PLAIN CITY, Ohio, Sept. 28, 2001 — A committee of classifiers from Holstein Association USA, Brattleboro, Vt., has raised the official type-conformation scores of 7HO4213 Robthom INTEGRITY-ET*TV and 7HO3707 Paradise-R Cleitus MATHIE*CV to Excellent (96) and Excellent (95), respectively. As a result, these two Gold Medal (GM) sires are the highest-classifying individuals among a select group of bulls that have produced more than one million units of semen in their lifetimes. This special evaluation followed the Sept. 20 classification of a larger group of Holstein bulls at Select Sires, which yielded 18 new Excellents and an industry-high total of 74 Excellent Holsteins currently at Select's facilities.

"Few bulls have scored this high and even fewer have produced this much semen - these two bulls are in a class by themselves," says Ron Long, vice president, dairy sire procurement. "At more than 10 years of age, both INTEGRITY and MATHIE have type conformation that has enabled them to live a long time and be superior semen producers. Many dairy producers are milking second-crop daughters of these two bulls that are in their second, third and, even, fourth lactations, and are so pleased with the results that they still are buying INTEGRITY and MATHIE semen."

INTEGRITY Now Excellent (96)

At the time he was raised a point in final score to Excellent (96), INTEGRITY had produced more than 1.08 million units of semen. This puts him among the world's top three all-time producers of frozen semen. Since graduating from the Program for Genetic Advancement™ (PGA™) in July 1995, INTEGRITY has ranked either first or second in unit sales at Select Sires every year. This SUPERIOR SETTLER™ had production information from 25,700 daughters in 7,901 herds throughout the world included in his August 2001 sire summary.

"INTEGRITY always has appealed to dairy producers and registered breeders alike," says Long. "That's because he has been successful in siring functionally sound, high-producing cows as well as big-time show winners. For example, Brigeen-C Integrit Robin-ET, Excellent (95), owned by Steve Keene, Auburn, Maine, became INTEGRITY's highest-classified daughter in September after producing 32,597 pounds of milk and 1,464 pounds of fat."

With two sons already in the Select Sires lineup [7HO5724 Towerview-Acres TALISMAN-ET, Very Good (88), and 7HO5632 Paradis-R Int TRUMAN-ET*TV, Very Good (86)] and more in waiting, INTEGRITY will continue to have an impact on the breed. He was bred by Robthom Farm, owned by Robert Thomson, Jr., family, Springfield, Mo.

MATHIE Becomes Excellent (95)

The oldest Holstein in the Select Sires lineup, MATHIE had produced more units of frozen semen than any other sire in the world (1,251,814 units) at the time he increased one point in final score, becoming Excellent (95). He graduated from the PGA in July 1993 and by 1995 was the No. 1 bull in annual semen sales at Select Sires. To date, 31,847 daughters in 7,444 herds from many countries have been included in MATHIE's sire summary.

"Ever since MATHIE's first daughters freshened, producers have appreciated their hallmark outstanding udders, great feet and correct legs," says Long. "They are good, young cows that just get better with age, starting out as Good Plus 2-year-olds that score Very Good as a 3-year-olds and then Excellent as mature cows. As a result, MATHIE has become one of the industry's all-time customer-satisfaction sires."

MATHIE also has two sons in Select's active-A.I. lineup, 7HO5300 Catalina Mathie MAGNUM*CV, Excellent (91), and 7HO5386 Piercefield CHIL Chamois-ET, Very Good (86). He was bred by Paradise Valley Farms Inc., owned by the Ramsey family, Louisville, Ohio.

More Classification Highlights

The Sept. 20 classification yielded 18 new Excellent sires, including 7HO5708 Fustead Emory BLITZ-ET*TV, Excellent (92), who has Select's highest Predicted Transmitting Ability for Milk (PTAM) of +2,740. Previously Very Good (88), BLITZ is one of only four sires in the breed with PTAs higher than +2,000 Milk and +2.00 Type. One of the breed's most sought-after type sires, 7HO5157 Regancrest Elton DURHAM-ET*CV, went from Very Good (88) to Excellent (90). With all four type-composite indexes greater than +2.00, DURHAM has a PTAT of +2.90. 9HO2344 Whittail-Valley COOPER-ET*TV, a son of 7HO3948 MJR Blackstar EMORY-ET*TV, increased in final score from Very Good (87) to Excellent (90).

The breed's second-highest sire for PTAT at +3.09, 7HO5841 Sikkema-Star-W HI METRO-ET*CV, earned another point in final score and is now Excellent (93). 7HO5682 Silver-Shade MB SAUNDERS-ET, Select's highest sire for both PTA Cheese Merit Dollars (+624 CM$) and Net Merit Dollars (+592 NM$) moved from from Excellent (91) to Excellent (92). Five other active-A.I. sires previously designated "Excellent" increased in final score, including: 7HO5581 Eastview Emory EQUITY-ET*TV, from Excellent (91) to Excellent (93); 7HO5742 Henkeseen HILLCREST-ET*TV, from Excellent (91) to Excellent (92); 7HO5650 Neu-Way Alvin ALLOY-ET*TV, from Excellent (91) to Excellent (92); 7HO4937 Wal-Del BUBBA-ET*TV, from Excellent (90) to Excellent (92); and 7HO5687 Sandy-Valley FORBIDDEN-ET, from Excellent (90) to Excellent (91). Of the 74 Excellent sires at Select Sires, 41 are currently in the active-A.I. lineup.

For more information about these sires, contact your local Select Sires representative or visit www.selectsires.com.

Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires, Inc., is a federation of 10 farmer-owned and controlled cooperatives. It provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying livestock breeders with America's best genetics at a reasonable price.

™Program for Genetic Advancement, PGA and SUPERIOR SETTLER are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.