SCHOOL EDITION 15 MAY 2024 - Flipbook - Page 29
BETTER BREEDING
FARMWEEK
OCTOBER 28 2021
29
Is your mating programme keeping
up with improvements in genetics?
E
VERY
dairy
herd
is
unique – you have your
individual ambitions for
your herd regarding breed,
management
system,
specific milk contract, health issues,
conformation traits, etc.
The good news is that an equally
unique breeding program has been
developed which can be tailored
to each of your specific needs and
requests. The additional bonus
is that you can achieve genetic
improvement faster than every
before.
GENEadvance is a service from
Genus ABS which combines the
company’s expertise along with the
latest in genomic technology and
market-leading genetics.
With GeneAdvance you will be
provided with a personalised
genetic plan to meet your specific
needs and help you achieve future
goals. It improves the selection
accuracy of herd replacements and
helps make more informed breeding
decisions whilst optimising heifer
numbers to fit your strategy.
In addition you are provided
with comprehensive reviews to
demonstrate the value of the
decisions made.
GENEadvance uses the power
within Genus’ Genetic Management
System (GMS) 2.0 – an innovative,
completely
redesigned
mating
program built with your unique
opportunities and your ideas, in
SAMPLE: GENEadvance involves
taking a DNA sample to allow the
farmer to make breeding decisions
at a very early age.
mind. GMS 2.0 can be customized
more than 150 different ways –
even before choosing sires. Each
of these Customer Controlled
Breeding Options is tailored to your
operation’s specific objectives.
After working with a Genus
representative to answer all the right
questions, you can choose from five
production and five conformation
options – including ROBOT-specific
– to figure out which ones fit best at
your operation.
You’ll also get to rank three
different
objectives:
increased
production, gaining efficiencies
through improved herd health, and
improved cow conformation. Are
some of these less important than
others? Is one more important than
all else? You get to decide.
No matter which of the above
directions you take, some features
always come standard. For example,
GMS 2.0 continues to help manage
inbreeding levels, offering the
most complete protection against
detrimental recessives, haplotypes,
and genetic saturation.
USING GENOMIC DATA THROUGH GMS 2.0
n Manage genomic inbreeding
EVERY artificial insemination (AI)
company calculates inbreeding
differently, making it impossible to
compare percentages calculated
by different companies. With
genomic inbreeding, the percentage
of common genes found on an
animal’s genome is reported. GMS
2.0 uses these genomic inbreeding
percentages to help manage herd
inbreeding with more precision than
ever before.
n Remove phenotypic bias
THE phenotype of an animal is a
combination of her genetics with
her environment. This combination
determines how healthy she is, how
big she grows, and how much milk
she produces. This is the data that is
collected by Genus when they score
cows for individual traits and build a
mating program based on it.
However, only her genetics will
be passed onto her offspring –
she cannot pass along all the
environmental factors that have
impacted her throughout her life.
Utilizing an animal’s genomic
information provides more accuracy
and
precision,
and
removes
any possibility of phenotypic
bias from affecting the mating
recommendation.
A mating based on pedigree data
combined with the data collected
from scoring the animal will be
approximately 33 per cent reliable.
This is compared to the 67 per cent
reliability received when genomic
testing. If you consider the range
of traits available through genomic
testing its easy to understand why
the use of genomic data will fast
track any changes you need to make
in your herd.
What benefits will you enjoy?
*Your animals’ genomic values
never become outdated.
On average, genomic values
change every four months as the
genomic database gets updated
with new information. With GMS
2.0, Genus always uses the most
recent and accurate genomic values
available.
n The process is much simpler than
you might think.
NO need to shuffle through stacks
of paper to find genomic results.
The only number needed is the
permanent ID that was used to
genomic-test your animals – often a
registration, RFID, or other common
permanent ID number. It’s that
simple.
MEASURING PROGRESS
WITH more than 14 different
customizable reports, GMS 2.0 lets
you keep close track of your herd’s
genetic progress. You can even
get reports that help you manage
your semen inventory, monitor
inbreeding, and visualize herd
progress for production, health and
type traits.
If you wish to find out more about
GENEadvance and GMS 2.0 you
can contact your local Genus ABS
representative or the office on 02838
334426.
EFFICIENT: Narrow your clamp to make
the most from maize silage says Ken
Stroud, Volac NI silage specialist.
ReliaBol.
AffordaBol.
UnbeataBol.
Narrow clamps for better maize silage
BY KEN STROUD,
VOLAC NI SILAGE SPECIALIST
T
O avoid loss of valuable
maize silage, that proven
rocket fuel for dairy
cows, use narrow clamps to
cut the amount of open face
exposed to air at feedout.
This also allows faster
progression back through
the clamp to stay ahead of
air ingress, a key means of
reducing maize losses from
spoilage and heating.
Heating losses are caused
by yeast and mould growth
in the presence of air thus the
more air you can keep out the
better.
Similarly oxygen barrier
films help because they are
sucked down into the surface
contours of the silage to
minimise trapped air pockets.
If possible try positioning
clamp faces north facing!
Then the sun will not be
hitting them making heating
even worse.
When it comes to additive
use the beneficial bacteria
strain Lactobacillus plantarum MTD.1 in Ecosyl has
been shown to cut dry matter
losses by about half. With
typical losses, even in well
fermented, untreated clamps
running at about 10 per cent
this equates to saving around
5 per cent of total dry matter.
But what is also important
to remember is that this 5
per cent is likely to be the
more nutritious parts of the
dry matter, such as sugar
and starch. Not just the less
nutritious fibre.
For maize and other drier
silages the Volac additive
Ecocool contains this same
bacterial strain for improving
fermentation as Ecosyl. Plus
a second strain Lactobacillus
buchneri PJB/1 for tackling
heating and spoilage.
In this era of sustainability
and making the business of
farming pay you simply do
not want any silage going
to waste. It makes neither
green nor business sense. So
consider using a proven dual
action additive.
n For free advice on using
Ecosyl or Ecocool to protect
your margins contact Volac
NI silage specialist Ken
Stroud tel; 077 1319 7084 or
Volac Ecosyl distributors,
John Thompson & Son Ltd
tel; (028) 9035 1321.
Cutting-Edge Bolus Technology
Independent
trials have
demonstrated
a significant
increase in
blood trace
element status
livestockbolus.com
m
enquiries@livestockbolus.com
FT
Manufactured
in the UK
