loader image

Powerhouse MAEBULL retires after breeding more than 4500 milking daughters

Jul 5, 2024

Calivil dairy farmer Craig Lister, who imported MAEBULL from the US as an embryo.

One of the Australia’s best known and most reliable bulls, MAEBULL, has been retired from active service.

Genetics Australia Holstein Calister MAEBULL leaves with more than 4500 milking daughters and many thousands more in non-herd-tested herds.

He was recently retired from Genetics Australia just short of his 12th birthday.

MAEBULL was the oldest bull on centre and was one of the last bulls relocated from Parwan Park to the Glenormiston quarantine property following the purchase of TLG in 2021.

Selected for progeny testing in 2013, MAEBULL has forged a career both in Australia and internationally as a reliable bull leaving a consistent group of daughters known for their health and management traits.

Genetics Australia CEO Anthony Shelly said MAEBULL was lucky to have been selected to be progeny tested.

“When we selected our teams in 2013, it was still in the early days of genomic testing and our bulls were primarily selected on genomics. MAEBULL was the lowest bull in the team and we debated whether to proceed with him,” Mr Shelly said.

“However, we liked his cow family and felt he offered something different in our team at the time so decided to proceed with him. We’re pleased that we did. He ended up graduating with flying colures and outlasted all the other bulls selected at the time.

Mr Shelly said not only was Genetics Australia pleased with the decision, so were many farmers in Australia and overseas with MAEBULL rating 99 per cent reliable for most traits.

He has daughters milking in New Zealand and the first of his daughters are now calving in Pakistan where he has been used for heat stress given his 104 ABV for Heat Tolerance. “He puts a great foundation in herds and his black medium statured daughters with high daughter fertility and low cell count are some of the reasons farmers go back and use him again and again,” Mr Shelly said.

MAEBULL was purchased from Calister Holsteins in Calivil in Northern Victoria after coming in as an embryo imported from the USA by Craig Lister.

“I had a lot of faith in the Lead Mae cow family that he came from,” Mr Lister said. “It was one of the families I had long admired so when it was cost effective to import embryos, it was one that I targeted.

“In this game, you get used to bulls not turning out quite as well as you’d hoped but you get surprised by others,” Mr Lister said. “MAEBULL turned out to be one who surprised us pleasantly.”

Calister Holsteins has many MAEBULL daughters in his herd. “I judge him by the performance of his daughters,” Mr Lister said. “He made robust, functional cows with all the health traits that are required for a modern dairy cow.

“He epitomises our breeding goal. I have a lot of MAEBULL daughters to attest to my faith in him. His eldest daughter is classified Excellent and is still going well.”

Genex bulls offer added “Excitement” to the TLG and GA teams

A number of new bulls will be offered in the TLG and GA teams through the genetic partnership between GAH and Genex. The bulls are high ranking in the USA and the following bulls will be available from Total Livestock Genetics. The portfolio is headlined by the global superstar in Peak EXCITEMENT, one of the […]

Genescreen report works for Sam

  Sam Simpson’s herd has moved ahead in leaps and bounds over the past five years. Sam, who runs the 430-cow ‘Craiglands Holsteins’ herd with her husband Mark Billing at Larpent in south-west Victoria, can’t pinpoint one thing for the burgeoning success but knows data and new technologies are playing a part The Craiglands herd […]

Australian Jerseys in August ABVs – a world class performance

While the world took notice of the strong performance of Australian athletes at the Paris Olympics, the breeding world has long recognised that Australia has one of the best populations of Jersey cows and is an elite source of Jersey genetics. There is no better demonstration of this than in the August release of the […]

August ABVs – a Gold Medal Performance

The Paris Olympics was a record success for Australia with our Olympians producing elite performances against the best in the world.  Our athletes can be very proud that they were able to match it with the best and with a lot of hard work and preparation it resulted in a record gold medal haul. The […]

MEDIA RELEASE – GA bulls secure a gold medal performance

Genetics Australia bulls have taken out the gold in the August 2024 ABV release, topping the rankings across the major breeds. DataGene released the latest Australian Breeding Values and bull rankings on August 19, highlighting Australia’s highest BPI bulls across all dairy breeds. Genetics Australia dominated the release, prompting CEO Anthony Shelly to describe it […]

Adlejama Holsteins impressed with performance of LASTIN daughters.

Hogg family, Adlejama Holsteins, Biggara, Vic. Ash Hogg and his family are currently milking 180 registered Holsteins at Biggara in Victoria’s northeast. Their Adlejama Holsteins herd is ranked Number 7 for BPI in Australia following the April 2024 ABV release. The Hoggs are milking 12 daughters of Genetics Australia’s newest daughter proven sire LASTIN BPI+523. […]

Estrus Intensity link to reducing pregnancy loss

Managing estrus intensity is a vital tool in reducing pregnancy loss and the Estrotect patch can help farmers to make the right choices. Associate Professor Dr Ky Pohler from Texas A&M University told the GA 2024 conference that assisted reproductive tools increase genetic gains. “Reproductive technology has been key in changing the way agriculture works […]

Cartoons inspire career in genetics

Not many people can claim 1990s Saturday morning cartoons as the inspiration for a successful career in genetics…but Rick Schmidt can. Mr Schmidt has been appointed as Genetics Australia’s Gippsland sales representative. He comes from a diverse background in sales and industrial sciences, most recently as a Key Account Manager for a chemical engineering company […]

Rob Derksen: ‘Australian Jersey Breeders have Embraced the Best Genetics in the World’

Rob Derksen started his career in cattle breeding in 1973, at Victorian Artificial Breeders (VAB), where he first came into contact with the Jersey breed. Derksen has been employed by Genetics Australia (GA) since it was established in 1994. The Australian AI company maintains close contact with Jersey Australia and since 2023 is part of the URUS group. Jersey International spoke with the very experienced breeding man about the Jersey program at GA and the qualities of the Australian Jersey population

The future of farming is in our hands and in our genetics : April ABV report

The GA 2024 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond conference has shown us where the dairy and beef industries are heading, and we were left with no doubt about the vital role genetics will play in shaping future farming enterprises.   The conference gave us the opportunity to engage with innovators and industry leaders along with everyday […]