REAL RESULTS

From coast to coast, dairies are calving in beautiful and profitable daughters sired by NxGEN® graduates. From the early genomic predictions, these farmers are now experiencing real results as these daughters are working hard in the milking string. The NxGEN program was designed by dairy producers, for dairy producers. Since the initial launch in 2019, NxGEN members have had early access to 108 ultra-elite sires. Four of those sires have since graduated to the daughter-proven lineup, including 7HO14250 LEGACY, 7HO14364 EISAKU, 7HO14859 MAXIMUS and 250HO14134 RENEGADE. NxGEN is a membershipbased program designed for dairies that want to drive their genetic performance to the next level.

NxGEN MEMBER: Jarrod Kollwelter, JC-Kow Farms LLC, Wis.

ABOUT THE OPERATION:

We milk 250 cows and raise 400 heifers under the JC-Kow prefix in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Our program is very focused on production, fat and protein. We topped Holstein USA’s Monthly 40,000+ Pound Production Record list in December with JC-Kow Jedi 914 at 60,010 pounds. We rely on genetics to help us meet our operational goals and the majority of our herd is bred to NxGEN sires with a growing number of our lactating cows sired by NxGEN graduates. We have 80 7HO15167 GAMEDAY heifers that we are excited about, and lots of young 7HO15821 FROST BITE calves. The breed’s No. 3 daughter for Dairy Wellness Profit Index® (DWP$®) is a FROST BITE daughter from our program!

TOP THREE GENETIC GOALS: u Efficient, high-producing cows u Healthy cows that breed back u Functional type l-r: Wilra SSI Legacy 2013-ET (GP-82-VGMS), Wilra Farms, Inc., Nashville, Ill.; LEGACY Daughter Group, Wilra Farms, Inc., Nashville, Ill.; AOT Eisaku Honestly-ET (VG-85), Siemers Holstein Farms, Inc., Newton, Wis.; RENEGADE Daughter Group, Destiny Farms LLC, Marshfield, Wis.

WHY DID YOU JOIN NxGEN?

It was simple - we wanted better genetics faster. We have a flush program and we wanted to be using the absolute best genetics to move our herd forward. Our selection criteria considers TPI®, NM$, PTAM and CFP, and we find that the sires in NxGEN match our goals.

WHICH SIRE IN THE CURRENT NxGEN LINEUP ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT? 7HO16276 SHEEPSTER - he’s the total package. Production and health traits.

WHO ARE YOUR TOP PERFORMING COWS SIRED BY?

We have a lot of milking LEGACY daughters that perform very well. Our RENEGADE daughters also come to mind. They are strong cows with a lot of production power.

NxGEN MEMBER: Steve Buscher, Plain-Knoll Holsteins, Ohio

ABOUT THE OPERATION:

Plain-Knoll Holsteins is located in west central Ohio and we milk

700 Registered Holsteins. In 2016, we built a Trans Ova satellite and have a donor program made up of our highest-ranking cows and heifers. About 75% of our heifers carry embryos and we have been using more cows as of late. We have always believed in the value of top genetics and it has helped us achieve an RHA of 32,020 Milk, 1,220 Fat and 1,024 Protein, along with a low 93,000 SCC and a 34% pregnancy rate. Because of our genetic strategy and investment in the best sires, we’ve sold, on average, 30% of our herd each year for dairy purposes for the past 20 years, all without using much sexed semen.

TOP THREE GENETIC GOALS: u Maximize production, specifically pounds of fat u Moderate stature with adequate dairy strength, great udders and mobility u Cows that produce high-quality milk, breed back easily and are trouble-free

WHY DID YOU JOIN NxGEN?

We joined NxGEN as soon as it was available because we appreciate the latest and greatest genetics. NxGEN provides producers opportunities to capitalize on top genetics while the cooperative maintains moderate control. This setup allows Select Sires to remain competitive and continue to develop the top genetics and in turn, provide those genetics back to us through NxGEN. As a breeder, we see how other studs have much, much tighter restrictions that only serve themselves and not the dairy producers they are supposed to serve!

WHICH SIRE IN THE CURRENT NxGEN LINEUP ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?

The sires that best fit our breeding goals include: 250HO16074 FIGARO, SHEEPSTER, 7HO15913 KAHN, 250HO16110 LETCHWORTH, 7HO16176 WAR GEAR, 7HO15977 HAYK, 14HO16082 FRAMPTON and 250HO16257 DENALI.

WHO ARE YOUR TOP PERFORMING COWS SIRED BY?

The top performing NxGEN daughters in our herd include: EISAKU, LEGACY, 7HO14792 MAGNITUDE and RENEGADE. Our favorite daughters are the RENEGADE’s. We are milking 47 RENEGADE daughters right now.