Hereford beef farm.

He joined NorthStar Cooperative as a technician just over eight years ago after attending a few years of college. He has received the Super Achiever award and earned the Elite Service award for several years. He and his wife Nicole have a daughter, Harper.

Name: Jim Ruter Location: Shannon, Illinois Job Title: Technician, Prairie State/Select Sires Ruter was raised on a diversified livestock (beef, hogs, sheep and horses) and grain operation. He earned an associate’s degree in applied science from Waterloo Community College. After spending 20 years in the livestock feed business he was looking for a career change and he joined Prairie State in October 2010 as a technician. Ruter was named Prairie State Technician of the Year in 2016 and earned Service Elite status. He is the beef superintendent at his county fair and serves as vice president of the Illinois/Wisconsin Gelbvieh Association. He and his wife Kayla have three children: Jared, Taylor and Clayton.

Jim Ruter, with Prairie State/ Select Sires, typically sorts through 2,500 cows per day and breeds cows six days a week.

“I enjoy breeding cows and like the flexibility the job offers,” explains Ruter. “I like having contact with customers and continuing to gain industry knowledge. We have a great, forward-thinking management team.”

Continuous learning Although many of our participating technicians came to the job with prior industry experience, others joined as relief technicians and slowly built up their own territory. That commitment to improving and growing is translated into how they interact with customers.

“When I first started breeding cows, I just showed up and bred cows for customers,” explains Garcia. “Over time, I’ve developed sales skills and learned about consulting to better serve my customers’ needs. I’ve been very fortunate to have developed great relationships with my customers and now have a team of technicians working for me.”

Select Sires offers several training opportunities for technicians throughout the year for them to hone skills and develop new ones. There are regional and national gatherings and conferences as well as the SelectCheck™ training school which offers the opportunity for technicians to evaluate signs of estrus and breed many cows in a short period of time to perfect their technique.

“When I began, Select Sires was willing to teach me the things I’d need to learn in order to be successful,” explains Michiganbased technician Dave Lindberg with NorthStar Cooperative. “It’s not a coincidence that many Select Sires employees have several years of service with the organization.”

Technicians not only provide breeding services, many also implement synchronization protocols, manage or install activity systems and provide Select Reproductive Solutions™ (SRS™) consulting services.

“I have the same title as when I began at Select Sires, but over time have taken on more responsibilities with synchronization, working with activity systems and training new employees,” explains Hostetter.

“I have learned how to better analyze DairyComp records and pinpoint areas of improvement on my dairies that can benefit my customers,” explains Gudex.

“Most importantly, I have learned how to interact with different people and how to work within a team to achieve a common goal that benefits everyone.”

Collin Benson, like many of our technicians, did not grow up on a farm or around cows. He took an animal science class in college by chance and decided to pursue a career working with cattle. After working as a herdsperson, he joined Minnesota Select Sires Coop Inc. as a relief technician. His advice is to take every opportunity to learn and grow.

“If you are interested in a technician position, keep learning and never be satisfied with what you know,” says Benson. “Be open to learning new things and a relief technician position can teach you a lot of what you need to know to have your own route.”

These technicians are just a sampling of the outstanding, committed group of men and women who work with customers every day to meet their reproductive goals. If interested in our technician services, or a technician position, contact your local Select Sires member cooperative. For contact information visit www.selectsires. com.

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Minster, Ohio 45865 Permit No. 2

YOUR SUCCESS Our Passion.

SELECTIONS MISSION

11740 US 42 NORTH • PLAIN CITY • OHIO • 43064-0143

To enhance the productivity and profitability of dairy and beef producers, Select Sires is committed to be the premier provider of highly fertile, superior genetics accompanied by effective reproductive- and herdmanagement products and services.

For more information, visit www.selectsires.com or call (614) 873-4683.

Product of the USA.

TM Super Sampler, gender SELECTed, Select Mating Service, SMS, Select Reproductive Solutions, SRS, Program for Fertility Advancement and PFA are trademarks of Select Sires Inc. Dairy Wellness Profit Index and DWP$ are trademarks of Zoetis Inc., its affiliates and/or its licensors. All product claims, representations and warranties, expressed or implied are made only by the product manufacturers and not by Select Sires Inc. ®CLARIFIDE is a registered trademark of Zoetis Inc., its affiliates and/or its licensors. Lim-Flex is a registered trademark of the North American Limousin Foundation. gender SELECTed™ semen processed by Sexing Technologies for Select Sires shall be used only for the single insemination of one female bovine during natural ovulation with the intent to produce single offspring unless specifically approved on an individual customer basis by Sexing Technologies in writing. This semen is produced using the proprietary technology of XY LLC and Inguran LLC, as partially represented by U.S. Patents: 6372422, 7094527, 7208265, 7371517, 6357307, 7723116, 7758811and 7799569. Patents pending in US and foreign markets. XY® is a trademark of XY LLC. All gender SELECTed semen is processed using SexedULTRA™ technology.

Ask about cing special pri . v N g n duri o and Dec.

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s Professional-grade colostrum replacer formulated using true bovine colostrum s Finally, a true bovine colostrum replacer that mixes easily, ImmPower TBC is formulated to mix best with water temperatures between 100°–110° F. s Biosecure – packaged in accordance with industry-leading quality control standards s Sourced from licensed grade “A” dairies of U.S. origin s All natural and antibiotic free ImmPower TBC is available exclusively from your Select Sires representative.

™CONVERT ImmPower is a trademark of and is manufactured for Agrarian Marketing Corporation®, Middlebury, Ind. True Bovine Colostrum is a trademark of La Belle Associates, Inc., Bellingham, Wash. The product is merely distributed by Select Sires Inc. All claims, representations, and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by the manufacturer and not by Select Sires Inc.