More Inside
Information — Faster Genetic Progress
Herd sires have significant genetic impact on the future
of a herd — both positive and negative. With the IGENITY®
profile, you can be more confident about introducing a
sire into your herd because you will have inside
information about multiple traits of economic
importance. Not only will you have more confidence about
the genetics of your herd sires, but by using the power
of DNA, you can make genetic progress faster than ever
before because IGENITY can help you reduce the
wait-and-see factor. In addition, IGENITY can help you
avoid the genetic mistakes that can happen by
introducing young, unproven genetics to your herd. To
understand how quickly a sire can make a significant
impact — positive or negative — the distribution of
scores from the IGENITY profile have been plotted on the
following charts. Each one demonstrates how quickly a
sire can move the distribution of a single trait in a
herd.
Graph 1 shows the current distribution of tenderness
scores from the IGENITY profile, based on approximately
75,000 animals, representing most breeds and
environments in the United States.
[NOTE: Distribution is almost evenly split between
scores from the IGENITY profile of 1 to 5 and 6 to 10.]
Graph 2 shows the impact of mating these cows with bulls
possessing a score of 10 for tenderness from the IGENITY
profile. The blue bars represent the first generation of
offspring.
[NOTE: Nearly 90% have a score of 7 to 10.]
Graph 3 shows how, after just two generations of
breeding to bulls with a score of 10 for tenderness from
the IGENITY profile, more than 90% of the offspring have
a score of 7 or above — and more than 40% have a score
of 10.
Now, imagine how quickly progress can be made if
females also are profiled with IGENITY and mating groups
are sorted based on this information. On the flip side,
imagine how these charts would look if the sire had a
score of 1 for tenderness. You would be — or may
currently be — producing calves that are unacceptable
for this important trait and wouldn’t even know it.
Since the IGENITY profile is comprehensive,
tenderness is just one example of a trait you can
evaluate from a single DNA sample. The comprehensive
nature of the IGENITY profile also can help make
progress in multiple traits such as quality and yield
grade. While results will vary from herd to herd,
there’s no doubt that the IGENITY profile can help you
point your herd’s genetics in the right direction.
All 65 bulls in the 2nd Annual Optimum Beef Bulls
Sale will have complete Igenity DNA Profile information
listed. You can use this information together with the
bull's individual performance, EPDs, Indexes and this
DNA Profile Information to select the bull that is right
for your herd and goals.
Please don't hesitate to contact any Optimum member
or sale management at 912-654-3814 or 912-237-0608 for
more information. |
