DOUG SAVAGE
Single-Step Evaluations:Now Being Implemented in a Growing Number of Countries.
When genomics first arrived 15 years ago, it was impractical to include the genotypes directly into the genetic evaluation model due to the massive size of the data set involved...
Cow Country - January 2025
Normandy, in the central west of France, is home to Gaec de la Chapelle, where Piet and Christina Bakker milk a herd of 75 cows. That’s where we pictured one...
Focus on... Calving-Ease
The ABS bull Leeds is a high production bull with good productive life… and is a calving-ease specialist too. Leeds now has a list of young sons entering service at...
Sunshine Genetics in Wisconsin: Exporting Embryos to the World
Sunshine Genetics has a long history as the leading embryo transfer facility in America’s dairy-land of Wisconsin. Established in the 1970s, Sunshine Genetics has made the exporting of embryos a...
Cavanaleck in Canada: We now Put More Emphasis on Front Legs than any of the Rear Leg Traits
The Thompson family’s Cavanaleck Holsteins have long been a fixture on the Holstein scene in Western Ontario. The three-time Master Breeder herd continues to be a force in modern Holstein...
Jeffrey-Way Twigs Completes the North American Double at the Canadian Royal
At Canada’s 102nd Royal Winter Fair, the awards for Grand Champion Holstein and Supreme Champion Dairy Cow of the show went to Jeffrey-Way Hard Rock Twigs. And in the Red...
Intriguing Sires - The top sellers
Ambrose was one of the first Ranger-Red sons Semex released to the market in May of 2023. ‘Being a son of the awesome cow Mystique Lambda Anis, he was popular...
Miranda: Taking Polled Breeding to the Top of the Breed
The recent surge in elite polled genetics is pushing the Holstein breed ever closer to the tipping point where it could quickly become a polled breed. One of the driving...
Focus on... Robot Ready
Optimum teat position, teat length and udder balance are features that make the Synetics bull Urzokari de la Vigne ideal for robot milking. Good udder texture and strong attachments should...
The Never-Ending Quest for Outcross Genetics: How Important is it?
Genetic gains during the genomic era have more than doubled from earlier times, and we now select for a much more complete array of traits including fertility, health and feed...
Predicted Transmitting Ability versus Breeding Value
The field of dairy cattle genetics uses two “languages”, Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) and Breeding Value. Evaluations from the US are expressed in PTA’s while most other countries use Breeding...
Holstein Marketplace Sires: Providing an Option for Breeders to Control Their Own Destiny
The US Holstein Association established it’s Marketplace Sires program in January 2019. The program now offers an exciting range of breeder-owned sires, adding some intriguing options to the semen market.