But, like any lottery jackpot, Waratah Oberon is destined to generate rewards for those who chose to use him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABS Sales Representative Alan Blum said Waratah Oberon is among the Holstein breed\u2019s most profitable sires.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOberon scores high for Daughter Fertility, is great for mastitis resistance and combines with functional udders, feet, legs, rump and desirable \u2013 moderate stature \u2013 type,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis pedigree is full of health trait sires. For example he\u2019s by ABS sire Ellis PP \u2013 Australia\u2019s most popular homozygous polled sire and known for semen fertility, proven calving ease and daughter fertility\u00a0 \u2013 and Oberon\u2019s dam is a Proceed daughter \u2013 positive health trait sire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These few examples of bulls used as part of the Tracy\u2019s breeding plan during the past few years speaks to their genetic priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur primary focus for the past decade has been on health traits \u2013 especially the Fertility and Mastitis Resistance Australian Breeding Values \u2013 before that we were using the best production bulls,\u201d Stuart said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen the biggest gains come from those health traits. Before breeding for health, we were getting quite large empty rates in maiden heifers \u2013 more than 10 per cent at times \u2013 we knew there was an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, we have got the empty rates for the maidens well under 5 per cent, it\u2019s been a dramatic turnaround in such a short space.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A true herd \u201csuccession plan\u201d has been the main beneficiary of getting more heifers in-calf, while they\u2019ve also opened another income avenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need as many heifers to come in as we previously did and what that means is we are marketing milk cows instead of culling empties,\u201d Stuart said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt gives us an extra market, when we have got excess cows in calf, it also means we can concentrate on keeping our higher genomic tested animals, and breeding from them, to increase our genetic gain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reduced costs are another tangible upside of concentrating on breeding for health traits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dramatically improving our mastitis resistance means we are using a lot less drugs for treating mastitis, but also with other health concerns \u2013 such as retained foetal membranes after calving \u2013 we are seeing less and less issues,\u201d Stuart explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn conjunction with good feeding recommendations from our nutritionist, we are using a lot less antibiotics. We are also selectively \u2018dry cowing\u2019 the herd which means we are using less antibiotics at drying off as well. These are cost savings and it\u2019s also improving our antibiotic stewardship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, at dry-off, the Tracy\u2019s only used antibiotics on 25 per cent of their herd. These animals were chosen because of mastitis incidences and their somatic cell count history and 75 per cent of the herd was treated solely with Teatseal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These treatment numbers reflect the health rebound that Stuart, Jacqui, Angus and Ruby have witnessed across their seasonal calving, pasture-based herd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact their moderate stature \u2013 570 to 580kg liveweight \u2013 cows require less intervention and also average 600kg of milk solids across a lactation, shows their breeding philosophy is working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, other Australian farmers get to make the most of the Waratah genetics thanks to a partnership with ABS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Waratah Oberon, at 565 BPI, is the first bull the Tracy\u2019s have bred that\u2019s been picked up for artificial insemination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Named after the Mt Oberon on Willsons Promontory, the Tracy\u2019s are excited that their work will contribute to the national herd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI guess we have a little bit of pride to know our breeding goals are actually breeding animals that are good enough to match the best in the industry,\u201d Stuart said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe get a little satisfaction out of that. But ultimately our goal is to breed wonderful cows, breeding the bulls is a side hustle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A focus on breeding for health traits and developing consistent cow families has delivered one Gippsland dairy farm business its first bull into artificial insemination. And while Stuart and Jacqui Tracy, their son Angus and daughter-in-law Ruby, believe they\u2019ve \u201cwon the lottery\u201d when it comes to breeding Holstein Waratah Oberon, his pedigree tells a different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12924,"featured_media":11861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[75,1490],"abs_type":[],"abs_industry":[57],"class_list":["post-11860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-bull-release","tag-fertility","tag-holstein-genetics","abs_industry-dairy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/10\/Tracy74.jpg.webp?w=1024\")