Sire Selection

At Greenmount Campus, the aim of the 150-cow Future Herd is to produce of 8,000-8,500 litres of milk per cow per year on a 12-month rolling basis with a target butterfat of 4.10 percent and protein of 3.50 percent.  Economic studies at AFBI have established that autumn calving herds in this yield range are amongst the most profitable dairy production systems in Northern Ireland whilst the emphasis on milk quality is there to meet the demands of the Northern Ireland processing market, with a strong emphasis on protein percent.  Aligned with these targets is an average lifetime yield of 40,000 litres per cow with fertility targets of 80 percent submission rate to first service and 50 percent conception rate.

Breeding replacement heifers for the Future Herd with the capacity to produce relatively high yields of quality milk produced from large amounts of forage under Northern Ireland grazing and housing conditions is key to meeting these targets.  Longevity and fertility are also part of the sire selection criteria. To ensure longevity, good feet and legs, fertility, udders and a strong frame with plenty of rumen capacity are essential. Therefore, only bulls that have reasonable PTAs for milk and good PTAs for fat and protein percent, positive lifespan and positive fertility are considered.

The genetic merit of the Future Herd is assessed each autumn from the Herd Genetic Report.  This is available from the DairyCo Breeding+ website (www.dairyco.org.uk) or from the Herd Genetic Report available from your milk recording company.  The average genetic merit of cows in the Future Herd is used to set the sire selection criteria each year.  

Only sires from the top 100 £PLI sires available in Northern Ireland are considered since these have the greatest potential to increase daughter profitability over their lifetime. The PTAs of the sires chosen should also be equal to or higher than the current herd average for individual PTAs.  The sire selection targets for the 2010-11 breeding season based on the Herd Genetic Report available in September 2010 are seen in the table below (PTA 2010).  These criteria are challenging and restrict the number of bulls to choose from so it is occasionally necessary to choose bulls that do not meet all the criteria.  Therefore the main priority is to select sires that will deliver a continued improvement in milk protein percent, positive fertility and negative somatic cell count in line with herd targets.

*Average of sire PTAs for non-productive traits for cows in herd

Sires used for insemination of cows in the Greenmount Future Herd in the 2011-12 breeding season are:

Bull proofs from DairyCo Breeding+ (PTA 2010; Aug 2010)
*Available as sexed semen for use on heifers (first insemination only)

Sires used for insemination of cows in the Greenmount Future Herd in previous breeding seasons are:

Bull proofs from DairyCo Breeding+ (PTA 2010; Aug 2010)
*While this sire does not meet the milk protein % selection criteria, he has positive PTAs for Direct Calving Ease and will be used on heifers.

Bull proofs from DairyCo Breeding+ (PTA 2005; Aug 2009)

Bull proofs from DairyCo Breeding+ (PTA 2005; Aug 2008)

Bull proofs from MDC Breeding+ (PTA 2005; Aug 2007)

Bull proofs from MDC Breeding+ (PTA 2005; May 2006)

Bull proofs from MDC Breeding+ (PTA 2005; Nov 2005)

The Future Herd was established in autumn 2006 from the amalgamation of the Premium Milk Herd and the High Forage Herd at Greenmount Campus.

Up-to-date bull £PLI and PTA information can be obtained from the DairyCo Breeding+ or Holstein UK websites.