 |
Premier Sires
You can be assured you are getting the all-round best bulls because of LIC’s:
- Sire Proving Scheme
- Forward Pack
- Selection process
- Within season monitoring system
- Extensive gene testing programme (for lethal and favourable genes)
SIRE PROVING SCHEME
Bulls that make up the Sire Proving Scheme are from genetics sourced from New Zealand and all around the world, with the majority being New Zealand based genetics.
Intensive pre-selection results in approximately 300 young bulls entering the Sire Proving Scheme each year. All potential bull dams are inspected to ensure that their conformation and production traits and ancestry are up to the required standard before a contract mating is undertaken. All bull calves being considered for purchase are physically inspected,and their dams re-inspected, to ensure they meet the required criteria.
Four years later, proofs for each of these bulls are produced from the first lactation of 75-100 daughters from all over New Zealand. On average, about 20 bulls from the original 300 bulls will be promoted into the Premier Sires teams.
| Information collected from daughters of Sire Proving Scheme bulls includes: |
- Production data
- Calving difficulty
- Liveweight
- Non-return rate data
|
- Culls/losses
- Calf defects
- Parentage verification (DNA)
- Traits other than production (TOP)
|
All this information tells us how the bulls will perform in New Zealand herds,under New Zealand management systems.
SELECTION OF PREMIER SIRES BULLS
All bulls selected for Premier Sires have to meet strict selection criteria. Only the very best proven bulls whose daughters will produce well under New Zealand farming conditions are considered good enough to enter Premier Sires.
Premier Sires bulls have to deliver highly profitable daughters, ie.Breeding Worth. That they do this, is shown by the fact that they tend to dominate the Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list.
Premier Sires bulls also have to meet strict TOP (Traits Other than Production)criteria.Nearly all daughters of bulls in the Sire Proving Scheme are TOP inspected by representatives from the respective breed associations.Bulls with unacceptable TOP or management traits are excluded from Premier Sires.
WITHIN SEASON MONITORING
Throughout the season,on a day-by-day basis, the performance of all bulls in Premier Sires, as well as all bulls which are contenders for the team, is monitored – for semen quality, change in BW or any other relevant trait such as health, non return rate, etc. Bulls are included or excluded from the team on the basis of the latest and all information available to us, so that, on any one day during the season, the team is made up of the genetics that will best enhance the profits of your farming operation. For example, a bull – no matter how he rates on BW – would be withdrawn from the team if his non return rate were greater than 5% below the team average.
|
|
|
Back
