Why is Custom Genetic Planning Important?
Your genetic choices will shape the path of performance and profitability of your future herd. That means it's critical to
ensure the sires you use today match your goals for the herd.
Benefits:
Meeting Your Needs
Strategic sire selection to move your herd towards your farm's goals
Optimized Progress
A breeding plan to optimize the number and quality of your replacements
Data-Driven Decisions
Accurate semen usage based on real-time herd performance data and trends
Ongoing Support
Expert guidance from your Alta advisor to maintain and refine your strategy
How We Build a Plan That Works for You
We take a four-step, data-driven approach to building your custom genetic plan. Each step ensures that every breeding decision
contributes to your long-term herd goals.
Step 1: Assess Your Goals
Understanding Your Farm’s Genetic Priorities
Alta dairy advisors are trained to assess your herd’s strengths, challenges, and long-term breeding goals. Key focus areas may include:
- Production traits, including milk yield and fat/protein components
- Reproductive efficiency, including fertility and calving ease
- Health and longevity, including udder health, mobility, and disease resistance
These focus areas help guide how much emphasis within your genetic plan should be put on production, health and efficiency, and conformation trait categories.
Step 2: Customize Your Index
Creating a Customized Selection Index for Your Farm
Using advanced technology like Alta BLUE LINK, your Alta advisor will help guide you toward the right genetic index for your dairy. That means your index is tailored to prioritize the traits needed to meet your specific herd goals, such as
- Increasing milk solids or components
- Improving herd health or longevity, and increasing cow or heifer fertility
- Managing udder health and conformation
The weighting of individual traits within the index ensures that sire selection and female rankings align with your strategy for profitability.
Step 3: Implement Your Genetic Strategy
Strategizing Direction for Maximum Impact
Your Alta advisor will guide this step to make the greatest impact on your operation using Alta BLUE LINK technology. This technology integrates with your real-time herd data to ensure the plan reflects your current herd performance trends, and help us work with you to:
- Choose bulls that fit your custom genetic plan
- Use a mating strategy that ensures the right bulls are used on the right females
- Ensure you use the precise amount of sexed, beef, or conventional semen to right-size your future number of female replacements
Step 4: Monitor Genetic Progress
Optimizing the Plan for Long-Term Success
Your Alta advisor will provide continuous support and conduct regular reviews of your genetic plan to ensure it continues to meet your farm's evolving needs. They’ll ask questions like
- How much progress are you making in the traits that matter to you?
- Does your custom genetic plan continue to match your goals?
- Is your breeding strategy still helping you create the right number of replacements?
Smart Genetic Decisions
Powered by Alta BLUE LINK
Knowledge is power. Your Alta advisor uses Alta BLUE LINK technology to help you make more strategic decisions and direct the course of your best future herd using your real-time data. Alta BLUE LINK's connection with DairyComp helps you adapt your semen use and implement mating scenarios to right-size your future heifer inventory, based on your current herd performance data.
