Designed by EXPERTS,
for EXPERTS
ProGen is the result of a large-scale project between CIAQ, The Semex Alliance and its partners, the Canadian A.I. centres EBI and Gencor, aimed at developing the most state-of-the-art sire recommendation program ever. The result and the utilization opportunities of this program largely exceed expectations and the whole team is proud to introduce a tool that will help you propel your herd towards new achievements. ProGen will allow breeders in Québec and other provinces to take advantage of the tool par excellence used to optimize the genetic progress of their herds.
PERSONALIZED profile
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Who is it intended for?
ProGen will meet the needs of breeders who have different breeding philosophies, since it will be possible and easy for the CIAQ advisors to personalize the recommendations according to the strategy of each herd and to offer state-of-the-art solutions.At his annual visit, the CIAQ consulting service representative will determine with the breeder his breeding objectives, in order to obtain personalized sire recommendations.
Mating MANAGEMENT
ProGen is likely to have an important impact on the whole Québec dairy industry. As stated by Alan Bryson, Head of Genetics Expertise at CIAQ : “Mating management, and particularly the application of genetic improvement strategies linked to market trends, are good guarantees that breeders will remain on the global forefront in terms of animal quality and that, in doing so, they will remain competitive”.
All breeders may now enrol in this new program.
For the somewhat 5500 CIAQ's clients who use the genetic improvement tools, such as registration, milk recording or classification, the Canadian Dairy Network supplies us with the genetic and phenotypic files. Thanks to ProGen, those breeders will receive sire recommendations at each genetic evaluation based on the most recent proofs.
All the other breeders for whom we do not receive the information from CDN will also be able to take advantage of the ProGen program thanks to the data that are collected on the farm by the CIAQ representatives. Thanks to ProGen Express, the recommendations will be issued directly on the farm. Afterwards, the information will be forwarded to CIAQ and filed which will allow those breeders to receive a new sire recommendation report at each genetic evaluation.
EXACT inbreeding
One of the important and unique elements of ProGen is the utilization of an inbreeding matrix developed in partnership with the Canadian Dairy Network. This innovative approach calculates the exact inbreeding level of each mating based on the whole pedigree information. With ProGen, each breeder with animals eligible to genetic evaluations will be able to choose the optimum level for his herd. It is a known fact that high inbreeding can lead to a decrease in animal performance and that the impacts are particularly important on health and fertility traits.
Brian Van Doormaal, CDN’s General Manager, mentioned : “In view of the increasing inbreeding level in all dairy breeds over the last 15 years, it is no longer acceptable to only consider three or four generations in the evaluation of the inbreeding level of a potential mating. This matrix, the only one of its kind in the world, will give breeders full confidence in the control of inbreeding for each of their matings and their whole herd”.
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"There is no doubt that, in the future, the sire recommendation program will have to offer a balance between genetic progress and inbreeding control as ProGen is doing today." Brian Van Doormaal, |
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ProGen is a powerful and unique tool that offers you state-of-the-art solutions for the genetic progress of your herd.
For additional information, contact :
Chantal Fleury, Agrologist, Head of Service Development at CIAQ
Toll free : 1-866-737-2427