World-famous ABS sire retires after phenomenal career

After an extraordinary fifteen year career at ABS Global Inc., the decision was made to retire 29HO12209 Picston SHOTTLE from the active bull lineup. He leaves behind a significant legacy after producing 1,174,948 units.

SHOTTLE had a major influence over the Holstein breed as an icon for dairy farmers around the globe. “SHOTTLE captivated the dairy and AI industries for more than a decade, with strong characteristics such as semen fertility, production, low somatic cell counts, consistently pleasing type, and fantastic temperament.  These traits assisted him in becoming one of the greatest ‘customer satisfaction’ bulls of all time,” explained Mark Smith, ABS global production director, at a birthday celebration for SHOTTLE in July, 2014.

SHOTTLE was born at Spot Acre Grange near Stafford, England, the home of the Pickford family and Picston Holsteins.  He was the son of dam Condon Aero Sharon EX-91 and sire Carole Prelude Mtoto.

For seven straight sire summary releases — January 2008 to January 2010 — SHOTTLE sat at the peak of the Top 100 TPI® list.  After those seven straight runs, he remained a top 15 sire for the next five sire summaries.  In December 2011, SHOTTLE became the 11th ABS sire to achieve “millionaire” status, with one million units of semen sold.  When he turned 12, he still out-performed bulls half his age, remaining in the top 25 of the Top 100 TPI list.   Even at age fifteen, SHOTTLE remains relevant, boasting a TPI above +1900. He continues to be a tremendous improver of health traits, and is over 1.2 for type.  Today, he still impacts the Holstein USA Top 100 TPI list, with two sons and 28 maternal grandsons listed.

Currently, in his official Interbull proof, he has 100,000 daughters in 20,000 herds in 22 countries. Conservatively, those 100,000 SHOTTLE daughters have produced more than five billion pounds (over two billion litres) of milk to help nourish the world.

ABS remains the premier source for SHOTTLE influenced genetics, marketing conventional and sexed semen from 17 direct sons and 27 maternal grandsons.  With 19 maternal grandsons awaiting proof information, SHOTTLE will continue to influence the industry for years to come.

Not only was SHOTTLE popular in the dairy and AI industries, but he received enormous amounts of press coverage from all over the world early on in his career.  In addition to dairy trade publications, stories about SHOTTLE appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including The Times of London and Daily Mail.  Perhaps the most notable was his feature in Playboy magazine, a feat no other bull at ABS Global has accomplished.

Throughout his retirement, SHOTTLE can expect superstar treatment including the enjoyment of a pen twice the size of his herd mates where he can bask under heat lamps and get regular exercise from the dedicated team of stockmen at the Ruthin stud in the United Kingdom.  Please join us in wishing SHOTTLE a long and healthy retirement.

Headquartered in DeForest, Wisconsin, ABS Global is the world‐leading provider of bovine genetics, reproduction services, technologies and uddercare products.  Marketing in more than 80 countries around the globe, ABS has been at the forefront of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941.  ABS Global is a division of Genus plc.

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TPI® is a trademark of the National Holstein Association USA, Inc.

Contact: Tania Van Orden
Global Marketing Analyst
1525 River Road, DeForest WI 53532
608.846.6336
[email protected]

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