Profitable Cattle are the product of Correct Genetic Design

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Profitable Cattleare the product of Correct
Genetic Design

• Focused on Your Real Profit

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Favorite Quotes

• Men occasionally stumble over the truth,
  however, most pick themselves up and hurry off as
  if nothing had happened. Winston Churchill
• If we could apply a force equal to that of our
  human natures resistance to change there would
  be nothing we would not accomplish. Unknown

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Favorite Quotes

• Most people believe they are thinking when in
  fact all they are doing is re arranging their
  prejudices. Eleanor Roosevelt
• Consumers love to be dazzled with
  incomprehensible and meaningful scientific
  jargon. A writer for The Australian Newspaper

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Favorite Quotes

• "Whenever you find you are on the side of the
  majority, it is time to pause and reflect."  
  Mark Twain
• Doing what you have always done and expecting a
  different result is the definition of insanity
  Albert Einstein
•  

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Where Have I Come From?

• Over 40 years active involvement and accurate
  observation in all aspects of the cattle industry
  and recently - 3 years of intensive research -
  of both the dairy and beef industries - leads me
  to the following conclusion

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Greatest Threat

• The greatest threat our bovine production systems
  face is the fact the seed stock industry is
  continually supplying the commercial industry
  with non commercial genetics.
• The compounding effect of this is now very
  evident in the problems of the modern dairy cow.

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Another Conclusion

• The only thing Computer Generated Breeding Values
  may - reasonably accurately - identify is the
  individuals which will respond best in ideal
  nutritional environments.

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Accurate Observation

• Accurate observation based on the firm
  foundations of know how generated from hands on
  experience is the only true research.

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Mission

• To identify, select, breed and make available to
  the commercial industry functionally efficient
  bovine strains for the production of high quality
  products in grass based production systems.
• Sustainable genetics for sustainable farming.
• Genetics with longevity for farming/farmer
  longevity.

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Whats The Target

• Maximum kilograms per hectare farmed
• Minimum Cost of Production (COP)
• Maximum Real Profit Generation

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Your Real Profit

• Your real profit is heavily tied to your COP.
• The only major part of the your real profit
  equation you have any control over is COP.
• Today the term profit is incorrectly used in
  promotion potential gross income is what should
  be stated.
• Potential gross income has little reflection on
  real profit.

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Your Real Profit

• Your real profit is tied to how efficiently your
  animals can convert available resources to a
  saleable product.
• This is heavily tied to your herds phenotype.
• Phenotype/body type/conformation when correct
  - leads to constitution and ability to function
  and produce economically under all nutritional
  conditions.

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Constitution

• If their was one word which encompasses what our
  modern bovine strains lack - it is CONSTITUTION
  - due to frailty tall - narrow lean hard
  doing frailty.
• An animals constitution which is directly
  related to its body conformation (phenotype)
  dictates its responses to nutritional
  fluctuations.
• Our modern animals phenotypes have changed to
  taller and narrower lacking constitution.

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Modern Beef and Dairy Seed stock Multiplying
Criteria

• Figures
• Feed - non commercial environments
• Fashionable genetics
• Use of computer generated breeding values which
  have incorrect weightings and assumptions as
  profit indicators
• Confusion/ignorance in the understanding between
  potential gross income and real profit
• It is all about Promotion (theirs) vs Profit
  (yours)

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Seed Stock Industry

• Are our industry perceived leading seed stock
  producers
• Only better feeders?
• Only better promoters?
• Only better number multipliers?

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Todays Dairy Industry

• Dairy industry experts boast they are using the
  Worlds leading edge technology to identify
  superior individuals.
• The fact - the industry is taking 1 step
  forwards and 2 backwards never seems to enter
  their heads.
• Multiplying animals with great figures is easy
  breeding great animals is a never ending task.
• From behind a desk all one can see is figures.

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Selection Criteria of the Dairy Industryover the
last decade

• Continual flooding of the AI industry with
  fashionable genetics produced by ET from high
  profile cows which would/could not rebreed
  because of poor fertility
• Continual assistance at birth of seed stock
  animals
• Continual propagation of unproven young, early
  high producing genetics and ignoring (selecting
  against) older genetics with true longevity

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Selection Criteria of the Dairy Industry

• Selecting body types for show ring appeal rather
  than functionality added to this focus on
  individual production - with no consideration to
  efficiency of production
• Selection on production with little or no
  consideration to quality of product
  ( components)

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Result of this relentless selection criteria

• The greatest problems the breed has are
• Infertility
• Dystocia
• Poor longevity
• High maintenance requirements and inefficiency of
  production
• Low milk solids leading to volume charges

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How Smart Have We Been?

• How could the result be anything else?
• Children at Kindergarten would say this was
  fairly dumb if we explained to them our selection
  criteria and that we are not happy with the
  outcomes.
• Now we are tailoring the industry around the
  problems (at an incredible cost) instead of
  actually addressing the problems.

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The Problem

• The design of the modern cow is the problem.
• It is incorrectly designed.
• Farmers are spending huge dollars on feed and
  other supplements with no economical gain.
• Attempting to create an environment (at great
  cost) where this cow will function.
• Designing the system around an incorrectly
  designed cow is unsustainable and unprofitable
  farming.
• More feed for more production with no efficiency
  of production will not work.

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Check the Statistics

• Dairy Australia In Focus 2008 reports in 1999-00
  National average production/cow was 4,996 litres
  2006-07 5,182 litres. Average price received
  around 0.30.
• An increase of 186 litres at .30/ltr equals a
  gross increase over a 7 year period of
  55.80/cow.
• At 250/ton - farmers feeding 0.5 ton more
  grain/cow in 2006-07 than 1999-00 equals 125 in
  extra feed costs for an extra 55.80 gross
  return!
• Where is the genetic gain and increased
  productivity farmers are continually investing
  hard earned dollars in?
• Statistics verify no gain only financial pain.

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The Constant Cost

• Our modern dairy cow is a very poor converter
  of available resources.
• Whilst she has the propensity to produce 10 -
  14,000 litres in the main - she is only
  producing 6-7,000 litres.
• The problem is that all the maintenance
  requirements of the 10-14,000 litre engine are
  present no matter what her production is.
• Like having a 5 litre V8 as a courier vehicle in
  the city on the odd long run you will win -
  HOWEVER - the constant cost of the big engine -
  sitting at the lights - will make you financially
  uncompetitive.

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Modern Dairy Cow

• All milk and
• no body

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The Old The New
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Old fashioned Cows
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Worldwide Commercial producers have spent
Millions of on (supposed) superior black
white genetics and now they are advised to fix
(what was sold to them as better) with cross
breeding?

• Experts are advocating 3 way cross breeding
  we had Brindle cows 40 years ago why have you
  spent all this money?

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Our Beef Industry

• Our beef industry is headed down the same path.
• Seed stock operations are openly using feed
  wagons and bragging about their feeding regimes.
• What environment will the animals which float
  to the top in these environments require?
• And they are supplying the commercial industry
  with genetics which have been in 5 star
  accommodation since conception?

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Modern Angus Sires Multiplied (termed bred) for
Numbers

• These are trait leading beef Bulls
• Where is the Beef?

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Sale Topping modern Sire after 12 months in the
real (commercial) World
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Modern Angus Cow

• Beef Cow where is the Beef?

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Modern Angus Females
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Unfashionable Angus Sires
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Unfashionable Angus Females
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Hereford Sire Born in the 1970s
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Whose Milk EBV Here?
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The Main Problem

• Height and narrowness (lack of capacity) are the
  killers.
• Change the phenotype of a breed to that of
  another and that is how it will function.
• The phenotype dictates how the animals responds.
• Research conducted in the US found there was a
  35 difference in the maintenance requirements of
  Angus cows of the same live weight.

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When making your genetic selections consider the
following

• Are the breeding decisions your seed stock
  supplier is making focused on your profits or
  theirs?
• Can you afford to create a similar environment?
• Are they supplying you with great genetics or
  genetics with great numbers?
• Are your genetic selection decisions introducing
  Profitable or Promoteable genetics into your
  herd?
• Will these animals work for you or will you have
  to work for them?

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Always

• Look what is happening in front of you
• Do not be deluded by the promotion
• Understand that things do not happen in isolation
• When an animal does not look good to you it is NO
  GOOD regardless of what the paper says

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How Do I Intend to Identify and Make Available?

• Continually searching for seed stock programs
  which have a commercial focus.
• Looking for consistent functional individuals
  within these programs.
• Validating that these animals will function
  efficiently in commercial environments.

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What Is Happening Now?

• Currently have Angus, Hereford, Jersey Friesian
  Brangus semen available.
• There are some bulls available carrying these
  bloodlines.
• Currently exporting embryos and semen to North
  America.
• Am interested in all species.

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Contact Details

• John OBrien
• 61 410 273 887
• Email profitablecattle_at_aapt.net.au
• Web www.profitablecattle.com