The ‘Resilient Dairy’ research launched by LIC at National Fieldays in June is an “overdue but welcome initiative” because New Zealand is lagging in dairy genetics, says genetics company World Wide Sires.

The seven year programme ‘Resilient Dairy: Innovative Breeding for a Sustainable Future’, is led by LIC with funding and support from MPI and DairyNZ. It is aimed at boosting NZ’s genomic progress.

CEO of World Wide Sires, John Schouten, says that because genomic evaluations is a numbers game, NZ is “hobbled in its ability to keep pace with genetic progress overseas where industries have large base populations to work from”.

World Wide Sires says it is the international marketing arm of dairy farmer owned Select Sires.

Schouten says US research to improve dairy cow resilience began in 2008.

“Select Sires and its sister company Accelerated Genetics initiated similar genomics research in 2008… to improve cow productivity and produce cows with improved health, wellbeing and environmental resilience.”

It has delivered “staggering results,” he said.

“The first release of genomic data on US Holsteins and Jerseys took place in 2009, but Select Sires had been working with genomic selection to assist with sire and female selections for a few years prior.”

Since the official introduction of genomic evaluations, the US Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding has recorded the improvements (see table below).

Schouten said somatic cell counts (SCC) in US Holsteins have also decreased by at least 50% since 1985. Much of that had been achieved via traditional genetic evaluations for SCC in the mid 1990s which evolved into genomic evaluations in 2009.

“We were doing genetic testing for a handful of genetic markers in the mid 2000s. And in 2008 we started doing genomic testing of our bulls, using genomic evaluations to make selection decisions. This eventually led to the public release of genomic evaluations by the US Department of Agriculture in 2009. It wasn’t until we had genomic evaluations that we started to make a quantum leap in genetic improvement.

“We’ve been making steady improvement for production traits all along. What genomic evaluations made possible was to allow us to make improvements for health and fertility traits at the same time as production improvements. This is difficult because of the genetic antagonism between these traits and is what has accelerated overall genetic improvement.

“The ranking of young animals using genomic evaluations has much greater accuracy than ranking by parent average alone, so we are able to use young animals as bull mothers and sire fathers, which shortens the generation interval and so speeds genetic progress.”

Schouten said genomic evaluations that directly address wellness traits have been available since 2016.

“We’ve made much progress with improved health and wellness. And the use of antibiotics has reduced and will be able to be decreased further through selection of animals with greater genetic resistance to disease. This also aligns with consumer demands.

“Female fertility has also made a dramatic turnaround since 2009 and our female fertility levels are what they were back in the 1980s with cows producing much more combined fat and protein kilograms.

“With increased feed efficiency we are also able to produce higher volumes of milk and milk solids with fewer inputs, so decreasing the carbon footprint per kg of milk produced.”

Schouten says the company’s progress in genetics improvement has been enabled by access to the largest genomic database in the world.

“Through open participation, North American, Canadian, Italian and UK AB co-ops/companies contribute SNPs which see at least 39,360 bulls and 583,676 heifers genomic tested each year.

“The US evaluation database now numbers at least 3 million genomic tested animals. This large database of genotyped animals with performance data leads the world.”

Schouten said World Wide Sires’ challenge has been to utilise genomic sire information “so we could diversify our sire line-up to focus on genetics appropriate for the various global management systems”.

“NZ’s Resilient Dairy programme aims to deliver, within the next seven years, “new disease management technologies and advancements in genomic science which will improve cow productivity and produce better cows with improved health, wellbeing and environmental resilience”.

“The international consortium, of which World Wide Sires is a member, has proven the research works. It’s evident on NZ farms today with robust, highly fertile cows which last in the herd and produce in excess of 500kg per year,” Schouten said.

Key points

• World-scale AB cooperative World Wide Sires is applauding the ‘Resilient Dairy’ research programme

• US research into genomics and resilience began in 2008

• Research results to date include improved components, production, fertility, health and wellness

• Today US ‘open participation’ genomic database (numbering 3 million genomic tested animals) is the world’s largest.

Poor udder quality in many New Zealand cows contributes to them being culled in their first and second lactations, imposing an unsustainable cost, says a visiting expert.

Rebekah Mast, the genetic director for World Wide Sires, recently visited New Zealand.

She has worked with dairy producers in 40 countries.

Mast said NZ farmers told her that udder quality is their “number one issue”.

“Their investment in genetics isn’t playing out because the cows aren’t lasting in the herd. If that is widespread, it’s an issue for the NZ dairy industry, now poised to decrease numbers.”

Mast said the US cow herd had shrunk in the last 70 years from 25m cows to 9m today “yet in that time we’ve increased production”.

“That is being asked of the NZ farmer: reduce numbers while maintaining or increasing total production.

“The production capacity and earnings of the dairy industry cannot decrease but each cow has to be more efficient to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. The US has modelled that well but the NZ system is different.

“You need cows that can do that in a grazing situation. Farmers must ask ‘what is limiting us in achieving that goal?’ “

Mast said the NZ dairy industry of the future will need cows with udders capable of carrying a higher volume of milk, and this requires a greater focus on productive life and udder quality in the breed.

“North American breeding has basically spent the last 30 years identifying bulls that augment yield and udder quality. We have tried to identify sires with both traits.”

Farmers wanting to increase production or improve udders “cannot select a random bull but must instead make sire selections based on genetics which will improve your herd”.

Udder improvements are very heritable and reliable, Mast said.

“Right after the first generation you will see some impact: in improved fore-udder attachment and udder height and width.

“Many traits factor into longevity and profitability. You cannot say a shorter cow will be more profitable, because if her udder or feet do not hold up she won’t have longevity.

“The more similar the parents are the better we can predict what the next generation will be. We predict it a lot in our families, i.e. two parents who look very different will see a lot of diversity in their children versus parents who look very similar.

“And it’s the same in cattle. We cannot leave it to chance and crossbreeding. Simply putting a Jersey over a Holstein Friesian and vice versa is leaving it to chance.

“To be effective, cross breeding needs elite pure breeds. The genetic progress being made with Holsteins and Jerseys is better than it has ever been.”

Much better traits in US holsteins

Rebekah Mast says udder traits “have made significant genetic progress in US Holsteins”.

“So that tells us that if you are looking for a population that can improve udders, Holsteins are the ones that will do that,” she said.

“World Wide Sires selects bulls specifically to resolve the issues being faced by NZ farmers, i.e. bulls with moderate stature siring daughters which are extremely fertile, have strength, strong functional traits, great udders and feet and very high production. These traits enable them to last multiple lactations.

“In reviewing cows to reduce numbers yet maintain or improve production you need to retain cows with the attributes which correlate to that outcome.

“Look at where the cow generates profit from. You want udders carried above the hock -- even as later lactation cows; high and wide rear udders; correct teat placement and length; rear legs well aligned and tracking straight from the rear; a wide rump for easy calving; and enough space to support a high producing udder.

“You need to select for all these things. And in NZ, where production is relatively low versus the rest of the world, you don’t need to go for extreme US bulls.

“Select sires that will resolve any conformation and production weaknesses, and generate a herd which will sustain and grow your business into the future,” Mast said.

A man regarded as ‘the Godfather of the Jersey breed’ recently visited New Zealand to extol the virtues of a breed he has “loved” since he was a child.

Herby Lutz grew up in Chester, South Carolina and recalls wanting to be a dairy farmer when he was nine years old.

“My parents had other businesses and I started milking for my neighbours, in 1984, when I was nine years old. Those early efforts led, many years later, to the purchase of the farm I still own with my wife. in Chester and the development of a line of Jerseys that set national records. The Lutz Jersey herd was one of the first in the United States to produce 20,000 pounds (around 9,000 kg) of milk per cow per year.”

“I eventually worked for the US Jersey Association and then took an opportunity to join Select Sires (one of the world’s largest farmer owned genetics companies) to run their Jersey breeding programme.”

Looking back over the years, Herby Lutz says the modern Jersey is larger and more capacious, able to convert feed faster than her predecessors.

“They’ve got a bigger frame, are more robust and have well-supported udders capable of producing large volumes year after year.”

In his role with Select Sires, Lutz “travels the world talking with farmers and breeding representatives for the co-operative’s marketing arm, World Wide Sires.

“Talking with farmers and understanding the challenges they’re facing is essential in my role managing Select Sires’ bull buying and Jersey programme. ‘One size doesn’t fit all’ and – as one of the largest genetics companies in the world – we have to produce a line of sires which have the goods farmers need in every country of the world.

“Having one of the biggest genomic programmes in the world doesn’t mean we ‘ignore’ type; we still go out and find cows which farmers love owning and milking. It’s essential to see the dams and grand dams so you can make corrective mating and produce a sound, highly profitable cow which will last in a commercial environment. Milking dollars have to validate the predictions.”

Lutz says there has been a resurgence in the Jersey breed, world-wide, with sales “more than” doubling in the time he has been with Select Sires.

“As a breed they are efficient producers of components. They don’t produce as many pounds of milk as Holsteins, but it takes less feed and water to produce what they do generate and that makes them a value added product.

“They’re also very efficient reproductively; their smaller bodyweight enabling them put more energy into getting back in calf v maintaining their bodyweight. In the United States, the Jersey breed tends to last one lactation longer than Holsteins.”

Herby Lutz’s love for the Jersey breed is evident in the passion he exudes as he talks with farmers. “They are very personable; when people give them a chance they figure it out and Jerseys take over.”

Ends

Dairy farmers who are achieving the highest profit margins on their farms tend to be those who invest and utilise technology to improve efficiency and production. The rate of improvement in dairy genetics, however, is not keeping pace with technology.

Dairy farmer, Louise Tupoutoa, became a breeding specialist for the largest dairy farmer owned genetics cooperative in the world “because there had to be a better way’.

“I’ve been involved in dairy farming all my life – growing up on a dairy farm and now involved with my family in a 700 cow farm in Southland.”

Louise’s passion for dairy genetics saw her work for a European owned genetics company before “moving across” to World Wide Sires.

“I wanted to work for an organisation which was less profit-driven and more farmer driven. The ‘big guys’ at World Wide Sires have all put cups on cows – they’re farmers who get around the world to experience hands-on dairying and understand how genetics can solve the challenges farmers are facing,” she said.

“Like a lot of countries, New Zealand is at a crossroads in terms of its on-farm production. Farmers are facing radical change because, to maintain viability while protecting the environment, they need to reduce the size of their herds AND maintain or improve profitability. And that requires a new approach from what we’ve been doing – fertile cows which consistently produce more than 550kg over a long time.”

“New Zealand’s Breeding Worth (BW) evaluation tool was introduced decades ago and has given us a national herd average of 380kgms per cow.

“I’m talking with more farmers who tell me BW isn’t paying the mortgage. I’m frequently learning about heifers which don’t last more than a season in the herd, whose udders and conformation simply aren’t ‘commercial’. The industry, let alone individual farmers, can’t afford this level of wastage.

“The base cow is holding us up as an industry. Most NZ farmers are doing the same as they were years ago and they’d go further (and assure their viability) if they had better bred animals under the same management system.

“Today’s farmers need animals which will survive for multiple lactations and produce high components – their farms need to make the same amount of money with less cows. When you do that, running costs come down.

“They also need genetics which come from a larger gene pool. It’s generally recognised that there is an unacceptable level of inbreeding in the national herd and that we need more outcrosses and hybrid vigour to produce a robust commercial animal.

“I’m finding more and more farmers are adapting their breeding strategies which produce fertile, productive, profitable cows which last in the herd. Rather than make a radical change, I’m encouraging them to judge the difference for themselves - breed a proportion of the herd to overseas genetics, with the balance to New Zealand genetics. The result is usually very stark in the strength and vigour of the World Wide Sires’ calves, and the heifers as they come into – and last – in the herd.

“As an industry we have to recognise that cows need to be fully fed to realise their potential; do that and (with the right genetics) you can average 550 plus kgms per cow.”

Tupoutoa said she knows of World Wide Sires’ cows which are fully fed and averaging 800kgms.

“These are cows which are a pleasure to milk – they get in calf easily, produce beautiful strong quiet calves and milk like trains.

“They’re cows designed by and for farmers.”

BULLS from the US have emerged as the clear leaders in the Holstein and Jersey stakes in the latest Australian Breeding Value releases.

World Wide Sires’ Coastal-View Mookie has topped the listings of Holstein bulls with a Balanced Performance Index of 394, well ahead of the next bull, Calister Maebull on 334.

It is the first time Mookie has topped the Australian proven rankings.

ST Genetics Australia’s bull Cogent Supershot debuted on the ABV rankings in third place with a BPI of 325.

In the Jersey rankings, Sunset Canyon David has remained the top bull with a BPI ranking of 265, despite dying more than 12 months ago.

David was well in front of the second best bull, CRV Australia’s Wallacedale Marvarie ET, with a BPI of 185 and ABS Australia’s Wallacedale Melvara on 179.

The top Red Breeds bull is Blackwood Park Blackwood, marketed by AuzRed XB.

It has a BPI of 243, well down on its score of 275 last December.

Genetics Australia’s Beaulands Swannies ET has risen from fifth top Red Breeds bull last December to second place in this release with a BPI of 239.

Last December’s top Red Breeds bull with a BPI of 278, V Foske, has fallen to third spot with a BPI of 228.

World Wide Sires marketing manager Tim Weller said Mookie was “streets ahead” of other Holstein bulls.

Mr Weller said five-year-old Mookie started in the rankings with a BPI of 147 but needed more daughters classified to officially join the ranks.

“He was never selected to be brought in as a young bull in Australia because of his initial BPI ranking,” he said.

“He was brought in because he made cows that farmers wanted — medium sized, good udders, calving ease and high components. It’s those traits that stand out.”

Mr Weller said Mookie was very popular in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

He said there were plenty of farmers in Australia with large numbers of Mookie daughters.

“There are at least three farmers with more than 100 daughters,” he said.

“The oldest daughters are now in their third lactation. He seems to be getting better with age. The future is very, very bright for the bull.”

Mr Weller said Mookie’s semen had a recommended retail price of $26, but packages were available at $22.

Semex Australia national sales manager Vaughn Johnston said Sunset Canyon David had been the top Jersey bull for more than two years.

“That doesn’t happen very often in the modern age of genomics,” Mr Johnston said.

“He’s a long way ahead of the next bull. He sired the junior champion at International Dairy Week this year. He has proven to be one of the best sires in the Jersey breed.”

Mr Johnston said David produced daughters that had proven their worth in the Australian climate.

“He has really good longevity traits that suit Australian farms, which then comes back to scores in overall type and mammary system,” he said. “Then he’s got good milk flow, good milk production and good components to go with it.”

Mr Johnston said at his peak, Semex was selling 20,000 semen doses a year at about $50 a straw.

Breeding Worth (BW) was introduced decades ago and has served farmers well as a breeding guide – or has it. The national herd is a good representation of its legacy – small cows which produce, on average, 380 kg.

Times and demands have changed, however, and farmers are faced with radical change because, to maintain viability while protecting the environment, they need to reduce the size of their herds AND maintain or improve profitability. And that requires a new approach – fertile cows which consistently produce more than 550kg over a long time.

The New Zealand Animal Evaluation Unit recently conducted a weightings change to the BW index which saw kgs of fat increase – favourably impacting Jerseys and some crossbred cows with a consequent increase in Jersey and crossbred sire rankings.

Turning the tide in favour of Jerseys was welcomed by farmers with a proliferation of endorsing comments on social media. It’s good to see the breed come back into the spotlight as it’s been one of THE foundations of a large number of highly productive Kiwi herds.

But that breed endorsement was drowned out by a clamour of confusion from farmers who, in the main, say BW doesn’t necessarily mean a profitable cow.

We all know farmers who will point out their top cows – sometimes they have high BW but more often than not they don’t. Often they have low BWs because they are the offspring of an overseas sire or dam which doesn’t have a New Zealand ranking.

It’s a dilemma AEU has grappled with – how to provide a fair ranking which accurately guides farmers on which sires to use, and which cows to bring into the herd.

The changing dynamic of dairy farming is, however, increasing the ‘weighting’ on providing farmers with information which helps them transition from high numbers of low or moderately producing cows, to fewer highly fertile, productive animals which last in the herd.

We need to consider how quickly a farmer receives a return on his or her investment in a cow.

I frequently talk with farmers who rear high BW heifers only to find that, when they enter the herd, they are weak with poor udders and have to be culled within the first lactation with many more failing to last two lactations.

Farmers – and the country – can’t afford that wastage.

Farmers need moderately sized, robust animals bred to produce and last in the herd from day one.

Over the past few decades, focus has been on numbers but nitrate leaching and increased environmental awareness is sending a very strong message that the tide is turning with the focus turning from numbers, to productive life.

The absence of an evaluation tool which suits all farmers is seeing a shift to a growing appreciation that it’s what’s in the vat (and the back pocket) that counts.

The call for dairy farmers to prepare now for a future with smaller, more productive herds depends on access to superior dairy sires.

This is the message World Wide Sires will be giving farmers at the South Island Agricultural Field Days at Kirwee from March 27 to 29.

Hank Lina, World Wide Sires’ general manager for New Zealand, said “in the US and around the world, farmers are recognising that genomic sires are light years ahead of daughter-proven sires because they have been selected for the traits farmers need today and tomorrow – not yesterday.

“Demand for genomically proven bulls in the US is now greater than for daughter-proven: 70% of all semen sold in the US is genomic. This gives farmers the advantage of a level of genetic gain never before possible. The genetic superiority of today’s genomic bulls is light-years ahead of traditionally proven bulls.”

Lina said World Wide Sires “began genomically proving bulls in 2009 based on one of the largest base populations in the world comprising at least 2 million genotyped animals”.

“The size and depth of that data set provides a very high level of accuracy in genomic prediction, and that has led to the confidence we are now seeing amongst American farmers.

“The NZ experience with genomics is at odds with the rest of the world largely because this country simply doesn’t have the large data set of genotyped animals needed to generate strong reliabilities consistent with daughter performance.

“The Productivity Commission’s report, highlighting the need for the herds of the future to be smaller and more productive, reinforces that farmers need to be using sires selected for that purpose.

“Three or four years ago, when many of the NZ-bred daughter proven sires on offer to Kiwi farmers today were selected, the breeding imperative was different: we were still in a growth phase.

“A quick look at the latest dairy statistics confirms the productivity of the NZ national herd is increasing slowly: e.g. 20 years ago average kgMS/cow was 301, ten years ago it was 330kgMS and today it is ‘only’ 380kgMS.

“Contrast that with the genetics that World Wide Sires’ parent AB cooperative Select Sires has generated: upwards of 550 kgMS/cow per year. And those cows are bred to last.”

The figures speak for themselves, Lina said. Milk 414 (average NZ herd size) cows doing (the average) 381kgMS or fully feed and milk 286 cows and produce 550kgMS.

“Both scenarios deliver the same end-result, confirming that it is possible for farmers to cut back on numbers without negatively impacting on the profitability of the farm – with less cost, stress and impact on the environment.”

Lina said the breeding logic of ‘going genomic’ is one which is finding favour amongst Kiwi farmers and they are expecting continued high demand.

The Productivity Commission’sreport, highlighting the need for dairy herds of the future to be smaller and more productive, reinforces that farmers need to be using sires selected for that purpose – today or at the next mating season.

The mating decisions you make now will hit the ground in three years’ time – will those cows enable you to maintain or improve the profitability and viability of your farm/s? That is the dilemma facing every dairy farmer in the world.

Breeding a herd of highly productive, profitable dairy cows which will satisfy the myriad of drivers – industry, economic, environmental, welfare and regulatory – starts today.

You can’t control the environment or the global industry drivers, but you can make decisions now to ensure your farm and your future is viable in the future.

Herd productivity

A quick review of the latest Dairy Statistics confirms the productivity of the New Zealand national herd has increased slowly. For example 20 years ago the average cow produced 301kgs. per year; ten years later her daughters and granddaughters were averaging 330kgs. and today the average cow produces 380kgms each year.

Using that rate of improvement, in five years the average cow will produce around 405kgms. Will that level of production sustain your farm if, like the Dutch farmers, you are asked to reduce your herd by upwards of 8 percent? And where would you start if you had to cut that percentage of the herd?

Would those culling decisions be based on the industry index attached to each cow? Or would you trust your gut - after all, nobody knows a herd as well as its owner - and make an assessment based on ‘will she last more than a lactation’.

Milker-friendly cows

No matter how many cows you milk, cows must be ‘milker-friendly’- i.e. you want to be able to apply the cups easily, evenly and quickly.

Start by looking at the business end of each cow and grade her (in your own mind and that of your staff) for how well her udder is supported, the shape of the udder (you want udders which are high and wide and above the hock with good teat placement and length, so the cups sit evenly), thus making for fast and clean milking.

Well supported and shaped udders are critical to improving production and health (and reducing costs) through less mastitis and lower SCC.

Udders aside, temperament is also a huge driver behind ‘milker-friendly’ cows. How many heifers have you culled in the last few years because of temperament alone, despite your best efforts? A sire overlooked on temperament can be a costly selection in hindsight if you lose one or two just on temperament.

Conformation

A cow needs to track freely and effortlessly on her feet and legs. The structure of the rump and set to the rear legs, both side and rear, have an enormous effect on the lifetime of an udder. Have you ever noticed how a cow with her hocks almost touching has, in most cases, a rear udder far narrower and lower than other cows? A poor rear udder leads to faster degradation of the udder and ultimately udder breakdown. The rump not only affects the legs and udder but also the calving ability of the cow.

With the range of dairy farm systems in New Zealand likely to increase, farmers will need to select feet and leg traits specific to their system. If you’re planning a barn, or more intensive system in years to come, you’ll need cows slightly straighter in the leg than a cow who needs to walk 8km a day.

Thinking of changing to once-a-day milking in the forceable future? Then your future herd needs to have strong udder ligaments, especially the centre ligament.

Fortunately, conformation traits overall have a good level of heritability compared with most health traits, such as fertility and resistance to mastitis. This means if mating decisions are made correctly, a rapid improvement can be made in one or two generations.

It may sound like a drum that has been beaten a thousand times before, but these are the inches that will add up to make the difference between winning and losing.

Productive life and return on investment

The future cow must be low maintenance with a sustained productive life - the aim being that in only two lactations, each cow should have returned the investment you have made towards breeding and rearing her.

Every farmer knows the financial, time and opportunity cost of rearing a heifer replacement. How much does it cost you to rear your replacements? Whatever that cost, in coming years it will increase, applying not only additional financial, but more regulatory restraint in terms of stocking numbers and their effect on the environmental footprint of your business.

Every farmer knows that the 9 year old cow who has calved eight times is more profitable than one that is culled at 2nd or 3rd lactation. Why? Because they cost the same to replace. If environmental regulations continue to increase, the effect on the opportunity cost of having a greater number of replacements each year will significantly increase - so cows that last longer aren’t only more financially beneficial, but also environmentally.

Have you ever thought about the fact that a cow that lasts three lactations is in most cases twice as profitable as a cow that lasts two? And a cow that lasts four lactations is three or four times as profitable? The reason being the time, financial and opportunity cost to rear another heifer to replace her.

If a cow only lasts two lactations and produces, say, 800kgs. in that time with an average payout of $5.50kgs over that time, that equates to $4,400 in turnover. However, when you consider it has cost around $2,000 to rear her you are left with a balance of $2,400 without considering all the other multitude of farm working expenses. The cow that lasts three lactations and produces 1,200kgs creates $6,6000 turnover with a balance of $4,600 after deducting her rearing cost.

This, very simply, illustrates that you need long-lasting cows in the herd to improve the profitability of the herd and give you a return on your investment in each cow.

In summary

The farm of the future will not be vastly different from today. It will still have the same core expense and revenue streams – however, each will require more attention and efficiency to improve profit.

Where breeding in the past may have been an annual ‘tick the box exercise’, going forward it should be a continual focus as you work with and amongst your herd.

Fortunately, the technology behind breeding has evolved significantly to meet the farmer’s need for tomorrow’s cow to be vastly superior (in every way) from her dam and granddam. The future is promising with improved genomic accuracy, shortened genetic intervals and increasing knowledge around traits and genes specific to health traits like mastitis.

The herd you own today is the foundation for the future. Based on your assessment of weaknesses and strengths, how strong is that foundation? And what, if anything, needs to change so your farming business remains viable into the future?

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Scott Ruby, Vice President Global Sales for World Wide Sires, made these comments during his annual visit to New Zealand to talk with farmers. While here, Ruby visited farms in the North and South Island.

“I oversee the really important markets around the world where things are happening – and a lot of the dairy world is watching what’s happening in New Zealand,” Scott Ruby said.

“Over the past few years I’ve seen a gradual change in on-farm practice with more Kiwi farmers benefitting from supplementary feeding, enabling them to move from system 1 to 2 or 2 to 3.

“Dairy farming is a low margin business and farmers, everywhere around the world, tend to be conservative in their approach to taking their farms to a higher cost model.

“But, regardless of location and farming system, globally dairy farmers share a common goal – to milk cows which are efficient converters of feed into milk solids.

“Most cows in New Zealand eat between 15 and 17 kgDM of grass forage per day with additional supplementary feeding taking them to 19 to 21 kgDM total intake per day. Our genetics program at World Wide Sires is focused on creating cows that can efficiently convert that dry matter intake into more kilograms of milk solids while staying healthy, breeding back quickly, and living for many lactations.

“A few years ago it was common to talk to farmers who, wanting to increase milk production simply added to the size of their herd/s. That is all changing now – not only in New Zealand but around the world. Today more farmers are concerned about the number of cows on their farms and are thinking more about increasing milk production by increasing production per cow instead of total cow numbers.”

Scott Ruby said that on every farm he visited across the North and South Island, “the discussion turned to the environment and environmental policies.

“I have two dairy farms in Oregon that have been under Government environmental supervision since 1985 and we discussed a lot of the types of issues that we, as dairy farmers, deal with when it comes to managing our cows and being good stewards of the environment. Farmers generally don’t want to do one at the expense of the other so they need to find a new balance, a new approach.

“Our breeding programme at World Wide Sires has been working to develop blood lines that will create a more feed efficient animal and that means an animal that is smaller in size and doesn’t require as much energy for maintenance so she can put most of her energy into producing more kilograms of milk solids.

“Genomics has been the most positive tool we have had at our disposal in the last 15 years in the US and it has allowed us to increase the rate of genetic progress in producing more feed efficient cows. Today we have bulls that have been developed from multiple generations of genomic breeding that are light years ahead of where we were 15 years ago.

“Genomics is a great tool but it’s only as valuable as the size of the database behind the genomic system. The advantage we have in North America, over New Zealand, is having a huge database made up of really high quality data. The quality of the data going in and the quantity of data we analyse is what makes our program the strongest in the world - and that allows us to make more rapid and consistent progress.

“We are creating a grazing style animal that can be more productive and efficient for New Zealand dairy farmers. She is moderately sized with a huge engine, able to convert DM into more kg of milk. Animals with this ability provide a new range of options for farmers which benefit the environment, the land, the animals and their lifestyles.”

The call for dairy farmers to prepare now for a future with a smaller herd of higher producing cows than today is dependent on access to dairy sires which are superior to their contemporaries of even a year ago.

In the United States and around the world, farmers are recognising that genomic sires are light years ahead of daughter proven sires because they have been selected for the traits farmers need today, and tomorrow – not yesterday.

Hank Lina, General Manager of World Wide Sires New Zealand, said demand for genomically proven bulls in the United States is now greater than for daughter proven.

“That’s not surprising. World Wide Sires began genomically proving bulls in 2009 based on one of the largest base populations in the world comprising more than 1 million genotyped animals. The size and depth of that dataset provides a very high level of accuracy in genomic prediction – and that has led to the confidence we are now seeing amongst American farmers.

“The New Zealand experience with genomics is at odds with the rest of the world – largely because this country simply doesn’t have the large dataset of genotyped animals needed to generate strong and consistent daughter performance.”

“In the United States, UK and Australia genomic sires now accounts for more than 65% of World Wide Sires’ sales – and this percentage is increasing year on year because those bulls are delivering.”

“Genomics technology has allowed the industry to shorten the generation interval very aggressively in the last five years – and the increase in the number of animals being commercially DNA tested has expanded the genomic database increasing the reliability. This explains why US dairymen are switching more of their breeding to genomic sires. However, there remains a strong demand for proven bulls for farmers who prefer homogeneous genetic progress over maximum speed so World Wide Sires is still delivering these proven bulls to the market with reliable calving ease and semen fertility information.”

Mel DeJarnette, Dr. Kristina McDonald, Dr. David Brown, and Dr. Tony Good

Select Sires, USA

We empathize with NZ dairy producers and the industry as they find their way forward and work through herd depopulations in attempts to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. In a number of media posts there are implications that germplasm may be involved in the transmission. There are many more theories than facts being shared and with social media, those do not stop at the NZ shoreline. Many of you may have questions, or may be asked questions about Mycoplasma bovis. What follows is a brief white paper, so to speak, highlighting Select Sires’ experiences and research related to mycoplasma in bovine semen.

What are mycoplasma?

Mycoplasma are fastidious organisms that lack a cell wall. They attach to host cells in a parasitic nature. This characteristic makes them very difficult to detect using conventional culture techniques and extremely resistant to many in vivo antibiotic treatments. Not all mycoplasma are created equal. Indeed there are literally hundreds of strains and variants of mycoplasma, yet only a few have been deemed of significant pathologic concern. Of relevance to the current conversation is Mycoplasma bovis which has been shown to be a causative agent for pneumonia and joint issues in calves and mastitis in cows.

Control of mycoplasma in frozen bovine semen processed in US AI centers.

Aside from the discovery that glycerol allows sperm to survive the freezing process, the addition of antibiotics to semen extenders, even before we started to freeze them, was one of the greatest advances in male reproduction in our lifetime. Although tremendous efforts go into health testing to ensure bulls are free of relevant potentially contagious diseases, bulls do not live in a sterile environment and thus collecting semen is not a sterile process. Any organism in the environment can also be in the semen and the addition of antibiotics to semen and extenders was attributed to significant improvements in field fertility of non-frozen semen in the 1950’s.

In the 1980’s, Certified Semen Services (CSS; the regulatory authority of US AI centers) sanctioned an extensive antibiotic trial that served as the basis for the present protocol that includes addition of a gentamycin, tylosin, lincomycin, and spectinomycin (GTLS) cocktail into semen and for frozen semen extenders (Shin et al., 1988). The minutely defined quantities of the GTLS cocktail was determined to provide effective “control” of growth of relevant microorganisms, including Mycoplasma bovis, in “frozen” semen without having significant negative impact on the sperm cells themselves. The key words are control and frozen. Antibiotics do not kill all organisms, including mycoplasma, but serve to control their replication and growth while in solution. Similarly, the freezing process itself at liquid nitrogen temperatures serves to kill a few cells but totally prevents replication of all cells. Finally, the dilution process itself, necessary to capitalize on efficient distribution of superior genetics, also serves to reduce the infectious dose of any organisms that may happen to survive the entire process.

It is important to note that the studies above were conducted in recognition of a separate study (Hirth et., 1967) that concluded it is nearly impossible to intentionally infect cows with Mycoplasma bovis using semen as a vector. The combination of these studies led CSS to conclude the transmission of Mycoplasma bovis, even if present in frozen bovine semen, is of negligible risk and thereby concluded testing sires/semen for mycoplasma was unnecessary, unwarranted, and offers no return on investment for the dairy industry.

It is important for readers to understand that the biosecurity of CSS approved and processed semen is NOT the result of a single factor but rather the combination of many factors, including but not limited to:

Health testing of the sireHygiene of the sire and the collection processAntibiotic addition to semen and extendersFreezing control of replicationDilution ratio of organisms below minimally infectious dosages

It is also important to note that since approval of the GTLS cocktail, there have been in excess of 1.085 billion doses of frozen bovine semen produced and sold under the CSS logo without a single documented case of transmission of mycoplasma bovis (NAAB statistics).

What about non-frozen semen?

The use of non-frozen semen was not addressed in the 1980’s CSS study of antibiotic efficacy for controlling growth of microorganisms in frozen semen. However, it was immediately recognized that the absence of freezing removes one of several very important control mechanisms. Thereby, CSS has offered no officially approved procedures for a non-frozen semen program. Instead, CSS provided guidelines for fresh semen programs to be evaluated on a trial/research basis provided each sire tests negative for “mycoplasma” on three consecutive weekly tests.

There are several very important qualifiers to understand this recommendation/guideline for non-frozen semen. First, CSS made no distinction between Mycoplasma bovis and other non-pathogenic strains of mycoplasma. Second, the guideline was proposed prior to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) when culture was the “gold standard” in diagnostic procedures. Finally, the guidelines were NOT imposed to conclude that fresh semen represents an increased risk relative to frozen semen but simply an “unknown” risk relative to frozen semen. In the absence of freezing, it was simply logical to question the level of control.

What is Select Sires’ interest in this field of study?

In the late 1990’s to early 2000’s, Select Sires was very interested in replicating the fresh semen programs used commercially in New Zealand. We had no illusion of improving fertility relative to frozen semen. Instead we were simply interested in capitalizing on the efficiencies gained by maintaining equal fertility at lower cell number dosages and thereby more efficient utilization of limited supply high-value genetics.

Following CSS research guidelines and state of the art culture technologies of the time, our endeavors were abruptly halted by reality. Using a split ejaculate technique, we promptly found that laboratories varied tremendously in their ability to detect mycoplasma even when present. Some labs were very efficient while other labs could not replicate the results. It did not take long to deduce that if you want a negative result, send the sample to lab A, but if you want to know the truth send it to lab B. Additionally, we concluded that even in the best of labs, presence was not always detected using culture even when known to be present. We had bulls that tested negative for 10 or more consecutive tests, then went positive and then back to negative.

It is also important to note that in these initial studies we were generically looking for mycoplasma. The CSS guideline did not specify that their recommendations targeted Mycoplasma bovis over any other strain and thus neither did we. The hurdle to the introduction of a CSS approved non-frozen semen program in the US seemed insurmountable and our interest waned.

Enter Dr. Kristina McDonald

Shortly after the futility of the endeavor described above, Select Sires was fortunate to have Kristina McDonald respond to an ad for a laboratory semen processing technician. Kristina came to us with a microbiology degree and an interest to continue and build upon our efforts of the past. Select Sires sponsored Kristina’s MS and PhD at The Ohio State University. Her master’s degree targeted the exploitation of emerging PCR based technologies that would be much more accurate and specific diagnostics than culture alone. This PCR technique was then used in her PhD studies that surveyed the bull population in our facilities for the presence of various mycoplasma species. As a tangent to the official research efforts toward her degree, Kristina also continued to lead Select Sires’ proprietary efforts toward the development of semen processing protocols that could be deemed effective by CSS for control of Mycoplasma bovis in non-frozen semen. Though much of Dr. McDonald’s research is yet to be published, below are several important and relevant findings.

Using semen samples spiked with known quantities of Mycoplasma bovis, Dr. McDonald confirmed the efficacy of CSS antibiotic cocktail to control growth of Mycoplasma bovis, Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, ureaplasma, Haemophilus somni and Campylobacter fetus in semen and frozen semen extenders. With over 250 total sires tested by qPCR, mycoplasma bovis has not been detected in the semen of any sire on our premises.

What about milk extender?

Select Sires uses a proprietary formulated milk-based extender. Through years of research and commercial application we have documented that this extender provides a significant fertility advantage to our product and to our customers. Nonetheless, milk comes from cows and cows can be exposed to numerous pathogens. The DNA fragments from these on-farm nuisance organisms that were destroyed during pasteurization may occasionally be found in extender using today’s highly sensitive PCR based technologies. The source of our milk is commercially processed USDA approved, pasteurized, homogenized whole milk. Thereby, these are NOT live organisms and the product is perfectly safe for human consumption or use in semen extenders.

Back to New Zealand

New Zealand discovered Mycoplasma bovis in a herd on the South Island in July 2017 and further investigations have raised the total count to 38 reported properties infected as of June 2018. These discoveries have created quite a stir in the New Zealand dairy industry as it has been previously declared that the country was “free” of Mycoplasma bovis. However, this declaration was made years ago when the efficacy and specificity of testing procedures were much less precise than those of today. It was indeed puzzling to many in our industry back then how such confidence could be claimed. How do you prove a negative using tests that often cannot confirm a positive? How do you become proficient at detection of a disease that purportedly does not exist in the environment? Thus, many in our industry wonder if this is really a “new” infection or simply a reflection of the ability of modern more sophisticated PCR based technologies to detect what has likely been present in New Zealand all along. It would be interesting to know what we’d find if we subject some 20 to 30-year old NZ cheese or powdered milk to these new procedures. If we found something would it help to relieve concerns and clarify steps forward?

Otherwise, there is broad speculation as to how the disease found its way into the country. Cattle movements, vaccines, and frozen semen and embryos have all been implicated but with no clear conclusion to date. There is some speculation there could be calls for increased testing for mycoplasma for imported semen. There is no question this would be easy enough to do, however the science simply does not support that this is necessary or offers any return on investment for our customers. Yielding for mycoplasma places the industry on the slippery slope to test for the next and the next and the next disease of perceived concern until the cost of testing becomes burdensome to the end user who ultimately has to pay the real cost.

While the rest of the world has learned to manage and deal with Mycoplasma bovis, this is new for New Zealand. The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI, equivalent to our USDA) is operating based on confidence in the prior decree of a Mycoplasma bovis-free island and wants to return to that status via depopulation of herds and eradication of the disease. Producers are rightly concerned and confused about their industry and their future. It is easy to second guess these situations but that generally only creates more frustrations and confusion while solving no one’s real issues.

The Finnish publication

A recent publication out of Finland is casting even greater confusion and consternation on this subject. It is very important to distinguish that the Finnish publication was NOT a controlled research trial but rather a summary of the efforts and conclusions from an anecdotal, after the fact search for the source for a known Mycoplasma bovis infection in a herd in Finland (Haapala et al., 2018). Their observation that antibiotics are bacteriostatic and not bactericidal was not novel and it is well-documented that one can occasionally culture microbes once removed from the antibiotics. However, there was no direct evidence in a control situation that the semen in question could be used to infect females with Mycoplasma bovis. The observations and conclusions were based totally on circumstantial evidence and are not irrefutable.

Summary

An important take home message for Select Sires’ customers is that the clear majority of published research and Select Sires’ on-going research efforts reconfirm that semen processed according to CSS protocol presents negligible risk for transmission of any disease including Mycoplasma bovis. Select Sires and our customer-owners empathize with our New Zealand counterparts and wish them wisdom, patience, and good fortune in their endeavors for a speedy resolution to this troubling industry issue.

Who is Select Sires?

Select Sires is one of the largest dairy farmer owned cooperatives in the world. In effect it is a federation of nine farmer owned and controlled cooperatives. The cooperative sells more than 19m straws of semen annually to 90 countries around the world and, over several decades, has developed semen production and processing procedures which are amongst the most rigorous in the world; procedures verified and endorsed by the US AI industry standards organization NAAB (National Association of Animal Breeders). Select Sires is represented in New Zealand by World Wide Sires NZ.

References:

Haapala, V., T. Pohjanvirta, N Vähänikkilä, J. Halkilahti, H. Simonen, S. Pelkonen, T. Soveri, H. Simojoki and T. Autio. 2018. Semen as a source of Mycoplasma bovis mastitis in dairy herds. Veterinary Microbiology 216:60-66.

Hirth, R. S., W. N. Plastridge, & M. E. Tourtellotte. 1967. Survival of mycoplasma in frozen bovine

semen. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 28:97-99.

Shin, S. J., D. H. Lein, V. H. Patten, and H. L. Ruhnke. 1988. A new antibiotic combination for frozen bovine semen: 1. Control of mycoplasmas, ureaplasmas, Campylobacter fetus subsp. Venerealis and Haemophilius somnus. Theriogenology 29:577-591.

The US auditing organization for the dairy semen collection and processing industry has issued a statement reassuring New Zealand dairy farmers of the safety of CSS ‘health certified semen’ from Mycoplasma bovis.

General Manager of World Wide Sires New Zealand, whose parent body Select Sires is a member of the US National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) welcomed the reassurance saying it provided an objective science-based perspective which farmers could trust.

“In contrast with New Zealand, where genetics companies apply their own standards to the collection and processing of bovine semen, the United States has an autonomous scientific body which provides an objective auditing service for semen and sire health and identification,” Hank Lina said.

The statement from CSS was released on 15 June and reads as follows:

Certified Semen Services, Inc. (CSS) sympathizes with the plight of New Zealand’s dairy producers as the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) acts to protect biosecurity by posting restricted notices on farms that have tested positive for Mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis). The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) does not list M. bovis nor does it recommend testing for this organism in either the semen or donor bull for safe international trade. Nonetheless, utilizing thorough research and testing methods, CSS instituted semen processing requirements that are effective in controlling M. bovis (and other specified potential semen borne microbes) in each breeding unit of semen. Over the past 35 years the track record demonstrates there have been no reports of M. bovis being cultured from frozen semen that has been processed according to these CSS Minimum Requirements. This historical testament to safety should provide New Zealand’s dairy producers complete confidence in using CSS “Health Certified Semen” in their herds.

Hank Lina said Kiwi farmers will welcome the reassurance.

“Until now, many of the messages about the safety of product have been driven by commercial imperatives. This reassurance, from an autonomous science based organization, provides the level of objectivity and reassurance that farmers need as they consider the upcoming dairy breeding season.”

Ends

Contact Hank Lina on 021 898 313

Farmers can be confident of the Mycroplasma bovis (M.bovis) free status of World Wide Sires’ bulls thanks to one of the most exhaustive processing, testing and treatment regimes in the world.

The company sells more than 19m straws of semen annually to 90 countries around the world and, over several decades, has developed semen production and processing procedures which are amongst the most rigorous in the world; procedures verified and endorsed by the US AI industry standards organization NAAB (National Association of Animal Breeders).

Hank Lina, General Manager of World Wide Sires New Zealand, said the standards “were developed, several decades ago, as a response to frustration at the varying standards of laboratories and their inability to grow and culture mycoplasma compounded by long intervals before results could be assessed by culture.

“Around seven years ago we were fortunate to come into contact with Dr Kristina McDonald, a microbiologist of some renown, who wanted to make the identification of M.bovis the central theme of her PhD as that is one of the more pathogenic strains of microplasma. Select Sires (our parent company) sponsored her research.

“Dr McDonald’s PhD made use of modern PCR based techniques to detect mycoplasma bovis in semen. She developed efficient methods for growth, culture, DNA extraction, and PCR b

ased detection.

“No evidence of M.bovis was found in any of Select Sires’ 1700 bull team either during the research programme, or since.”

The extender World Wide Sires uses for frozen semen is made from homogenized, pasteurised whole milk and glycerol. Antibiotics - including Gentamicin, Tylosin, Lincomycin, and Spectinomycin - provide a secondary line of defence against seminal contamination as well as primary action against mycoplasma, ureaplasma, and Haemophilus somnus.

Hank Lina said that, notwithstanding the results of Dr McDonald’s research, following the outbreak of M.bovis in New Zealand, World Wide Sires commissioned testing of semen from bulls sold in the country - from two independent international laboratories.

This semen was sent fresh - without any additives or antibiotics - to Cornell University in the USA and to MPI labs in Wallaceville New Zealand. No evidence of M.bovis was found.

A groundswell of dissatisfaction with cow quality is expected to be evident in demand for a just released catalogue of dairy sires.

Within days of World Wide Sires’ (WWS) 2018 catalogue of sires for commercial Kiwi farmers coming off the press WWS Genetics Manager, Craig Robertson, said they are fielding calls from farmers who, until now, have stuck with BW.

“Our team has received an increasing level of concern amongst commercial farmers that BW doesn’t always deliver a functional cow. We get complaints about size (too small), narrow mouths, sickle hocks and poor udders – all aspects critical for a cow which is going to produce and last in the herd.”

Robertson said these factors are considered when the WWS team of breeding consultants “sit down to select bulls for New Zealand.

“Our lineup of 140 bulls is selected from the largest genetic database in the world. It’s a very lengthy job but we select sires with the traits required by commercial farmers in this country.

“This year’s offering includes the largest team of A2A2 bulls in the country – 78 of the main breeds (Friesian and Jersey) many of which are polled.”

The WWS NZ bull team is predominantly made up of Friesian and Jersey sires but also includes Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Milking Shorthorn and Guernsey.

Craig Robertson said the other attribute which farmers are keen to harness is personalised, onfarm service.

“Our expert team of breeding consultants are located around the country, providing onfarm service. It’s a factor which is incredibly important to farmers, and one which they value.

“Farmers can also be confident of the M.bovis free status of our bulls thanks to one of the most exhaustive processing, testing and treatment regimes in the world.

One of the largest dairy farmer cooperatives in the world is welcoming news that cow and herd numbers in New Zealand are reducing without a corresponding impact on production. The insight is provided in the latest New Zealand Dairy Statistics for the 2016-2017 season.

General Manager of World Wide Sires New Zealand, Hank Lina, said this is a trend which is evident around the world and is a call to action for Kiwi farmers.

“The traditional New Zealand breeding strategy, focused on genetic gain, has worked well until now but farmers need to question whether a system which, over several decades, has delivered average per cow production of only 381 kg milk solids is enough to sustain their businesses into the future.

“BW is a great ranking tool but, as farmers know, it doesn’t always translate to milk. We are finding more and more farmers are coming to World Wide Sires wanting genetics which are high producing, fertile and which last for years in the herd.

“World Wide Sires has been in New Zealand for more than 30 years and our genetics perform across all farming systems. It’s not uncommon for system 2 and 3 farmers to be achieving 500 kg ms per cow. That’s an additional 119 kg ms per cow which, across the average herd of 414 cows at a payout of $6 per kg ms translates to an additional $300,000 of income! How many farmers can afford not to take the step to breeding this level of prosperity and sustainability into their farming business?”

Hank Lina said that is “the potential we are offering farmers and more and more are taking it up. In the last year alone sales have increased by 43% and we are getting steady and increasing growth in enquiry from new clients all wanting the same thing – cows that milk and get in calf, from a company which provides personal on-farm service.”

The cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis has now been confirmed on a Waimate farm that last week was "under suspicion".

This brings to eight the number of properties where the disease has definitely been detected.

Another one that was suspected last week of harbouring it is awaiting definitive test results, and yet another in the Waimate district was announced on Wednesday as in doubt and being tested.

Two of the three new farms border properties owned by Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen, where the disease was first confirmed in mid-July, the first time it had been discovered in New Zealand although it is widespread globally.

The news has resurrected questions about where the disease may have come from, and renewed calls for New Zealand to introduce an import health standard for semen.

Federated Farmers dairy group chairman Chris Lewis said dairy leaders at the recent International Dairy Federation meeting in Europe had told him the most likely means of transmission was semen.

"The semen is treated with antibiotics but there is research to show these kill lots of diseases but not Mycoplasma."

A Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) spokeswoman said it had recently reviewed and revised its risk analysis on semen and it would be released "shortly".

"In short, it concludes that the risk of Mycoplasma bovis being transmitted through semen is unchanged and remains very low," she said.

Asked if MPI had seen the scientific evidence to back up the assertion antibiotic treatment was effective for M bovis-infected semen, she replied that the answer would be in the review.

Besides the risk analysis, MPI was also investigating how the disease got on to the van Leeuwen farms, but until then no-one could state categorically whether the semen supplied to the van Leeuwens was negative for M bovis.

World Wide Sires general manager Hank Lina said his company believed New Zealand needed its own import health standard. At present people had to take the genetics companies at their word.

"In New Zealand we don't have any commercial labs set up. There's one artificial insemination company that says we've done our own testing and another that says we can't test and another says I can get my bulls tested overseas.

"What is the farmer thinking, does he believe the companies, does he listen to MPI or DairyNZ - there's not many farmers who know what to think, and that's why I think we ought to set up a national standard," Lina said.

LIC said it had confirmed its artificial breeding bulls were free from the disease.

The co-op announced in September it would test for the disease to provide its farmers with greater peace of mind through the dairy mating season.

"We've now completed the testing and I am pleased to confirm that all LIC bulls have received negative test results with no sign of Mycoplasma bovis," chief scientist Richard Spelman said.

Lina said New Zealand's reputation was more important than the commercial drivers of the genetics companies.

"World Wide Sires NZ is putting its hand up to work with the Government, MPI, DairyNZ and other AB companies to work together to agree and implement a set of standards which will provide the reassurance we all need going forward."

MPI's incident controller David Yard said they still had to work out the source of infection at the confirmed infected property and to build a picture of animal movements between all three farms and possible other farms.

M bovis is spread through close contact between animals and through the direct movement of cattle between properties.

MPI's response team was now planning for how the new infected place would be managed and continuing testing of samples from the two other properties.

Lewis called upon Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor to demand the disease be eradicated, as he had several months ago.

"It's bloody disappointing to see more farms with the disease. It raises questions over how we could handle a more serious disease like foot and mouth."

He noted the criticism by MPI director-general Martyn Dunn of farmers who did not tag their cattle as required, so they could be traced.

"What is the value of Nait if MPI doesn't have confidence in it?" Lewis asked.

Farmers who have concerns can call the Mycoplasma bovis farmer support line 027 444 9380 or their local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP).

Farmers can be confident of the M.bovis free status of World Wide Sires’ bulls thanks to one of the most exhaustive processing, testing and treatment regimes in the world.

The company sells more than 19m straws of semen annually to 90 countries around the world and, over several decades, has developed semen production and processing procedures which are amongst the most rigorous in the world; procedures verified and endorsed by the US AI industry standards organization NAAB (National Association of Animal Breeders).

These standards were developed, several decades ago, as a response to frustration at the varying standards of laboratories and their inability to grow and culture mycoplasma compounded by long interval before results could be assessed by culture.

Around seven years we were fortunate to come into contact with Dr Kristina McDonald, a microbiologist of some renown, who wanted to make the identification of M.bovis the central theme of her PhD as that is one of the more pathogenic strains of microplasma. Select Sires (our parent company) sponsored her research.

Dr McDonald’s PhD made use of modern PCR based techniques to detect mycoplasma bovis in semen. She developed efficient methods for growth, culture, DNA extraction, and PCR based detection.

No evidence of mycroplasma bovis was found in any of Select Sires’ 1700 bull team either during the research programme, or since.

The extender World Wide Sires uses for frozen semen is made from homogenized, pasteurised whole milk and glycerol. Antibiotics - including Gentamicin, Tylosin, Lincomycin, and Spectinomycin - provide a secondary line of defense against seminal contamination as well as primary action against mycoplasma, ureaplasma, and Haemophilus somnus.

Notwithstanding the results of Dr McDonald’s research, following the outbreak of M.bovis on several Canterbury dairy farms, World Wide Sires commissioned testing of semen from bulls sold in that region - from two independent laboratories around the world. This semen was sent fresh without any additives or antibiotics to Cornell University in the USA and to MPI labs in Wallaceville New Zealand. No evidence of M.bovis was found.

FARMERS increasingly see benefits from concentrating their breeding programmes on improved performance rather than numbers as a means to improve efficiencies and avoid culling.

Whakatane-based breeding consultant Will Blakeway said the refocus was evident from calls he received from farmers.

“The rising price of land, combined with increasing environmental pressures is resulting in more farmers looking to improve the quality of their herd so they can improve and increase their farm’s profitability with the same or less cows,” he said.

Mr Blakeway heads the global marketing arm of World Wide Sires for the Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and Central Plateau.

He said he regularly spoke with farmers who had to cull a high percentage of their heifer replacements because they lacked the physical fundamentals required of a commercial dairy cow.

Whakatane dairy farmer Graham Lyford said the level of inbreeding in his 180-cow herd caused him to change breeding companies.

“I was shocked to see how many of the bulls couldn’t be used on a lot of cows. It was annoying mucking around having three or four different bulls in the row I would mate during milking.

“Even when I tried to get an outcross bull they all seemed to come from the same family,” he said.

“I’m in the dairy every day so it’s important that the cows have great temperament and milk well. If they lack either of those traits, they go.”

He said the real test would be when the new calves went into the herd in two years’ time.

“Our goal is to maintain or improve production with the same or less cows and the way these calves look, behave and are growing makes me feel confident we’re on the right track,” he said.

At Gabriels Gully, a 184-hectare farm near Waiotahi, Andrew Brown milks 400 predominantly Holstein/Friesian and crossbred cows once-a-day. But inconsistencies in the size of the cows coupled with conformation issues led to him reviewing the genetics he used.

“We’re getting inconsistencies across the herd – small, medium and large – which creates problems in a herringbone milking shed where the smaller cows get pushed around.

“Our goal is to gradually change the herd to moderate-sized Holstein/Friesians with high components and the udder support and capacity necessary to handle once-a-day milking,” he said.

He said many New Zealand-based breeding companies tended to have narrow gene pools, causing poor results for his heifers.

“This year, for example, we had to cull 20 percent of our replacement heifers which is a horrendous figure. It’s an experience we couldn’t afford to repeat, and we won’t,” he said.

In 2016 the Browns moved 50 percent of their mating plan to World Wide Sires to take advantage of their larger gene pool.

“Going 50 percent meant we could compare the resulting calves with the breeding company we’d been using,” he said.

Based on the comparison, Mr Brown will put 95 percent of the herd to World Wide Sires this year.

“There’s a visible difference between the width of the muzzles with World Wide Sires’ calves and the others, which they need in order to graze efficiently.

There’s a lot more calf – they’re noticeably bigger and stronger and they calve easily. They hit the ground running and are a breeze to rear,” he said.

Sodden Taranaki and Manawatū farmers are being offered a special discount price for a bull aptly named Noah by a dairy genetics company.

The discount for the elite dairy bull, named presumably after the biblical figure and his ark, has gone out to the farmers, who have been hard hit with ongoing wet winter and spring weather.

World Wide Sires' General Manager, Hank Lina said extreme wet conditions had challenged dairy farmers across the country.

"They could do with a break, and while we can't do anything about the weather, we can give them access to some elite dairy bulls specifically selected to provide the traits needed by Kiwi farmers."

Dairy farmers say the rain and overcast conditions has compromised mating with fewer cows than expected coming into season. Mating is soon to start.

Christchurch-based World Wide Sires New Zealand is an importer of US dairy genetics and has seen a 42 per cent increase in semen straw sales over the past year.

Lina said New Zealand farmers were increasingly interested in different genetic options to produce more profitable dairy cows and heifers.

"[We have] bulls which will correct a lot of the conformation and production issues we're increasingly seeing on New Zealand dairy farms.

"Our breeding consultants are talking with farmers frustrated that breeding worth is not delivering commercial dairy cows."

He said they were working with clients who had to cull up to 20 per cent of their replacement heifers because they had conformation traits which affected production.

"Such as sickle and cow hocks [which restrict room for the udder], poor legs and feet, high and narrow pin bones [impacting on calving ease] and narrow muzzles [affecting their ability to graze]."

Lina said Taranaki and Manawatū farmers could find out more about the wet winter relief offer by contacting one of the regions' breeding consultants.