Select Sires

SELECTIONS - Fall 2002
Holstein Association Identifies
Select's Contribution

Which bull has had the most influence on the breed with which you work? Chances are, it was a Select sire.

If we polled a group of breeders using this question, it’s likely that 7HO58 Round Oak Rag Apple ELEVATION would head the list. Other familiar names from the Program for Genetic Advancement™ (PGA™) probably would be heard: 7HO1897 To-Mar BLACKSTAR*TV, 7HO543 Carlin-M Ivanhoe BELL*CV and 7HO980 Walkway Chief MARK.

Not only are these sires the choice of people who milk cows, but it is exactly what the geneticists are telling us, too. Each quarter Holstein Association USA publishes a summary of the top 20 bulls that have the greatest influence on the breed at that moment (see Figure 1). This analysis looks at five generations of pedigree information, and identifies which sires are found most frequently in the pedigrees of bulls listed in section two of the Red Book (all active, limited or foreign bulls with Predicted Transmitting Abilities for production and type.) The result is a list of the percent of "genes in common;" the influence a sire has in the breed today.

A total of nine bulls with a stud code of 7 or 9 appear on the list of these highly influential sires, led by the aforementioned Holsteins and including 9HO584 Cal-Clark Board CHAIRMAN, 7HO1118 Arlinda ROTATE and 7HO477 GLENDELL Arlinda Chief.

"Through the years, Select Sires has had a mission to be the premier provider of superior genetics," says Dave Thorbahn, general manager, Select Sires. "We are pleased that our program has had a major impact on the improvement of our customers’ herds, and the breed itself. From looking at these statistics, it is clear that Select-sired genetics have been the most successful source of improvement for not only dairy producers, but also our A.I. competitors."

As we look to the future, this advantage appears likely to continue. The sires of sons that will be candidates for graduation in the next several summaries include these bulls with successful second-crop evaluations: 7HO4895 Out-Jack Choice AMEL*TV, 7HO4637 Ladys-Manor WINCHESTER-ET*TV, 7HO4638 Ricecrest Tesk TERRY*TV, 7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET*CV, 7HO4937 Wa-Del BUBBA-ET*TV and 7HO4525 Lenzway Tesk RUBYTOM-ET*TV. These are bulls that already have sired daughters that many of you enjoy milking. Bulls such as 7HO5851 Sikkema-Star Air MAGNA-ET*TV, 7HO5687 Sandy-Valley FORBIDDEN-ET*TV, 7HO5442 Muranda Mandel MOE-ET*TV, 7HO5375 Mara-Thon BW MARSHALL*TV, 9HO2704 Coyne-Farms Patron BEAVER*TV and 7HO5708 Fustead Emory BLITZ-ET*TV now are being used heavily today as sire fathers by many A.I. organizations. In fact, according to the March 2002 issue of Holstein International, MAGNA and FORBIDDEN are the No. 1 and No. 2 sires of sons throughout the world. That’s why we think the best may be yet to come.

What does this mean for customers of Select Sires? History shows that Select-sired genetics have influenced the breeds more positively than the genetics of any other A.I. organization. Through Select Sires’ commitment to research and development, as demonstrated through the annual sampling of more than 350 bulls of six dairy breeds, you can trust that semen from Select Sires will continue to provide a reliable solution in dairy herds for years to come.

™Programs for Genetic Advancement and PGA are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.

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Select Sires Inc., 11740 U.S. 42 North, Plain City, Ohio 43064 / Phone: (614) 873-4683 Fax: (614) 873-5751