This article was #15 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the May 1, 2013 print issue. Click here for the full list of the Top 25. Buckeye, Arizona, dairyman Wes Kerr shared his passion for polled genetics in this feature article. He explained that by eventually eliminating dehorning through breeding polled, his farm would see advantages in calf labor and take a step in the right direction of animal welfare. We asked Kerr, Q. What progress has been made in your polled breeding program?

The University of Guelph has just completed the data collection phase of a large study designed to increase understanding of clinical and subclinical pneumonia and its long-term effects in dairy calves through the use of ultrasonography. This study comes as a follow-up to a pilot project in which roughly 14 percent of calves with pneumonia showed minimal or no signs of illness (like the calf pictured at right). Unfortunately, identifying cases of subclinical pneumonia and measuring its effects are impossible without tools that specifically detect consolidated, pneumonic lung – such as ultrasonography.

Often, when we speak of generations, we are referring to the generations past.

Read the latest from several genetics companies and the changes to their genetic offerings and current lineups of dairy sires, following the release of the April genetic evaluations. Visit each company’s websites for complete listings of their sire lineups. Select a link below to jump directly to a specific section:

Accelerated Genetics’ sire, 014HO03831 Veazland Marion-ET has recently passed away. Known for his high producing daughters, Marion was 40,000 doses shy of becoming a Millionaire sire for Accelerated Genetics.