Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Dairy Intelligent, a podcast by VESR Techs.
Speaker: Together we will meet dairy industry intellects and passionate dairy producers to discuss all things cows and connected technologies.
Speaker: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of VESR Techs' podcast, Dairy Intelligent.
Speaker: I'm your host Annie and today I'm joined by Jeff Ziegler, Vice President of Dairy Cattle Breeding with Select Sires.
Speaker: In the world of dairy farming, the pursuit of innovation and genetic advancements is constant.
Speaker: And today we're exploring a fascinating but not as well known genetic trait, slick genes.
Speaker: These genetics are not only helping deer producers beat the heat, but also hold the potential to transform the way we think about breeding and herd management.
Speaker: So thank you so much for being with us today, Jeff.
Speaker: Let's start off by having you introduce yourself and giving us some of your background.
Speaker: Well, thank you, Andy, and it's a pleasure to be here today and talk about a topic that we think has opportunities for lots of different reasons.
Speaker: But my name is Jeff Ziegler, Vice President of Dairy Cattle Breeding here at Select Sires, charged with trying to understand market developments and market needs of the future so we can build genetic products to fulfill those needs and make our customers money with them.
Speaker: So look forward to this topic as well.
Speaker: Well, welcome.
Speaker: I think a good place to start is, can you provide an overview of what slick genetics are and how they differ from traditional coat types?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: The genetic development of an AI program centers around needs of dairymen to fine-tune their programs.
Speaker: We all know that the management expertise that's been developed through the years, such as your company, Annie,
Speaker: has really made cattle thrive and survive in environments quite well.
Speaker: But we have to keep up pace genetically at the same time.
Speaker: And one of those is heat abatement, that we need to see if there's ways within the genetics world if we can add to the cause.
Speaker: So we investigated the slick gene, which actually was founded years ago in the Caribbean islands in the Centipal breed.
Speaker: And it was incorporated into the Holstein population by the University of Florida and in Puerto Rico with a couple of wise scientists that said, you know, if there's a way that we can add this to the productivity ability of Holsteins,
Speaker: Could we even advance them further in some of these hot, humid, tropical environments?
Speaker: So we decided to jump on board with that, and here's where we are today.
Speaker: So can you explain how slick genetics help dairy cattle beat the heat and improve their overall well-being?
Speaker: The slick gene, basically what it is, it changes the hair follicle of an animal and allows the animal to sweat a little easier.
Speaker: So when the temperature gets above 80 degrees or above 50% humidity, an animal needs to expound that body heat as quick as possible.
Speaker: And yes, there's great barn fan systems and barn ventilation systems that do that.
Speaker: But if the hair coat of the animal can be incorporated into that process, can we even do it better?
Speaker: So there was research done down in Florida
Speaker: looking at groups of animals that carry the slick gene and those that did not during the hot humid times of the year calving in and hot humid times a year typically from may to october in particular and then they did several tests looking at body temperatures and looking at milk production and seeing if there was a difference and and there was between these two
Speaker: non-carrier and carrier groups to the point of up to 10 pounds of production per day.
Speaker: And that's what caught our attention to see, okay, how can we capture that in our genetic portfolio at the same time?
Speaker: So in what environmental conditions do slick genetics become particularly valuable for dairy producers?
Speaker: So we look at the slick opportunities in high production genetics, more so in some of our tropical environments of the globe or the hot, humid areas of the world.
Speaker: But at the same time, we didn't want to preclude the southern regions of the U.S. that fight this for longer, prolonged periods maybe than they do in the north.
Speaker: And if we can get genetics that can compete with the non-select genetics of the population, we said, well, why not?
Speaker: Because this will just allow those genetics to be expressed more so and not clamped down by the hot, humid environmental conditions that are in those areas.
Speaker: So...
Speaker: It maybe started as a global idea, but it's actually incorporated into the U.S. as well.
Speaker: And the uptake to this point has been not quick, but at the same time, it's taken us a couple generations to get the genetic values of these slick animals closer to the non-slick values to allow these to be utilized within herds.
Speaker: I think looking into that a little further, how do slick genetics impact the overall performance and the productivity of cows?
Speaker: such as milk production, or that they're able to reproduce efficiently.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And I think once more of these slick genes are incorporated into the population and more data is developed in a variety of ways, we're going to learn a lot more.
Speaker: The initial studies I mentioned were down at the University of Florida, and they did find a 10-pound difference per day in milk yield between slick and non-slick.
Speaker: for the animals that calved in the month of May to July.
Speaker: So that quickly told, and the genetic value of those animals was fairly similar.
Speaker: So that told us fairly quickly, okay, there's something more than just production genes that are allowing these animals to express those production genes better.
Speaker: So we set out course to, okay, what are those genetics?
Speaker: How do we incorporate those into a program that
Speaker: We need to advance them genetically and do it quickly.
Speaker: And then how do we get dairymen across the globe to utilize them and then create data within these herds to help us do further research so we can look at productivity and reproductivity and health and maybe even calf health and all the different ingredients that are so important to today's dairy enterprises.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: Ten pounds.
Speaker: That's a...
Speaker: Big difference in a pretty good case study right there.
Speaker: So right now, is this genetic trait available for all breeds of dairy cattle?
Speaker: I know you mentioned Holsteins earlier.
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: And we started out with the Holstein breed, but yes, we've incorporated that into the Jersey breed as well.
Speaker: Decided to see what we can get developed in those two breeds at first, but we're...
Speaker: not at all opposed to looking at other populations to see where it can benefit dairy and maybe even the beef breeds as time goes along as well because it's it's uh i guess common sense i guess in my mind if you have an animal that can reduce the amount of body heat they're going to perform better no matter what breed they are um what age of maturity they may be it all has benefits so we'll start with holstein because they h ave a large population allows us to do this fairly quickly
Speaker: We incorporated now some jerseys.
Speaker: Don't have the jersey bulls to talk about yet, but we hope to soon.
Speaker: And then we'll branch into other breeds as that opportunity comes along.
Speaker: Wonderful.
Speaker: And how does the incorporation of slick genetics affect breeding and the selection process for cows?
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: It's like any new trait that you chase.
Speaker: At first, you kind of got to go a bit backwards in what you're accustomed to in genetic improvement because you're adding a unique gene or a unique set of genes that most likely don't carry the typical production and reproduction performance that we're used to.
Speaker: So when we first started using a slick sire on the population that we work with, we
Speaker: You take a step back because the results come in, you get genomic results in like you do on genomic results on non-SLIC, and you say, whoa, you know, I like two, three, 500 TPI points and two, three to 400 net merit dollars reduction of what you typically see when you're making genetic improvement from one generation to the next.
Speaker: But at the same time, then we have the SLIC gene incorporated in.
Speaker: So you have to carry this through a couple of generations.
Speaker: to get the slick gene into the population and then add the productivity and reproductive performance and health performance that we're accustomed to.
Speaker: So once you get to that third and fourth generation, then you can see, aha, okay, we can do this and make it an animal that carries a slick gene that can and should perform similarly to the non-slick population.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And what have been some
Speaker: practical results or success stories that you have from dairy producers who have incorporated slick genetics into their breeding programs.
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: And that's the point I talked about data that we're in the process of capturing now is that once we get enough critical mass in a herd, then we can do some internal studies of our own with the herd's assistance and see what kind of results we're truly getting.
Speaker: And our true next interest is in the reproductive performance.
Speaker: Uh, the productive performance I think has been well documented and, um, we even have a few results of our own to show us that, but production alone does not, doesn't drive our industry anymore.
Speaker: It's, it's reproduction, it's health, it's longevity, it's mastitis control, it's lots of things.
Speaker: Um, so that's our next step and the reproductive performance is our next step.
Speaker: So as an example, we have a bull now, we call him slick chip, you know, kind of a fun name, but, um,
Speaker: This particular bull has genomic performance that's similar to his counterparts to the point that he has been used on some high genomic animals within a population to see how they're going to perform.
Speaker: Now, his first daughter is just being born right now.
Speaker: I remember the bull himself was born in Wisconsin, and we took a group of international guests to go
Speaker: tour of the herd and the bull was there.
Speaker: It was in a hutch and we put a sign by the hutch and said, hey, here's a slick bull.
Speaker: What do you think?
Speaker: And they were all taken aback because phenotypically you can pick them out.
Speaker: They look like they've been body shaved or clipped and actually they haven't.
Speaker: And we have bulls in our stud right now that during the summer months, you'd swear we've been out there with the clippers keeping the hair off them, but we don't.
Speaker: They just don't grow the hair follicles that a normal animal does.
Speaker: So
Speaker: You can see it pretty quick and you can understand pretty quick why they do release that body heat up much easier than a normal non-slicked animal.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: That was going to be one of my questions asking what they look like, if they look a little bit different, but very, very interesting.
Speaker: And especially as you're talking about getting more data on the reproductive side, because...
Speaker: I think it's pretty well known heat stress can truly affect milk production, but reproduction is another huge, huge asset that is often lost during times of heat stress.
Speaker: So we've talked a lot about the successes of these genetics, but what are some of the challenges or considerations that a farmer might want to take before they incorporate these genes into their herd?
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: The initial challenge or initial thought is that we don't want to oversell this idea and allow people to think, well, I don't need to worry about my environment because now I have select genetics, they'll perform in anything.
Speaker: No, that's not true.
Speaker: It'll add to good environments.
Speaker: It's not going to replace good environments.
Speaker: So you still have to have environmental controls in place and great
Speaker: ventilation and facilities to get the job done.
Speaker: This just adds another possibility to allow the animal to express itself further.
Speaker: Secondly, is that you do have to accept some reduction in what the non-slick population looks like genetically to incorporate the gene.
Speaker: And then just like we did on the bull side, on the female side, you do the same thing.
Speaker: If you're patient through a couple generations, that's where you see the change that will take place.
Speaker: And then the other interesting thing is, Annie, since you live up in the state of Minnesota, we had several people with asking us questions in the north and saying, well, if this animal doesn't grow a normal hair coat, are they jeopardizing their health status in the winter months?
Speaker: And we have found that actually, no, they don't.
Speaker: During the winter months, you're looking at these animals, and they do grow hair almost to the same length and dimension that you see on normal non-slick animals.
Speaker: And they thrive and survive in the cold climate just fine.
Speaker: Not a problem at all.
Speaker: We've had slick animals born in the month of January in Wisconsin when it's been below zero.
Speaker: And if you give them normal husbandry like you do any other animal, if they get along, just fine.
Speaker: So hasn't been a problem there either.
Speaker: That's a very interesting point.
Speaker: Again, that I probably wouldn't have thought about.
Speaker: But obviously ventilation is the SRTX is bread and butter.
Speaker: And we know that it's just an important year round.
Speaker: So good to know that these cattle can stand the test of time there for sure.
Speaker: I'm wondering how might climate change and increasing global temperatures impact the demand and adoption of these genetics?
Speaker: Yeah, that's an interesting question, and I'm sure you could have a podcast just on that question alone.
Speaker: Depending who you listen to, who you believe, and what your personal interests are, is the globe getting warmer?
Speaker: And if indeed it is, and some people say it is, and I personally think maybe it is some as well, we need to find better ways to allow our animals to express their genetic capabilities.
Speaker: And management alone won't do it.
Speaker: Genetics alone won't do it.
Speaker: A combination of the two is the best counsel and advice.
Speaker: But at the same time, we have to keep the genetic progress at a rate that makes this process all truly worthy.
Speaker: Because if we go backwards genetically, we're losing all the gain that we've gotten in the last 10 years or 12 years because of genomics.
Speaker: So as the globe gets a bit warmer,
Speaker: Why not find ways to allow animals to thrive in those types of environments, no matter where you are on the globe?
Speaker: And again, it's been our mantra at Select Stars for years.
Speaker: Okay, what can we do to make Darienman money through the genetic progress?
Speaker: And if this is one of those key points,
Speaker: It's we are due diligence says we need to get the job done.
Speaker: So we took a lump sum of money to start the project that start the project.
Speaker: We've continued the project.
Speaker: We're a generation actually four of getting involved in the project.
Speaker: And you're going to see bulls and females actually coming up in the near future.
Speaker: that you're going to look at their genetic values and you're going to say, that's impressive.
Speaker: Well, by the way, they happen to carry the slick gene as well.
Speaker: So it'd be the first time that we can carry that to the marketplace and allow them to make the choice themselves if they want to incorporate this into their breeding program.
Speaker: That's indeed very exciting.
Speaker: And you mentioned that you're going to be having jerseys available with the slick coat gene and looking more
Speaker: into the reproductive effects.
Speaker: But looking to the future, what other developments or advancements do you foresee for slick genetics in the dairy industry?
Speaker: Sure.
Speaker: If we can incorporate slick into our population with genetic improvement, and when I say genetic improvement, we look at so many facets now of what that truly means.
Speaker: And reproductive performance is definitely the next key without question.
Speaker: health of the animal is not far behind that.
Speaker: Mastitis resistance or allowing a healthy udder to produce healthy quality milk is not far behind that.
Speaker: And then the next step will be calf health.
Speaker: And if anything your company can do or any company can do to make healthier calves, we all know healthy calves turn into healthier cows.
Speaker: And we need to incorporate this
Speaker: into the breeding program and then look at it from a calf health protocol as well to see if they have reduced respiratory disease or reduced calf illness or whatever the case may be.
Speaker: And if so, then we'll carry it to the next step.
Speaker: But progressing from production to reproduction to health to calves and whatever's next behind that, it might be embryo survival, it might be
Speaker: something more, we're not sure.
Speaker: Um, we'll chase anything we possibly can, as long as we have the total genetic performance and captured and not just an individual trait.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: What advice or recommendations do you have for dairy producers who are considering incorporating slick genes into their breeding strategies?
Speaker: I think the, the key is that they have a target for what the herd's trying to accomplish.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: know what your milk market is, know what your facilities are, know how your facilities could change first and foremost.
Speaker: Once you have that kind of encapsulated, what type of genetics will best thrive and survive in all of that and make you the most money?
Speaker: And if you're in an area where Mother Nature is hot and humid, we would have you take a strong look at this now that we have genetics of reasonable production and reproduction value.
Speaker: to help you with that process.
Speaker: So I want to make sure this is done in the proper order, but again, don't think that the slick process or project that we're focused on today is going to replace good facility design or good management practices.
Speaker: It's not.
Speaker: It's just going to be an additive value after those first two are properly cared for.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: A true ventilation strategy, I think, paired hand in hand with these genes is really going to be something that I think a lot of people need to keep an eye on in the future.
Speaker: So we're now at the end of our conversation.
Speaker: But before we wrap up, Jeff, I have one more question that I've been asking all of our interview guests, and I would like to know what an animal centered environment means to you.
Speaker: Um, animal centered environment.
Speaker: I think an animal centered environment, the first thing that comes to my simple mind is that we are challenging the efficiency of our animals more than ever before.
Speaker: And an animal will become more efficient if we put her in the proper environment or he in the proper environment, if you're an AI stud.
Speaker: And, and we have to do that because, you know, there's not more land being produced every year and the price of feed and labor isn't getting any cheaper.
Speaker: And,
Speaker: every animal unit counts so we better make her as efficient as possible and if we can do our part on the genetic side of the equation we will and we are and while we're chasing slick today we're looking at other options down the road because we can't stop there because there's other nuances that continue to occur or new technology that develops that we have to be a part of so i think an animal center environment to me simply says
Speaker: get every single animal in that operation efficient, allow her to express her genetic capabilities.
Speaker: If she's not, shame on you.
Speaker: And if she does, that's great.
Speaker: And how can we make it even better?
Speaker: And it's our job to do that with genetic opportunities that are in front of us.
Speaker: Very well said.
Speaker: Well, thank you again, Jeff, for your time and insights.
Speaker: This certainly was a deep dive into the world of slick genetics.
Speaker: We hope everyone listening found this episode as enlightening as we did.
Speaker: And it's incredible to see the innovations in genetics that are shaping the future of dairy farming and especially offering solutions to the challenges of rising temperatures.
Speaker: So thank you again, everyone, for tuning in and we will see you next time.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us for another Dairy Intelligent episode.
Speaker: We hope you have found some suggestions to improve cow comfort on your farm or simply just learn something new.
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