N E W S L E T T E R Spring 2014

As the global leader in animal genetic improvement, ensuring that our products and solutions meet customer expectations is critical. That is why in Technical Service we continually strive to be at the front line of technical knowledge while remaining true to our core company values. The exciting activities accomplished by our team and showcased in this newsletter are unequivocal proof of our commitment to the success of our customers.

In this quarter, members of our Technical Service (TS) team took part in the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management™ and the Genus ABS – University of Wisconsin Uddercare training. These were exciting opportunities for our group to get updated first hand on what the industry is doing to be proactive and responsible when it comes to best practices in animal care, quality assurance, animal well-being, uddercare and milk quality. Through these certified trainings we added more solutions to our toolbox, ensuring we are the one stop spot for dairy industry resources.

Furthermore, as we are driven by delivering the best results possible for our customers, we recognize that there are many aspects of the dairy that must successfully come together to obtain such results. This newsletter showcases presentations from our Global Genus ABS Technical Service meeting on heat abatement and animal selection based on genomics, and how these relate to success on the dairy.

Lastly, we pulled aside some of our global RMS® trainers and gathered their feedback on a few short questions. Although the fundamentals of our reproductive solutions are similar across the globe, local program implementation is not the same in each country due to customer demographics, environment, etc. It is interesting to hear from the local experts regarding how they work with their respective teams to ensure RMS is successfully delivered to the highest Genus ABS standards.

We hope you find the spring newsletter informative and enjoyable. Please let us know if you need our assistance.

Regards,

Dr. Hernando LopezGenus ABSGlobal Technical Service Directorhernando.lopez@genusplc.com

Welcome to the spring Technical Service Newsletter!

ABSTECHNICALService

inside:FARM and Uddercare Training p. 2

Genus ABS Technical Service Meeting Presentations

Improving Holding Area Heat Abatement p. 4

Genomics on the Dairy Farm p. 5

RMS Trainer Roundtable p. 6

Reproductive (RMS) Training Program p. 7

ABS Technical Service Website p. 8

With the aim of better aligning our Technical Service activities with the Genus core values, we participated in two trainings in March 2014. Members of the Technical Service Team completed the FARM Certification Program and Uddercare training.

The first training we participated in was the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management. It is a nationwide, verifiable animal well-being program that provides consistency and uniformity to best practices in animal care and quality assurance in the dairy industry. The program was created by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), with support from Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI), to demonstrate and provide verification over time that U.S. dairy farmers are committed to providing a high level of animal care and quality assurance.

Consumers want to know their dairy products are safe and the animals that produced them received the highest level of care. This on-farm program provides a third-party verification system which demonstrates dairy farmers’ commitment to animal care and quality assurance to the customer. The focus of the FARM Program is a true evaluation of the on-farm animal care practices based on

the established FARM Program guidelines. If needed, an action plan is developed especially for those areas that require further attention.

The following are the major management areas evaluated during the FARM certification training:

1. Standard Operating Procedures2. Calf Rearing3. Nutrition Fundamentals4. Animal Health5. Environment and Facilities6. Cattle Handling7. Special-Needs Animals8. Dairy Beef

The second program we participated in was the Uddercare training which covered several key aspects of milk quality, udder and teat health, and mastitis prevention.

Dr. Brandon Treichler, a veterinarian at Valley Veterinarian Clinic in Wisconsin, introduced the topic of “Team Approach to Milk Quality.” In his presentation he emphasized the importance of building relationships with milkers and farm managers as they can be the first line in identifying milk quality issues. They also play an important role in protocol implementation when seeking high standards in milk quality. Dr. Treichler mentioned that we should take advantage of every opportunity in the milking parlor to use our strong observational and training skills to really make a difference as consultants for our customers.

Dr. Julian Casas ABS Global Western US TS Consultant

FARM & Uddercare Training

My hope is certified members will feel empowered to go to farmers and ask, how can I help your farm improve? Animal welfare is a big topic and in the future, it will be a standard operating procedure that if your farm isn’t involved in a welfare program, you will have to look for someone else to buy your milk from. -Zen Miller, Accredited FARM Trainer

Veterinarians want to team up with people who want to make a difference on dairies. There are a lot of opportunities for ABS TS to get involved in the milk quality discussion and we’ll help you because we understand that when dairies succeed, we all succeed. -Dr. Brandon Treichler, Veterinarian

Dr. Roger Thomson, a veterinarian consultant with ABS, covered important concepts on teat dip products, including the ABS product line. Some of the things he discussed were the physiology of a teat dip, different germicidal technologies, barrier product technologies and the properties of chlorine dioxide as a germicide. He also made an excellent review of teat end health, exfoliation, and assessed the link between hyperkeratosis and mastitis incidence. In addition, he explained essential concepts to decrease the incidence of mastitis in dairy herds. Dr. Thomson noted the three steps to win the battle against mastitis were: increase resistance, cow immunity, decrease exposure and kill present bacteria. Dr. Thomson’s goal is to milk only clean, dry and well-stimulated teats.

Douglas Reinemann, from the Milking Research and Instruction Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented “Evaluating Milking Performance.” He made it clear that milking is a compromise between how gentle, how complete and how quick the milking is carried out. He described it as, “quick may not be gentle or complete; complete may not be gentle; and gentle may not be the fastest or most complete.” Thus, a balance between all three has to be established in order to achieve positive results. In addition, he pointed out the three factors that are important during milking: how employees work with the cows, how employees work with the machine and how the machine is working. Lastly, Dr. Reinemann also made a complete description of liner features and concluded that fit of the liner to the teat is an important aspect of gentle milking.

James Umphrey, ABS Uddercare Specialist, did an excellent review of our uddercare product line and our role as consultants on assessing milk quality and mastitis. He explained the importance of assessing herd mastitis challenges and expanded on the following aspects:

1. Type of pathogens2. SCC level3. Bulk tank and individual cow cultures4. Teat condition

James noted that teat condition is an important factor in choosing the right teat dip. If teat condition is not adequate, then barrier teat dip is not recommended until the teat condition improves, which is accomplished by non-barrier teat dip with a high level of emollients.

We, the Genus ABS Technical Service team, strive to be customer centric and responsible by making our customers’ needs of udder health, milk quality and animal well-being a priority. Day in and day out we provide solutions in the form of training, troubleshooting and resource creation to make a difference for our dairy customers, their animals and their consumers. Furthering our skill sets and knowledge through the FARM certification and this uddercare training is our way of showing the dairy industry we are committed to dairy well-being.

To learn more about the National FARM certification program, please visit their website here. Contact your local TS representative to have an evaluation done today!

The ABS TS Team sees many farms so they have a better understanding of what’s working well and what’s not working well in comparison to all of the other farms they see. Farmers want to know, for instance, how their cow cleanliness or cow behavior compares to other similar dairies. -Dr. Doug Reinemann, UW Professor and Researcher

The Uddercare training provided our TS team a fuller understanding of our product line as we need to know how to help producers harvest quality milk, while maximizing udder health. The FARM certification aligned dairy industry and consumer concerns about animal welfare with the Genus values, strengthening our relationship with other industry segments. -Flavio Bitencourt, Eastern US TS Consultant

The webinar training was a great opportunity for our team to listen to experts first-hand. Milk quality is a public health issue. Helping our customers in fighting mastitis gives us a chance to participate with our grain of sand contribution on mankind, health and nutrition. -Richard Echeverri, ABS Italy QMS Manager

Dr. Ken Nordlund, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented on new research in holding area cooling. He discussed heat stress effects on cows and the proper way to cool cows.

It’s a well-known fact that heat stress starts decreasing milk production and affecting fertility at around 68° F (20° C). As temperature and humidity rise while cows are lying down, heat is accumulated and the only way to dissipate this heat is for them to stand up. Subsequently as it gets hotter, cows will be standing more as heat accumulation while lying down becomes high, faster. Consequently, lameness becomes more visible during and after heat stress periods on most dairies.

Evaporation, to dissipate heat, needs specific conditions to allow for it to occur. These conditions depend on air speed moving across wet skin and relative humidity of the air. Research has shown that an air speed of 1.0 - 2.0 meters/second on wet skin is required to cool cows.

A common place on dairies where a lot of heat is maximized in a small space is the holding area. This tends

to be a high risk area even though it should be a place where cows cool off; conversely it is often an area where cows accumulate even more heat. This heat needs to be dissipated in the holding area or cows will never get a break in the heat cycle.

Is there a proper way to cool cows in the holding area? Typically, holding pen ventilation comes from sidewalls and/or “used” re-circulated air from the parlor, forced into the holding pen. Dr. Nordlund stressed that this forced, re-circulated air gains humidity and temperature throughout the day, not classifying it as ventilation. The key to ventilation is fresh air. Natural ventilation would be the best option but, unfortunately, it is very limited due to general building layout.

Dr. Nordlund and his staff have started trialing positive pressure tube systems, where most recently they’ve been used in calf barns, to deliver fresh air to holding areas. These tubes, which are ran by one fan, will provide more than 30 smaller air jets to cool cows, going down onto and between cows versus one big air jet skimming the top of cows as traditional systems do. These smaller air jets provide consistent fresh air for all cows regardless of their location in a holding area, while the typical fan setup usually left 2/3 of the cows feeling very little air movement. It is recommended that these tubes are spaced 6 - 12 feet (1.8 - 3.6 meters) apart and 4 feet (1.2 meters) above crowd gates. When utilizing this type of system, it is expected to have ~50% reduced power usage compared to typical systems.

For further information regarding their research on heat abatement in the holding pen, access the Dairyland Initiative website through a membership or your local ABS TS representative.

Dr. Ken NordlundClinical Professor of Food Animal Production Medicine

Genus ABS Global Technical Service Meeting Presentations

Photo Courtesy of The Dairyland Initiative

Utilize the ABS TS

Temperature Humidity Index

Calculator

Figure 1: Revised Temperature Humidity Index (THI) Chart. Click to view in a larger format.

Dr. Kent Weigel of the University of Wisconsin-Madison led a Dairy Cattle Reproductive Council (DCRC) breakout session titled, “Genomics on the Dairy Farm.” This session was a tremendous opportunity for the ABS team to be updated on what is new within the world of genomic selection.

Is genomic testing an option for commercial females? Weigel was clear that genomic testing for commercial replacement management purposes should only be considered for herds with excess heifers. He outlined that only herds consistently maintaining herd size should consider genomic testing to manage herd size. He also stressed the importance of having a plan in place prior to paying for the testing and receiving the results. If nothing is done differently with the resulting information, the investment costs cannot be recovered.

Is genomic testing a good indicator of future performance? A recent study conducted at the UW-Madison Dairy in Arlington, Wis., returned very promising results. A group of females were genomic tested at 12 months of age. The first lactation milk production on these animals were recorded and compared to their original milk yield genomic evaluations.

As shown in the chart above, heifers were grouped according to their milk yield genomic predictions, in categories labeled as Q1 (high, blue), Q2 (high-medium, red), Q3 (medium-low, green) and Q4 (low, purple).

An impressive 83% of heifers in Q1 exceeded herd average for daily milk yield, compared with 61% of heifers in Q2, 39% in Q3, and less than 17% in Q4. Moreover, no heifers from Q4 ranked near the top for daily milk yield

in their first lactation, and only one Q1 heifer produced significantly less than herd average. This revealed that genomic evaluations have a very high tendency to show what the actual performance of that animal will be.

Shown in another way below, this study revealed clear trends that further validate genomic testing heifer calves at a young age can be a useful tool for making selection and culling decisions to reduce feed costs and increase the average performance of the future herd.

The chart below is an example of what the future of replacement and genetic management at the farm level holds. Dan states, “I am especially excited for the opportunities ahead for the ABS Technical and Genetic Service teams to assist in implementing these kinds of breeding plans.”

Customers have many options through ABS to meet their needs when deciding how they want to manage their replacements. Please have a discussion with your local Genetic or Technical Service representative to discuss your options today!

Dan BauerGenetic Services Marketing Manager

Figure 3: Click to view in a larger format.

Figure 2: Click to view in a larger format.Figure 4: Click to view in a larger format.

Given that Genus ABS provides a global solution called Reproductive Management System® (RMS) to more than 1,000 dairies in seven different countries, we must have a robust group of RMS Trainers to ensure this team of more than 300 technicians, walking behind nearly 650,000 cows, is well-equipped. Find their insight on providing a successful RMS service below.

What are three keys to the success of RMS in your area?Jesus: Training, commitment and support. RMS technicians should attend a training session to ensure they perform the ABS standards in the field. In addition, RMS technicians should be committed daily to do their best, offering a professional service and increasing profitability for both their dairies and ABS. Lastly, managers need to be involved in their performance and help with issues that arise.

Phil: Motivated staff, professionalism and team approach. RMS is only as good as the technicians. Dairy reproductive performance needs to be as important to the technician as it is to the customer, requiring dedication to training and 100% concentration throughout the day. Technicians need to be on time, enthusiastic and self-confident, ensuring the customer’s business is in professional hands. Technicians should know they have the support from team leaders, managers and technical service to call as needed.

Hans: Consistency, high quality staff with team approach and data analysis. RMS has to do with consistent heat detection and efficient breeding. This can only be done with passionate, high caliber technicians and collaboration with the management team of the farm. Without adequate data input and analysis, no efficient decisions can be made to make great results. Good recordkeeping and decision making on data analysis is the key to success!

Roger: Teamwork, consistency and training. Technicians hired on the team become indoctrinated into the culture.

Everyone has to work together to achieve results through pregnancy production, flowing into consistency. Every person entering the dairy will do the same thing, and make the same decisions, based on the provided data. They achieve this through consistent ABS training.

What is the future of RMS in your area?Matt: Given the environment of the Australian market, the standard RMS offering will need to be adapted so it’s more affordable to customers, yet efficient for the ABS business. Current customers value it as a means to get their cows pregnant efficiently. RMS herds are typically done during the afternoon milking, while the normal A.I. runs (call-ins) are done in the morning.

Jesus: I believe RMS has a great future because the dairy industry needs people to help operations achieve success, know about sync protocols and mating programs, and be able to breed a large amount of cows without compromising fertility.

Phil: The UK presently has over 160,000 cows on RMS and it’s growing. Dairy herds in the UK are getting fewer, but cow numbers are constant — with herds getting larger I believe RMS will continue to grow. I was recently at a meeting where a customer said, “If there was a Queen’s Award to agriculture it should be awarded to Genus RMS!” Not a bad accolade.

Hans Vromans is the RMS Manager in Italy. He manages four RMS Team Leaders with 29 full-time RMS technicians. He is responsible for visiting RMS key accounts to assist with solution implementation and/or troubleshooting, while providing training for RMS technicians.

Roger Sundberg is the District Business Manager for Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, in which he manages 10 RMS technicians, in addition to the sales business. He offers a great RMS training program for all global technicians just starting out, introducing them to the ABS-way to RMS.

RMS Trainer Roundtable

Dr. Jesus Berumen is the Genus ABS RMS Training Program Trainer. He focuses on teaching trainees the principles of RMS such as discipline, professionalism, cleanliness, organization, etc. to take to their business area.

Phil Salkeld is the European Technical Service Representative. Throughout his Genus ABS career of 10+ years he has trained and developed RMS technicians, in-house breeders and customers, standardizing the RMS offering in Europe and Russia.

Matt Aikenhead is Australia’s Technical Service Consultant. He works with customers on trouble-shooting reproduction, setting up reproduction protocols and training on-farm staff on A.I., while working with ABS technicians.

Read the entire RMS Trainer

Roundtable here

Reproductive (RMS) Training Program Testimonial

“I feel the RMS training was helpful to reconnect with information I have learned during my career. Dr. Jesus Berumen has a very high level of natural heat detection skills and is professional in instructing trainees. The information provided at University of Idaho was valuable and worthwhile. Lastly, the people I was able to contact will provide value added networking in the future.”

Manuel MendoncaReproductive Team Leader, Central California USA

View more RMS Training Program

Testimonials online

Learn more about the RMS

Training Program

Hans: RMS results are very good in Italy. Word is spread among customers about the consistent, good work done on farm leading to an annual growth of 10% in cow numbers. Currently, our technicians walk behind 40,000 cows on a daily basis for over 140 dairy herds.

Roger: All the RMS areas concentrate on maintenance while looking for new profitable opportunities. The competition is fierce and constantly putting pressure on our program. The mindset is to grow but be smart about how it is done. Always look for ways to be more efficient and lean, but aggressive.

What is the biggest RMS challenge/opportunity in your area?Matt: Our biggest challenge would be getting quality technicians.

Jesus: The biggest challenges are to implement the principles of RMS with current employees and new hires, to make all personnel understand the importance of our professional services and lastly, to ensure everyone performs 110% every day.

Phil: Finding the right staff is always a challenge. We require they bring with them cow knowledge, a strong work ethic and the ability to communicate with fellow farmers. As farms get larger the need for tighter reproductive performance grows, thus providing an opportunity for RMS. We have found when offering an automatic heat detection system as a reproductive solution, dairy owners are more inclined to want to implement RMS instead. Customers want an efficient reproductive service.

Hans: The biggest challenge at this moment is to keep farmers in business, which is also an opportunity. RMS is a winning bet on farms that need extra fertility to become profitable and ready for the future.

Roger: Adding other solutions like automatic heat detection systems or uddercare products in our portfolio, we are able to meet our growing customer needs as we see they want to perform more efficiently, at a higher level. As always, creating pregnancies is the main priority, but our team strives to find solutions to assist our customers.

Interactive tools and calculators

Vast technical library

On-farm cow management training material

Exclusive reproductive management software, ABS Monitor

Remote consulting

Information on Reproductive (RMS) Training Program

This new space was conceived due to the need to help producers around the world better understand their indices, economic impacts and ways to enhance reproductive performance. Come join us and be a part of our group of producers using new technologies to simplify life and improve results.

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