Relative emphasis on the traits used to calculate Net Merit, Fluid Merit, and Cheese Merit. There are three versions of the Merit indexes because milk markets differ from region to region. Net Merit is based on milk pricing systems where protein premiums are paid, but milk is used for a variety of purposes. Net Merit would have the broadest appeal of the three indexes across the United States, as many dairy farmers ship to markets where protein premiums are paid, but milk is used for diverse product lines. Fluid Merit is designed for milk markets where almost all milk is used for fluid products and no premiums are paid for milk with higher protein content.
Protein gets a negative weight in Fluid Merit.
Protein is expensive to produce, so it stands to reason that it would receive a negative weight in milk markets where it had no value. Cheese Merit is for producers who ship to cheese plants. Protein premiums are high in such milk markets. Milk volume gets negative weight in the Cheese Merit index, while protein receives the highest emphasis of any of the three merit equations. USDA uses Net Merit to determine where active AI bulls rank compared to the active AI bulls from the previous genetic evaluation.