ABONDANCE

The fruit of the joint efforts of AURIVA, OS RAR and the breeders involved, discover or rediscover the Abondance sire selection scheme and how the best sires in the breed are selected.

Each year, the Genetics Committee selects between 45 and 50 sires and defines the minimum requirements for each of the 24,000 females submitted for milk testing. Among the 3,500 or so cows that meet all these thresholds, VARGEN proposes the 600 most appropriate matings for managing variability and genetic progress.

Breed technicians then qualify 350 to 400 matings during technical visits to farms.

Around 170 male calves are born and genotyped the following year. After sorting by the layout committee, only 28 of them enter the breeding station.

Before entering production, a final selection is made to retain the 20 genomic bulls in the series, seeking maximum diversity in the proposed profiles and origins.

The genomic offer is then completed by a range of confirmed bulls. The aim is then to propose a mix of uses on the farm to encourage the widest possible individual and collective genetic progress.