SELECTIONS - Summer 2004
Young Sire Use – How Much is Too Much?
by Charles Sattler, vice president, dairy progeny testing and genetic research
 One of the cornerstones behind the success of Select
Sires is the consistent results produced by the Program for
Genetic Advancement™ (PGA™). The track record of PGA in
identifying the breeds' great sires is unmatched.
It’s hard to imagine the Holstein breed without the
influence of 7HO543 BELL*CV,BL, 7HO980 MARK, 7HO1897 BLACKSTAR,
7HO3707 MATHIE*CV, 7HO3948 EMORY*TV, 7HO4213 INTEGRITY*TV,
7HO5157 DURHAM*CV and 7HO5375 MARSHALL*TV. All of these were
identified as breed greats through PGA sampling. The situation
is similar in Jerseys where great bulls like 7JE159 SOONER,
7JE254 BERRETTA and 7JE290 BARBER were PGA graduates. And the
trend continues today with recent graduates 7HO6349 BEST, 7HO6417 OMAN*TV,
7JE535 JACE, 7GU360 TILLER and 7BS750 DYNASTY; all sampled through PGA
and all poised to make very positive contributions to breed improvement.
Progeny testing A.I. sires continues to be the main engine
generating genetic progress in the dairy industry. We've relied on
it for over 30 years and this will likely continue for the foreseeable
future. Individual herds use it to identify superior proven sires
for breeding their cows and trust that the results are accurate.
The Select Sires sire program is no different. We are using PGA
results every day to identify sire fathers and to determine which
cow families have successful track records. Maintaining a strong
PGA program is vital to the ongoing success of Select Sires.
PGA Sires Rank Competitively
In the early days of PGA, young sire use was considered risky.
Now that the quality of sires going through the program is well
established, more and more herds are devoting a large portion of
their breeding programs to PGA sires. How much PGA sire use is appropriate?
This question is not an easy one. It depends on the quality
of available proven sires, the status of the breeds' genetic
improvement program and individual producers' breeding goals.
Historically we have promoted young sire use by comparing
the PGA sires' parent averages to sires currently available in the
marketing lineup. In 2003, the Holstein sires sampled through PGA
averaged 1643 TPI™. The Holstein sires in Select Sires's national
lineup in Nov. 2003 had an average of 1461 TPI. For Jerseys, the
sires sampled through PGA in 2003 averaged 238 JPI™. Select's Jersey
lineup in Nov. 2003 averaged 223 JPI. This comparison indicates PGA
sires are very competitive. However, it's not quite that simple.
There is good opportunity to screen the lineup sires and select
those that are better than average. This is encouraged and should
allow you to identify a group of lineup sires that are better than
the averages mentioned above. This same opportunity doesn't exist
with PGA sires because we simply don't have much information on their
real genetic merit. Additional selection of PGA sires will not likely
lead to much improvement in their overall average.
Proven Sires Pack More Punch
Proven sires bring intangible benefits that PGA sires don't
provide. Proven sires have reliable genetic evaluations. This allows
you to make more use of each individual sire. There is also less
chance of proof fluctuations. Both of these factors lead to more
consistency in the resulting cows. Also, with proven sires, we have
evaluations that indicate their type-transmitting pattern. Correct
use of proven sires, like through the Select Mating Service™, can get
the right sires used in the right situation. This again improves the
consistency in the resulting cows and increases the chances of
capturing their real genetic value. Proven sires have calving ease
evaluations. Calving ease sires can be used on heifers to reduce
calving difficulties. Finally, proven sires have an established track
record for semen fertility and have passed additional screening that
PGA sires have not been subjected to.
Ja-Cat Blitz Kenny 941-Grade, Ostermann Dairy,
Windthorst, Texas, is a daughter of PGA graduate
7HO5708 Fustead Emory BLITZ-ET *TV.
Research by Dr. Bennet Cassell at Virginia Tech University
documented that offspring from proven sires actually produce more
profit than young sires. They studied records of over 2.5 million
Holsteins and found that daughters of proven sires generated $60 more
net income during their lifetime than daughters of young sires.
This research suggests that the extra information available on proven
sires allows them to be used more correctly and more than makes up for
their apparent disadvantage in level of genetic evaluations.
How Much to Use?
Obviously, the availability of tomorrow's proven sires depends
on the use of PGA sires today. There clearly is a role for both proven
and young sires in the breeding programs of herds that maintain accurate
identification and participate in qualifying DHI testing plans.
Holstein breeders have a large number of intensively selected
proven sires available. These sires also have a variety of pedigrees.
Because of the excellent availability of a variety of proven sires,
over-aggressive use of PGA sires is not recommended in Holstein herds.
Using PGA sires to produce 20 to 30 percent of the replacements is an
appropriate level.
Jersey breeders are in a little different position. Because of
their previous efforts in sampling young sires, Jersey breeders now have
a solid selection of proven sires available. However, this does not mean
there is reduced need for sampling PGA sires. The Jersey breed continues
to grow and so does the need to sample more sires. For this reason it is
important for Jersey breeders to continue to be aggressive in sampling
PGA sires. Using PGA sires on 30 to 50 percent of the herd is reasonable.
Brown Swiss, Guernsey and Ayrshire breeders can afford to be even
more aggressive in using PGA sires. Available proven sires are not as
intensively selected as Holsteins, so PGA sires are more competitive
in these breeds. Aggressive use of PGA sires is also important to promote
more genetic progress in these breeds. PGA sire use of 40 to 60 percent
is an appropriate level for herds of these breeds.
PGA sires can be an important part of your breeding program.
It is a good idea to periodically re-evaluate the level of their use.
Cassell, B. G., S. M. Jobst, M. L. McGilliard, and R. E. Pearson. 2002.
Evaluating sire selection practices using lifetime net income functions.
J. Dairy Sci. 85:3942-3502.
7HO543 Carlin-M Ivanhoe BELL, 7HO980 Walkaway Chief MARK,
7HO1897 To-Mar BLACKSTAR-ET, 7HO3707 Paradise-R Cleitus MATHIE,
7HO3948 MJR Blackstar EMORY-ET, 7HO4213 Robthom INTEGRITY-ET,
7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET, 7HO5375 Mara-Thon BW MARSHALL-ET,
7JE159 Soldierboy Boomer SOONER of CJF, 7JE254 Mason Boomer Sooner BERRETTA,
7JE290 WF/L&M Duncan BARBER-ET, 7HO6417 O-Bee MANfred Justice-ET,
7JE535 Windy Willow Montana JACE, 7GU366 Trotacre Enhancer LEWIS-ET
and 7BS750 Hilltop Acres En DYNASTY-ET
™Program for Genetic Advancement, PGA and Select Mating Service are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.
™TPI is a trademark of Holstein Association USA
™JPI is a trademark of the American Jersey Cattle Association
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