We all need cows with good udders and good feet and legs. When we go through a pedigree, we like to feel confident that those things are going to transmit. Some of the breed s top-selling AI sires are not necessarily the highest for production. In today s world, anybody can get milk out of cows. In all dairies, of any size, people need cows with good udders and good feet and legs.
Cows have to be able to last.
Today s cull rates are so high, and it is so expensive to keep replacements. If the cows we flush or breed are not the kind that will work in a commercial dairy, the AI studs are not going to be back to work with us again. This is a five-year business. If some of the bulls we sell to AI don t start making it into active AI lineups, our days of selling bulls are limited. There are some cow families that just don t seem to produce great bulls as well as they produce great daughters.