Publish date: 8.12.26
In today’s dairy industry, profitability depends on making genetic decisions that align with the realities of your operation. Achieving long-term success requires more than selecting for individual traits or chasing the latest industry trends. To maximize revenue, control costs, and optimize beef-on-dairy performance, producers need a genetic strategy built around their unique herd goals, facilities, and management systems. When genetics are matched to your herd’s specific needs and goals, you can confidently profit from genetic progress year after year.
As management strategies and production environments continue to change, balanced sires play an increasingly important role in driving sustainable genetic and profit gains. ABS remains focused on helping producers profit from genetic progress by creating profitable cows your future herd needs.
Global Launches for August 2026
ABS has launched 41 new sires, including three homozygous polled Holsteins, one homozygous polled Brown Swiss, and three Linear Choice—offering genetic diversity from 21 different sires and 16 different maternal grandsires. ABS continues to outpace the industry in the space of genetic diversity as we strive to help producers drive genetic progress faster and in a responsible manner.
Knowing that no two dairies are built equally, we not only bring diversity to breeding programs, but also groups of sires that meet a variety of producer needs and goals. In this group of new bulls, we released 17 high TPI sires, 12 balanced sires, 10 high NM$ sires, one Brown Swiss sire, and a British Friesian sire—all bulls that meet different needs for dairy producers around the world.
Among the global launches, a few notable sires to highlight include:
- 29HO22353 VALDEZ-PP and 29HO22764 MOONLIT-PP who are both homozygous polled and over 3300 for TPI
- 94HO22776 MIDAS who is one of the highest ABS sires for DPR and HCC, alongside +1311 Milk
- 94HO22789 GASTLY who is the embodiment of St. Jacobs Linear Choice with his balanced linear
- 94HO22777 DORIAN who offers a different sire stack and is over 2 for HCC with a +1.45 UDC
- The first sons of ABS greats such as:
- 13 more Whoops sons who average +1016 NM$, +3445 TPI, +1000 MILK, +169 CFP, +4.37 PL, +1.55 DPR, +3.09 CCR, +0.86 PTAT, +1.56 HCC, +0.79 UDC, and +0.45 FL
- 29BS3832 PAYNE-PP who is a #1 homozygous polled Brown Swiss bull for both NM$ and PPR
Below you will find our Holstein graduates’ averages for key traits customers are looking for. As you can see, significant genetic progress has been made, even since the last genetic evaluation.
Get the Best of Both Worlds with GALACTIC and LOTTERY
Everyone is talking about them because the data speaks for itself. Combining elite index rankings, a balanced trait portfolio, and unique sire lines, these standouts offer the genetics producers demand. While both impressive sires landed themselves in the top 40 list for TPI this Sire Summary with +3520 TPI, they also symbolize the type of sire ABS strives to always create—one with many strengths and very few weaknesses.
With an out-of-this-world combination of +3521 TPI, +2.13 HCC, and +1.7 DPR, 29HO22402 GALACTIC stands out among the industry’s most elite as one of the best bulls in the world for elite TPI, HCC, and DPR. Backed by +995 NM$ and +4.4 Productive Life, he offers more than impressive numbers. His genetic portfolio creates long-lasting, efficient daughters with the health, fertility, and longevity needed to drive profitability for years to come.
With a winning genetic profile of +3525 TPI, +1043 NM$, +191 CFP, +1 UDC, +1.8 DPR, and +3.8 Productive Life, 29HO22460 LOTTERY delivers more than impressive rankings. He combines production, profitability, health, fertility, and longevity into one balanced genetic package. The result is the kind of daughters every producer is looking for: healthy, fertile, productive, long-lasting cows that drive profitability year after year.
U.S. Holstein Highlights
- Influential ABS bulls with milking daughters that increased for NM$ are 29HO21543 CATAPULT (+24), 29HO20684 LEEDS (+4), 29HO19973 BENEFIT (+34), 29HO19964 CASCADE (+96), 29HO21160 Hotwheels (+45), and 29HO19518 MENDEL-P (+4).
- Our power of polled continues as ABS has 16 of the top 30 NM$ single-P bulls.
U.K. Holstein Highlights
- Overall, ABS remains in a strong position with more bulls in the top of the rankings than any of our competitors, with six sires in the top 20 for PLI.
- Several of the young bulls increased for the Fertility Index a fair bit, which is likely caused by the U.S. formula changes in fertility evaluations.
- 29HO20684 LEEDS production remains extremely strong.
- We have an exciting group of bulls with more genetic diversity than others!
Italian Holstein Highlights
- 29HO22253 LOCUST remains #1 with 5613 gPFT on the young sire list.
- Also, 29HO22254 LAGOON remains strong with 5449 gPFT.
- Fertility figures on the foreign bulls increased a bit—most by 1-2 points.
Jersey Features
- For bulls 18 months and older with a stud code, ABS is home to 19 of the top 30 for CM$ (including three of the top five) and 14 of the top 30 for JPI (including the top four).
- Our lineup is led by a pair of full brothers that are breed leaders for JPI: 29JE4581 CLEMENT {5} and 29JE4575 CLARITY {5}. They offer a balance of health and fitness with solid production and excellent JUI.
- Two of the breed’s highest CM$ sires also call ABS home—29JE4614 JARLSBERG {5} and 29JE4612 MIDVALE {5}. Both are bulls with outcross pedigrees, extreme PL and outstanding CCR.
- No matter your breeding goals, you can find a Jersey sire to fit your herd’s needs.
Industry Updates Launched at August 2026 Genetic Evaluations
This round of genetic evaluations includes formula changes and new industry traits. There were formula changes to Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR), Cow Conception Rate (CCR), and Heifer Conception Rate (HCR) to modernize the evaluations to reflect the current state of the dairy industry, and four new industry traits that launched include First Service to Conception (FSC), Resistance to Respiratory Problems (RSP), Resistance to Diarrhea (DIA), and Holstein Conformation Composite (HCC).
Fertility has improved dramatically over the last two decades, and the tools used to measure them needed a refresh. The August 2026 formula updates to DPR, CCR, and HCR were designed to ensure fertility evaluations accurately reflect today’s dairy industry. Advances in reproductive management, sexed semen usage, beef-on-dairy programs, and fertility genetics prompted CDCB to modernize these traits. These updates give dairy producers a clearer picture of an animal’s true genetic potential for reproductive performance. Due to the emphasis on fertility traits, TPI is expected to increase by about +30 for younger bulls.
“We have indeed seen a lot of changes with this round of evaluations,” said Ryan Starkenburg, ABS Senior Geneticist. “The data is like a report card on how, as an industry, we are truly making genetic progress—and ABS has been driving much of this thought-leadership. The ABS promise is to help producers build long lasting, healthy, fertile, profitable cows. Every calf brings significant value to producers, and it all starts with making sure cows get pregnant.”
Genomic bulls increased, on average, +1.5 for CCR and +1.4 for DPR.
CDCB and Holstein USA also expanded how producers can measure fertility, calf health, and conformation. The new genetic evaluations—FSC, DIA, RSP, and HCC—give producers additional tools to make more informed breeding decisions, improve herd performance, and profit from genetic progress.
Zoetis Dairy Wellness Traits Now Available
Like others, ABS will now begin providing scores from Zoetis wellness indexes—Dairy Wellness Profit Index (DWP$), Wellness Trait Index (WT$), and Calf Wellness Index (CW$); on active Holstein bulls housed in North America and Brazil. We hope that these tools help you select the right genetics for your breeding programs that align with your herd goals. This data will be posted to ABS Bull Search.
What Does a Profitable Cow Look Like?
The framework for a profitable cow includes a balance of strong scores for Productive Life, Daughter Pregnancy Rate, Cow Conception Rate, Milk, moderate Stature, Fat and Protein, and health traits like Somatic Cell Score. At ABS, the goal is not to create cows that excel in a single trait while sacrificing performance in others. Instead, we focus on delivering balanced genetics with many strengths and very few weaknesses, helping producers build cows that drive greater profitability across multiple lactations.
Balanced cows are built for long-term profitability, combining strong milk production with the fertility, health, and longevity needed to remain productive in the herd long enough to deliver a meaningful return on investment. In contrast, selecting solely for extreme fat and protein production can create tradeoffs in other important traits, potentially leading to earlier culling and limiting a cow’s ability to reach her full lifetime profit potential.
Why Is Longevity So Critical?
Longevity has a direct impact on profitability. Cows that remain healthy, fertile, and productive for more lactations generate more lifetime production, reduce replacement costs, and create additional beef-on-dairy opportunities. By focusing on balanced genetics that support Productive Life, producers can build cows that stay in the herd longer, improve efficiency, and help them profit from genetic progress over the long term.
Success with a Balanced Breeding Strategy
This round of genetic evaluations reinforces an important principle: lasting profitability comes from balanced genetic progress. While new fertility evaluations and industry traits provide valuable insights, the greatest results come from combining these tools within a customized breeding strategy. By selecting sires with strengths across production, fertility, health, longevity, calf health, and conformation, producers can avoid unintended tradeoffs and build cows that deliver value throughout their lifetime.
As the dairy industry continues to evolve, ABS remains committed to helping producers profit from genetic progress. Through industry-leading genetics, innovative breeding programs, advanced reproductive solutions, and trusted expertise, we help create productive, fertile, healthy, and profitable cows tailored to your operation’s goals. No matter where you are in the world, ABS provides the tools, products, people, and genetics needed to maximize opportunities today while positioning your herd for success tomorrow.
To profit from genetic progress with ABS, contact your ABS Genetic Advisor or complete the form below.
