u TOOLS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY

GENETIC TOOLS TO MANAGE INCOME OVER FEED COSTS

INSIGHTS INTO FEED EFFICIENCY

Chuck Sattler, vice president of genetic programs, Select Sires Inc.

With inflation pressures increasing costs for nearly every industry, it’s never been more important for dairies to tightly manage income over feed costs. Selecting bulls for increased production is an obvious component of sustaining a high producing herd. But, there are additional traits that deserve consideration because they impact how effectively your dairy herd converts feed into milk.

While selection for improved production has always been a part of Select Sires’ sire development, we’ve had an explicit focus on feed efficiency since 2008. That’s when the FeedPRO® designation was introduced to highlight sires that excel in transmitting the combination of traits that maximize income over feed costs.

The initial version of FeedPRO focused on production and body size as indicators of feed intake. The designation identified bulls that transmitted high production and moderate body size while maintaining fertility and body condition.

Today, thanks to investments by USDA, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), we have a new tool to add to sire selection that helps us do better. Recently, CDCB has begun publishing genetic evaluations for residual feed intake (RFI) that provide additional insight into how efficiently cows convert feed into milk.

These evaluations are based on data gathered at a handful of research herds in the U.S. and Canada that have taken detailed feed intake records on genomically tested cows. These efforts have produced a genomic evaluation reference population that includes more than 7,700 cows and grows each year. Thanks to the power of genomic selection technology, the genetic insights from this intensively studied reference population can be extended to all genomic-tested animals.

Decoding RFI evaluations

Genetic evaluations for RFI are expressed as predicted transmitting abilities (PTA) like other CDCB evaluations. PTA RFI are expressed in pounds of feed per lactation. Values for currently available bulls range from -250 to +250. Even though the reference population is small, RFI measurements have a moderate heritability of 19 percent. Based on these two factors, CDCB published

evaluations for RFI have a low but meaningful reliability. Genomic young sires have evaluation reliability of 20-25 percent while some older sires have reliability values over 50 percent.

RFI is the difference between a cow’s actual feed intake and what she was expected to eat based on how much milk she produces, how much she weighs and whether she’s gaining or losing weight. RFI is basically how much feed is used for things other than body maintenance or producing milk. For this reason, lower values for RFI are preferred. Cows with low RFI will turn a higher percentage of their feed into milk and less of their feed into heat and manure.

PTA values for RFI are a tool we can use along with production and body size traits to breed for cows that produce more income over feed costs. It is now routinely available on Select Sires’ website and included in tools like the FeedPRO designation, Herd Health Profit Dollars™ (HHP$™), Net Merit $ and TPI® indexes.

With rising prices, managing income over feed costs has never been more important for improving farm profitability. Residual feed intake values provide an additional tool in breeding a herd of cows that more effectively convert feed into milk. u

What indexes and genetic tools currently incorporate RFI?

FeedPRO designation Net Merit $ TPI Herd Health Profit Dollars (HHP$)

Top RFI FeedPRO Sires RFI RFI % HHP$

7HO15420 PORTER

-138 25 1,055 7HO15697 WISEUP -166 22 1,026 250HO15959 LUCRATIVE -213 24 970 7HO14316 MARKSMAN -248 31 776 7HO12659 PASSAT -191 26 741

REFERENCES CDCB-Reference-Sheet-Feed-Saved-12_2020.pdf (uscdcb.com) CDCB changes to evaluation system (December 2021) | Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (uscdcb.com)

Reduce feed costs, increase profitability and sustainability

For the modern producer who is concerned about feed costs and wants to improve profitability and lower their carbon footprint with more efficient cattle.

Increase production AND improve fertility

FeedPRO optimizes the selection for increased production and daughter fertility. FeedPRO bulls are in the 90th percentile for CFP and in the 70th percentile for DPR.

Increase production AND improve health

FeedPRO sires are well above average for Mastitis Resistance, Wellness Trait Index® (WT$®) and Calf Wellness Index™ (CW$™).

TPI

+0.39 NM$ FeedPRO

+0.20 +0.14

Moderate Cow Size = Efficiency

Average stature of FeedPRO sires versus NM$ and TPI leaders

Visit our website to find more FeedPRO sires!

Minster, Ohio 45865 Permit No. 2

SELECTIONS

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.

All gender SELECTED™ semen is processed using Ultraplus™ technology. Limitations and Conditions of Sale: gender SELECTED semen shall be used only for the single insemination of one female bovine during natural ovulation with the intent to produce single offspring unless specifically approved on an individual customer basis by Sexing Technologies in writing. As a condition

of purchasing gender SELECTED semen, the purchaser agrees that gender SELECTED semen will not be reverse sorted or

re-sorted unless specifically permitted, in advance, on a case-by-case basis by Select Sires in writing. Select Sires intends to monitor the use of the gender SELECTED semen and vigorously enforce these restrictions on use. Please see http://www. selectsires.com/designations/genderselected.html for additional details. ™Herd Health Profit Dollars, HHP$, Select RePRO Analysis and gender SELECTED are trademarks of Select Sires Inc. Calf Wellness and CW$ are trademarks of Zoetis Inc., its affiliates and/or its licensors. JPI is a trademark of the American Jersey Cattle Association. Ultraplus is a trademark of STGen LLC. SimAngus is a trademark of the American Simmental Association. ®NxGEN, FeedPRO, ProfitSOURCE and Your Success Our Passion. are registered trademarks of Select Sires Inc. Wellness Trait Index, WT$, Dairy Wellness Profit Index, DWP$ and CLARIFIDE are registered trademarks of Zoetis Inc., its affiliates and/or its licensors. CowManager is a registered trademark of Agis Automatisering. Total Performance Index (TPI) is a registered trademark of Holstein Association USA. Simplot, SimVitro and HerdFlex are registered trademarks of the J.R. Simplot Company. All rights reserved. Buyer assumes all responsibility for use, storage and handling of herd management products. All claims, representations, and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by the company responsible for manufacturing and not by Select Sires Inc., its member cooperatives, its agents or employees. GEORGE MILLER photo by THOMAS. All bulls listed in this issue qualify for semen export to Canada. 7 & 507 = Select Sires, 14 & 614= Accelerated Genetics, 250 & 550 = GenerVations