Taking You to the EDGE
By Roy Wilson
Technology Development Manager, Genex
In 2007, your cooperative initiated a trial called Young Guns. The concept of the Young Guns was to identify "in-waiting" bulls (at two to four years of age) that ranked high for GenCheckTM based on their sampling age data.
GenCheck rankings are fertility rankings determined by Genex's powerful fertility database. It is these eight million breedings that determine GenCheck rankings on sires that have not yet received ERCR (Estimated Relative Conception Rate) scores from USDA.
The trial's hypothesis was: How well do fertility rankings at sampling age predict fertility rankings as bulls mature?
We identified 10 bulls for the Young Gun trial, collected semen in late 2006 and began distributing semen in 2007. We monitored these 10 bulls' fertility rankings throughout the year. At the conclusion of 2007, we examined how they ranked compared to the other sires used at the same time within the same herds. All 10 bulls were in the top 50th percentile for GenCheck, with six of the 10 bulls in the top 25th percentile!
Therefore, the answer to the hypothesis was yes; sampling age performance is a reasonable predictor of mature age performance. As a result of the Young Guns trial, Genex will introduce EDGE along with GenChoiceTM EDGE products.
EDGE sires average:
• PA LNM: +$443 (94th %-ile)
• PA Milk: +1206
• PA Fat: +50
• PA Protein: +40
• PA SCS: +2.90
• PA Productive Life: +2.9
• PA DPR: +0.1
• PA Type: +1.70
• PA Udder Composite: +1.29
• PA Foot & Leg Comp.: +1.02
• 7% SCE (Based on actual data)
(PA = Parent Average)
EDGE sires offer members and customers another option for maximizing their reproductive performance without sacrificing their herd's genetic level. EDGE provides the opportunity for members to have early heifer calves on the ground of some of the next elite sires. For example, producers will have access to 1HO6360 WIZARD, 1HO5045 LYNCH and O Man sons.
EDGE sires are genetic giants. Besides their already proven calving ease scores, our internal fertility research estimates this group of sires will range from +1 to +3 ERCR when available. Internal research also finds when these bulls become proven they will be as good as current active bulls that are at least in the 85th percentile for LNM$. Their high genetic level makes EDGE sires twice as likely to be activated into the proven lineup compared to the average Quest sire.
Ask your Genex representative about high fertility EDGE sires.
