What is JUI™?

JUI^™ - what is it and how should it be used?

Jersey Udder Index^™ (JUI) was established as a reference tool for Jersey breeders to use when selecting sires. Formulated by the American Jersey Cattle Association, JUI is based on lifetime profitability. The respective weights of each trait in the formula are based on the traits relation to lifetime profitability.

Calculation of the Jersey Udder Index

This index is the sum of a sire’s Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTA) for udder traits multiplied by their weights in the Functional Trait Index: Jersey Udder Index (JUI10) = [(.30 x FU) + (.35 x RUH) + (.61 x RUW) + (1.0 x UD) + (.85 x UC) + (.10 x TP) + (0 x TL)]

When you split out the weights of JUI, the highest priority trait is udder depth. Nearly one third of the index is based on this trait. Following udder depth in importance is udder cleft. Udder depth and udder cleft together make up well over half of the JUI index. The third and fourth priority traits are rear udder height and rear udder width respectively. Rounding out the final traits for the JUI index include fore udder and teat placement.

The thing to keep in mind when referencing the JUI index is that JUI needs to be balanced with production traits. Because there are such high weights on udder depth and udder cleft, often times functionally correct and highly profitable sires will not see the extremes in their JUI rankings. As a reference point, based on the August 2013 sire summary, ranges for JUI on all active sires is -3.00 to +7.53.

The top Genex JUI sire is 1JE00812 HAWTHORNE (Zuma x 90 pt. Paramount). HAWTHORNE comes in with a +5.12 JUI and complements this with huge Cheese Merit Dollars (CM$) of +584. In the number two spot, 1JE00806 TORONTO fits in with a +5.06 JUI. TORONTO hails from one of the most popular cow families of the breed with TORONTO’s dam being Heartland Nathan Texas-ET, EX-95%. When highlighting JUI, 1JE00654 ALLSTAR has to be mentioned. With over 300 daughters scored in his type proof, ALLSTAR keeps climbing on his JUI ranking and comes in at +4.51 with 96% reliability.

When looking at the Genex active sire listing, post August 2013 proofs, we boast an impressive JUI across all active sires of +2.85. Our GenChoice™ active lineup comes in just a hair under +3.00 JUI (+2.97) and carries an industry leading total number of available sires as well as elite pedigree diversity. As with any index, JUI should be used as one tool in the bigger picture of fitting your genetic needs.

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Author Leah James is our U.S. Jersey Marketing Manager.  James grew up on a family dairy farm and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education. She has since worked within the artificial insemination industry and for the American Jersey Cattle Association. Today, she and her husband also operate a 125-cow dairy consisting of registered Holsteins, Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns. 

How Genetic Recessives Work

Recently the American Angus Association announced the discovery of a genetic condition known as Developmental Duplication (DD). The condition is thought to be inherited as a simple recessive. In the case of DD, animals that are born affected by the condition are relatively rare as most DD affected pregnancies result in early embryonic death. Developmental Duplication is not the first genetic condition to be discovered in recent years, nor will it be the last. The discovery of DD has caused quite a lot of press in the past couple of weeks, and even some panic among breeders. For this reason I think it is important to step back and review how simple recessives work and how with a carefully managed breeding program you can avoid seeing affected animals in your herd.

Source:  http://www.flockandherd.net.au/cattle/reader/polymelia.html

             

A calf exhibiting the affects of Developmental Duplication.

         

Before we begin a discussion of genetic recessives it is important to understand a little bit about genetics and inheritance of genes. Phenotype is the external appearance of an animal. For instance, an animal’s phenotype would include coat color. Genotype refers to the actual genes that an animal has or the animal’s genetic make-up. Traits are the result of at least one pair of genes, one of the genes being inherited from an individual’s mother; the other is inherited from an individual’s father. When both genes in a pair are the same, they are called homozygous genes. If they are different they are known as heterozygous genes. Sometimes one of the genes in a pair is dominate over the other gene (recessive). When this happens the gene that is dominate is the gene that is expressed as an individual’s phenotype, even if the individual’s genotype is heterozygous for that trait/condition. The only way the recessive gene is expressed is if an individual has two copies of the recessive gene. It is important to note, that even though we often talk about genetic recessives in a negative context, such as the case with DD, a recessive is not necessarily negative or lethal. In cattle other examples of recessives include coat color (black being dominate to red) and horned/polled condition (polled being dominate to horned).

In the case of developmental duplication, and other simple recessive conditions, there are two possible phenotypes that an animal can have and three possible genotypes. The two possible phenotypes are a completely normal looking animal not affected by the condition and an animal that is affected by the condition resulting in either early pregnancy loss or possibly a calf born with extra limbs. The genotypes that can be expected are:

• DD – or an animal that receives a copy of the gene from both its mother and its father that is free of the mutation
• Dd – this animal’s outward appearance is totally normal and healthy, however they carry one copy of the gene that carries the mutation, an animal with this genotype is referred to as a carrier as they can pass on the mutated gene to their offspring without being affected themselves

• dd – this is an affected animal, the copies of the gene that it received from both its mother and its father carry the developmental duplication mutation.

The question becomes how can you best manage developmental duplication in your herd? The first option is going to be the most time consuming and costly. You can genetically test all the cows in your herd that are potential carriers for DD (the American Angus Association recently announced the release of a commercially available test for DD by Zoetis, read about it here) and cull those cows from your herd. Then make sure that all A.I. and herd sires you use are free of the genetic defect as well. For many people this will be the way they choose to manage and eliminate the developmental duplication gene from their herd.

The mating of a bull with a genotype of DD to a cow with a genotype of DD results in all potential offspring having the DD genotype.

The other option is a carefully managed breeding program. Since we know that in order to get an affected calf both the mother and father must be carriers you can choose to not test any of your cows that are potential carriers if you only use bulls that are non-carriers. If you would still like to use bulls that are carriers, you need to avoid breeding a carrier bull to any cows that are potential carriers or test your cows and avoid breeding carriers to carriers.

The mating of a bull with a genotype of DD to a cow that is a carrier of the condition (genotype Dd) will result in 50% of their potential offspring having a genotype of DD and 50% of their potential offspring being carriers for the condition with the genotype Dd.  None of their potential offspring will be affected by the condition.

The mating of a carrier bull (genotype Dd) to a carrier cow will result in 25% of their potential offspring having a genotype of DD, 50% of their potential offspring being carriers for the condition with the genotype Dd, and 25% of their potential offspring being affected by the condition with a genotype of dd.  This mating should be avoided.

Whatever your method of managing developmental duplication or other genetic conditions in your herd you can be assured that Genex will continue provide you with high quality semen, from bulls whose carrier status we know, so that you can make informed breeding decisions. In this age of genomic testing this is certainly not the last new genetic condition that will be documented so knowing all your options for managing them in your herd is essential.

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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.

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.

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

What is JPI™?

JPI™: What is it? How is it used? What goes into it? These are all important questions when you look at the Genex Jersey lineup. First off, JPI stands for Jersey Production Index. JPI is a breed-specific selection tool. Updated in 2010, the current JPI formula has the largest emphasis on production traits – a 57% emphasis on those traits. Of that 57%, PTA Protein makes up 42% while the remaining emphasis (15%) is placed on PTA Fat. The remainder of the JPI formula is a combination of four fitness and longevity traits. At 15% is the Functional Trait Index (FTI). This index is designed to separate the impact of production and type traits on lifetime profitability. FTI is composed of a sum of the PTAs for the linear traits times their respective economic values. FTI is not published separately because it needs to be combined with production traits to be interpreted correctly. FTI was introduced in 1992, updated in 1998 and most recently updated in 2006. The FTI calculation has the highest weight on udder traits (54%), followed by body traits (41%) and finally foot angle (5%). Udder depth is the single largest contributor to FTI. Coming in at a 12% weighting, Productive Life makes up the next portion of the JPI formula. Productive Life is defined as “time in the milking herd before removal by voluntary culling, involuntary culling or death.” Rounding out fitness and longevity traits, Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR) is defined as the percentage of non-pregnant cows that become pregnant during each 21-day period. The DPR weight in the JPI formula is 10%. The final trait is Somatic Cell Score (SCS). SCS is an indicator trait for mastitis based on the direct measure of somatic cells in milk samples. JPI puts a 6% emphasis on SCS. The graph below is a great visual break-down of the JPI formula.

Reference: “2010 Jersey Performance Index™ (JPI).” American Jersey Cattle Association. www.usjersey.com/Programs/JPIIntro.pdf

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Author Leah James is our U.S. Jersey Marketing Manager.  James grew up on a family dairy farm and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education. She has since worked within the artificial insemination industry and for the American Jersey Cattle Association. Today, she and her husband also operate a 125-cow dairy consisting of registered Holsteins, Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns.

Summer at Genex Hawkeye West - Billings, Montana

I have the privilege of calling Genex Hawkeye West, located in Billings, Montana, my "Genex Home."  Throughout the fall, winter and spring it is a bustling place, full of both Genex Beef and custom collection bulls that customers have brought in for us to produce high quality semen.  In fact, for most of March, April, and May the facility was full to capacity, housing nearly 180 bulls on the property! During the summer months a majority of our usual residents leave Hawkeye West to spend a couple of months out on pasture breeding cows.  During this time the staff at Hawkeye West spends a lot of time performing maintenance projects, cleaning bull pens and runs, and mowing grass.  In general, preparing for bulls to start arriving back at Hawkeye West in just a few short weeks.

However, in the last couple of weeks we have had the opportunity to showcase our facility to three awesome tour groups!

First, we hosted the 2013 National Red Angus Junior Association Round-up.  It was so exciting to get the chance to meet nearly 60 youth from across the USA that are so passionate about the beef industry.  The group joined us for lunch and then had the opportunity to see our semen processing routine from bull collection to the lab.

 Next, we hosted groups of beef producers from Argentina and Brazil.  Nearly 45 Argentines and 35 Brazilians had boarded tour buses nearly two weeks before and had spent several days touring farms and ranches across the west, viewing many popular bulls from the Genex Beef line-up and their progeny.  One of the last stops for both tour groups was Genex Hawkeye West.  Highlight bulls that both groups were extremely excited to see included Cole Creek CEDAR RIDGE 1V (1AN01224) and Trotters STRONGHOLD 156 (1AR00948).

 

Now that the tours are over, things have returned back to normal here at Hawkeye West.

If you are ever in the Billings area and would like a tour, please stop by, we love to have visitors!

If you would like to learn more about the services that we offer at Genex Hawkeye West, and at our other custom collection facilites (Genex Alabama - Fort Payne, Alabama, Genex Baton Rouge - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Genex Dakota Sire Service - Mitchell, South Dakota, Genex Strafford - Strafford, Missouri) please take a minute to view this short video.

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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.

Improve Efficiency with the DeLaval Activity System

Achieving success in any breeding program depends on a lot of different factors.  One of those factors is breeding the animal when she is in optimal heat.   The DeLaval Activity System can help any dairyman determine when that time is.  It can be considered the dairyman’s 24/7 eyes on the cows (or heifers) system. 

A neck mounted meter records each animal’s individual movement and activity.  This collected information is then transmitted every hour, 24 hours a day via a wireless link.  The herd management software provided with the system analyses the data and alerts the dairyman of increased activity, ultimately determining which animals are in heat.  With heat detection rates of up to 95%, the reduced reproduction costs and increased conception rates can make the initial cost of implementing very feasible. Plus not only will the DeLaval Activity System provide alerts for increased activity, it will also detects decreased activity sending a notice that an animal may be ill and needs attention. 

Genex Representatives across the United States have been trained on the DeLaval Activity Systems and are ready to help answer any questions you may have.  You can also check out our website for more information. http://genex.crinet.com/page4425/DeLavalActivitySystem

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Author Katie Wolf is our Product Program Manager.  She has been a member of the Genex team since 2002.  Katie graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, where she studied Agricultural Business.