Publish date: 12.4.24
The December 2024 Genetic Evaluation results reinforced our excitement for the genetic and trait mix diversity amongst all the lineups. It was a good day for ABS-proven bulls which positively impacted the bulls we offer today. Our focus on the diversity of our pedigrees and trait mixes puts us in a prime position to offer our customers genetics that work in their specific operation. Each dairy is unique which requires a genetic plan designed specifically for that system and its goals!
Overall, this proof run demonstrated the strength of the diversity of the ABS bloodlines. We are very proud to offer a lineup of balanced bulls with diverse genetic and trait mixes to ensure our customers have the right genetics to reach their goals and maximize profitability in their specific system. The future looks bright!
Ryan Starkenburg, ABS Senior Geneticist
This time around, the U.S. Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) had no major model changes or haplotypes announced. However, for the most part, Holsteins shifted down for most traits with notable declines for fitness traits and loss in Fat, DPR, and CCR. This caused a general industry loss across the board, regardless of pedigree. As current genetic trends do not properly reflect the fast genetic progress that has been achieved in female fertility, the CDCB is busy working on a solution for sire DPR and CCR evaluations.
Let’s dive into how ABS Global sires performed.
THE HOLSTEIN SIRES
It was a good Sire Summary for some of ABS Global’s key Holstein bloodlines that continue to strengthen our core lineup and the sires in our pipeline for the next generation. We are proud to offer a lineup of balanced bulls with diverse pedigrees and trait mixes. Several sires around the world have hit top-ranking spots, creating excitement about our current and future offerings. In this Sire Summary, we saw many different and new bloodlines rank at the top, and mating sires rank well who will now be available to our customers.
- Although 29HO19773 DUFFY softened a bit in production, he was one of only a few sires that gained in fertility and became a positive DPR bull—the opposite of the industry trend.
- 29HO20684 LEEDS, the most elite sire for profitable genetics in the ABS lineup, continues to be a high yield and ranking bull in terms of NM$ who is making an impact around the globe and in our pipeline.
THE POLLED SIRES
In this proof run, the ABS polled lineup continues to be a force to be reckoned with, claiming 31 of the top 35 NM$ single P bulls on the industry list with a stud code. Polled already plays a significant role in dairy genetics and will well into the future because of its benefits of lowering costs, saving time through eliminating on-farm tasks, encouraging better animal welfare, and aligning with sustainability initiatives. The future is polled because there is power in polled.
- Even with experiencing the typical industry-average shift in NM$, 29HO19071 MONUMENT-P and 29HO19518 MENDEL-P still lead the charge in our incredibly powerful and globally-dominant polled lineup.
- Remember, ABS’s polled lineup includes both single P and double PP sires.
THE RED AND WHITE HOLSTEIN SIRES
It was a strong day for the Red and White lineup at ABS. Globally, this lineup provides a variety of customer systems with the right genetics to meet their goals, and most of our higher-end Red and White sires performed ahead of the industry trend during this proof run.
One of the most impactful R&W bulls of the last decade, 29HO17459 RUBELS-RED had another strong day, adding over 900 daughters to his production proof this time—a total now of 5326 daughters in 1583 herds. In this Sire Summary, he showed nice improvements in TPI, NM$, Milk, and Type. His impact continues to grow through his sons and daughters who have been utilized to create the next generation of sires and bull dams.
More highlights from our Red and White lineup:
- RUBELS-RED sons, 29HO0916 ROCKY-RED, 29HO0918 TWILIGHT-RED, and 29HO20120 RYDER-RED, all added their first daughters and delivered on their promises made as genomic young sires.
- Otezla sons 29HO0928 ORPHEUS-RED, 29HO20386 SIMPLY-RED, and 29HO0927 OAKLAND-RED had strong days. SIMPLY-RED ranked for the 2nd consecutive time as the number 1 RZG Red and White young sire in Germany as well as the top Red and White sire in the UK system.
- The performance of 29HO20291 TRICKY-RED, 29HO0916 ROCKY-RED, and 29HO20399 SULLIVAN-RED demonstrated the genetic progress the Red and White breed has made over the past few years. They are not only Red, but their proofs are very competitive for markets looking for high Milk combined with good Type and or good Fertility Indexes.
- High-profile mating sires like 29HO20386 SIMPLY-RED, 29HO20291 TRICKY-RED, and 29HO20292 SHARP-RED add new and outcrossed bloodlines and exciting traits!
THE ST. JACOBS AND LINEAR CHOICE SIRES
The St. Jacobs offering had another great Sire Summary. From the proven traditional St. Jacobs lineup, 94HO19526 DREAMBIG and 94HO19826 SHOWTIME*RC had a strong day. DREAMBIG is up 45 TPI points and 30 NM$, and SHOWTIME is up 114 TPI points and 113 NM$. 94HO19766 FITTERS CHOICE is a modern-day Goldwyn who also went up in this proof run. All three bulls showed nice increases in production with SHOWTIME going up +490 PTA Milk and 29 PTA Protein.
If you are looking for sires within the St. Jacobs lineup who have balanced proofs with production, type, and health, our Linear Choice sires are the answer for you. Our pipeline for this program is full of impressive bulls who are high GTPI, solid for production and health traits, and the right-hand linear you are asking for.
- Popular bulls from the Linear Choice lineup like 94HO21721 MURPHY, 94HO21331 SWAGGER, 94HO21601 DANSBY-P, 94HO20660 ROCKYTOP, and 94HO20383 ZEUS-PP had a solid Sire Summary.
- 94HO21203 TOPGUN (DJ Hano x Tropic) had a strong Sire Summary and is up 32 TPI, up 200 PTA Milk, and Is now 3.16 PTA Type, 1.0 DPR, and 1.4 CCR.
We’ve released three new Linear Choice sires.
- 94HO21709 RETREAT (Hotwheels x Sentiment)
- 94HO21761 HANFORD (Hotwheels x Gardner)
- 94HO21972 LADOGA (Phoenix x Frost Bite)
- In addition to these, six others now call ABS home and more information can be found about them in a recent ABS blog.
We’ve also released one St. Jacobs Choice sire.
- 94HO0942 UNREAL-Red, an older but unique Red Ranger son who is over 1000 PTA Milk, offers high DPR and CCR, and is nearly 3 points on Type.
Stay tuned for more on all four of these new releases coming very soon!
THE JERSEY SIRES
The ABS Jersey lineup is as strong as ever with breed leaders for Cheese Merit (CM$) and JPI. No matter the sorting method used, ABS is home to nearly half of the top 30 CM$ and JPI Jersey sires. While much of our focus is on the male side of things, it is important to note that the Jersey females in our genetic nucleus rank extremely well this time—boosting our excitement for future generations in the ABS Jersey lineup.
The ABS lineup features:
- Eight sires more than +774 CM$
- Six over +180 JPI
- 10 higher than +125 Combined Fat and Protein
- Eight exceeding +1,200 Milk
- Six at +6.5 Productive Life and above
- 17 higher than +1.0 Cow Conception Rate (CCR)
- 14 sires over +17 Jersey Udder Index (JUI)
We released six new sires to the market including the first 29JE4426 JX SCHOONER {5} and 29JE4385 JX BONGO {5} sons.
- The group is highlighted by 29JE4542 JX DEPLOY {6}, a JX SCHOONER {5} x 29JE4521 WINGMAN son, which excels for JPI at +191, Fat at +83, Protein at +53, and Heifer Conception Rate (HCR) at +2.7 with solid Daughter Pregnancy Rate at -0.2.
- 29JE4544 JX JULIUS {5}, a JX BONGO {5} x JX Stoney {3} son, is the highest new release for CM$ at +866 and is a great daughter fertility improver with +3.4 HCR and +1.0 CCR with outstanding udders with a +19.9 JUI and Type at +1.8.
- 29JE4528 JX SEATTLE {6}, a JX Callan {5} x 29JE4273 JX BETTIS {5} son, and 29JE4529 JX GRANDEUR {6}, a JX BONGO {5} x JX Thrasher {6} son, offer different pedigrees to many common ABS bloodlines.
ABS is excited to see positive daughter performance data on former lineup sires—29JE4279 COLONEL, 29JE4305 JAMMER, 29JE4273 JX BETTIS {5} and 29JE4276 JX BAZZAR {5}. All will impact ABS (and our customers) for years to come through their sons and grandsons and in our customers’ herds with high-performing daughters.
This Sire Summary demonstrated the strength the ABS lineup has with diversity in pedigrees and trait levels. While we did not see any model changes or adjustments this time, you should make yourself aware that a base change will be happening next year. This adjustment ensures the average PTAs for various traits within a breed are recalibrated to a new reference population, resetting these averages to zero. This process helps maintain the accuracy and relevance of genetic evaluations over time as new data and breeding advancements occur. These adjustments help reflect the genetic progress the industry makes.
We are proud to be a part of advancing the industry through genetic progress. Over the past 80 years, we are proud to have delivered a ton of genetic progress to our customers, and we look forward to doing so in the future. With genetics and programs tailored to your particular operation, we can help you accelerate your genetic improvement as your partner in genetic progress.
Looking for a partner in genetic success? Contact your ABS Genetic Advisor or complete the form below.
(608) 846 3721