Herdlife Builder™: A Practical Approach to Breeding for Longevity
In a perfect world cows produce at high levels, produce valuable calves regularly and live long,
productive lives. In the "real" world, we know that often cows don’t stay in the herd as long as
people would like. And that can affect a herd’s profitability significantly.
So, what is it that can help cows last longer? Dr. Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin-
Madison, conducted a study evaluating Holsteins that calved for the first time between
1992 and 1996. When looking for type traits that were highly correlated with longevity,
he found that all udder traits as well as "rear legs, rear view" had a linear relationship
with productive life. For example, cows with high fore-udder scores lasted more than a
year longer than their low-scoring counterparts, and a similar pattern was seen for
suspensory ligament. The relationship was even more pronounced for udder depth,
with cows that scored 40 lasting from 12 to 18 months longer than cows scoring 10 on
Holstein Association USA’s 50-point linear scale.
This is consistent with findings published by Holstein Association USA, which
concluded that type conformation is an important factor in long-lived cows. Its research
has shown that among all linear traits, udder depth and fore-udder attachment are the
two most important traits for explaining longevity. In addition, bulls that sire cows that
last also sire cows with better feet and legs.
In addition, the Association conducted a study on herdlife, which identified six
important linear udder traits and their contribution to increased longevity in Holsteins
(see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Udder traits that help increase longevity.
Holstein Association USA has developed the Udder Composite Index (UDC), using individual traits derived from the results of a research study on herdlife. This study shows the following weights accurately reflect each udder trait's contribution to increased longevity.
|
| Udder depth |
.30 |
| Fore udder attachment |
.16 |
| Front teat placement |
.16 |
| Rear udder height |
.16 |
| Rear udder width |
.12 |
| Udder cleft |
.10 |
It also has identified that selecting for superior mobility, steeper foot angle, wider rear-
leg stance with little or no "hock in," and slightly straight rear legs (side view) results in
longer-living offspring. Based on research, these traits have been combined into a
single feet-and-legs composite (FLC) value for the convenience of producers.
Collectively this research supports what producers know: a long, productive life begins
with well-attached udders, and correct feet and legs.
Identifying Bulls With Type that Leads to Longevity
To keep this research current, geneticists at Select Sires recently looked at Predicted
Transmitting Ability (PTA) data for all Holstein sires born since 1985, focusing on type
traits and how they correlate with longevity. Three key type traits continue to show
strong correlations with Productive Life (PL); udder composite, feet and legs composite
and dairy form. They found the numerical points at which these traits began to help
improve longevity. Type traits can serve as a useful predictor of longevity because the
transmitting abilities for type traits have reasonably high reliability early on in a sire’s AI
career as opposed to PTA’s for PL which don’t reach high reliability until a sire is very old.
The geneticists have translated this research into a practical, convenient way to
identify bulls that are best able to sire the combination of type traits that lead to
longevity in a breeding tool called "Herdlife Builders." This designation:
- Includes only the top 50 percent of active-A.I. sires for udder composite, which incorporates all six linear udder traits;
- Includes only the top 50 percent of active-A.I. sires for feet-and-legs composite, which includes all four linear traits evaluating feet and legs; and
- Excludes the highest 20 percent of active-A.I. sires for dairy form, which has a negative correlation to longevity.
- Includes only sires with daughter data indicating above average PL. For those bulls with no or limited daughter information for PL, bulls are required to have Parent Average values for PL of 0 or higher.
The requirement for Herdlife Builders to have above average daughter performance for
PL is a revision added in February 2007. This provides added assurance that Herdlife
Builders not only offer a balance of important type traits but the performance of their
daughters back this up. This added qualification makes Herdlife Builders an even more
accurate indicator of improved longevity.
Herdlife Builders Stand the Test of Time
To illustrate the advantage of Herdlife Builders, geneticists at Select Sires took the
current criteria and applied it to the November 2002 national lineup. A comparison was
made of their genetic evaluations at that time as well as their most current evaluations,
now at much higher reliability. This table shows that Herdlife Builders deliver
improvement for type traits as well as improved PL.
| |
November 2002 |
November 2006 |
| |
UDC |
FLC |
PL |
UDC |
FLC |
PL |
| Herdlife Builders |
1.78 |
1.59 |
1.3 |
1.10 |
0.85 |
1.1 |
| Others |
1.21 |
0.88 |
0.6 |
0.58 |
0.43 |
0.2 |
| Difference |
+0.57 |
+0.71 |
+0.7 |
+0.52 |
+0.42C |
+0.9 |
| The genetic base for these evaluations was updated between November 2002 and November 2006. |
Choosing the Best Herdlife Builders for Your Herd
Recognizing that different operating environments call for different management and breeding
strategies, we understand that you need to know more about Herdlife Builders to find the ones that
are right for your dairy. That’s why you’ll find details about Select’s Herdlife Builders below.
Your professional Select Mating Service™ evaluator and sales representative can work with you to
identify sires that will fit best in your program.
Backed by research and designed for use in the real world, Herdlife Builders can add longevity and
profitability to your herd.
For Long-Term Profitability
When long-term profitability is important, trust Select Sires to offer a wide variety of genetic
choices with 31 Herdlife Builders. These sires are identified based on type traits proven to improve
longevity, and can improve production and management traits to increase profitability, lactation
after lactation.
Select Sires Herdlife Builders – April 2008
Place your mouse over the symbols to view designations.
| Name |
Milk |
NM$ |
PTAT |
UDC |
FLC |
7HO5708 BLITZ
*TV TL
 |
2232 |
118 |
2.32 |
1.59 |
1.17 |
|
7HO6759 MORGAN
*TV TL
|
641 |
364 |
1.37 |
1.29 |
1.06 |
|
7HO7020 FORTUNE
*TV TL
|
-398 |
210 |
3.28 |
2.16 |
2.04 |
|
7HO7173 ROLEX
*TR TV TL TD
|
867 |
365 |
1.27 |
1.11 |
1.43 |
|
7HO7287 JINX
*TR CV TL TD
|
520 |
444 |
1.20 |
1.39 |
1.72 |
|
7HO7334 ARTIC
*TR TV TL TD
|
1402 |
228 |
2.21 |
1.35 |
1.35 |
|
7HO7428 BOMAZ
*TR TV TL TD
|
724 |
331 |
2.08 |
1.93 |
1.63 |
|
7HO7463 PONTIAC
*TR TV TL TD
|
890 |
356 |
2.40 |
2.56 |
2.27 |
7HO7466 MOSCOW
*TV TL  |
1751 |
459 |
2.09 |
1.86 |
1.6 |
|
7HO7514 RE DESIGN
*TR TV TL TD |
643 |
226 |
2.91 |
1.57 |
1.7 |
|
507HO7642 MITCH
*TR TV TL TD
|
1358 |
154 |
2.36 |
2.31 |
2.07 |
| 7HO7650 JACKSON
*TR TV TL TD |
911 |
261 |
2.54 |
1.80 |
2.38 |
|
7HO7676 LEWIS
*TR TV TL TD
|
342 |
112 |
2.50 |
1.65 |
1.20 |
|
7HO7735 CADET
*TR TV TL TD
|
1257 |
307 |
2.38 |
2.18 |
0.98 |
|
7HO7839 PLUS
*TR TV TL TD
|
1294 |
417 |
2.08 |
1.75 |
2.37 |
|
7HO7853 MICHAEL
*TR TV TL TD |
273 |
492 |
2.01 |
1.80 |
1.48 |
|
7HO7858 GRAND
*TR TV TL TD |
1537 |
212 |
2.59 |
1.64 |
2.80 |
|
7HO7872 ADVENT-RED
*TV TL TD |
-954 |
63 |
3.46 |
2.61 |
1.50 |
|
7HO8039 APACHE
*TR TV TL TD |
955 |
241 |
2.65 |
1.73 |
1.95 |
507HO8094 SCOTTIE
*TV TL TD
 |
1105 |
242 |
1.92 |
1.65 |
2.26 |
|
7HO8163 TEMPTATION
*TR TV TL TD
|
1451 |
374 |
2.66 |
2.01 |
1.11 |
|
7HO8175 PRONTO
*TR TV TL TD |
849 |
344 |
2.99 |
1.66 |
1.79 |
|
7HO8223 LAWN BOY P-RED
*PC TV TL TD
|
297 |
305 |
2.08 |
2.07 |
1.08 |
|
7HO8227 LOGAN IRON
*TV TL TD
|
117 |
367 |
2.38 |
1.97 |
1.81 |
|
7HO8236 SPARTACUS
*TR TV TL TD |
2238 |
536 |
1.67 |
1.27 |
1.00 |
|
9HO2673 TOUCH
*TR TV TL |
195 |
227 |
1.78 |
1.19 |
1.58 |
= New Active Sire for April 2008
= Eligible for semen export to Canada
= Superior Settler Designation
|
| Name |
Milk |
NM$ |
PTAT |
|
7JE712 AWARD
|
88 |
190 |
1.5 |
| 7JE730 SULTON |
977 |
394 |
1.6 |
|
7JE739 MVF |
1217 |
334 |
1.4 |
|
7JE768 DALE |
2394 |
498 |
2 |
|
7JE1000 TBONE |
1249 |
505 |
1.4 |
= New Active Sire for April 2008
= Eligible for semen export to Canada
= Superior Settler Designation
|
™Herdlife Builder, Select Mating Service and SUPERIOR SETTLER are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.
|
