{"id":41824,"date":"2025-07-28T04:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T04:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/41824\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T04:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T04:53:14","slug":"how-to-get-the-worlds-best-sire-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/41824\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get the world’s best ‘sire power’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SIMPLE abundance, fuelled by honest cows and 215 elite sires. That\u2019s part of the highly successful breeding philosophy behind CBV Brahmans<\/a>, Belah Valley, Marlborough developed by genetics management over 45 years.<\/p>\n

The business has broad collaboration with and development of associated herds and research bodies such as the CSIRO, University of Queensland, Qld Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), Qld Department of Primary Industries, Beef CRC I, II and III, Australian Research Council and Repronomics.<\/p>\n

For CBV Brahmans, there are no shortcuts or quick solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is more a matter of doing lots of small things well, relentlessly,\u201d CBV Brahmans founder Alf Collins said. \u201cWe\u2019re in this for the long haul.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenetic and economic progress is always driven by \u2018sire power\u2019 underpinned by tight herd management.\u00a0\u201cGenetics without management are useless; combining the two through sire selection is incredibly effective in net economic analysis.<\/p>\n

Mr Collins put it down to an equation: sire power = speed of change = real commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone are perfect; most bulls have 4 generations of mothers data \u2013 dam one, dam two, dam three, dam four, at rapid reproduction reported at selection and sale day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Only highly adapted cattle can, and do reproduce on time, every time. Reproduction is the major arbiter of true adaptation and profit. CBV focuses on what it can influence and what it can change \u2013 measuring by meaningful metrics. CBV analyses totally on low-cost grazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn genetic and genomic terms, the results of tight management have delivered a real game changer,\u201d Mr Collins said. \u201cIn the tropical world, fertile adapted cattle are by far the best return on capital, based on grass, land and time in good years and bad. \u201cManaging well into the future is dependent on our willingness to accept our ability to adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Collins said land is simply very expensive, per animal unit or per hectare. \u201cWe have heard this mantra so many times, yet there\u2019s no doubt that it is possible and practical to grow a cattle business, amongst all challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cCBV hunts genetically for the factors that make a difference to growing these businesses. \u201cDeveloping truly proven and adapted cattle for the difficult jobs ahead is a noble task; finding economic marathon runners in a very real sense.<\/p>\n

Impossible is only for the unwilling.<\/p>\n

Breed within a breed<\/p>\n

CBV cattle are regarded as \u201cthe breed within a breed\u201d, due to:<\/p>\n

Being totally analysed;
\nBeing proven beyond all reasonable doubt;
\nBeing proven by production and practical management;
\nHaving low operational costs \u2013 mostly land cost, per animal unit;
\nHaving high-speed growth;
\nHaving rapid recovery from tough seasons;
\nHaving simple solutions to a complex of biology, endocrinology and production;
\nBeing in its 45th year of focusing on management and genetic progress;
\nOperating always at low cost \u2013 always.<\/p>\n

The CBV program is deeply rooted in the values of adaptation, reproduction and epigenetics. These are values of deep meaning. It is focused, for a lifetime it seems, with an unshaken faith in the role of \u201cBrahmans by analysis\u201d and fuelled by a broad-ranging experimental perspective.<\/p>\n

CBV Brahmans is aided by collaboration with science, experimentation and cooperation \u2013 yet challenged by the adversity of economic, biologic, geographic and bureaucratic impacts.<\/p>\n

The simple fact behind CBV\u2019s success (more than 200 current super sires) is due to a rich history of hands-on data collection.\u00a0Leading geneticists agree that without robust data collection, current reliance on genomics will turn to dust in five years.<\/p>\n

CBV and cooperator herds have carried most of the load thus far.\u00a0Still unshaken, the \u201cCBV Brahman breed\u201d is pure substance with no shadows; simply economic, practical, purpose-driven, and genetic progress based on good data and low-cost management.<\/p>\n

The revelation of Epigenetics<\/p>\n

Epigenetics is the expression of competent genes, triggered by selection under duress.<\/p>\n

This progressive thinking has been central to CBV\u2019s continuous development. Full of meaning and purpose, this progress is worth understanding.<\/p>\n

CBV has the most focused genetic program in the Brahman world for profit and competence. This is evidenced by 200 \u2018supersires\u2019; not one or two or even 20 sires.<\/p>\n

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Uterine Survival<\/p>\n

CBV has also focused on uterine survival and rapid re-breeding regardless of environment.<\/p>\n

Between 45 per cent to 60pc of conceptions are lost \u201cin utero\u201d during the first 21 days.<\/p>\n

Mr Collins said he believes this is genetic. Since 1991, CBV has worked on this genetically, to multiply the fastest rebreeding rates on limited grazing space (low cost) with amazing \u201cin-field\u201d results.<\/p>\n

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Fertlisation rates in cattle are in the order of 85-95%. However, 40-60% of embryos do not survive to day 21 when attachment of the embryo to the uterus has commenced. This represents a huge reproductive loss that often is not recognised. A deeper understanding of why so many embryos fail to establish a pregnancy, and the identification and selection of females with high embryo survival, would be a major improvement in reproductive efficiency.<\/p>\n

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In cattle, the embryo enters the uterus at around day 5 after fertilisation. There is a lot of communication between the embryo and uterus and some of this crosstalk involves immunological factors such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferon tau (IFN-\u03c4). The communication is important so that the uterus does not reject the embryo, and maternal recognition of pregnancy is achieved. A deeper understanding of this communication would lead to the identification and selection of females that have a uterine environment that supports the developing embryo.<\/p>\n

Authors: Prof Giuseppe Campanile, Dr Antonio Limone, Prof Pietro Baruselli \u00a0Prof Emer Michael D\u2019Occhio
Graphic: Dr Fabio de Moraes Francisco. Theriogenology vol 167, p 1-12, 2021<\/p>\n

In 1991, I asked Professor Jim Kinder, with whom we were collaborating at CBV, and Professor Michael D\u2019Occhio at CSIRO on another reproduction project, a question \u2013
Mr Collins said. \u201cWe are favouring the sons of cows with superfast rebreeding rates. Are we wasting our time \u2013 or is this a legitimate goal?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinder and D\u2019Occhio got involved in intense scientific conversation. Professor Kinder said \u201cWell, no one looks at bovines this way Alf, but it\u2019s highly heritable in hogs \u2013 go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consequently, CBV amassed more than 200 current sires from these genetics. These sires are shared within the business\u2019s cooperator herds, with precise cow management. This is the most powerful expression of genetic progress in Brahman cattle.<\/p>\n

Many generations\u2019 breeding and measuring under adversity strengthens these ideals.<\/p>\n

Sons of these high function cows have priority.<\/p>\n

Another priority is progeny of high \u201ccalf-getters\u201d in groups of five to 40 bulls.<\/p>\n

Collaborators<\/p>\n

The hunt for truly meaningful economic results has long been the study of Emeritus Professor Michael D\u2019Occhio, inspired by his understanding of endocrinology and reproduction physiology and its immutable linkage to profit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been blessed with 40 years of his brilliance, integrity, and encouragement,\u201d Mr Collins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe give great tribute to Michael D\u2019Occhio, along with Professors Jim Kinder, Pietro Baruselli, Guiseppe Campanile, and Antonio Limone; all collaborators and mentors across four continents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese highly qualified thinkers and researchers understand the hunt for fertility-driven profits, underpinned by their realm of science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey continue to collaborate and seek new and innovative pathways for the betterment of livestock production.\u201d<\/p>\n

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