Winter 2016 Selections

Winter 2016 Shauna—Brood Cow Extraordinaire 8 Strong Genetic Interest Led Ziemba to Select Sires

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Crossbreeding with Success

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s elections YOUR SUCCESS Our Passion.

Turn to page 7 to learn more about how Select Sires is growing to meet your needs.

Committed to Genetic Improvement

S

elect Sires has always been dedicated to providing quality genetics at a fair price. After the December 2015 sire summary, that commitment is more clear than ever. Turn to page 4 to read more about the elite proven and genomic young sires that are part of the lineup, including full brothers 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE and 7HO11419 HEADLINER, pictured below.

Investing in Technology Results in Superior Genetics and Fertility!

by David C. Thorbahn, president and C.E.O. John Beckman, proprietor of the well-known Holstein herd Applenotch Farms, once told me his father’s recommendation: “If your neighbor raises a good crop of alfalfa one year, he may be lucky.

If he raises a good crop two years running, he may know what he is doing. If he does it three years in a row on the same field, you better go ask him how he does it!”

I am sure when John’s dad approached the neighbor to learn more about those great fields of hay, he learned it had to do with seed genetics, seed quality, field preparation, fertilizer and attention to detail.

As you look at the cattle breeding industry, Select Sires has dominated the genetic and fertility evaluations

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for the last several sire summaries in Holsteins. Currently, we have more top 25 proven Holstein bulls for Net Merit or GTPI® than all of our competitors combined! We are also the leader with the greatest selection of top Holstein genomic young sires. Whether it is top 10, 25, 50 or 100 for Net Merit or GTPI, no one compares genetically. Thus, if

you are not using Select Sires Holstein genetics, you are not maximizing the genetic potential of your herd.

Not as widely known, Select Sires also dominates for Sire Conception Rate (SCR). Our average for all active bulls is +1.8 SCR; the highest in the industry! This is about +1.0 greater than the average of our combined competitors. In profit-minded dairy herds, these are real differences!

Back to the field of hay question.

How does Select Sires achieve such a high level of success? First and foremost, our board of directors demands excellence and supports investing in research. Our investment in genomic research in 2004 and 2005 poised Select Sires to be prepared to adopt the new genetic tools developed by USDA in 2009. Under the leadership of Chuck Sattler, vice president of genetic programs, our

sire team aggressively invested in the new tools to select our bulls and developed Aggressive Reproductive Technologies™ (ART™) and StrataGEN®. Select Sires has also aggressively invested in fertility. This area by many is not as appealing, but research to develop novel methods in processing puts value in our customerowner’s pockets. As dairy producers know, a 1 to 2 percent improvement in conception makes a financial impact in operations large or small!

If you’re not using Select Sires, you may want to stop by your neighbor who is to see how our investments in research and technology are providing success. Or better yet, for a beautiful herd of highly productive two-yearolds, contact your local Select Sires professional for the best the industry has to offer because “Your Success is Our Passion!”

Our Dedication to Outstanding Genetics Every employee of Select Sires is committed to helping our customer-owners see the highest level of success and profitability with the products and services we offer. Dedication to the commitment begins with the industry's best sire analysts as they consider each genetic pairing for the best outcome.

Each genetic evaluation gives us the opportunity to reaffirm this commitment to you, whether you are seeking the highest genomic young sires, well-proven industry-leading genetics, the highest sires for Net Merit (NM$) or the most elite sires for type or health traits and feed efficiency.

The December 2015 sire summary demonstrated that once again, all can be found at Select Sires and our customers agree.

“I have been pleased with the genetic package that Select Sires has been able to offer our dairy,” explains Rod Hissong of Mercer Vu Farms where they milk 2,700 cows in Pennsylvania and Virginia. “They offer the best mix of sires that improve components, milk production and health traits at a great value. Their sexed semen lineup includes sires with these traits which allows us to use a great selection of sexed bulls on our young animals that have the greatest genetic potential.”

With seven of the top eight and 13 of the top 20 sires on Holstein Association USA’s Official Top 100 TPI® List, Select Sires is able to offer our customers top-notch genetics.

“When I look at the proven top 100 list, and we have daughters in the milking herd that are sired by five of the top 10, it makes me feel really good,” says Garrett Miller, dairy herd manager at Aurora Ridge Dairy in Aurora, N.Y. “The daughters from bulls at Select Sires that we have used are medium-sized cows with great udders, great feet and legs and solid production. These daughters are very functional and problem-free with great longevity that thrive in our environment. Select Sires has a great selection of the types of bulls that we

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are looking for, at an affordable price. I value the genetics that their team has to offer as well as the services.”

We recognize that elite genetic improvement begins with a pregnancy.

Select’s proven lineup includes 34 sires greater than +2.0 SCR and 11

“

When I look at the proven top 100 list, and we have daughters in the milking herd that are sired by five of the top 10, it makes me feel really good.

”

-Garrett Miller, dairy herd manager, Aurora Ridge Dairy, Aurora, N.Y. greater than +3.0 across all breeds. In addition, 54 Super Samplers™ have a SCR value greater than +2.0.

“After our first full year with Select we were truly impressed with how they delivered the services they said they would provide,” explains Joel Riehlman, the owner of Venture Dairy located in Fabius, N.Y. “Select Sires

PROVEN TPI

has been a true partner in helping us achieve our reproductive goals.”

It is a great honor for us to share the challenge of improving the genetics, productivity and profitability of your dairy. It is a challenge that we do not take lightly and we look forward to working with you to secure your livelihood well into the future. 

Seven of the top eight and 13 of the top 20 sires on Holstein Association USA’s Official Top 100 TPI List call Select Sires home including No. 1 7HO11351 SUPERSIRE (pictured) (+2719), No. 2 7HO11419 HEADLINER (+2568), No. 3 7HO11314 MOGUL (+2540), No. 4 7HO11585 STERLING (+2521), No. 6 7HO11383 MORGAN (+2501), No. 7 7HO11525 DONATELLO (+2496) and No. 8 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN (+2486). SUPERSIRE and HEADLINER are also the top two sires for Combined Fat and Protein at +181 and +145, respectively. SUPERSIRE is the top NM$ sire (+936).

OUR HIGH COMPONENTS TYPE SHOWS

Our high-components breeds sires also excel at total performance. 7JE1149 DIMENSION (+201JPI™), 7JE1184 NEWS (+189 JPI) and 7JE1221 PHAROAH (+175JPI) rank among the breed’s top 10 while 7GU446 NOVAK is Guernsey’s No. 1 sire at +124PTI and 7BS852 BOSEPHUS is the No. 2 active Brown Swiss A.I. sire for GPPR (+148).

7JE1149 DIMENSION

The No. 1 Holstein (7HO10506 G W ATWOOD at +3.78), Ayrshire (7AY84 BURDETTE at +1.8) and Jersey (7JE1038 VALENTINO at +2.1) and the No. 2 Jersey (7JE1169 TOPEKA) at +2.0 and Ayrshire (7AY90 LOCHINVAR at +1.7) active A.I. sires call Select Sires home. Select has six of the top 10 Holstein sires on Canada’s conformation list with 7HO9264 DEMPSEY and 7HO10920 GOLD CHIP holding the top spots at +18, 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN and 7HO10999 BRADNICK at +17, G W ATWOOD (+16) and 7HO11118 BROKAW (+15). BURDETTE is the No. 2 Conformation sire in Canada at +14.

7HO10506 G W ATWOOD

7AY84 BURDETTE

7GU446 NOVAK

7BS852 BOSEPHUS

Left to right: Sunset Canyon Dimension Maid 153-ET (VG-85), Rapid Bay Jerseys, Ormstown, Quebec; Marodore Novak Mary (VG-82-VG-83-MS), Marodore Farm, Baltimore, Ohio and Hilltop Acres Bose Dixiland ET, Dennis Mashek, Calmar, Iowa

CANADIAN LEADERS 250HO1009 BREWMASTER (+3199) is Canada’s No. 1 sire for LPI, Pro$ (+2330) and Fat (+135) and is followed on the LPI list by No. 2 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN (+3185).

7JE1150 DIGNITARY maintained his position as the leading LPI (+1904) and Pro$ (+1577) Jersey sire.

250HO1009 BREWMASTER

7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN

Left: Lindenright Brewmaster Define (VG-87-VG-MS), Ferme Valepierre Inc, St. Valerien, Quebec; bottom left to right: Sandy-Valley Mcc Gem-ET (GP-84), Danae and Ethan Bauer, Scandinavia, Wis and Kutz Dignitary 2001 (VG-85%), Bohnert Jerseys, East Moline, Ill. 7JE1150 DIGNITARY

GENOMIC YOUNG SIRES Holstein USA’s Top 200 TPI Genomic Young Bulls list features five Select sires among the top 10 with Super Samplers™ 507HO12600 MODESTY (pictured) (+2854 GTPI) and 507HO13250 JEDI (+2787 GTPI) sitting in the top two spots and 7HO13264 ALLTIME (+2731), 7HO12721 EXACTLY (+2726) and 7HO12601 FRANCHISE (+2715) in the top 10.

7JE1038 VALENTINO

Top to bottom: Lewisdale Eastside Atw Amaze (VG-87-VG-MS), 1st milking yearling, Royal Winter Fair, 2015, JM Valley Holstein and Diamond Hill Farms, Amqui, Quebec; Mowry's Burdette Summer (EX-92), 1st 4-year-old, World Dairy Expo, 2015, Jordan Helsley, Roaring Springs, Pa. and Ahlem Valentino Bess 39705 (E-91%), River Valley Farm, Tremont, Ill.

Han Hopman photo, reversed.

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Select Sires – Growing to Serve Your Needs “In the past few years we have witnessed some of the most dynamic growth in the history of Select Sires.

Previous investments together with the continued adoption of new, industry-leading technologies have helped set the stage,” states Myron Czech, Select Sires board chairman.

“Domestic and international demand for Select Sires semen has continued to increase based on dairymen’s desire for superior genetics, better conception rates, greater value and more diverse affordability,” adds Select Sires Board First Vice Chairman Dan Andreas. This unprecedented growth and demand for Select Sires’ genetics is fueled by a proven lineup of sires that have dominated the charts in their respective breeds, as well as elite genomic young sires of diverse pedigrees to meet every customer’s genetic desire.

“The introduction of genomics has also been a driver which requires additional bull stall spaces, improved and additional collection areas, plus a revamping of the shipping and handling areas to meet semen demands today and in the future. Select Sires board of directors recognized these factors and voted to invest additional member’s money to expand and modernize needed facilities,” says Andreas.

The new facilities which will accommodate current and future growth will consist of two state-of-the-art barns to be constructed at the Hoyt Program for Genetic Advancement™ (PGA™) Center to house five- to eight-month-old bulls entering Select Sires’ facilities. This will grow the capacity of Select Sires’ admittance and quarantine facilities by 50 percent.

“Our veterinarians and production teams have worked

with researchers from across the country to design the barns for the highest air quality and to maximize the growth of these young bulls,” stated David Thorbahn, president and chief executive officer. “These new barns will provide more individual pens for personalized attention for the new arrivals. Our ultimate goal is to provide the best possible care of these bulls provided by top-quality breeders.”

The new admittance and quarantine facilities will uphold Select Sires’ strict biosecurity standards to maintain global semen availability.

“These new facilities provide flexibility for our veterinary department to manage multiple all-in/all-out intervals for enhanced biosecurity,” explains Dr. Don Monke, vice president of production operations. “In addition to allowing management flexibility, these buildings will provide comfort and individual housing for genomically superior bulls at a young age which could lead to improved future performance.”

“Continued research, growth, development and investment from Select Sires demonstrates our commitment to creating a highquality product for our customerowners, stated Thorbahn. “With our latest expansion, Select Sires will gain flexibility and efficiency in our goal of earlier release on our most exclusive bulls. This will grant our customer-owners more timely access to elite genetics.”

Members of the Select Sires Inc. board of directors and Select Sires Inc. staff broke ground on the new facilities in September. They are (left to right) Board Members Dick Piechowski, Mark VanMersbergen and Duane Koester, Chief Development Officer Todd Kranz, Chairman of Board of Directors Myron Czech, First Vice-Chairman of Board of Directors Dan Andreas, President and CEO David Thorbahn, Vice President of Production Operations Dr. Don Monke, Supervisor of Hoyt PGA Center Larry Ropp, Maintenance Supervisor Bill DeLong and Board Member Mike Heckaman.

The construction on both barns is well underway. When finished the barns will grow capacity of the Select Sires' admittance and quarantine facilities by 50 percent.

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Ammon-Peachey Shauna-ET (EX-90-GMD-DOM) emerged as one of 7HO8081 Ensenada Taboo PLANET-ET (EX-90-GM)’s finest daughters as a twoyear-old. Now, at almost seven-years-old, she has established herself as a premier brood cow.

Shauna’s story begins in 2008 when Greg Andersen purchased a first choice PLANET from Pine-Tree Martha Sheen (VG-86-DOM) at the Eastern Elite Sale.

“Back in 2008 I had some interest in the Rudy Missy cow family because of their great production and fitness traits,” explains Greg, who operates Seagull Bay Dairy with his father, Alan, near American Falls, Idaho. “I was especially interested in the PLANET choice from Pine-Tree Martha Sheen because a PLANET x Shottle x O MAN mating made a lot of sense to me.”

Shauna debuted as the No. 4 heifer in the breed in August 2009 and remained highly ranked in 2010. She was initially contracted to Freddie

by Select Sires which resulted in 7HO11418 Seagull-Bay SHAW-ET who has always ranked well in Canada and is now the leading Milk and the No. 2 Pro$ sire north of the border.

Next, Shauna was mated to 7HO10524 Roylane Socra ROBUSTET (VG-88-GM) which resulted in full brothers 7HO11351 Seagull-Bay SUPERSIRE-ET (VG-88-GM) and 7HO11419 Seagull-Bay HEADLINERET (VG-87-GM) which are now the No. 1 and 2 GTPI® sires at +2719 and +2568, respectively. A contract to Snowman brought current siresin-waiting, 7HO11617 Seagull-Bay DIAMOND-ETS (VG-88) and 7HO11618 Seagull-Bay PLATINUM-ETS (VG-88), to Select Sires.

Production and Protein Shauna and her descendants have become known for outstanding production and protein yield, as well as traits that make ideal commercial cows.

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“This family consistently transmits high milk and protein production,” said Mark Kerndt, Select Sires Inc. sire analyst. “Shauna has 12 sons in A.I. over 53 pounds of Protein and 13 sons over 1,500 pounds of Milk. They also transmit moderate size with above average rear udder height and width.”

“Shauna and her offspring excel in the production traits,” explains Greg. “Shauna‘s two-year-old record was impressive with over 1,400 pounds of Fat and 35,000 pounds of Milk on a mostly two times-a-day record. Shauna‘s daughters in our herd have been at the very top of their peer groups for production of Fat and Protein pounds. Shauna's offspring also have solid health traits to complement their high production. They carry adequate condition and possess enough dairy strength to produce well and also breed back and stay in the herd. In short —Shauna‘s offspring have the traits most important for profitability.”

The daughters of Shauna sons also stick out in the herd.

“Perhaps even more impressive is what the group of SUPERSIRE daughters are doing in our herd — as a group they are 116 percent Relative Value,” says Greg.

2015 — A big year Shauna had an exciting year in 2015. Not only did her first sons receive exceptional daughter proofs, she calved in August for the second time, classified Excellent and was named Holstein International’s Global Cow of the Year.

“Shauna has been milking since August on her second lactation and is

The Pedigree

Shauna—Brood Cow Extraordinaire Ammon-Peachey ShaunaET (EX-90-GMD-DOM) sired by 7HO8081 PLANET

Dam: Pine-Tree Martha Sheen-ET (VG-86-DOM) sired by Shottle

2nd Dam: Pine-Tree Missy Martha-ET (VG-86-GMD-DOM) sired by 7HO6417 O MAN 3rd Dam: Wesswood-Hc Rudy Missy-ET (EX-92-3EEX-MS-GMD-DOM) sired by Rudolph

4th Dam: Wesswood Elton Mimi (EX-90-EX-MS-GMD-DOM) sired by 7HO2236 ELTON 5th Dam: Wesswood Mandingo Ivy (VG-87) sired by 7HO1236 MANDINGO a beautiful cow that is a pleasure to work with,” says Greg. “She’s producing 120 pounds per day of 3.9% Fat and 3.2% Protein milk with a five Somatic Cell Count. We are doing some IVF work with her to get more daughters as we love the look and performance of her daughters in our herd.”

Select Sires is also excited about the female descendants of Shauna. One of the industry’s highest homozygous polled sires, 7HO12814 SeagullBay TRUE PP-ET is slated for a summer release. He is a grandson of SUPERSIRE’s full sister.

“At +1,191 Milk and +48 Protein with low Calving Ease potential and

Somatic Cell Score and good Feet and Leg Composite, he is the bull for the modern commercial dairy producer,” says Kerndt. “A bonus is that he will knock off 100 percent of horns with genetics.”

“2015 was a big year for Shauna,” says Greg. “Perhaps the biggest accomplishment has been having her two sons as No. 1 and No. 2 proven sires of the breed. It is very satisfying to see sires from our cow perform so well and be admired by dairy producers worldwide. As a close second, it was very rewarding to have Shauna named Global Cow of the Year. This is a very prestigious and well deserved title.”

Milk

Fat

Pro.

Rel. %

PL

Rel. %

NM$

Stature

95 +0.67

Rel. %

GTPI

速

7HO11351 Supersire

+2,359 +110 +71 99 +7.0

7HO11419 Headliner

+1,928 +81 +64 98 +4.7 85 +703 94 +1.48 96 +2568

7HO11585 Sterling

+1,989 +59 +61 98 +6.3 84 +700 93 +0.95 94 +2521

7HO11525 Donatello

+1,223 +75 +50 95 +6.7 84 +750 91 +0.65 91 +2496

7HO11524 Dante

+1,545 +70 +52 93 +7.4 83 +737 89 -1.46 90 +2422

7HO11523 Smokin Jo New

86 +936

Rel. %

98 +2719

+767 +76 +36 94 +7.3 82 +714 89 -1.05 90 +2416

7HO11749 Courageous New +1,294 +59 +45 92 +7.0 82 +670 88 +0.55 85 +2392 7HO11373 Biggio New

+865 +67 +47 93 +5.8 83 +651 88 +0.32 90 +2351

7HO11724 Shandro New

+643 +64 +32 92 +7.4 83 +648 88 -0.63 88 +2319 All bulls listed qualify for export to Canada. USDA-CDCB/HA Genomic Evaluation 12/15. 速 GTPI is a registered trademark of Holstein Association USA.

Select Sires is proud to offer this powerful lineup of Robust x Planet sons. These sires transmit high milk yield, superior components and elite Productive Life. Their daughters are the ideal stature for the freestall-friendly kind, making a more profitable cow for your herd. Add these sires to your herd today and see the results for yourself!

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Customers Share CowManager Experience

by Lyle Kruse, vice president U.S. market development In October of 2014, Select Sires began marketing the CowManager® system developed by Agis Automatisering, a very innovative ear tag device that monitors activity, rumination, feeding behavior and ear surface temperature.

CowManager has since been installed in 300 dairy and beef operations across the U.S. and Canada. The value this system has provided to its owners has become one of the enjoyable things we get to see. In my position with Select Sires, I have the opportunity to visit with many dairy owners and managers in the U.S. including the following that have recently added CowManager to their operations.

Brookside Dairy, Clitherall, Minn.

“Our purchase of the CowManager system was the best money we have ever spent,” said Ken Herbranson, the owner of Brookside Dairy. The dairy milks about 450 cows and installed CowManager in early April 2015. During my visit, Herbranson said that he really likes the 24 houra-day/seven day-a-week surveillance CowManager provides and how the system helps make his employees more efficient and effective. Chris Olson, herd manager, likes the health alerts which helps focus his time properly on which cows need

attention. “The CowManager system really helps me prioritize my time,” Olson said. He starts out each day by retrieving the sick cow list and going over the health alerts.

Duane Spielman, also a herd manager, said he “loves the breeding alerts” and credits the system for cutting down significantly on the use of hormone shots. Looking through the Brookside Dairy Comp 305 records confirms Duane’s comments as the 21-day Pregnancy Rate for Brookside is now at 27 percent, which is 7 percent higher than prior to installing CowManager.

Woodcrest Dairy LLC, Lisbon, N.Y. Dr. Robert Cruikshank and Peter Braun own Woodcrest, with Brian Cruikshank, Scott Skeels and Chad Ashley involved in overseeing the day-to-day operations for breeding and herd health. CowManager was installed at Woodcrest Dairy in June of 2015.

With 3,000 milking cows on multiple operations, Dr. Cruikshank values the ability of the CowManager

system to help his team prioritize their valuable time and determine which cows need attention with the aid of the breeding or health alerts provided by the system. He is very impressed with the health alerts and uses the list to look over each cow on the lists each morning.

“For Woodcrest, CowManager has already saved numerous cows from being lost or having a longer recovery time," says Dr. Cruikshank. "It has been especially effective for helping us in early detection of cows with displaced abomasums, which has greatly reduced their recovery time.

The breeding alerts provided by the CowManager system have helped to raise our pregnancy rate.”

Five Mile Farm, Lisbon, N.Y. Mark and Ryan Akins milk 300 cows and purchased CowManager in July 2015. Prior to having access to CowManager alerts for breeding, they used natural service for breeding so CowManager was the start of several management changes at the dairy. Currently with the aid of CowManager, the only natural service at Five Mile Farm is in the clean-up heifer pen and their pregnancy rates have continuously improved. Mark and Ryan perform the majority of the herd management duties and as Mark

states, “the CowManager system has become our herdsman. This system is everything it was represented to be and more.”

“The health alerts provided by CowManager have definitely lowered our death losses,” says Ryan. Mark and Ryan also commented that their A.I. technicians have come to rely on the system for heat detection.

Whey Street Dairy, Truxton, N.Y. With 550 cows to oversee, Joe Baldwin, the herd manager at Whey Street Dairy likes how CowManager has helped them identify cows in heat or with health issues.

“The health alerts are normally one day ahead of when I would have found these cows with issues prior to having the CowManager system,” Baldwin concludes. CowManager has assisted Baldwin with finding cows in heat and their palpation rate at pregnancy checks has improved enough that they decided to drop their pre-pregnancy check GnRH injection.

The owner of Whey Street Dairy, Marty Young, said that they made the investment in the CowManager system to have “a manager like Joe on the job 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.” Left: Select Sire Power‘s Bill Flick and Ryan and Mark Akins (left to right) at Five Mile Farm where CowManager was installed in July 2015.

Below: Marty Young, Select Sire Power‘s Kevin Ziemba, Joe Baldwin, Select Sire Power‘s Nancy Holmes and Phoebe Young at Whey Street Dairy use CowManager to help identify cows in heat or with health issues.

Top: Ken Herbranson and Chris Olson of Brookside Dairy installed CowManager in April 2015.

Right: Scott Skeels is part of the team at Woodcrest Dairy where they use the CowManager system to prioritize their time.

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Strong Genetic Interest Led Ziemba to Select Sires Growing up, Kevin Ziemba always had a strong interest in genetics which serves him well in his current position as a genetic and reproductive advisor with Select Sire Power in the northeastern United States.

“I was raised working with cows on our family‘s 75-cow registered Holstein farm where genetics and breeding were of the utmost priority,” explained Ziemba. “I started mating my own animals by age 10 and was responsible for the breeding program for the herd by 15. From the age of 10 I would take bull books and create lists of all the available sires and ranking traits I thought were important.”

That interest in genetics and the dairy industry led him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Cornell University followed by a master’s degree from Cornell in animal genetics. While at Cornell he managed their MOET program, Advanced Dairy Genetics (ADG), where he became familiar with young sire development and sexed semen. ADG was a cooperative of 11 large dairies which gave him an understanding of cooperative structures and experience working with dairy herd managers on a dayto-day basis.

Although he considered farming

full time after graduation, the A.I. industry had always interested him and when Select Sire Power contacted him in May 2003 about a position, he took the opportunity to become a dairy coordinator.

“My family was very pro-Select Sires and we had put a few bulls into A.I. through Select Sires,” said Ziemba. “I had always thought if I ever had my choice of any A.I. company, I would love to work at Select Sires.”

In June 2004 Ziemba took over as northeast regional manager and in 2013 he moved into his current role as genetic and reproductive advisor where he works with key accounts and sales teams throughout Select Sire Power’s area.

Being a problem solver “There is not a typical day in my job,” said Ziemba. “Everything is situational. I can receive a call, email or text at any point during the day redirecting my attention to any number of needs from our sales team or customers. Some may

Ziemba (second from left) spends most of his time working with customer-owners and fellow Select Sire Power employees.

Kevin Ziemba: Genetic and Reproductive Advisor Family: Ziemba and his wife, Barb, and son,

Mason, reside in Durhamville, N.Y. and market Holsteins and Jerseys under the ZBW prefix. They have owned or bred 12 All-American nominations and currently have four young sires at Select Sires.

Agricultural Background: Ziemba grew up on a 75-cow registered Holstein farm where he played a large role in mating the herd. He received bachelor‘s and master‘s degrees from Cornell University and worked with their MOET program, Advanced Dairy Genetics.

Daily Responsibilities: He spends his time problem solving as well as working with CowManager systems, reproductive and genetic consulting, team meetings, customer meetings, creating business proposals for customers and employee training. be quick fixes, some may require research and others may require a herd visit. Most of my work includes CowManager® sales, reproductive and genetic consulting, team meetings, customer meetings, creating business proposals for customers and employee training.”

Most often Ziemba is a problem solver dealing with challenges and doing his best to create a positive outcome. Seeing results is a true measure of success for him.

“Results can be defined in many ways; increased sales, getting that new account, seeing a technician or sales manager succeed, but I truly associate results first at the farm,” explains Ziemba. “When you get that text message saying ‘thanks for the meeting yesterday that really helped our employees’, the email stating that the herd you visited with last month increased their palpation pregnancy rate to 70 percent based on some changes you advised, or you make some mating decisions for a farm that leads them to having a bull enter the sire program at Select Sires it is a great feeling.”

Ziemba believes the people at Select Sires set themselves apart.

“We have the best people on our

team throughout North America and the world,” said Ziemba. “These people, whether they are one of our local technicians or one of our key leaders in Ohio are all family.

We have the greatest collection of personnel to provide resources and give excellent advice. We provide this group of people continual training and education to stay current about the needs of our potential customers. If we don’t have the answer to a question we can find the answer, or better yet, bring you the person who may have that answer.”

Ziemba and his wife Barb and son Mason are also involved in the dairy industry by marketing Holsteins and Jerseys under the ZBW prefix. ZiemBarbWay has owned or bred 12 All-American nominations and numerous state show winners. They currently have four young sires at Select Sires including Super Sampler™ 7HO12175 ZBW-JD Mc WONKA-ET. Ziemba has coached the Cornell University dairy judging team for the past four years. The team has placed in the top five at World Dairy Expo the past three years and was the high team at the 2015 Eastern States Exposition.

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Crossbreeding with Success at New Heights Select Sires provides numerous strategies for breeding profitable cows, including crossbreeding.

Brent Czech, New Heights Dairy near Rice, Minn., is one of several Select Sires customer-owners who have noticed lower stillbirths, higher reproductive efficiency and other benefits with his crossbred cows.

Czech began New Heights Dairy in 2006 after graduating from the University of Minnesota. While in college, he completed internships with Minnesota/Select Sires Co-op Inc. and with a dairy in California to gain on-farm experience. The farm is owned in a 50-50 partnership with his parents and currently has almost 1,400 milking and dry cows that are milked three times a day at two separate facilities.

The production level is typically in the mid-80 pound range with 4.0 percent Fat and 3.2 percent Protein. The herd is currently 33 percent crossbred with the balance (67 percent) Holstein cows and is moving toward all crossbred.

Czech originally began crossbreeding shortly after beginning the dairy by breeding purebred Holsteins to Swedish Red semen then using Montbeliarde on the next generation.

“After we began crossbreeding we noticed that our Holstein cows were settling very well to semen from other breeds. We then added Jersey to the rotation because the semen was cheaper for problem breeder cows,” says

Czech. “We started calving them in and we really liked them and they performed well. These Jersey crosses had the kind of features we wanted in our herd.”

He now uses Jersey sires on all purebred Holsteins. Jersey/Holstein cross animals are bred to Montbeliarde and the resulting calf is then crossed back to a Holstein sire.

No matter the rotation, Czech is adamant that the key is choosing the best genetics from each breed.

“A good Holstein base, made by selecting high-quality Holstein genetics, is critical for crossbreeding to be a success,” explains Czech. “When choosing Holstein sires I choose the very best although I don’t pay attention to health traits as much because I am achieving progress in those traits through hybrid vigor. You also have to use the best genetics available from each breed in the crossbreeding rotation after that.”

For example, Czech is using 7HO11525 OCD Robust DONATELLO-ET (GM) and 7HO11314 Mountfield SSI Dcy MOGUL-ET (EX-91-GM) on his current

three-way crosses. In general, he focuses on using the best udder sires available in all breeds in the rotation, paying special attention to udder depth.

Czech’s initial criteria when selecting for Jersey sires is Jersey Udder Index™ (JUI™) which has led to using sires like 7JE1038 All Lynns Louie VALENTINO-ET, 7JE590 Forest Glen Avery ACTION-ET and 7JE1000 Richies Jace TBONE A364.

When choosing Montbeliarde sires, he heavily considers calving ease which has led to virtually no issues with calving Montbeliarde-cross calves from cows or heifers. Once he narrows down sires by initial conditions he chooses the best sires within the group based on pounds of Fat and Protein.

Crunching numbers Currently the crossbred cows have a 31 percent pregnancy rate, while the purebred Holsteins are running a 23 percent pregnancy rate.

"We measure dollars of product produced per day and the crossbreds consistently have the advantage," explains Czech.

Czech is seeing the following benefits in the crossbred cows: • Very low stillbirth (4 percent or less) • Significantly better reproductive efficiency • Average 10 fewer days open • Higher energy corrected milk than straight Holsteins (95 pounds for crossbreds and 89 pounds for purebred Holsteins) • About 100,000 lower SCC

average “My favorite cross right now is the Holstein/Jersey/Montbeliarde three-way,” explains Czech. "This cross combines the high production of Holsteins, the high components and reproduction advantages of the Jersey breed and the reproduction of Montbeliardes. Purebred Montbeliardes can't compete on their own from a production standpoint, but when you put the three together you get a well-rounded animal. Currently these first lactation cows have a 71 percent conception rate. We understand that is very high and we keep monitoring because it is hard to believe, but that is what the numbers are. Even if you don’t look at any of the health data, these crosses beat pure Holsteins by producing more dollars of product produced per day.”

The Holstein/Jersey/Montbeliarde crosses are Czech's current favorites because they are well-rounded.

Crossbred Comparison from New Heights Dairy

The crossbred herd at New Heights Dairy is very consistent. “They are all peas in a pod,” says Czech.

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Milk %Fat %Protein Energy Corrected Milk SCC Days Open

Holstein Cows 89 pounds 4.0 3.2 89 pounds 283,000 115

Crossbred Cows 84 pounds 4.3 3.4 95 pounds 180,000 104

BULLetin Board Select-sired animals earn AllAmerican nominations Twenty-seven Holstein All-American nominations are sired by Select sires including daughters of current lineup sires 7HO10506 G W ATWOOD, 7HO11703 ARMANI, 7HO12042 CORVETTE, 7HO10920 GOLD CHIP, 7HO9264 DEMPSEY, 7HO10999 BRADNICK and 7HO8190 SANCHEZ. Select-sired animals captured 29 Red and White All-American nominations, the most of any A.I. organization. Daughters of current lineup sires 7HO11163 LADD P-RED, ARMANI and 7HO11596 DEFIANT all received nominations.

7BS849 THUNDER, 7BS826 AUGUST and 7BS863 SEAMAN were among the sires of Brown Swiss All-American nominations.

7GU438 LEVI, 7GU446 NOVAK and 7GU398 ALSTAR sired All-American nominations in the Guernsey breed while 7MS353 PREMIUM and 7MS356 PATRIOT daughters were nominated in the Milking Shorthorn breed.

Jacobs Gold Liann (VG-87-VG-MS) (GOLD CHIP) Nominated All-American jr. 2-year-old, 2015 Ferme Jacobs Inc, Cap Sante, Quebec

Co-Vale Dempsy Dina 4270-ET (EX-92) (DEMPSEY) Nominated All-American sr. 2-year-old, 2015 Ransom Rail, R. Landis and O. Gold, Perry, N.Y.

Dinomi G-Chip May 9609 (VG-89) (GOLD CHIP) Nominated All-American sr. 2-year-old, 2015 Gilbert Teixeira and Nate Goldenberg, Turlock, Calif.

Miss Hot Mama-Red-ET (VG-88) (ARMANI) Nom. All-American Red and White milking yrlg, 2015 M. and T. Smith, Majestic View, E. Kueffner and Crailoo, Watertown, Wis.

Siemers Defnt Great-Red-ET (DEFIANT) Nom. All-American Red and White winter yrlg, 2015 C., J., J., J., C.and L. Siemers, Newton, Wis.

Red Brae Spa Seaman Diamond (SEAMAN) Nominated All-American winter calf Calli Storms, Muscoda, Wis.

Siemers C-Vet Haya-Brite-ET (CORVETTE) Nominated All-American fall calf, 2015 Crystal, Jordan, Josh, Jake, Connor and Lauren Siemers, Newton, Wis.

Ocd Bradnick Candy-ET (VG-89) (BRADNICK) Nominated All-American sr. 2-year-old, 2015 Eaton, Cates, Janssen, Wesemann and Lundy, Marietta, N.Y.

Cutting Edge T Delilah "VG89 E90MS" (THUNDER) Nominated All-American sr. 2-year-old, 2015 Kyle Barton, Ancramdale, N.Y.

Cavanaleck Dempsey Bozica (VG-89-EX-MS) (DEMPSEY) Nominated All-American sr. 3-year-old, 2015 Pierstein and Sicy, Montmagny, Quebec

Walnut Ridge Novak Slayer (NOVAK) Nominated All-American winter yearling, 2015 Russel Alden, Danville, Ohio

Duckett G Chip Tokyo-ET (VG-87) (GOLD CHIP) Nominated All-American milking yearling, 2015 Mike and Julie Duckett, Rudolph, Wis.

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Prairie Moon L Anala-ET (LEVI) Nominated All-American spring calf, 2015 Landon and Leslie Sivesind, Waukon, Iowa

Hardcore Premium Fire Maid-EXP (PREMIUM) Nominated All-American fall yearling, 2015 Peter Vail and Hillpoint Partners, Copake, N.Y.

Lazy M Patriot Jasmine-ET (PATRIOT) Nominated All-American winter calf, 2015 Michael and Herman Maier, Stitzer, Wis.

2016 Swiss Expo Results At the recent Swiss Expo G W ATWOOD daughter, Galys Vray was named grand and supreme champion! 7HO11477 MCCUTCHEN daughter, Al.Ce Mcc Abygail was named honorable mention junior champion while DH Gold Chip Darling (7HO10920 GOLD CHIP) was honorable mention grand champion.

In the Jersey show, 7JE1038 VALENTINO daughter, Al.Ce J. Vale Blossom ET, won her class at the Swiss Expo and was named honorable mention junior champion.

250HO12589 JACOBY dam has new score and new photo Bryersquart Gchip Jail-P-ET, a GOLD CHIP daughter and the dam of GenerVations sire JACOBY, was recently raised to Excellent (90) in score and took this new photo!

Galys-Vray (VG-88) Mark and Erhard Junker, Thomas Staub, Al. Be. Ro., Piacenza, Italy

Junior Bulle Expo National Holstein Show Results At the Junior Bulle Expo in December in Switzerland class winners included daughters of G W ATWOOD, GOLD CHIP, DEFIANT and 7HO11118 BROKAW.

Winter Fair. Co-Vale Dempsy Dina 4270 was named intermediate champion (pictured on previous page). Other class winners included daughters of G W ATWOOD, Riverdown Atwood Jiggalea (spring calf) and Lewisdale Eastside Atw Amaze (milking yearling). G W ATWOOD was named the premier sire of the heifer show.

Bryersquart Gchip Jail-P-ET (EX-90-EX-MS)

Royal Winter Fair Results Select-sired animals had an outstanding day at the 2015 Royal

Riverdown Atwood Jiggalea 1st spring calf, Royal Winter Fair, 2015 Riverdown Holsteins, Metcalfe, Ontario

Lewisdale Eastside Atw Amaze (VG-87-VG-MS) 1st milking yearling, Royal Winter Fair, 2015 JM Valley Holsteins and Diamond Hill, Amqui, Quebec

International Dairy Week Premier Sire Awards At International Dairy Week in Australia 7AY84 BURDETTE, 7GU395 AARON and 7BS750 DYNASTY earned Premier Sire awards in their respective breed shows.

Ruchtis Brokaw Cremona 1st intermediate 2-yr.-old, Junior Bulle Expo, 2015 Peter and Martin Ruchti, Niedermuhlern, Switzerland

First choice MODESTY brings top dollar At the Holiday Harvest Sale in Michigan the top seller was a first choice 507HO12600 MODESTY from 7HO12008 HALOGEN daughter, ViewHome Uno Hope. The choice sold for $31,000.

G W ATWOOD had most winners this show season According to Holstein Association USA's pedigree analysis of national show winners, G W ATWOOD led the way with the most show winners in 2015. Other sires that made the list include BROKAW, ARMANI, MCCUTCHEN, GOLD CHIP, DEMPSEY and SANCHEZ.

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