Selections Newsletter Spring 20011

SPRING 2011 CROWN: Descendant of Holstein Royalty 6 Perceptions of Precision

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New Graduates Offer Just What You Are Looking For 10 Keep Inbreeding in Check

Select Sires introduced FeedPROÂŽ sires after an intensive study of genetic traits correlated with greater income over feed cost. Learn more about these sires on page 3.

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selections

Dedicated Employees Heighten Customer Success

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Phil Dieter, standing, works with Troy Opsal, Blue Mounds, Wis., to evaluate individual cow activity using Select Detect to determine which cows to breed.

n the next several issues of Selections you will have the opportunity to meet Select Sires’ highlytrained employees who focus their time and energy toward assisting you, our customer-owners. This introduction will give you a feel for the people that make up the Select Sires team. These staff members are passionate about your success and their hard work and perseverance day in and day out show it.

In the first article you will meet Phil Dieter, a Select Reproductive SolutionsTM (SRSTM) specialist.

Continued to page 4....

YOUR SUCCESSOur Passion – Our Purpose

by David C. Thorbahn, president and C.E.O. I was asked recently at a strategic planning meeting at Purdue University, “Who is Select Sires and what do we stand for?”

In discussions with customers, board members and employees our brand promise, “Your Success-Our Passion” truly represents the people behind the brand at Select Sires. Many of our customers have noted that the Select Sires people who serve them are passionate about serving all their customers and have an equal passion about the industry.

Select Sires’ continued genetic and fertility advantage also shows the passion that we express for our customers’ success.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Reinvent Business” stated that the business community is going through an evolution. The evolution started in the early 1900s when the Carnegies and Rockefellers wanted to drive net profit at all cost. The next stage was the age of companies driving shareholder value with professional managers in the 1940s to 1980s. The economist in this article stated that today we are in the “Age of Consumer Capitalism.”

This means that successful companies of today are those who are focused on delivering enhanced profit to their customer’s bottom line by ensuring successful outcomes.

A Select Sires member cooperative’s general manager recently provided me with a quote which stated, “Not for

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profit, not for charity, but for service!”

This notion means that your cooperative is focused on service to assure you a successful outcome. The Select Sires federation works hard every day to ensure and focus upon your success. Select Sires member cooperatives are primarily owned by their customers. Select Sires Inc. is owned by those cooperatives who serve you. You, our customer, own Select Sires and you benefit through the high-quality products and services as well as the patronage dividends that result from our success.

Your farmer-owned, -directed and -focused A.I. company has excelled in some of the most turbulent times in the dairy industry. Surprisingly, Select Sires’ and its member cooperatives’ business has doubled in the last 10 years because of your commitment and trust.

How have we been so successful you might ask? Your farmer-operated

board of directors has focused Select Sires and local cooperative management teams on assuring that your outcomes are maximized for profit. Select Sires is respected for providing a superior, balanced genetic lineup with a variety of outstanding type sires, elite Net Merit dollar value sires and the highest quality crossbreeding sires available. However, our new and innovative products like FeedPRO®, DIAMOND SELECTionTM, Select DetectTM heat detection devices and Fertility PROTM have increased your profits and resulted in the growth of your cooperative. Others would say our growth is from Select Sires’ reproductive research in semen quality, such as our new, innovative and highly-tested extender that has proven time and time again to be a major advancement in semen fertility.

While our products are the envy of the industry, the secret to our success

is our people! These hard-working, honorable employees are passionate about their work, the products that they develop and uphold, and the outstanding service they provide to you. Our people are a strong factor in the success of Select Sires.

The Select Sires member cooperatives comprise the largest A.I. field staff in the U.S. and are focused on serving you, our dairy and beef producers. We are investing heavily in the professional development of our service staff and have scheduled 350 employees to attend educational seminars conducted by leading researchers and experts on reproductive physiology, synchronization protocols, genetic advancement and business management. We have also scheduled five advanced technician training programs to further our field staff’s knowledge. In addition, your organization has employees involved in a variety of development programs in their chosen field, focused on improving the quality of the products and services we deliver to you.

Over the next several issues, we will introduce some of the people who share our passion for this business and desire to deliver success to operations just like yours. As you can see, your success is our passion, and as a cooperative, it is our purpose! 

More Income – Less Feed You have seen the headlines and analyst predictions. Grain prices are on the rise. Even with the forecast of slightly higher milk prices for 2011, the prospect of higher feed costs has many dairy producers looking for ways to improve income over feed cost. Always looking ahead to serve our customer-owners better, Select Sires introduced FeedPRO® sires in early 2010 after an intensive study of genetic traits correlated with greater income over feed cost. FeedPRO sires excel in the genetic traits that meet the needs and demands of commercial dairy producers.

“Every dairy producer in the country today would love to know which bulls sire daughters with lower feed costs,” said Chuck Sattler, vice president of genetic programs for Select Sires, who was instrumental in developing

FeedPRO. “And that’s exactly what we set out to discover when we created the FeedPRO index – we took a close look at current research to identify the genetic traits that correlate to improved feed efficiency.”

With the support of a variety of current research, including an income over feed supplement cost calculator developed by researchers at the University of WisconsinMadison, Select Sires learned that selecting for a balance of production and body size was more cost effective than simply selecting for more production. Select’s FeedPRO index includes production and body size traits along with additional information to assure that

the resulting cows are metabolically healthy.

After reviewing the FeedPRO index, Dr. Chad Dechow, dairy genetics researcher, made the following comments, “Feed efficiency is a critical issue to dairy farm profitability, and we are currently researching methods of

Milk Fat Pro. Yield Rel. NM$ NM$ Rel. GTPISM selecting for 7HO7560 BLITZ JINTX +1,962 +47 +28 98% +314 94% +1640 more efficient cows. Though 7HO8081 PLANET +1,782 +56 +52 93% +584 86% +2065 we have much 7HO8236 SPARTACUS +1,776 +68 +45 94% +302 88% +1675 to learn, I 7HO8361 DOMINGO +1,058 +52 +28 93% +572 86% +1956 find Select’s 7HO8530 AUTUMN +584 +64 +25 96% +391 90% +1738 application of 7HO8625 BUTCH +526 +33 +41 96% +350 89% +1698 this science 7HO8659 SILVA +1,666 +31 +58 93% +311 86% +1778 to be sound and useful for 7HO8744 SECRET +511 +60 +35 92% +500 84% +1856 today’s dairy 7HO8747 BRONCO +1,613 +58 +54 92% +557 85% +2056 producers.

7HO8772 GROOVY +484 +42 +31 95% +373 88% +1815 In my review, 7HO8806 BROOK +1,132 +56 +52 93% +384 86% +1756 I found that 7HO8847 RICECREST +595 +47 +35 92% +448 85% +1870 daughters 7HO8913 RHOMAN +320 +33 +28 91% +472 83% +1904 of FeedPRO sires have an 7HO9020 A L H DAKOTA +1,400 +56 +57 87% +512 81% +1977 advantage, 7HO9021 A L H DUKE +1,126 +55 +45 87% +511 80% +1988 on average, 7HO9069 INGLES +460 +20 +27 91% +462 85% +1912 of 24 to 26 7HO9321 CROWN +487 +40 +36 92% +508 82% +2012 cents per day 7HO9357 MAXUM +1,139 +45 +31 91% +514 83% +2005 in income over feed Visit www.selectsires.com for a complete listing of Jersey, Guernsey and Brown Swiss FeedPRO sires. cost when

FeedPRO Sires - December 2010

compared to the active-A.I. average. I salute Select Sires for their efforts in helping producers put more emphasis on moderate-sized cows while maintaining production.”

“Select Sires is passionate about offering our customer-owners solutions to make their operations successful. FeedPRO is a solution that is very much needed in today’s dairy environment,” Sattler said. “Bulls carrying the FeedPRO designation have the ability to make a higher-producing, moderate-sized animal that will provide customers with greater income over feed cost.”

FeedPRO sires are attracting the attention of business-minded producers. “Dairying is becoming a tight-margin enterprise. I can’t imagine a better genetic selection tool than one that predicts greater income over feed costs,” says Myron Czech, Little Falls, Minn. “I especially like the fact that the FeedPRO sires improve reproduction as well as production, and at the same time make a cow that fits in my freestalls and parlor.”

FeedPRO can be used alongside other designations like HealthMarkTM, Calving Ease, Herdlife BuilderTM and Superior SettlerTM to easily identify sires to meet any breeding goal.

FeedPRO may also be included as part of a custom-selection index that can be created by Select Mating ServiceTM (SMSTM) genetic consultants. 

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Dedicated Employees Heighten Customer Success Continued from page 1...

Customer Service is No. 1 Phil Dieter grew up on a dairy and beef farm where his competitive nature led to success in the show ring and to his passion for dairy and beef genetics and reproduction.

He joined the Select Sires family in 2001 as a MSR, better known as a technician, with East Central/ Select Sires. He quickly learned and adapted his skills to be a large herd specialist and was awarded East Central/Select Sires’ Member Service Representative (MSR) of the Year Award numerous times. In 2008, he was promoted to a newly created position at East Central/ Select Sires, SRS specialist, due to his extensive experience with large herds.

“I continued to learn from my customers and the cattle industry by keeping an open mind,” commented Dieter. “People have different goals, and at Select Sires our goal is to find ways to offer each herd solutions to achieve their desires.

And we do just that.”

SRS Improves Reproductive Success Select Sires developed a largeherd A.I. technician training program coined SelectCheckTM. Dieter is a SelectCheck trainer, where he helps technicians improve efficiency and effectiveness in producing more pregnant cows. These week-long training classes take place every two months. During the training, the technicians hone their skills by working with two 4,000 cow dairies. The technicians that participate in SelectCheck not only receive the opportunity to learn from the instructors but from other employees as well. The training consists of on-farm and classroom training. SelectCheck covers many reproductive topics, from reviewing the basic principles of reproductive physiology to the most advanced cutting-edge technology such as synchronization protocols and genomics to maximize pregnancies for all herds. Over 175 employees have participated in SelectCheck training.

SRS specialist, Phil Dieter, right, looks to increase the productivity of his customers by offering advanced training to personnel and technicians to better serve them.

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“Having a uniform national profits through reproduction. RePRO program allows us all to work toward Analysis is compatible with all major common goals,” stated Dieter. “I herd management software on the always stress the power of tracking market and, with the help of an SRS and reviewing. It is very easy to Specialist, allows you to evaluate become complacent with any daily your herd’s performance. routine. You must continue to monitor SRS has become a valuable performance and adapt. The best program for many dairy producers are only the best because they are to take their herd to the next level. always willing to get better. I also It has also become a great tool to started offering A.I. assist in finding refresher courses issues when “People have different for our customers. challenges occur goals, and at Select Sires This has become regardless of the very helpful to our goal is to find ways to reason. “Many continue to train offer each herd solutions times herds want to on-farm personnel to achieve their desires. compare themselves to increase with a neighbor And we do just that.” pregnancies.” or an industry Throughout benchmark,” noted his time with SRS, Dieter has Dieter. “These goals are fine, but participated in numerous trainings remember that herds need individual and workshops as an attendee in goals, and you need to set goals addition to his work as an instructor. for your dairy that help you be Annually, the SRS specialists profitable. I set up team meetings complete up to ten days of classroom with members of the operation, such and on-farm training. “I enjoy as veterinarians, nutritionists and teaching and training, however I financial advisers to make sure we still want to learn just as much as I are all working toward a common teach,” noted Dieter. “I believe that goal for the customer.” this common approach is shared by many at Select Sires and helps Technology Advances our customer-owners achieve their Reproductive Concepts success.”

Technology is always advancing Information and data has never and creating change behind the been more important to producers scenes at Select Sires that you may than it is today. With competitive not know about. Select Sires funds markets and tight margins, it numerous research projects every is important to review areas of year. Dieter has the opportunity to e TM opportunity. Select R PRO Analysis work with the Program for Fertility allows customer-owners an easy way AdvancementTM (PFATM), operating to do just that. Dieter works routinely directly with Select Sires’ PFA with employees and customers to trial herds to further advance perform a RePRO Analysis of the reproduction and genetics. herd. This one-of-a-kind program With a look at many different offers Select Sires the opportunity scientific items such as semen to enhance the on-farm computer extenders, sperm composition, management program by using the sexing processes and farm records and benchmark data synchronization methods, Select to observe trends and advance Sires conducts trials to ensure you

Agricultural Background: Raised on a dairy and beef farm in southwest Wisconsin, Dieter had a passion for showing cattle from the start.

Career with Select Sires: Dieter started as a member service representative (MSR), better known as a technician, with East Central/Select Sires in 2001. Seven years later he was promoted to Select Reproductive SolutionsTM (SRSTM) specialist.

Responsibilities with Select Sires: Dieter oversees many

programs at East Central/Select Sires including reproductive services, beef programs, Program for Fertility AdvancementTM (PFATM) and the newly released activity monitoring system, Select DetectTM. In addition, he is an A.I. trainer, personnel trainer, technician supervisor, Dairy Comp instructor, herd consultant, and coordinates research and field trials.

Along with his responsibilities at East Central/Select Sires, he also spends time on a national level where he serves on numerous Select Sires Inc. committees.

™Select BioCycle Plus and Select DTX are trademarks of Select Sires Inc. and are manufactured by Agrarian Marketing Corporation®.

All claims, representations and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by Agrarian Marketing Corporation and not by Select Sires Inc.

Phil Dieter: Select Reproductive Solutions Specialist

Award Spotlight: East Central/Select Sires’ MSR of the Year Award receive the most fertile product on the market.

“When Select Sires first began researching motion sensing heat detection systems, Dieter was a natural to get involved from the start,” stated Dr. Ray Nebel, vice president of technical service programs. “His reproductive knowledge, computer savvy and mechanical ability have made him a leader in marketing and supporting the system.”

Select Sires partnered with Dairymaster after much research.

Dieter has worked with Dr. Nebel over the past 14 months researching and improving Select DetectTM. In October 2010, Select Detect became available to Select Sires’ customers.

Select Detect is the most advanced heat detection system on the market today. “I can honestly say that Select Detect is a true game changer,” stated Dieter. “It will greatly impact the efficiency of getting cows pregnant.”

“When I first got involved, I was slightly skeptical that it could be as

good as it is,” he commented. “But it’s real and it works, and I believe it is the future of our industry.”

Dieter continues to work on two research projects with Select Detect that go beyond the sole purpose of heat detection, having direct impact on fertility as well as profitability to Select’s customers.

Your Success-Our Passion “Select Sires is your cooperative and is here to help producers like you succeed. Being the No. 1 A.I. organization in the U.S., I believe we are achieving just that and are showing our success through our customers’ success,” Dieter concluded. “It is enjoyable for me to be involved with pushing the envelope for our industry, as Select Sires allows me to find ways to maximize reproduction and genetics for dairy and beef producers alike. Select Sires has provided me with the tools, training and teammates to succeed and for me to pass this on to others. I can truly say that your success is my passion!” 

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CROWN: Descendant of Holstein Royalty Ralma Juror Faith (EX-91-GMDDOM) is without doubt the queen of the Ralma herd and has left her predominant mark on the Holstein breed. Faith has produced 19 Very Good daughters, with five daughters going on to be scored Excellent. Faith was bred and owned by Alfred and Mark Schmitt of Rice, Minn.

Of those daughters, one of the most successful and prolific is Ralma Christmas Fudge-ET (VG-88-GMDDOM), a 7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET daughter. Christmas Fudge is the dam of 13 Very Good and six Excellent daughters. The combination of Christmas Fudge and 7HO6417 O-Bee Justice MANfred produced Ralma Christmas Cookie-ET (VG-89-EX-MS-DOM). Christmas Cookie continued the success of the Juror Faith family for the Schmitts.

“Christmas Cookie was the best O MAN heifer I had seen and still have ever seen,” stated Scott Culbertson, sire analyst for Select Sires. “She was so big and long and had a boxcar rump with a hint of style. Everyone

who saw her wanted to mate or buy a female from her. She mirrored so much of her mother, Christmas Fudge and grandmother, Juror Faith.

All sire analysts want a cow family that delivers consistent results from generation to generation. In mating this family, you just knew the components, udder quality and big open rib structure was a given.”

Culbertson mated Christmas Cookie as a heifer to Braedale Goldwyn, a mating that has proven to be a successful match. Select Sires would have the first and second choice Goldwyn sons. “The mating of Goldwyn was used to accent the components and complemented an O MAN in every way for improved type,” commented Culbertson.

Resulting from the flush with Goldwyn were daughters Ralma Goldwyn Carmel-ET (VG-89-EX-MS), Ralma Goldwyn Carly-ET (VG-88-EXMS-DOM) and Ralma 14-Carat Gold-ET (VG-88-DOM), and two sons acquired

by Select Sires – 7HO9321 Ralma Gold CROWN-ET (VG-88) and 7HO9456 Ralma Goldwyn COACH-ET.

Three daughters of 7HO9321 CROWN are owned by Mark and Karen Frederking, Nashville, Ill.

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All three sisters are now in separate herds across the U.S. Carmel has phenomenal genomic transmitting ability and is owned by Dr. Jeff Rugg, Waupaca, Wis. 14-Carat Gold is in the Markwell Holstein herd in Lynden, Wash., while Carly remained in the Ralma herd. All three have drawn interest as they rank on the Top 5,000 Cow and Locator Lists compiled by Holstein Association USA. CROWN was added to Select Sires’ active lineup in December 2010 and COACH looks quite promising for a Select Sires Canada release this spring. A third son out of Christmas Cookie, 7HO9455 Ralma Marion CASPER-ET is in-waiting.

The international sire father, CROWN ranks as the highest December graduate for Genomic Total Performance IndexSM at +2012 GTPISM and is the No. 1 GTPI Goldwyn son among active A.I. in the U.S. He transmits profitability through his elite Net Merit dollar value (+$508 NM) and positive component percents, along with improved longevity (+3.7

Productive Life, PL) and reduced calving difficulty (6% Calving Ease, CE). CROWN is a DIAMOND SELECTionTM sire uniquely combining production, type and fitness traits to create the kind of cattle that dairy producers desire.

CROWN also earns the FeedPRO® and HealthMarkTM designations to solidify his position as a sire that will fit into nearly any breeding program and produce profitable, long-lasting cows.

His daughters exhibit more power and are open ribbed like the Juror Faith family and will make trouble-free, consistent freestall cows.

This tremendous family has made a significant impact in the Holstein breed over the past decade and continues to influence the breed. The family has exported hundreds of embryos around the world and there are many strong branches throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. The strength and power of the Juror Faith family is already documented through high customer satisfaction.  Source: 12/10 USDA Genomic Evaluation, USDA/HA Genomic Type Evaluation. 12/10 Rel: CROWN NM$ 82%, PL 73%, CE 92%.

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Perceptions of Precision Don’t Let Sire Fertility Become an Obstacle to Genetic Progress in Your Herd

by Mel DeJarnette, director of technical research Sire fertility estimates have been valuable tools used in sire selection for the entire 70-year history of A.I. These systems have evolved from manually reported and calculated non-return rates to highly sophisticated models like Sire Conception Rate (SCR), AgriTech Analytics (ATA) and Select’s Relative Breeding Efficiency (RBE) that are based on palpated pregnancy rates and adjusted for numerous herd and environmental factors that influence fertility.

There is no question that sire fertility estimates of today are immensely more accurate than those of yesteryear. However, two things have not changed over time: 1) conception is still a binomial variable, and 2) the data used to calculate these estimates are still very “noisy.” These two factors create limits to the accuracy and precision of sire fertility estimates that must be recognized if they are to be used appropriately.

Limits to Precision Similar to flipping a coin, binomial variation is basically the impact of random chance on the

observed outcome. If you flipped a coin 1,000 times on 1,000 different occasions, only 25 of those 1,000 attempts (2.5 percent) would we expect to get exactly 500 heads and 500 tails. On about 50 percent of those attempts, the disparity in ratio is expected to exceed 1 percentage point (490:510) from what we know should be the true value (500:500). The same thing happens in bulls depending on whether an insemination gets matched with a cow whose time it is (or is not) to conceive.

In addition, there is tremendous “noise” in the data related to the fertility of the cow as a function of

Holstein RBE sire fertility estimates for even numbered cows

Figure 1 R² = 0.198

Holstein RBE sire fertility estimates for odd numbered cows

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the herd, season, lactation number, service number, milk production, health and numerous others factors.

No System is Immune It does not matter if you rely on SCR, ATA, RBE or in-house estimates provided by other A.I. organizations, no system is immune from the inherent error that is characteristic of all sources of fertility data. To illustrate just how much “noise” is present in the typical sire fertility estimate, Select used a single dataset from our in-house RBE system to rank sire fertility separately for odd and even numbered cows within those herds. Figure 1 compares the estimates for all sires that had 200 or more services in each ranking. Although the same semen was used in the same herds during the same period of time, the estimates calculated by odd and even numbered cows were notably different. Only 24 of 515 sires (5 percent) had exactly the same deviation in both odd and even cow rankings. Thirty-one percent of sires (164/515) had deviations that differed by greater than or equal to 1 percent. This phenomenon is not unique to Select’s RBE, and will occur in all systems used to estimate sire fertility. So the real

question becomes, “If equal fertility semen is not reflected in equal fertility estimates between odd and even numbered cows, how then do we know when different fertility estimates really means different fertility semen?”

What’s Real and What’s by Chance?

In Figure 2, the blue bars illustrate what would be expected to happen if we had less than or equal to 1,000 services each on a group of bulls that we knew were all of average fertility. Because of binomial variation and all the noise in the fertility data with which we are working, it is predicted that only about 25 to 30 percent would achieve a deviation within 0.5 percent of average. About 70 to 75 percent would be expected to receive a deviation, implying they are greater than 0.5 percent away from the average, and approximately 10 percent of these average fertility sires would be expected to erroneously receive a deviation, implying their fertility is more than three points from the mean.

The gray bars illustrate the actual December 2010 SCR estimates for all Holstein sires excluding Select Sires’ and the skewed distribution to the positive side indicates that all A.I. companies select for highly fertile sires. The more extreme skew to the right for Select Sires Holstein bulls (red bars) illustrates how Select Sires’ quality control program is a cut above the rest. However, within any individual fertility category, it is difficult to know which bulls “belong there” versus bulls that undeservedly obtained the value as a function of noise and random chance.

Figure 2 Predicted from binomial variation if all sires were truly average fertility with less than 1,000 services All studs other than Select Sires (n=1,334), Source: SCR 12/10

Percent of sires

Select Sires only (n=550), Source: SCR 12/10

Holstein Sire Fertility Deviations (%)

Keep Precision in Perspective Sales representatives and producers will often use sire fertility estimates to go through an Active A.I. lineup as though the estimates have the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. This simply is not the case. Although sire fertility most certainly has value, the more you study them, the more you appreciate their limitations in precision. We must also remember that binomial variation and environmental noise affects every producer’s ability to reproduce a fertility deviation in his own herd. In addition, the sire may or may not still be producing semen of similar quality to that on which the current estimate is based from production that occurred a year or more ago. These are but a few reasons why comparing fertility estimates from any large scale ranking system to the withinherd reports of sire fertility and conception rates will more often than not, simply leave you scratching your head in frustration and confusion.

Take Home Messages 1) All popular sire fertility

estimates (SCR, ATA, RBE) are based on on-farm palpated pregnancy rates. However, the accuracy of sire fertility estimates is highly influenced by numbers of services, which tends to lend some advantages to large scale systems (SCR and ATA) over smaller in-house systems offered by any A.I. organization.

4) Estimates based on less than 500 services should be used for no other purpose but to confirm the bull appears to have near normal fertility. Extremely large deviations from average with less than 500 services often proves to be random noise that regresses toward average with increased numbers of services.

5) All fertility evaluation systems have noise. That is why having multiple sire fertility evaluation systems is so valuable to our industry. Each system can be used to corroborate the findings of others, while reflecting the inherent error in each. A bull that is positive on multiple systems can be viewed as “above average” with a greater degree of confidence. The implication that some sire fertility evaluation systems are not worthy of your

consideration is misleading and is a disservice to our industry. Additionally, a wary eye should be cast toward sire fertility designations that are not accompanied by a numeric representation of the degree of deviation and the associated number of services.

Although many producers tend to over-emphasize sire fertility in the selection process, it is each individual’s right and prerogative to do so. Select Sires’ philosophy is simply to provide the resources and education materials necessary so that our customers can make more informed decisions on their own.

We hope this article has helped to stimulate some reconsideration of the priority placed on sire fertility in the selection process so as not to become an obstacle to genetic progress in your herd. 

2) Even with extremely high numbers of services (>5,000), random chance and environmental noise dictates that sire fertility estimates are no more precise than ± 2 or 3 percent of the sire’s true fertility potential. Selecting among sires based on fertility deviation within 2 or 3 percent of each other is akin to “splitting hairs with a wood maul.”

3) Estimates based on 500 to 1,000 services should be used cautiously with recognition of an inherently greater degree of potential error (3 to 5 percent).

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New Graduates Offer Just What You Are Looking For No matter what your breeding goals are, Select Sires has the genetics to meet your selection criteria. With the December 2010 genetic evaluations, Select Sires added 14 new Holstein sires and three Jersey graduates to the active lineup to further enhance genetic offerings.

“At Select Sires, we are passionate about the success of our customers, and in order for our customer-owners to achieve that success, we must offer the best genetics available in the world,” said Blaine Crosser, vice president of dairy sire product line and sales management for Select Sires.

“The sires that we chose to graduate into our active lineup represent that charge by providing genetics that increase the profitability and productivity of our customer-owners’ herds.”

Elite Total Performance Index Sires Among the group of new graduates added to Select Sires’ lineup are four elite Total Performance IndexSM (TPISM) sires with GTPI values greater than +1977. These four sires rank among the top six bulls within Select Sires’ lineup.

Joining Select Sires’ active A.I. lineup are high yield reliability, prominent TPI sires 7HO9321 Ralma Gold CROWN-ET (VG-88) (+2012 GTPI)

and 7HO9357 Bremer Allegro MAXUMET (+2005 GTPI). CROWN and MAXUM are DIAMOND SELECTionTM sires that uniquely combine production, type and fitness traits to create the kind of cattle that many dairy producers are looking for. Add the FeedPRO® and HealthMarkTM designations to their credentials and these two deep-pedigreed sires will fit into any breeding program.

Ranking as the highest new graduate for GTPI, CROWN is the No. 1 GTPI Braedale Goldwyn son among active A.I. in the U.S. CROWN is out of Ralma Christmas Cookie-ET (VG-89EX-MS-DOM) and backed by grandam Ralma Christmas Fudge-ET (VG-88GMD-DOM).

“When you look at CROWN, he spells balance as well as any other bull we have at Select,” stated Scott Culbertson, sire analyst for Select Sires. “CROWN has 121 daughters in 81 herds and shows his strong cheese market pedigree with solid components along with his solid type pedigree with +1.45 Udder Composite (UDC) and +1.71 Feet and Leg Composite (FLC).” To learn more about CROWN see page 6.

MAXUM offers a special sire stack as the No. 1 GTPI Canyon-Breeze Allegro-ET son out of a Very Good (87-DOM) 7HO5708 Fustead Emory

7HO9356 LIFT-OFF daughter, Goff Lift-Off 30405 (GP-82), Buster Goff, Hobbs, NM

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BLITZ-ET dam.

“MAXUM is a bull that is going to fit a multitude of markets. He will fit the commercial sectors and elite markets looking for high type, production and TPI. At +1,139 pounds for Milk, he offers an extreme Net Merit dollar value (+$514 NM), and has the triple play for health traits in Productive Life (+4.7 PL), Somatic Cell Score (2.81 SCS) and Daughter Pregnancy Rate (+1.4 DPR),” commented Jeff Ziegler, genomic program manager at Select Sires.

Full brothers 7HO9020 A L H DAKOTA (+1977 GTPI) and 7HO9021 A L H DUKE (+1988 GTPI) enter the lineup with Milk spelled throughout their pedigrees. Sired by 7HO6417 O-Bee MANfred Justice-ET, they are backed by five generations of Excellent maternal dams with the closest three dams producing over 36,000 pounds of milk.

“A L H DAKOTA and A L H DUKE both are positive for components, have low somatic cell scores, are high for productive life, and have earned the FeedPRO designation,” stated Crosser.

“A L H DAKOTA is a higher milk bull at +1,400 Milk and has well-documented calving ease at 5 percent. A L H DUKE is the higher type sire at +1.67 Type and +2.15 FLC, earning the DIAMOND SELECTion logo.”

A L H DAKOTA was sampled in the Netherlands and Belgium, and A L H DUKE was progeny tested in Germany.

Goldwyn Sires Four Type Specialists Entering the lineup as the highest Udder Composite (UDC) bull at Select Sires (+3.28 UDC) and second highest for Type (+3.40) is 7HO9420 Fustead Goldwyn GUTHRIE-ET (EX-94).

“People want to know about GUTHRIE because of his huge type ranking (No. 2 in the breed). He is the No. 1 Goldwyn son for Type (+3.40) and Udder Composite (+3.28),” Culbertson stated. “On top of that, he is a calving ease bull at 7 percent and is a high new graduate for TPI

at +1956 GTPI. When you think of great fitness traits, calving ease and type traits, GUTHRIE is going to be a very popular bull in a lot of different markets.”

Following directly behind GUTHRIE is 7HO9264 Lirr Drew DEMPSEY (VG-86). “DEMPSEY comes from the Program for Genetic Advancement CanadaTM (PGACTM). He came in as the No. 7 Lifetime Profit Index (LPI) sire in Canada, at +2430 GLPI. In the U.S. he ranks sixth in the breed for Type at +3.14, and he has the balance of +2.00 UDC and +2.08 FLC,” noted Culbertson.

7HO9265 Lirr Marie GOLDEN-ET (VG-88) (+2.67 Type) and 7HO9346 Luck-E Goldwyn AUTOPILOT-ET (VG-86) (+2.62 Type) each transmit pleasing type patterns. Both sires consistently build tall, stylish cows with excellent dairy character, great mobility and shallow, snug udders.

GOLDEN provides solid milk production (+730 Milk) and is labeled with the DIAMOND SELECTion and Superior SettlerTM designations. AUTOPILOT provides reliable udder improvement (+2.12 UDC) demonstrated by his 68 classified daughters.

Big-League Milk Shottle Sons Select Sires graduated three big-league milk Picston Shottle-ET sons that are backed by powerful pedigrees. 7HO9229 Plushanski FARSANO-ET (EX-92) enters Active A.I. with a near perfect linear.

“DIAMOND SELECTion sire FARSANO displays exactly what you’d expect to find from a Shottle and BLITZ bloodline – strong, powerful cows with welded on udders that are going to supply us with large volumes of milk. Debuting at +1,862 Milk, he is the No. 2 Shottle son for milk in the breed and ranks among the top 20 Holstein sires for milk. When you bring the type equation in, you find a very balanced bull with +2.55 on Type and more than two points on all of his

composites,” stated Rick VerBeek, sire analyst at Select Sires.

7HO9356 Roz-Acres Shotl LIFTOFF-ET (EX-92) (+1,472 Milk) and 7HO9133 Lake-Effect PS CAMMO-ET (EX-90) (+1,374 Milk) are Shottle sons that produce daughters to fill the bulk tank. Marked with the DIAMOND SELECTion seal, LIFT-OFF (+1878 GTPI) displays favorable Productive Life (+2.3) and is backed by three generations of 35,000 pounds of milk dams. LIFT-OFF reveals superior semen quality earning the Superior Settler designation. Available in gender SELECTedTM semen, CAMMO is backed by an Excellent (93-2E-EXMS-GMD-DOM) dam with over 40,000 pounds of milk. CAMMO balances solid Type (+2.11 Type, +1.52 UDC and +2.06 FLC) with his high production.

Well Balanced Sires Rounding out the Shottle sons are 7HO9270 Gold-N-Oaks REAL-DEAL-ET (EX-92) (+1858 GTPI) and 7HO9281 Badger BIGSHOT-ET (EX-90) (+1820 GTPI). Just like their names imply, both sires are sure to make a mark in your breeding program. These HealthMark sires exhibit pleasing milk production, favorable health traits and calving ease.

“REAL-DEAL enters our lineup as a DIAMOND SELECTion sire, and rightly so because of his total balance in production and type,” noted Ziegler.

“Already with an impressive sire conception rate of +2.4 at 94 percent reliability, BIGSHOT will be a great choice for commercial operations that want a complete package of production, type and fitness traits from a high fertility bull,” stated Crosser.

7HO9063 Meier-Meadows Laud MARIO-ET (VG-88) offers low calving difficulty with a unique sire stack.

This Laudan-ET son is out of an Excellent (90-2E-DOM) 7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET dam.

MARIO generates daughters with fantastic udders (+2.49 UDC) and

strong Productive Life (+3.4).

Jersey Sires Produce Profitable, Long-Lasting Daughters Three Select Sires Jersey sires enter Active A.I. with the Herdlife BuilderTM label. 7JE840 Sunset Canyon BELVEDERE-ET is the first SHF Centurion Sultan son to enter Select Sires’ lineup and soars toward the top of the Jersey Udder IndexTM (JUITM).

BELVEDERE ranks second in the breed for JUI at +5.46 and sixth (tied) for Type at +1.7. He will add stature and dairy form to his daughters, along with snug fore udders and great rear udder height and width. In addition to his excellent type, he offers positive fat percent, longevity and a low Somatic Cell Score (SCS). BELVEDERE hails from the Duncan Belle (E-92%) family. His dam is Sunset Canyon Hallmark Belle 1-ET (E-93%), the Premier Performance Cow at The 2004 All American Jersey Show.

7JE855 Buttercrest FORCE is a wellbalanced, breeder satisfaction potential bull similar to his sire, 7JE590 Forest Glen Avery ACTION-ET. He offers udder improvement at +4.51 JUI. “Like his father, FORCE comes in with high Type at +1.5. When you look at the linear profile, it is certainly one that breeders can appreciate, with tremendous udders, correct feet and legs and moderate size,” commented VerBeek.

FORCE improves health traits as a HealthMark sire with longevity, positive daughter pregnancy rate and low Somatic Cell Score. He also earns the Herdlife Builder designation.

Component improver and Sire Conception Rate (SCR) breed leader 7JE620 Sunset Canyon MAXIMUSET debuts his first son in Select Sires’ lineup, 7JE876 DLM Maximus VERNER. He follows in the footsteps of his sire as a Fat improver (+.22% Fat and +54 Fat). VERNER transmits pleasing udders with a respectable JUI of +2.75, coupled with solid Productive Life. 

Source: 12/10 USDA Genomic Evaluation, USDA/HA Genomic Type Evaluation. 12/10 Rel: CROWN Type 84%; MAXUM Yield 91%, NM$ 83%, PL 75%, SCS 84%, DPR 73%; A L H DAKOTA Yield 87%, CE 59%; A L H DUKE Type 81%; GUTHRIE Type 82%, CE 82%; DEMPSEY Type 84%; GOLDEN Type 84%; AUTOPILOT Type 88%; FARSANO Yield 92%, Type 90%; LIFT-OFF Yield 90%, PL 74%; CAMMO Yield 90%, Type 84%; BIGSHOT SCR 94%; MARIO Type 89%, PL 75%; BELVEDERE Type 82%; FORCE Type 76%; VERNER Yield 83%.

7HO9264 DEMPSEY daughter, Jendo Dempsey Blanche, Me-Do Meadows, Orfordville, Wis., Photo by Erbsen.

7HO9357 MAXUM daughter, Four Pines Maxum 2125-Grade, Bill Deetz, Sugarcreek, Ohio

7HO9133 CAMMO daughter, RBK-Micke 2068 (GP-84), Brian Micke, Wrightstown, Wis.

7JE840 BELVEDERE daughter, Ca Theo Belvedere Acorn (VG-85%), Stacey Theobald, Waymart, Pa.

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Keep Inbreeding In Check

by Chuck Sattler, vice president of genetic programs and Jeff Ziegler, genomics program manager

Chuck Sattler

Jeff Ziegler

As dairy producers practice selection to improve their cattle, an increasing trend in inbreeding is noticed. This is a reality in all genetic selection programs. As our industry selects to increase the concentration of good genes and remove the less desirable genes, the cattle population will become more closely related. If this is left unchecked, it could become a serious concern.

Fortunately, genomic testing provides a more accurate account of inbreeding than previous estimates and creates new opportunities for inbreeding control.

Performance losses due to inbreedrelated animals. This allows producers ing are well documented. Researchers to avoid the bulk of the performance have shown that inbreeding can cause losses caused by inbreeding. This oplower production, reduced fertility, more tion is best suited for herds that have stillbirths and reduced overall fitness good identification programs and have of our cattle. As genetic improvemaintained pedigree information on ment is accelerated through the use their cattle for several generations. of genomic evaluations, it is also an Some herds not only want to avoid important time to review the inbreeding inbreeding but also want to capture the management benefits of practices.

“You can rest assured that Select Sires hybrid vigor.

These will be will use every tool available to ensure For these increasingly herds, Select that profitability is increased with important Sires offers genomics and that sire development to allow a competiproducers to at Select Sires will be a key to keeping tive lineup the detriments of inbreeding in check.” of Jersey, realize the improved Brown Swiss, performance Red Dane, levels promised by improved genetics.

Swedish Red and Montbeliarde genet Several on-farm management ics for use in crossbreeding programs. options exist for producers to manage No other A.I. organization provides the inbreeding. These options, however, quality and variety of breeds that is need to be accompanied by efforts at provided to you by Select Sires. the industry level to continue to develop Both of these options are limited, genetics in a variety of breeds or famihowever, by efforts at the breed level to lies so that producers have pedigree manage genetic diversity at the same diversity to utilize in the future. Select time as making genetic improvement.

Sires is working in both areas to help For example, the SMS program is you capture the most from your breedlimited in controlling inbreeding if the ing decisions. available A.I. sires are gradually more and more related to each other. Along Strategies to Manage Inbreeding the same lines, the effectiveness of Individually mating your cows crossbreeding is limited if the rate of through Select Mating ServiceTM genetic improvement in the alternative (SMSTM) is the best way to manage breed is not competitive. inbreeding at the farm level. SMS For these reasons, Select Sires has allows in-depth pedigree information become much more active in managto be used to avoid mating of closely ing the mating combinations we use

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to produce A.I. sires. Rather than simply accepting what the open market provides, Select Sires dedicates a portion of our Holstein sire program to develop bulls that are selected within specific sire lines. This systematic sire development approach, combined with a complementary on-farm mating system for the cows, will provide an additional option for producers to manage the level of inbreeding in their herds.

Select Sires Protects Your Genetics Select Sires has a great relationship with several genetic seed stock producers who routinely propagate the right kind of genes for future Select Sires sampling and marketing.

However, to fulfill these new strategies of controlling the rate of inbreeding in the genomics era, we have taken two courses of action.

First, we have partnered with a few key herds that have graciously opened up their breeding records and long term goals to our sire development team to create mating recommendations for future bull calves that complete both partners’ interests. This cooperative agreement provides Select Sires full access to some of the breed’s most elite genetics, while also creating a means to fulfill the unique sire lines needed for long term Select Sires breeding success. In this manner, both parties achieve their interest of a profitable herd of replacement females for each cooperative herd and a unique

set of bull calves that Select Sires can confidently place in our Program for Genetic AdvancementTM (PGATM) for sampling. These mating recommendations will have some of the breed’s most advanced use of the genomic tools available to the public.

The second method of completing more defined breeding strategies is through Select Sires’ Aggressive Reproductive TechnologiesTM (ARTTM) program. While this method of sire development will be covered in more detail in a Summer 2011 Selections article, this newly developed program has long-term, far-reaching goals of combining the most superior sciences available to enhance sire development advancement. While genomics as we know it today has advanced gene selection at an incredible rate, the ART program will take this science and combine intense selection schemes of varying natures to create the next genetic outliers.

Select Sires strives to create a unique genetic smorgasbord that provides dairy producers worldwide more opportunities for genetic success, regardless of herd goals. Select Sires cannot ignore the challenges that increased inbreeding brings to genetic improvement. You can rest assured that Select Sires will use every tool available to ensure that profitability is increased with genomics and that sire development at Select Sires will be a key to keeping the detriments of inbreeding in check. 

BULLetin Board Select Sires Shines with All-American Nominations Leading the way for the Holstein nominations was 7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET with a total of five. 7HO7872 KHW Kite ADVENT-RED-ET, 7HO8190 Gen-Mark Stmatic SANCHEZ and 7HO7004 Erbacres DAMION all had two nominations each. The following active A.I. sires each had one nomination: 7HO9165 Regancrest S BRAXTON-ET, 7HO8221 Golden-Oaks St ALEXANDER. Super SamplerTM 7HO10506 Maple-Downs-I G W ATWOOD-ET also had one nomination.

Six different Select Sires bulls have daughters with nominations in the All-American Brown Swiss contest.

7BS766 Blessing Banker AGENDA ET has five daughters nominated, followed by three each for 7BS779 Brothers Three PARKER ET and 7BS796 Old Mill WDE SUPREME ET, two were sired by 7BS813 Savage-Leigh TRESSEL ET, and 7BS750 Hilltop Acres En DYNASTY ET and 7BS752 Sun-Made Garbo PRESTIGE ET had one each.

Top Acres Agenda Roxy ET “VG87”, Peter Vail and Ken Main, Copake, N.Y., nominated All-American yearling in milk, 2010

(Left-Right): Pierstein Sanchez Ellen, Pierre Boulet, Montmagny, PQ, Canada, nominated All-American winter heifer calf, 2010; Herbertview Braxton Asia-ET, G. Todd Jr., G. Todd Sr. and Lookout, Canton de Hatley, QC, Canada, nominated All-American spring heifer calf, 2010; BVK Atwood Andrea-ET, R and S Allyn, J. Lloyd and M. Health, Canaan, Conn., nominated All-American spring heifer calf, 2010; and Roll-N-View Alex Bristol, Cooper Galton, Nunda, N.Y., nominated All-American spring heifer calf, 2010.

In the All Breeds Access Jersey contest, 7JE867 Griffens GOVERNORET sired three nominations, while 7JE356 Lester SAMBO earned two.

7JE590 Forest Glen Avery ACTION-ET, 236JE3 ISDK Q IMPULS and 7JE329 Sooner CENTURION-ET sired one each.

Diamond S Governor Joya (VG-89%), bred and exhibited by Diamond D Farm, North Branch, Minn., and owned by River Valley Dairy, Tremont, Ill., nominated All-American fall yearling heifer in milk, 2010

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Guernsey All-American Results 7GU395 Sniders Option AARONET sired two daughters that were named All-American and Reserve All-American. The All-American fall yearling in milk is Lang Haven Aaron Treasure-ET, owned by Esther Ripley, Moravia, N.Y. The Reserve All-American winter calf is Gurn Z Meadow Porcelain Poetry, owned by Gurn-Z Meadow, Janesville, Wis. A number of Select-sired Guernsey offspring received All-American nominations. 7GU360 Trotacre Loral TILLER-ET led the pack with seven nominations, and 7GU395 AARON added six nominations to his résumé.

Lineup sires 7GU402 Edgewater Meadows YOGIBEAR-ET came in with

Lang Haven Aaron Treasure-ET (VG-85), Esther Ripley, Moravia, NY, All-American fall yearling in milk, 2010

two nominations, and 7GU417 Sniders Tiller ALTANIC had one nomination.

Ayrshire All-American Results In the Ayrshire breed, 7AY84 Palmyra Tri-Star BURDETTE-ET sired the unanimous All-American fall yearling in milk, Ronn-Ayr Burdette Gentle. Gentle was exhibited by P&A Ayrshires and Nickel-Plate Ayrshires, Dyersville, Iowa, and is now owned by Fabian Almedia, Cleburne, Texas. BURDETTE also had two Honorable Mention All-Americans.

The Honorable Mention junior 2-yearold was Ski-Pal Burdette Hannah, who was also the Jr. All-American junior 2-year-old. Hannah is owned by Mitchel McDermott and Ski Pal Ayrshires, Epworth, Iowa. The Honorable Mention spring yearling heifer was Grand-View Burdette Diamond, owned by Tim Busch, Cecil, Wis.

Ronn-Ayr Burdette Gentle, P&A Ayrshires and NickelPlate Ayrshires, Dyersville, Iowa, and is now owned

by Fabian Almedia, Cleburne, Texas, unanimous All-American fall yearling in milk, 2010

Milking Shorthorn All-American Results 7MS341 Bar-D-Kuszmar CLAY sired the All-American and Reserve AllAmerican fall yearling heifers. El Ron Clays Jenny, owned by Elron Farms, Lost Nation, Iowa, was recognized as the All-American fall yearling, while

Sageser Clay Penny, Morgan Sageser, Shelbyville, Ky., Reserve All-American fall yearling heifer, 2010

Sageser Clay Penny, owned by Morgan Sageser, Shelbyville, Ky., was named the Reserve All-American fall yearling.

GENERAL and MR SAM Daughters Excel at Quietcove Holsteins 7HO8777 De-Su Finley GENERAL-ET daughter Bulrush General Lee was recently raised to Excellent (91). Lee is owned by Quietcove-Wapa Farms LLC, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Also housed at Quietcove Holsteins, is Ronalee Mr Sam Delft-ET who was raised in score to Excellent (92) with an Excellent (92) mammary system. Delft is sired by 7HO6758 Regancrest-MR Drham SAMET. She is from the famous Dabble family that produced top 100 Total Performance IndexSM (TPISM) lineup sire 7HO9107 Ronelee SS DURABLE.

Bulrush General Lee (EX-91), Second Lactation, QuietcoveWapa Farms LLC, Wapakoneta, Ohio

DAMION Daughters Classify Very Good Several 7H07004 DAMION daughters have enjoyed successful classifications recently, including two new Very Good (86) two-year-olds at Toppglen Farm in Wooster, Ohio.

Pencroft-Ammon Dmn Tandy, owned by Lylehaven Farms, East Montpelier, Vt., was also recently scored Very Good (86).

PRONTO Daughters Garner Attention Many young 7HO8175 Windy-ViewKnoll PRONTO-ET daughters have been garnering attention in recent classifications. Horstein Pronto Kayle-ET, owned by Horst-Crest Farm in Millen, Ga., was recently scored

Very Good (86) as a two-year-old.

Another PRONTO two-year-old, owned

by Toppglen Farms in Wooster, Ohio, was scored Very Good (85).

PRONTO also brought success to the Conant Acres herd of Canton, Maine, as five of their PRONTO twoyear-olds were scored Very Good in their first classification.

Impressive BRAXTON Daughter This awesome 7HO9165 BRAXTON daughter photograph just arrived at Select Sires! Luck-E Braxton Pacific is scored Very Good (86) and is owned

by Matt Engel, Hampshire, Ill. We heard about his fancy calves this fall and here is what they have the potential to become. BRAXTON is

Luck-E Braxton Pacific (VG-86), Luck-E Holsteins, Hampshire, Ill.

available in both conventional and gender SELECTed™ semen.

Select-sired Daughters Top the Tulip Holstein Sale The Tulip Holstein Sale, held in Holland, enjoyed a successful year with a sale average of $10,195 on 48 lots. Select Sires can also call the sale a success, with four of the top 10 lots sired by Select bulls. A second choice 7HO8190 SANCHEZ from Golden Atlee, consigned from Spain, topped the sale at $28,740. Following as the fourth high seller was a first choice by 7HO8856 Ri-Val-Re-2338 NIAGRAET consigned out of Ireland, selling for $20,528. 7HO8743 Scientific SS DUSK-ET sired the seventh high seller, MWS Ashlyn Red, purchased by A.L.H. Genetics of Holland. MWS Ashlyn-Red is out of a Very Good (87) 7HO8223 Aggravation LAWN BOY P-RED dam and sold for $15,050. Rounding out the top 10 high sellers was A-L-H Mica, a 7HO8081 Ensenada Taboo PLANET-ET daughter out of Holland, who sold for $13,000. ď ľ

Select Sires Photo Contest Customer success is the passion of every employee

within the Select Sires federation. Select Sires would like to celebrate this success by offering, for the first time, a Select Sires photo contest. Select Sires is looking for new, exciting photos of Select-sired offspring and customers to use in promotions such as calendars, posters, brochures, on the website and much more. The contest is open to all amateur photographers including Select Sires customers, employees and employee family members.

Entries are due June 1, 2011. Visit www.selectsires.com to access full contest rules and guidelines.

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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 Select Reproductive Solutions, SRS, DIAMOND SELECTion, Select Detect, Fertility PRO, Program for Fertility Advancement, PFA, SelectCheck, Select RePRO Analysis, HealthMark, Program for Genetic Advancement, PGA, Program for Genetic Advancement Canada, PGAC, Superior Settler, gender SELECTed, Herdlife Builder, Select Mating Service, SMS, Aggressive Reproductive Technologies, ART, Select BioCycle and Super Sampler are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.; JPI and JUI are trademarks of American Jersey Cattle Association. ® FeedPRO is a registered trademark of Select Sires Inc.; Agrarian Marketing Cooperation is a registered trademark of Agrarian Marketing Cooperation, Middlebury, Ind. SM Total Performance Index and TPI are service marks of Holstein Association USA. All product claims, representations and warranties, expressed or implied are made only by the product manufacturers and not by Select Sires Inc.

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