ASMO Breeding Program
Heifer flushing
Finnish and Swedish heifers with high EBV’s are selected to the program and flushed twice at the age of 12 to 16 months. After flushings heifers are inseminated and they start their test lactation after first calving approximately at the age of 27 months. Embryos are transferred fresh to recipients near the heifer flushing centre at Suontaan Kartano or at recipient network formed by private farms. Selection of heifers is based on the first lactation yield, conformation and other functional traits. Due to embryo production in heifers, the calves of a selected ASMO donor - including up to 4 daughters - are already born. This shortens the generation interval from four to two years and increases the rate of genetic improvement.
The objective is to have 70-80 heifers annually for embryo production and for the test and to select 15-20 as ASMO dams. This means that every fourth female calf produced from embryo flushings will serve as a replacement for the nucleus herd.
Testing of first calf heifers
The first calf heifers in the nucleus herd are tested on two farms: MTT’s research farm Minkiö in Jokioinen and Minna and Kari Herranen’s farm in Vieremä.
The objective of the testing is to measure the genetic differences of the animals by keeping their feeding similar. The first calf heifers’ conformation is scored twice, first about a month after calving and then at the midpoint of the lactation.
After the heifer testing, the cows at the MTT’s research farm are often very useful to other research projects involving nutrition and embryo technology.
Selection of ASMO dams
The cows in the nucleus herd breeding program will get a conformation score after their second calving. If the breeding value and the udder conformation of a cow fills the requirements for becoming a bull dam, the cow can be chosen to become an ASMO dam. The most important phenotypic traits ate udder health and conformation, leg conformation, fertility and character. ASMO dams produce ASMO embryos for sale.
