Backed by Madawaska Aerostar, Ex-Extra, and Startmore Rachelle, VG 14*, one of Butlerview Mattador's best daughters, Rudolph has become the indisputable star of a cow family that had already made the headlines during the 80s. The Startmore prefix is high up among the Canadian elite since the acquisition by Earl Start and Gerry Row in 1976 of A Jim-Mar-D Astronaut Gail, EX 11*, and outstanding brood cow. The use of embryo transfer has allowed Gail to produce numerous progeny that confirmed her exceptional genetic package for several generations, with remarkable cows and well-proven sires including Rudolph, her great grandson..

From left to right : From The Semex Alliance, Pierre Laliberté, Mario Séguin and Robert Chicoine; Steven, Earl and David Start, RUDOLPH's breeders; Agathe Drolet, Director Communication and Genetics, and Normand Renaud, General Manager of the CIAQ.

Today at age 12, Rudolph has a record of more than 47 000 milk-recorded daughters and 42 000 type-classified daughters in Canada. Both his male and female progeny continue to perform brilliantly. In fact, according to the genetic evaluations published last 27 October, Rudolph has sired 23 of the top 100 Holstein proven bulls in Canada. His three closest competitors have six each.

On the female side, 208 out the top 1000 cows in Canada, according to their genetic potential indexes, are Rudolph daughters. His closest competitor has 85 daughters on that list.

Up to now, over one million semen doses from Startmore Rudolph have been sold in more than 50 countries across the world. The experts all over the world are unanimous about the quality of Rudolph's descendants with the result that still today, the demand for his semen exceeds his production capacity even though he is still in good shape and produces sizeable quantities.

CIAQ, jointly with The Semex Alliance, was very happy to greet the members of the Start family and to highlight their enormous contribution to the improvement of the Holstein livestock as the breeders of one of the most remarkable sires in the history of the Holstein breed.

For more information, please contact :
Hélène Drapeau, Head of Communications
Phone : 450-774-1141
Fax : 450-774-9318

RONALD (Bellwood x Tesk) is in 10^th place. SEPTEMBER is still climbing and is now ranked 15^th. Among the newcomers, a Rudolph son, Maco SCOTTY, is 17^th, thanks to a type rating of +13 and high components. A son of Lee, Cedarwal SPIRTE, shares 2^nd position for type with TALENT at +17.

AYRSHIRE

Once again, Kildare JERRY confirms his superiority as breed leader with 2456 LPI points, ahead of Kildare TORNADE by only 29 points. PARDNER is 3^rd for LPI with 2395 points and PERCEVAL is now 4^th with 2307 points. On the whole, there are few changes.

JERSEY

FUSION wins back his lead on the Jersey breed, ahead of PERIMITER with 43 points. They are followed by two sons of Centurion, Giprat Belle's CHAIRMAN with a LPI rating of 1477 and SHF Centurion SULTAN with +9 for type. SULTAN ranks 1^st for fat with 74 kg. Another newcomer, Alma Renn SIR ARTHUR (Renaissance x Berretta), takes up the 13^th LPI place.

BROWN SWISS AND CANADIENNE

R Hart CARTOON remains 2^nd on the LPI list and keeps the best type rating (+10) among the top 30 LPI sires.

There are few changes in the Canadienne breed.

On Friday 7 November, the Genetics Marketplace will start at 4:00 p.m. with Steve Laroche and Carl Saucier, two progeny analysts at CIAQ, who will make a presentation on the sires of the cows in the exhibit. As for the past years, several groups of international visitors will be in Québec for farm visits during that period before going to the Royal Winter Fair inToronto

Here is the detailed schedule of the Québec Holstein International Show :

Friday 7 November
4:00 p.m.		Carrefour de la génétique "Pour en savoir plus sur les taureaux du CIAQ et de L'Alliance Semex"
4:45 p.m.		Genetics Marketplace (English presentation) "Know more about CIAQ and The Semex Alliance sires"
5:30 p.m.		Lunch
7:00 p.m.		Red and White Junior Show (heifers only) Judge : Yvon Chabot, Victoriaville
Saturday 8 November
8:00 a.m.		Holstein Show Judge : Rolland Dubois, Saint-Flavien

Pine-Shelter Cheyenne Lee

Grand Champion Pine-Shelter Cheyenne Lee, even though she was born in Minnesota, is a daughter of the very popular Comestar Lee, Ex.-Extra, one of the best proven sires among those who were both born and proven in Québec. Lee stands out as being one of the best semen producers in the history of the Holstein breed across the world. At age 11 (born on 26 October 1992), he has already produced 1 595 372 doses of semen and he still seems in great shape. Very high quality Lee daughters can be found in the majority of countries using breeding programs in the Holstein breed.

Beaumont Spendide Spirit

Her dam is a daughter of Madawaska Aerostar and his grandam a Willowholme Casper both raised by Raymond Beauchemin.

Following are three generations of cows also sired by CIAQ bulls : Lylehaven Cadillac, A Lime Hollow Burkgov Excellence and Ingholm Yukon respectively. At the 7^th generation can be found a daughter of Briarwood Chieftain.

It is interesting to note that Splendide, the new star of Québec breeding, has three times Hanoverhill Starbuck and twice Briarwood Chieftain in her pedigree. Those are two of the sires that have the most left their marks on Québec breeding over the last 30 years.

Beaumond Splendide Spirit confirms that the faithful use, from one generation to the other, of high-level proven sires who complete each other can give resounding results.

Congratulations to Mr Raymond Beauchemin of La Visitation who has known how to adequately use CIAQ’s services to reach heights in breeding.

Robert Chicoine, Agrologist
Special projects - The Semex Alliance

Yves Brindle

His main responsibilities will consist of managing the operations of the Saint-Hyacinthe and Sainte-Madeleine stations. He will also coordinate the activities related to semen production and processing in accordance with the CIAQ and Semex Alliance quality standards. In his new role, Yves will also act as a resource person for research projects related to semen production.

As the new Director of Production, Yves Brindle replaces Normand Renaud who has recently been appointed CIAQ's General Manager.

For additional information, please contact :
Agathe Drolet, Director of Communications and Genetics
Phone : 450-774-1141

Here are the achievements of that extraordinary sire whose first proven sons now make the headlines within the artificial insemination industry.

History

When he got his first proof in July 1996, Storm enjoyed such popularity across the world that his semen production could not meet the very high demand. This Aerostar son had all it took to please breeders : he had one of the best Canadian indexes for type at +16 and he came from a very sound cow family with origins that were almost exclusively Canadian (dam by Inspiration, grandam by Fairlea Royal Mark and 3^rd dam by Downalane Reflection Emperor).

His testing results spoke for themselves. Among his test daughters, six were classified Excellent, among which four were classified in Canada and two in the USA. With his 2^nd generation daughters, the craze for Storm is still as high but his semen reserves are still under the comfort zone.

While Maughlin Storm was on the verge of becoming one of The Semex Alliance's millionaires, he unfortunately ceased to produce semen at age 10 with 956 869 doses produced to his credit.

Today

Now proven in several countries across the world, Storm still has one of the best proofs among proven sires with a 99 % reliability for type : on the US TPI list (August 2003), he ranks 5^th with 1514 and for LPI in Canada (August 2003), he stands in 6^th place with 1415. In September 2003, he has 34 457 classified daughters (67 % GP or better) in Canada and 172 Excellents. Among the top 1000 cows for LPI, Storm ranks 2^nd behind Rudolph with 9,9 % of cows..

Storm sons

Storm, who got his first proof at the same time as his paternal brother Rudolph who was superior production wise, had to work slightly in Rudolph's shadow. About 30 Storm sons were progeny tested in the USA and, in Canada, 52 sons were proven compared to more than 200 for Rudolph. Despite a limited use of Storm as a sire of sons, several of his sons appear on the list of available proven sires.

Storm's success rate as a sire of sons is simply out of the ordinary :

• 36 proven sons in Canada have an average LPI of 1064, with 39 kg of fat, 33 kg of protein and an average type rating of +7.
• 126 proven sons all over the world have an average LPI of 1025 with ratings of 5.8 for type, 5.2 for mammary system and 5.0 for feet & legs. He also particularly stands out for somatic cell score with 2.88.
• Among the top 100 LPI sires in Canada, there are seven Storm sons with an average LPI of 1820, ranking him in 2^nd place among the top sires of sons.
• Three of his sons rank among the top 10 sires for type in Canada, including Ladino Park Talent who shares 1^st place with a rating of +19.
• Among Storm's best sons, there are three sires that are red factor carriers, Ladino-Park Talent, Pursuit September Storm and Granduc Tribute.

Hereafter is a table grouping the top Storm sons available from The Semex Alliance.

The new star of the STORM vintage is Hartline Titanic, VG-Extra, who in August 2003 was propelled to 2^nd place in Canada with 2400 LPI points. His maternal line presents well-known sires : dam by Leadman,, 2^nd dam by Chief Mark and 3^rd dam by Bell. His daughters show a nice combination of strength and dairy character, their udders are well attached and they move on good feet & legs.

We are now allowed to say that, thanks to the success of his sons, the name Storm will appear more and more in pedigrees across the world

Written by Jean-Denis Vermette, agrologist
Head of Service Development, CIAQ
Collaboration : Robert Chicoine, The Semex Alliance

The addition of 180 employees sharing a common goal can certainly improve customer service but the main thing is that all the various elements are well orchestrated.

That is why CIAQ recently reorganized its team of area managers that went from seven to nine members, each being responsible for a group of A.I. technicians. Their main responsibility is to apply CIAQ's commercial strategy, in collaboration with the A.I. technicians.

Hereafter you will find a map representing each manager's area, with their phone numbers.

Normand Renaud

This appointment, which is effective today, follows the departure of Michel-R. Saint-Pierre who acted as CIAQ's General Manager from January 2000 until 22 August 2003 and who has been recently appointed President and General Manager of the Financière agricole.

Normand Renaud will be supported by the current management team composed of Marc Raymond, Director of Finance and Administration and Assistant General Manager, Johanne Chartier, newly appointed Assistant Director of Finance and Administration, René St-Jean, Director of Marketing and Services backed by Mario Roy, Assistant Director, and Agathe Drolet, Director of Communications and Genetics.

CIAQ's new General Manager mentioned that he is foreseeing the future with much optimism and he expressed his desire to carry on the mandate of his predecessors with the collaboration of all the employees and CIAQ's Québec and Canadian partners.

For additional information, please contact :
Agathe Drolet, Director of Communications and Genetics
Phone : 450-774-1141

Des Saules Dorila, Ex A Jerry daughter

Kildare Jerry continues to be the #1 LPI sire in Canada and is best mated on Daughters of Blackaddar B B Kellogg.

An impressive number of more than 2000 people attended CIAQ’s Open House held last 12 and 13 July in order to celebrate the organisation's 55^th anniversary! Those two days were part of the activities surrounding the Holstein Québec picnic held at Ferme Maskita of the Saint-Hyacinthe agricultural school (ITA).

Demonstration of the semen collection and conservation

The most popular activity was certainly the bull semen collection. Rarely have we seen so many people in the collection area!

The visit ended with some explanations given by the laboratory staff about the analysis and freezing of semen in liquid nitrogen - that can even be used to freeze some Mr Freeze's that were enjoyed by both young and not so young visitors!

Congratulations and thanks to all the young participants!

Sylvio Titanic Louange, GP81

One individual claims the limelight in the August 2003 genetic evaluations as we witness the arrival of a Balanced Breeding giant. Hartline Titanic (Storm x Leadman) debuts at #2 LPI and boasts an unrivalled combination of traits with +2400 LPI, +2045 kg Milk, +14 Conformation, +16 Mammary System and +12 for Feet & Legs. Braedale Freelance (Aeroline x Grand) adds several daughters while maintaining a breed-leading status as the #3 LPI sire in Canada. Bosside Ronald (Bellwood x Tesk), Comestar Stormatic (Storm x Blackstar) and Benner Jerry (Megabuck x Luke) all remain strong in the top 15 LPI. Kick-It-Up Amo (Rudolph x Bellwood) adds over 200 LPI points to his May proof with improvements in Milk, Fat and Protein.

The debut of Summershade Icicle (Fred x Luke) provides CIAQ with the #1 Milk bull in Canada rated at +3262 kg Milk and ranked #3 for Protein at +89 kg. Icicle shares bloodlines with Summershade Igniter and Inquirer and reports from the field confirm some similarities in their breeding patterns. The daughters are showing exceptional dairyness throughout and uniformity in their mammary system.

The Red Carrier, Pursuit September Storm*RC (Storm x Astre) continues to improve his LPI performance adding +148 points. He is rated as one of the best in the breed for his combination of Heel Depth, Foot Angle and Rear Leg Rear View. Calbrett Meteor (Formation x Aerostar) is a new Type improver with outstanding udder traits. Meteor debuts with +14 Conformation and over +2200 kg Milk making him an attractive option in any dairy operation.

The highly anticipated Red Carrier Storm son, Ladino Park Talent*RC (Storm x Kinglea Leader x Blackrose) has been a hot topic for several months following his daughters' prolific performance in Australia. The Canadian debut of Talent*RC to the LPI rankings doesn't disappoint as he shares the #1 Conformation position with Innwood Terrason at a phenomenal +19. Talent*RC supplements this achievement with a +19 for Mammary System which is also #1 in Canada.