Several years ago when Snowman first made his rise to the top of the proof charts, based on a MACE conversion from his European daughter evaluation, it was thought that his contribution to the breeding world would be small. After all, he was already dead, and with only a very small inventory of semen remaining, his chances would seemingly [...]
Gremlins got into our proof sheet process this round – with apologies, here are some corrections to take note of:
In July we became aware of a new genetic recessive trait with economic significance called HCD (Haplotype Cholesterol Deficiency) which in animals carrying both copies of the recessive gene means eventual death during calfhood. Since the discovery, the University of Liège in Belgium has identified the gene mutation responsible for the genetic defect. With knowledge about the haplotype and a list [...]
The best Aftershock (Shottle x Durham Atlee EX-92 DOM GMD 8*) son in the business received a proof and found a home on the WestGen proof sheet in August. Howard-View Afterhours was bred by Jamie Howard of EastGen, and descends from the heart of the Comestar Laurie Sheik family. His 8* brood cow dam, Lautella, [...]
Discovering Genetic Anomalies from Genotyping Genotyping a single animal has direct advantages in terms of providing a genomic evaluation for genetic selection and mating as well as confirming its parentage for herdbook integrity. Accumulating thousands of genotypes for a population of animals in a breed has become an excellent source for identifying various genetic anomalies, which are usually undesirable. Although [...]
Barkman Named Head of Genetics We are pleased to announce that Darrel Barkman has been named WestGen's Head of Genetics; a prestigious position in addition to his existing role of Genetic Advisor in Manitoba. The additional title is an important one in that while WestGen does not employ sire analysts to purchase the bulls, there [...]
Bullseye November 2014 Mid-round between proof updates, WestGen introduces several new Genomax options for customers to consider. These young stars are selected because they are extreme either for LPI, TPI, Type or a combination of characteristics including unique bloodline. This latest sampling provides a bit of all of these aspects, [...]
Bullseye September 2014 New Daughter Proven Sires Take Centre Stage WestGen customers will be pleased with new high-calibre daughter proven options added to the proof sheet in August. They provide several well-rounded complimentary mating options to many of the bloodlines in milking strings and heifer pens today and are thus timely in their arrival. Without [...]
Bullseye September 2014 Thanks a Million Million dose semen producers are a rare breed and likely to become more rare in the evolving world of AI. Just the same, one more was recently added to the Semex portfolio and many would be surprised to know it is a bull that started his career at WestGen, [...]
Bullseye September 2014 Type Bulls Help Promote Genomic Wave Whether you are a fan of Genomics or are still a bit skeptical, it is hard to ignore extreme numbers – perhaps for any trait of interest but especially it seems for Type. That’s why newly released bulls like Lookout Pesce SNOWY (Let It Snow x [...]