The board approved the 2014 Management-by-Objective Business Plan and associated budget. The Business Plan forecasts growth in sales of Holstein Association USA’s core products and services.

Members who participate in the popular Holstein COMPLETE® program and have 1,001 or more Registered Holsteins® enrolled will receive a reduction in the per cow fee. Beginning with the 1,001st animal enrolled, the per cow charge will be reduced from $8.50 to $6.50.

A new program will honor long-living, productive U.S. Registered Holstein® cows. This new designation in 2014 will recognize cows with high milk production, elite type, and long, productive lives – the type of cow every dairy producer would love to milk! Watch for more details in upcoming issues of the Holstein Pulse magazine.

The Holstein Association is currently involved in two important research projects. The first research update the board heard was the feed efficiency project for which the Association has provided type evaluation services on 431 cows. A preliminary analysis of the research, being conducted by several universities and the USDA, was presented at the recent 26th ADSA DISCOVER Conference in Naperville, Ill. The research will continue over the next several years.

Staff also reported on the Association-funded and directed research which is studying elite Holstein females. The project is intended to find haplotypes that are associated with their valuable and unique phenotypes. The criteria for an elite cow were 150,000 pounds of lifetime milk and classified Very Good (VG) or Excellent (EX). The first significant outcome is that 594 elite cows actually contributed to the August 2013 genetic evaluations. Holstein Association staff will continue to collect, analyze, and compile data for the study.

The board approved the release of 5,062 prefixes effective December 31, 2013. Since its inception in 2009, the board policy allows the release for reuse of a prefix after 20 years of non-use and makes it easier for members to acquire prefixes for their herds.