Add Comments

No Value!! Over the past several years the Reg. paper has decreased in value. Dairyman today use DHIA for individual SCC & Dairy Com. 305 for in house herd book. If they have an animal that could show or have very high genomic they grade her up. Classification is a joke used by breed associations only for promotion. With larger herds the cost to registration & classification does not get them return on investment.

The largest myth is that papers mean better genetics. Many commercial herds have better genetics than purebred guys. A paper doesn't mean more profit or genetic quality, it is an avenue for marketing if they choose to sell that animal if she qualifies above and beyond the barn cow segment.

The reality is that for many years, there were some commercial dairymen that wanted to add Registered Holsteins to their herds to upgrade their genetics . Today many commercial herds have turned to Jerseys instead of Holstein.

Bottom Line is correct, we have a dairy cattle jockey nearby, keeps buying up cheap open heifers , breeding them and then can't unload them. the sexed semen changed all of the industry, and IVF changed the reg industry.

Bottom line is that IVF changed the purebred market because that with conventional ET, only a few rare donors would produce over a hundred offspring and ½ or more would be bull calves. With IVF many more can produce high numbers of calves and all heifers if desired. Supply and demand dictate that if there are more daughters of a great cow than the market will absorb the price goes below the cost of production and we have seen that happen many times. Before sexed semen, big dairies would buy large numbers of replacements somewhere to expand, with sexed semen they can grow internally if and when they want to. The genetic boost to the nations cow herd should not be under estimated either. The big dairies make calves from bulls with great genetic merit with sexed semen, I assure you, few of them are using the “show bulls” to lead them forward. Looking at the list on Holstein’s website of “Highest Registry Activity by Bull” the first “show bull” shows up in the #23 spot and he would be not show up at all if the list was pure commercial.

I don't see it an IVF or sorted semen issue, the US cow numbers haven't readily changed in over a decade, before sorted semen could impact things. Having too many heifers just means we are milking more young cows that cant produce like 4 year olds. 98% of cows with papers will make their revenue from milk production and will be sold into the beef chain. Until Brattleboro figures out how to make those cows more valuable instead of focusing on 'sires of show winners' they really don't understand their customer in my opinion.

Concerned wife, I post on here for the fun of it. Old timer and i have been friends for years. Drove a bunch of miles together. Looked at lots of cows. I just recently figured out who he is. Doesn't matter. This may ruin our banter. If you think we are tough on each other on here you should see us together. Have a little fun sometimes. It's hard I know. I go the barn just to see what happens next. I had my first beef x heifer born yesterday. I tagged her 401k. Find some humor in the little things. Remember we are privileged to do what we love everday.

Its hurt the market, sure has. Supply and demand. I look at the registration papers on an animal as a road map. You have to know where you come from to know where you need to go. Kinda like old timer. All numbers and no pedigree. Breed a good one or milk a good one, then tell the rest of us how to do it.

I think we have had enough questions for a while. Morale within the industry is at an all time low. We have dedicated our lives to this industry and have no rewards at this point. Happy Holidays

Sure we have $100,000 calves from untested and un classified heifers...that may never calve or the most ugly..were oops ..injured at calving..don't you know ! Who buys them the bull studs or their partners..then they are bred to Pre-release semen. Some of these bulls such as ProGenesis Fabulous was kept off the Peon market for almost 3 years! Expect a top progeny proof from him..since all,his mates were to the highest genomic heifers.

The new genomic list just came out, and my guess is most of these females are % cattle. Unless your cow is one of 250 top females, your only hope is to have a pretty female that someone wants to show. "Registered" cattle used to be fun; today they're part of the nightmare. The nations cow herd looks better every day, sadly too much of its value is by the pound. Sexed semen has produced too many heifers.

Yes is the obvious answer to both IVF and sexed semen. In a free market, supply and demand are the primary market drivers. The question is, will the market for 95% of the purebred cattle survive?

Yes