CONTACT: Amy Ryan (608)846-6238 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ABS GMS® ANNOUNCES NEW DURABILITY OPTIONDEFOREST, WISCONSIN – November 27, 2007 - ABS Global, Inc. is proud to announce a revolutionary new option available through the Genetic Management System® (GMS): the GMS Durability Option. This new option is being enthusiastically embraced by producers around the world in search of cows that are longer lasting, trouble free and more profitable. Consistent with the on-going goals of GMS, Durability matings are designed to improve each cow's weaknesses while protecting her strengths. “Producers consistently tell us that they want cows that last longer and are trouble free. For this reason, we designed the Durability Option to specifically include those traits into each mating decision,” states Amy Knuth, GMS Manager. “A key to the success of the Durability Option is the selection of highly-reliable bulls from the ABS proven lineup that fit the specific goals of the individual producer.” The GMS Durability Option adds individual health and fitness traits directly into the mating equation combining them with the long-standing GMS foundation of yield traits and linear conformation. The Durability option was developed for producers looking to improve key health and fitness traits, including Productive Life, Somatic Cell Score, Daughter Pregnancy Rate and Calving Ability (Calving Ease and Stillbirth). These traits are tracked through each cow’s pedigree and compared to the abilities of each prospective mating sire to ensure that the best possible balance of traits is passed on to the next generation. The ABS lineup features many different types of bulls that are popular in the Durability Option, including time-tested bulls like 29H8538 DIE-HARD*TV, second-crop success sires like 29HO10124 BOLIVER*TV or emerging stars like 29HO11396 NORSKI*TV. It selects bulls to meet herd-specific goals, mates the bulls to improve the weaknesses of each cow and protects against inbreeding depression in the next generation. As a result, the GMS Durability Option provides a viable alternative for producers who had felt that they had no option other than crossbreeding to improve the health and fitness of their cattle. ABS Global Genetic Programs Supervisor, Ryan Starkenburg, adds, “Healthier cows that are more reproductively sound with less calving difficulty and lower stillbirth rates add up to cows that last longer, produce more replacements and cause fewer problems for their owners. These attributes of the Durability Option lead to lower costs, greater efficiency and more value.” Headquartered
in DeForest, Wisconsin, ABS Global is the world-leading provider of bovine
genetics, reproduction services, technologies and uddercare products. Marketing
in more than 70 countries around the globe, ABS has been at the forefront
of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941. ABS Global
is part of Genus Breeding, a division of Genus plc.
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