Monday, August 12, 2013

An Amazing Milestone!

On Thursday, July 25, 2013 1AN01044 SAV FINAL ANSWER 0035, surpassed a major milestone in the A.I. industry as he produced his 500,000th unit of semen.  This feat solidified his claim as the highest selling beef sire in the history of Genex!



What is it that makes this such a momentous occasion?  Well, for one, few bulls ever achieve this kind of production levels.  In order to produce such a large amount of semen the bulls must posses some very important traits.  First, the bull must be a good semen producer and he must be able to maintain a high level of production over a long period of time.  FINAL ANSWER produced his 500,000th unit of semen at nearly 13 1/2 years of age, he has been a mainstay in the Genex beef line-up since 2002.  That kind of longevity is not often seen in the A.I. industry!  That brings us to the second important trait that a bull must posses to reach this kind of achievement, industry acceptance.

FINAL ANSWER earned his stripes early in life as a "bet the ranch" calving ease bull that was utilized heavily in commercial heifer A.I. projects.  It wasn't until much later in his life that registered herd owners started to take notice of the impressive progeny that FINAL ANSWER was siring.  At the age of 9 years old, which is already well past prime for most bulls, FINAL ANSWER made the top 10 list for Angus registrations for the first time, and he has continued that momentum forward, earning the top spot for fiscal year 2012!

In celebration of FINAL ANSWER surpassing 500,000 units produced, he is on special for $30 through August 31, 2013.  It is not often that a bull has the longevity, production capabilities, and industry acceptance to become such a mainstay in the A.I. industry!

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Author, Sarah Thorson, is our Beef Education Manager.  Sarah grew up in Eastern Montana on her family's ranch.  She is a graduate of Montana State University and has been a member of the Genex team since 2004.  Sarah works closely with the Genex Beef Marketing Staff, providing training to the cooperative's nearly 200 Independent Contractors.  She also provides Artificial Insemination training for Genex members and customers and reproductive consulting.


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Classification Highlights

United Pride Dairy (UPD), a Genex GENESIS Cooperator Herd in Phillips, Wis., classified last month. Here are a few of the highlights.

 Nine first lactation daughters of Co-op Goldwyn FRANK-ET (1HO10000) were classified; among them were two individuals that scored VG for mammary. The FRANK daughters are large framed cows with plenty of substance and good udder attachments.

There were six daughters of Charlesdale SUPERstition-ET (1HO08778) that saw the classifier of which, averaged 82.3 points for mammary score and 81.3 points for final score. The SUPER daughters at UPD follow what his proof shows. They have shallow well attached udders with plenty of width for capacity.

There were also six Badger-Bluff Fanny FREDDIE (1HO08784) daughters that were classified averaging an impressive 84.5 points for mammary score and 84 points for final score.  The FREDDIE daughters at UPD definitely stand out with their great commercial frames and capacious well attached udders.

Last, we saw one Dool-Leigh Goldwyn CLARK-ET (1HO10059) daughter make her way past the classifier. Fresh just 60 days she scored 83 points for feet and legs, 82 points for mammary score and 82 points for a final score. This heifer was a beautiful uddered, well balanced young cow with a quality dairy bone.

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Author JON LANTZ serves as a part of our dairy cattle genetics team as a Dairy Procurement Specialist. Lantz is a University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate.  He operated Lantz Guernsey Farm for over 20 years, dispersing the milking herd in 2012.  While farming, he was honored as the breed's outstanding young farmer. His herd garnered national recognition as the top herd for milk, fat and protein production. Lantz also gained valuable dairy industry experience as a type appraisal evaluator for the American Guernsey Association, American Milking Shorthorn Society and Brown Swiss Association