The first ever Alta Advantage® Showcase tour kicked off today with fanfare and excitement. And the tour program delivered! The first day of the progressive dairy tour for progressive dairymen was highlighted by:

• Tours of Alta Advantage® partner dairies located in Michigan that currently milk a total of 6,300 cows;
• Displays of about 100 daughters tested in the AltaAdvantage® program;
• Daughters were the progeny of 36 AltaAdvantage® tested sires.

25 Alta Advantage® tested daughters show
their best at Steenblik Dairy, located in Pewamo, MI.

An Alta Advantage® Showcase Tour bus arrives
at Hoffland Dairy, located in Clayton, MI.

But it was Alta’s leading Alta Advantage® program that was on display throughout the day. “It’s an inside tour of our leading progeny-testing program called Alta Advantage®,” says Dr. Nate Zwald, who manages the program for Alta. “The Advantage® program was created to develop and test genetics that deliver efficient and profitable milk cows that perform in large herd environments.”

In addition, the Alta Advantage® program requires that all daughters be DNA-tested before their performance can be included in a sire’s proof evaluation. This standard eliminates the 25% mis-identification rate industry-wide among milking daughters included in a typical U.S. proven sire’s proof evaluation.

The Alta Advantage® program is fast becoming recognized for its ability to stamp out sires with the industry’s leading accuracy in terms of genetic evaluations.

AltaWILDMAN proved to be the most popular sire among the 150 guests from 22 countries around the world, with comments abound about AltaWILDMAN’s ability to produce daughters with great conformation and tremendous milk production that is exceeding herd mate average by 40%. It was no surprise that the international delegation voted AltaWILDMAN the group favorite on the day.

Two of the five AltaWIlDMAN daughters on
display during Day 1 of the Alta Advantage® Showcase.

Ike Hunt, Youngstock & Genetics Manager,
Green Meadow Farm, located in Elsie, MI.

But the highest marks today were given to the AltaAdvantage® program, and the regard was summarized best by Ike Hunt, Youngstock and Genetics Manager at Green Meadow Farm, during a producer panel session on genetic selection strategy: “During the last 6 to 8 months our Advantage® tested daughters are freshening and are consistent for size and health traits. No extremes on the bell curve. It’s what we want in a commercial dairy.”