December 2014Proof Changes

2015 Genetic Base ChangeWill start with December 2014 Genetic

UpdateAverage PTAs for cows born in 2010 are set to zero for all traits except:Calving ease and stillbirth (set to breed average)Somatic Cell Score (centered at 3.0)

Magnitude and direction of the base change for each trait reflects the genetic progress made in the last 5 years.

Source: CDCB – https://www.cdcb.us/News/News.htm

Base Change for Key TraitsTrait Unit Holstei

nJersey

Milk Pounds 382 327

Protein Pounds 12 12

Fat Pounds 17 19

Productive Life Months 1.0 0.8

Somatic Cell Score Log (base 2)

-0.07 0.04

DPR % 0.2 0

PTAT 0.99 0.53

Udder Composite 0.92 0.33

Foot and Let Composite

0.78 0.15* For a complete list of traits visit: http://aipl.arsusda.gov/reference/base2014.htm

TPI: Current Formula

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

TPI: New Formula Effective December 2014

December adjustment:DPR replaced with new Fertility Index (FI)Addition of a Feed Efficiency Index (FE)Conformation returns to 2010 emphasis of ~25%

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Trait 2011 Weight

Dec. 2014 Weight

Protein 27% 27%

Fat 16% 16%

PTA Type 10% 8%

Dairy Form -1% -1%

UDC 12% 11%

FLC 6% 6%

PL 9% 7%

SCS -5% -5%

DPR 11% n/a

DCE -2% -2%

DSB -1% -1%

Fertility Index (FI) n/a 13%

Feed Efficiency Index (FE)

n/a 3%

Category Weight

Production 46%

Conformation

26%

Health 28%

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

TPI

Fertility Index (FI)Fertility Index

Composite formula64% daughter pregnancy rate (DPR)

18% heifer conception rate (HCR)

18% cow conception rate (CCR)

Goal: maintain rate of improvement in cow fertilityWeight for new trait comes from:

11%: DPR

2%: PL

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Fertility Index (FI)CCR

Measures a lactating cow’s ability to conceiveThe percentage of inseminated cows pregnant at each serviceHCR = 1 means lactating daughters of this bull are 1% more

likely to become pregnant during lactation than daughters of an HCR=0 bull

HCRMeasures a virgin heifer’s ability to conceiveThe percentage of inseminated heifers pregnant at each

serviceHCR = 1 means non-lactating daughters of this bull are 1%

more likely to become pregnant as a heifer than daughters of an HCR=0 bull

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Feed Efficiency Index (FE)

Feed Efficiency$ Value of milk produced-feed cost of extra milk -extra maintenance costs

Weight comes from:2%: PTA Type

1%: UD

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Traits Impacting Efficiency

ProductionMilk FatProtein

ManagementProductive Life (PL) *Somatic Cell Score (SCS)Daughter Pregnancy Rate

(DPR) *Daughter Calving Ease

(DCE) *Daughter Still Birth (DSB)

TypeUdder Composite (UDC) Foot and Leg Composite

(FLC) *Body Composite (BDC) *Stature *Dairy Form

*Traits have negative values

New TPI FormulaMore clearly rewards “efficient” cows

Top half of US Holsteins, ranked by TPI, produce +$159 through feed efficiency per lactation compared to bottom half

Continues positive trend in cow fertilityCorrelates positively to higher scored cattleRate of stature increase will be slowedShould better reflect the average farmer’s goals

Increased efficiency, smaller size, better fertilityMaintain emphasis on good uddered, strong cows

Impact of extremely high PL values will decrease

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Lifetime Net Merit (NM$)NM$ is a selection index for commercial dairy producers used for all breeds.

Based on US economic values for a market that rewards both fluid milk production and components.

Goal: produce cattle that will be profitable under future market conditions (3 to 5 years in the future).

Cheese Merit (CM$), Fluid Merit (FM$), and Grazing Merit (GM$ - new!) offer predictions for producers based on system/market.

Source: Cole 2014

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14-100

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Year entered AI

Avera

ge n

et

meri

t ($

)Genetic Merit of Marketed

Holstein Bulls

Source: Wiggins 2014

Average gain:$19.77/year

Average gain:$52.00/year

Average gain:$85.60/year

New NM$ Formula December 2014Why does the formula change?

New traits more accurately match the biology of the cow

Economic conditions changeTrait definitions can change

Why are these specific changes happening?The export market is stronger than anticipated, adding stability to and increasing the price of US milk

Beef prices are extremely highReplacement values are relatively lowThe industry is self-correcting for SCS

Source: Cole 2014

Trait 2010 Weight

Dec. 2014 Weight

Milk 0% -1%

Fat 19% 22%

Protein 16% 20%

PL 22% 19%

SCS -10% -7%

UDC 7% 8%

FLC 4% 3%

BDC -6% -5%

DPR 11% 7%

HCR n/a 2%

CCR n/a 1%

CA$ 5% 5%

Category Weight

Production 43%

Conformation

16%

Health 41%

Lifetime Net Merit Changes

NM$ Index ExplainedCA$

A calving sub-index for Holsteins and Brown SwissContains daughter and sire data*Holsteins: stillbirth, calving ease

*Brown Swiss: calving ease

Other breeds receive 1.05 adjustment to all other traits

HCR/CCRWill share fertility weight with DPR

Source: Cole 2014

New Index: Grazing Merit (GM$)Will be calculated to meet unique

management conditions of grazersPrimary changes:

More emphasis on fertilityLess emphasis on longevityWill not include dairy form*Due to access to type records

Source: Cole 2014

Summary of Merit Index Changes

Source: C

Trait

NM$2010

CM$2014

FM$2014

GM$2014

NM$2014

Milk -1 -9 23 -1 -1Fat 19 19 23 20 22Protein

16 24 0 18 20

PL 22 16 20 10 19SCS –10 -7 -3 -6 –7UDC 7 6 8 8 8FLC 4 2 3 3 3BDC –6 -5 -5 -4 –5DPR 11 6 7 19 7HCR … 1 2 3 2CCR … 1 2 5 1CA$ 5 4 5 5 5Source: CDCB –

https://www.cdcb.us/News/News.htm

Trait Previous Weight

Dec. 2014 Weight

Protein 42% 43%

Fat 15% 15%

Functional Trait Index

15% 15%

PL 12% 10%

SCS -6% -6%

DPR 10% 7%

CCR n/a 2%

HCR n/a 2%

Category Weight

Production 58%

Conformation

15%

Health 27%

Source: HolsteinUSA 2014

Jersey Performance Index (JPI) Changes

JPI

New Jersey Performance Index

(JPI)Expected annual gains from JPI2015

5.2 pounds PTA Protein6.2 pounds PTA Fat6.7 days Productive LifeImprovement in Somatic Cell Score and female fertility.

Take Home MessageThere will always be changes

Genomic PredictionsDaughter ProofsFormula Changes

WWS will always have high bullsWWS continues to develop a diverse sire line-up that meets the genetic needs of all of our customers.

Key is to select bulls that fit the customer’s goals, then regardless of changes, genetic progress of the herd will continue.