Bulls have a ‘sweet spot’

In a world first, ABS Australia has overhauled the way it expresses a bull’s Type — the observable characteristics of its offspring — rewarding those sires which breed functional, long-lasting and profitable daughters.

Focusing on the ‘Sweet Spot’ in a bull’s genetic Type proof, this ABS strategy ensures dairy farmers are picking bulls that add value to their herd.

ABS Australia sales representative Alan Blum said the ‘Sweet Spot’ for functional Type — breeding for ideals and not the extremes — will put an end to tall, unproductive cows with close rear teats.

“Cows don’t lie, their production, longevity and health data tell us that they are more profitable and live longer if they are moderate in stature, not tall or small,” Alan said.

“If you looked at current Type proofs, you would find bulls with extreme right-handed linear falsely interpreted as excellent when in fact their Type has become undesirable, and alternatively many highly desirable bulls falsely interpreted as negative for Type.

“Australian dairy farmers should be able to easily select bulls for functional Type, not the show Type that HFAA prefer.”

Western Victorian dairy farmer Pat Sloane has been breeding for long-lasting, healthy and profitable cows for the past decade.

Not surprisingly, his Holstein herd is moderate in stature, strong, produces well, gets in calf and converts feed well.

“We like the black and whites, we find they are a bit tougher and when it is dry they have the capacity to eat more concentrate and grains or even silage and produce more in late lactation,” Pat said.

“But we didn’t want an overly big cow, we wanted to downsize, and we need them to get in calf and produce milk.”

The ‘Sweet Spot’ strategy has been developed to assist with commercial breeding objectives and will make sire selection easier.

The ABS ‘Sweet Spot’ has been included in the genetic information of 27 Holstein bulls in the latest ABS Australia catalogue.

This easy-to-read bar graph lists the important linear traits but instead of scoring them according to a number, it ranks them from ‘undesirable’ to ‘ideal’ depending on the effect these individual traits have on a cow’s functionality, profit and longevity.

Alan said this interpretation of the effect these traits have on the profitability of a herd makes it easier to select for functional Type.

“The ‘Sweet Spot’ strategy is listening to the modern cows as they tell us what they should look like, then making a visual representation of what’s good for a long-lasting and profitable cow and what isn’t,” he said.

“We’ve expressed it in a bar chart with ‘ideal’ on the right-hand side working back to ‘undesirable’ on the left. Colours also help to make decisions easier.”