Let’s begin with the age-old comparison of a marathon runner versus a sprinter. A sprinter is highly productive during a short period, while a marathon runner is reliably productive over a span of time. It’s fascinating to see a sprinter’s short burst of speed and power, but a marathon runner always goes the distance.
Honestly, think about your dairy cows in a similar fashion. Genetics solely selected for high levels of fat and protein production are sprinters with potentially other weaknesses that lead to early culling before return on investment is met. Whereas balanced cows are consistently productive, profitable, and remain in the herd because they are healthy, fertile, and long-lasting.
Which cows do you want in your herd?
Pitfalls of Single Trait Selection
Focusing genetic selection entirely on a single trait like yield can lead to you spending more or leaving money on the table. Why? Because your greatest needs as a dairy producer likely fall into multiple categories that include:
- Milk Production
- Protein and Fat
- Fertility
- Conception Rate
- Productive Life
- Somatic Cell Score
Therefore, using balanced sires creates productive, healthy, fertile, and long-lasting cows that positively impact many key profit-driving traits on dairies—improving overall profitability, efficiency, and sustainability, simultaneously.
While still dependent on operational goals, the framework for a profitable cow includes a balance of good scores for Productive Life, Daughter Pregnancy Rate, Cow Conception Rate, Milk, Lower Stature, Fat and Protein, and health traits like Somatic Cell Score.
Why Balanced Sires Are the Better Choice
To begin, what is a balanced sire? The word balance means having good or equal amounts of all the necessary parts of something, and this definition perfectly depicts what a balanced bull is. These are the types of bulls that transmit well for all the key profit traits and are very easy to use on a dairy. Balanced sires are real, all-arounder bulls with many strengths and very few weaknesses, helping you profit from genetic progress.
Balanced sires help you create cows that:
- Produce more value over their lifetime
- Never visit the hospital pen
- Require fewer health interventions
- Breed back early year after year
- Stay in the herd longer
- Contribute more to your bottom line
Instead of focusing on a single trait or industry index, we recommend using a customized genetic plan that includes balanced sires to create productive, healthy, fertile, and long-lasting cows that are profitable year after year. When you prioritize balanced genetics, you profit from genetic progress, enhance herd efficiency and performance, and reduce the risk of setbacks caused by short-sighted genetic selection decisions.
Proven by Percentiles
It is no secret that increased selection pressure for production and yield is negatively correlated to health and fitness, fertility, and longevity. It is important to remember that production is just one part of a profitable cow; other traits she possesses also impact profit and loss. See two real examples below. You’ll find bulls who rank in the same percentile for Milk, NM$, CM$, and TPI but are very different for PL, health traits, Relative Strength Index, and Feed Saved.
Which sire are you more comfortable with using on your dairy?
Building a Precise Genetic Plan with Us
When it comes to improving herd profitability, it’s tempting to focus on one number, one trait, or one index. Assuming that selecting the highest‑ranking bull for a single trait or index guarantees better returns is detrimental.
At ABS Global, our goal is to support you with a strategic, customized genetic plan that drives sustainable, long‑term genetic progress. That means shifting beyond single‑trait selection to developing a genetic plan based on your unique herd goals that drives profit through balanced cows.
Anytime you chase extremes—whether it’s industry indices, components, or another trait—you risk compromising traits that matter just as much to your herd’s health and profitability. Prioritizing one area can unintentionally weaken others. That’s why we aim to create a genetic plan that is tailored to your herd, maximizes your milk check by focusing on your market, optimizes beef on dairy production for additional revenue, and minimizes expenses by helping you improve weaknesses.
Without a precise genetic plan built around your milk market, facilities, weather, environmental and more, you won’t reap the full benefits of genetic selection. With a thoughtful genetic plan from ABS designed by you, for you, you can profit from genetic progress through balanced sires.
Create a customized genetic plan with ABS and start profiting from genetic progress.