ABS Global Introduces Real World Data® For Bull Fertility

Dairy producers now have an improved tool to capture accurate fertility data, as ABS Global, Inc. announces the use of Real World Data® (RWD™) Bull Fertility in place of SCR data analysis, starting with the December 2012 USDA Genetic Evaluations. ABS Real World Data Bull Fertility is a tool for customers to best capture the genetic potential of ABS sires.

“ABS produces and provides the highest quality, most consistent product in the industry, and has always endorsed the critical importance of fertility,” states Carlos Saviani, global strategic marketing director. “Because RWD is based on information from a diverse group of herds, most of them commercial herds, rankings are more precise and relevant to customer needs. The company’s decision to shift from SCR to RWD Bull Fertility is based on a desire to meet customer-driven expectations for accuracy, reliability and trustworthiness in bull fertility data.”

Data analysis are done in-house using an ABS proprietary process – only confirmed pregnancy events are used to determine bull rankings. The RWD model accounts for age of the cow, lactation number, stage of lactation, AI service number or times bred, management and environmental related differences, and herd-year-season effects.

“Real World Data is acquired directly from cooperating herds via dairy herd records software, and includes more than 12 million inseminations and 10,000 dairy sires,” adds Katie Olson, Ph.D. and ABS research scientist. “Rankings are published for bulls with more than 250 insemination outcomes and are updated monthly to provide herds with current high quality information for their genetic decision making.”

ABS Global’s RWD Bull Fertility is a tool for genetic improvement and reproductive solutions within dairy herds. Dairy breeders can rely on RWD for reliable decision making built by applying years of research to everyday data from ‘real herds like yours.’ ABS Global’s Real World Data Bull Fertility will provide accurate information gathered from a comprehensive, robust collection process. Relevant and reliable data from dairy producers, for dairy producers, will be provided in timely reports that allow access to the most current fertility rankings on ABS sires.

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.