WEBVTT 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:15.060 Breaking free from the chains of the past Where 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:18.820 truth moves faster than a Holstein calf No law 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:21.660 waiting on some printed page We're charting new 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:25.300 ground in the digital age From genomic codes 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:29.120 to robot facts We cut through the noise, no hold 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:32.460 them back not your daddy's dairy news tonight 00:00:32.460 --> 00:01:03.700 we're sparking Welcome back to the Bullvine Podcast, 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.140 where we cut through dairy industry noise to 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.120 get you the insights that actually matter for 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:10.719 your operation. And today, we're diving deep 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.879 into a feature piece that's got some serious 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.700 buzz. This one's got layers that'll make every 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:20.359 farmer really rethink their approach to color 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:22.840 genetics and the dominant red Holstein. It really 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:25.840 will, because, let's be honest, we all lived 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.239 by a very simple rule, the rule we learned in 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.829 high school biology. Red times red equals red. 00:01:31.030 --> 00:01:33.230 It's, you know, it's Mendelian genetics 101. 00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:36.409 It was simple. It was reliable. Exactly. And 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:38.810 that old comfortable rule, it's officially broken. 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.819 The discovery of the COPA gene back in 2015 introduced 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:46.439 a genetic override switch. That is, well, it's 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:48.859 fundamentally rewriting how color is transmitted 00:01:48.859 --> 00:01:51.239 in Holsteins. And this isn't some abstract theory 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:53.760 in a lab. This is actively happening right now 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.099 in high -value breeding programs, and it's leading 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:58.500 to some major, major losses. The stakes here 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:00.420 are just astronomical, and this is why we're 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:02.120 hitting it so hard today. This isn't a discussion 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.379 about whether a show calf is, you know, pretty. 00:02:04.540 --> 00:02:06.319 Not at all. We are talking about registration 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.599 errors that compound over generations. angry 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:12.599 buyers who feel completely misled, and ruined 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.080 reputations that take decades to build. Right. 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:17.340 If you're selling high -end embryos or donor 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:20.659 cows or heifers based on the promise of red genetics, 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:23.099 and those animals suddenly throw black calves 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:25.080 after you've mated them to other red animals... 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.740 You're losing serious money. We're talking tens 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:30.500 of thousands of dollars lost on a single flush. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:33.259 And the core controversy here, this is the biggest 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:36.800 shocker, a variant red bull. A bull that looks 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.759 perfectly red can throw 50 % black calves. Even 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:43.439 when bred to a traditional recessive red cow. 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:47.159 A red sire, a red dam, and a black calf. We are 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.680 going to unpack the exact molecular mechanism 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.199 behind that financial trap today. And we're going 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.860 to explain why spending $30 on a specific genetic 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.240 test is currently the cheapest and frankly the 00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.699 most necessary insurance policy you can buy in 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.460 your operation right now. So let's start by just 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:04.699 presenting the core issue. It's this red times 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:07.159 red equals black scenario. And it is absolutely 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.560 burning seed stock breeders who haven't caught 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:11.780 up with this research on the COPUS switch. We 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:14.240 see this playing out every day on the farm, especially 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.620 in operations that are really focused on marketing 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:18.460 the red and white color. So walk us through it. 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:21.259 A breeder sources what they think is a high quality 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:23.659 red bull. Right. They know he's a variant red, 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:25.960 which means he carries this copa gene. We call 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.800 him DRN, meaning he has one copy of the dominant 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.599 red variant and one normal one. Okay. And they 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:34.620 breed him to their proven recessive red cows, 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:38.099 which are the standard E at the traditional color 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.259 locus. So the expectation, based on what, three 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:43.939 generations of historical Holstein knowledge, 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:47.719 is 100 % red calves. Why wouldn't it be? Of course. 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:50.550 Both parents look red, they're fully registered 00:03:50.550 --> 00:03:53.009 as red and white, and the dam has probably always 00:03:53.009 --> 00:03:55.710 produced red calves. But the reality is... They're 00:03:55.710 --> 00:03:59.569 getting exactly 50 % black calves instead. 50 00:03:59.569 --> 00:04:02.449 %? It's a coin flip for color. And that's a coin 00:04:02.449 --> 00:04:04.250 flip you just can't afford to lose if you are 00:04:04.250 --> 00:04:06.909 marketing color. That's where the disaster starts. 00:04:07.129 --> 00:04:10.030 And that's not an exaggeration. A disaster. No. 00:04:10.310 --> 00:04:14.379 If I, the farmer... Sell a calf to a customer 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:18.379 who paid a premium, say, $5 ,000 for guaranteed 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:20.980 red genetics, and six months later it turns black, 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:24.500 or it's born black, or worse, I sell an embryo 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:26.519 guaranteeing red and the resulting calf is black. 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:30.120 My word is worthless. It's all about trust. In 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:32.399 the seed stock business, that trust and that 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.680 reputation damage, you can't quantify it, but 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:38.899 it's very real, and it takes years. if ever, 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:41.579 to recover. It doesn't matter how high the bull's 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:44.000 genomic numbers were if the fundamental promise 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.560 of the phenotype is broken. Okay, so let's strip 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:48.500 away the jargon and explain the mechanics simply, 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:50.339 because this is where the money is lost. The 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:53.300 COPA gene is the override. An animal can be genetically 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:55.939 programmed for black at the MC1R locus, that's 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:57.819 the traditional color switch on chromosome 18, 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.600 but if it carries the COPA variant, that dominant 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.100 red gene overrides the black signal and the animal 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:05.420 expresses red. So it looks red. We call it variant 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:07.600 red, or DR. So the bull looks red because the 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:10.339 copa switch is set to red override. But here's 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:13.180 the trap. The bull is hiding dominant black genetics, 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.199 the Eda Law allele, underneath. And he's almost 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:20.060 certainly E .D .E. that MC1R locus, just like 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:22.839 99 % of the black Holstein population. The copa 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:25.699 gene is just masking it. Precisely. The sire 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:28.319 is a black bull in red clothing, courtesy of 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:31.040 the copa gene. The surprise black calves happen 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.759 when the bull, who is heterozygous, DRN, at that 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:37.240 copa locus. He passes the N, normal allele. He 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:39.680 fails to pass on the override switch. Okay, let's 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.379 walk through the genetics of that specific calf. 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:44.139 The dam is recessive red, so she only has the 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:46.800 E allele to give at MC1R. Right, the calf gets 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:49.439 that E, no question. The sire is carrying the 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.420 dominant black allele, EDLRE, and if he's homozygous, 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:55.220 he's passing it. 100 % of the time. And crucially, 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:58.699 for the COPA gene, the calf gets the normal N 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:01.139 allele from that sire. That's the exact recipe 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:04.240 for disaster. That calf has no COPA override 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:06.500 because the sire didn't pass it on. And now, 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:10.199 the hidden dominant black gene, EELAO, is free 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.279 to express itself against the single recessive 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.459 red copy, the E the dam provided. And since E 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:18.720 dominates E? Boom! The calf is phenotypically 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.620 black, a black calf from two parents that look 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.639 completely red. And the breeder is left there 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:26.500 scratching their head thinking the recessive 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.360 red cow suddenly mutated or that the AI straw 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:31.800 was mislabeled. Yeah, they blame the AI company. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.259 They blame the vet. They blame everything but 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:36.920 the real cause. And the problem was a lack of 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.879 knowledge about this COPA interaction. It's pure 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.500 chaos built on a simple misunderstanding of these 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:46.279 two color systems working in opposition. It's 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.379 brutal. If you sell 10 embryos at 500 bucks a 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:51.959 piece and half of them come back black, you're 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:55.060 refunding $2 ,500 instantly. And that's not even 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:56.980 mentioning the future business you just lost. 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.899 The math is just brutal when you miss that $30 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:02.680 test. To really appreciate how revolutionary 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:05.240 the scope of discovery is and why it changes 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:08.100 our breeding programs, we have to rewind a bit 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:10.399 and challenge the old paradigm. Right. For generations, 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.439 we focused exclusively on one thing, the MC1R 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.639 gene, the extension locus on chromosome 18. And 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.680 that gene determined whether the cow was making 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:21.720 black pigment, eumelanin, or red pigment, pheomelanin. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.420 That was the key switch, period. That was the 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:26.860 baseline. And it was a beautifully simple model 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:29.720 for most of the breed's history. If you had dominant 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:34.279 black, EDO, you were black. End of story. And 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:36.699 if you wanted red, you needed two copies of recessive 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:39.360 red, the E genotype. Anything else was either 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.120 considered impossible or it was such a rarity 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:43.959 that breeders just ignored it. Let's quickly 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:47.319 review those MC1R alleles because... Differentiating 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:49.819 them is so crucial for understanding how this 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:51.959 COPA override works. Okay, so the standard is 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.279 EDIDL, dominant black. Over 99 % of Holsteins 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:58.759 carry this. It means the receptor is basically 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.819 locked on, constantly signaling for black pigment 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:04.079 production. Then you have recessive red, the 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.519 ELEL, and you need two copies. That'll dollars. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:08.980 Right, and that's a severe frame shift mutation 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:12.740 that basically renders the MC1R receptor completely 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:15.019 non -functional. So since the receptor can't 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:17.920 receive that go black signal, the cell just defaults 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:19.920 to producing red pigment. It's a complete silence 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.500 of the black signal. It's off permanently. But 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.620 then we have to talk about the Telstar gene. 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:28.120 This caused massive confusion back in the day, 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:30.319 too. And it's so important we don't confuse it 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:32.440 with variant red. Oh, the classic disappearing 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:37.659 red. Exactly. Cavs carrying EBA. progeny of bulls 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:40.860 like roybrook telstar they're born red and you 00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:42.879 cannot tell them apart from a true recessive 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:46.120 red calf at birth they look identical but between 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.659 three and six months of age their coats just 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:51.860 progressively darken you see mottled black hairs 00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:54.179 start appearing and eventually the animal switches 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:57.419 fully to black and that switch it happens because 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:00.360 of an mc1r timing mechanism it's developmental 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:02.860 It is not related to the COPA transport system 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:04.799 at all. This is the critical differentiation. 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:08.940 Right. EBR is an MC1R allele that regulates when 00:09:08.940 --> 00:09:11.399 the pigment switch happens. The ability to make 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.840 black pigment is there, but the switch is just 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.159 delayed. And we have to differentiate this visually 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.539 and genetically from the COPA effect. If you 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:20.799 skip testing, you could easily confuse a Telstar 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.919 -carrying calf with a variant red one at birth. 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.009 They look the same. But they have completely 00:09:25.009 --> 00:09:27.610 different inheritance patterns and totally different 00:09:27.610 --> 00:09:30.389 final phenotypes. Telstar animals always turn 00:09:30.389 --> 00:09:32.870 black. Varroate red animals stay red, though 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:34.769 we'll get into how they might darken a bit later. 00:09:34.889 --> 00:09:37.289 Okay, so that's the old, complicated system on 00:09:37.289 --> 00:09:40.129 chromosome 18. Right. Now we introduce the copo 00:09:40.129 --> 00:09:43.929 override, R160Cs, which sits on chromosome 3. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:46.799 A completely different chromosome. Nowhere near 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:49.320 the traditional color locus, and yet it acts 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.860 as the master override switch. This is the definition 00:09:52.860 --> 00:09:56.080 of epistasis. One gene controlling the expression 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.460 of another totally independent gene. So let's 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:01.299 use that Farmer English analogy again, but go 00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:03.039 a little deeper into the biology, because this 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.500 mechanism is pretty fascinating. Let's do it. 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:08.419 Think of the melanocyte, the pigment cell, as... 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.759 A tiny specialized factory. For that factory 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.000 to start making black pigment, the eumelanin, 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.259 it needs two things. One, it needs the MC1R receptor 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:19.320 sitting on the outside of the cell ready to get 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:21.899 that go black signal. And two. Two, it needs 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:24.740 the specialized enzymes like tyrosinase or TYR 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:27.539 to be transported from the nucleus into the production 00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:29.779 line, which is called the melanosome. So the 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:31.840 MC1R signal is the general manager shouting, 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:35.340 start making black paint. Because the animal 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:38.000 has the dominant black genetics, the EDLA. And 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:40.799 the COPA gene specifically, the protein complex 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:43.860 it codes for, which is COPI, is essentially the 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:46.879 internal delivery truck service inside that cell. 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:49.460 The delivery truck. I like that. The COPI complex 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:52.460 is responsible for transporting lots of proteins, 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:55.539 including these key enzymes and the MC1R receptor 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:58.320 itself, to the cell surface or the production 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:02.039 site. The specific mutation in variant red animals 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:05.059 is a defect that subtly disrupts this delivery 00:11:05.059 --> 00:11:07.179 truck service. So it sounds like a really fundamental 00:11:07.179 --> 00:11:09.240 problem. I mean, shouldn't that just kill the 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.720 cell if its delivery trucks are broken? That's 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:14.059 the incredible biological nuance here. The mutation 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:16.500 is severe enough to cripple the delivery of the 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:18.740 pigment -critical machinery. The paint and the 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:21.600 paint -making machines. Exactly. But it's mild 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.100 enough that it doesn't disrupt the general, you 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:26.059 know, housekeeping functions of the cell. The 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.639 cell survives just fine. So melanocytes, these 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:30.879 specialized pigment cells, they're just uniquely 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.700 sensitive to this slight disruption in the COPI 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:35.779 function. They need those delivery trucks to 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:38.100 be running perfectly to execute the black signal. 00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:41.080 So the general manager, MC1R, might be screaming, 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:44.139 make black paint, because the animal carries 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:46.580 eight dollars. But the COPA gene has crippled 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:49.000 the delivery truck service. The required machinery 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.620 just doesn't reach the production line. The analogy 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:54.000 holds up perfectly. The COPA gene blocks the 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.320 delivery of the receptor to the cell membrane, 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:58.899 or it blocks the enzymes needed for the synthesis. 00:11:59.259 --> 00:12:01.779 And without that working black machinery in place, 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:04.799 The cell defaults to its ground state, which 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.539 is producing pheomelanin, or red pigment. So 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:09.740 the animal is genetically signaling for black, 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.299 but the copa gene blocks the execution. That's 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:14.320 the genetic override, sitting on a completely 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.179 different chromosome. And this entire paradigm 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:20.200 -shifting discovery, which now costs or saves 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:22.919 breeders thousands of dollars, it all stemmed 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:26.019 from the impossible history of one cow. Surinam 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:29.320 sheik Rosabel Red, born way back in 1980. We 00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:31.519 have to tell her story. We do. Rosabelle was 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:33.679 the paradox that the old science could not explain. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.980 Her sire was confirmed ED -DA, homozygous dominant 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:40.000 black. So there was zero chance, under the traditional 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.679 MC1R model, that Rosabelle should have been anything 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:46.039 but black. Yet she was red. And she stayed red. 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:49.379 She was this anomaly that breeders and geneticists 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:51.820 argued about for years. Was it a spontaneous 00:12:51.820 --> 00:12:54.700 mutation? Was the sire misidentified? The clincher 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:57.769 was when she was bred. She consistently produced 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:00.789 50 % red progeny, regardless of the black sire 00:13:00.789 --> 00:13:03.350 that was used. That 50 % transmission pattern? 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:06.830 That just screams dominant trait entirely independent 00:13:06.830 --> 00:13:09.789 of the MC1R locus. Exactly. If she were recessive 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:12.350 red, she could only pass on the E allele, and 00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:14.309 when you breed that to a dominant black bull, 00:13:14.509 --> 00:13:17.690 all her progeny should be black. But 50 % were 00:13:17.690 --> 00:13:20.549 red. This proved the existence of an independent, 00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:23.690 dominant red tree that was overriding the black 00:13:23.690 --> 00:13:26.129 signal. Rosabelle was the foundation of variant 00:13:26.129 --> 00:13:29.090 red, the real -world proof that this epistatic 00:13:29.090 --> 00:13:32.070 interaction existed. Her genetics literally forced 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:34.769 geneticists to look beyond chromosome 18 and 00:13:34.769 --> 00:13:37.679 find the COPA mutation on chromosome 3. It's 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:40.299 an incredible piece of detective work that directly 00:13:40.299 --> 00:13:43.019 impacts the bottom line of every red and white 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:45.940 breeder today. Without Rezabel, we might still 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:48.679 be stuck in that red X red red mentality, just 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:50.659 losing money blindly. All right, let's bring 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:52.379 this discussion back down to earth and attach 00:13:52.379 --> 00:13:54.639 some serious dollar signs to it. We're talking 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:57.940 genetics, transport proteins. The farmer driving 00:13:57.940 --> 00:14:00.740 the tractor is asking, why should I spend $30 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:03.720 on yet another test? Because that $30 test is 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:06.179 your cheapest, fastest, most effective form of 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:08.629 insurance against thousands, potentially tens 00:14:08.629 --> 00:14:11.669 of thousands in losses or major reputational 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:14.850 harm. The cost of the error here is just so disproportionately 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:16.870 high compared to the cost of getting the information. 00:14:17.169 --> 00:14:19.970 The test, again, is a comprehensive color genotype. 00:14:20.169 --> 00:14:22.809 It costs around 30 bucks through major labs like 00:14:22.809 --> 00:14:25.809 UC Davis VGL. And crucially, it has to check 00:14:25.809 --> 00:14:28.879 both COPA status. the variant red status, and 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:31.919 MC1R status, the extension locus. And if you're 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:34.720 using Holstein USA's standard genomic panels, 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:37.539 this data is integrated, but you have to know 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.840 how to read it. Okay, let's quantify the financial 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:42.620 risk. Let's look at four real -world scenarios 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:46.080 where skipping that $30 test results in a financial 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:49.590 catastrophe. Scenario 1, the Telstar trap. You 00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:52.730 operate a seed stock business. You sell a beautiful, 00:14:52.870 --> 00:14:56.570 high -genomic red heifer for $5 ,000, marketing 00:14:56.570 --> 00:15:00.090 her as premium, true red breeding stock. You 00:15:00.090 --> 00:15:02.149 skipped the $30 test because she looked red. 00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:05.269 Of course. Six months later, she turns black 00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:07.970 because she was carrying Iviar, the Telstar gen. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.299 The customer contacts you, furious, demanding 00:15:11.299 --> 00:15:14.799 a full refund. That is a $5 ,000 refund, plus 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:16.919 the loss of that customer for life and every 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.000 breeder they talk to. The heifer still has value 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:21.759 for milk, sure, but her value as a red breeding 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:23.779 animal, which is what the customer paid for, 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:27.200 it drops to near zero. Reputational damage among 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:29.500 show circles and red and white breeders is instantaneous. 00:15:29.980 --> 00:15:32.139 You risk several thousand dollars to save 30, 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:34.860 it just doesn't pencil out. Never. Okay, scenario 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:37.740 two, the registration error. This one compounds 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:40.019 the damage across the entire breed. You have 00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:43.279 a variant red calf, a DRN, looking identical 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:46.480 to a recessive red calf, EI2. You register it 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.460 as recessive red because, you know, the sire 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:50.559 was listed as red factor and the dam is red. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.200 Right. Now that false pedigree data is locked 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.259 in the system, future buyers... maybe five years 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:58.759 down the line use that cow's genetics assuming 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.120 she's a clean recessive red line and their breeding 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.340 math is constantly wrong you're not just messing 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:05.399 up your own farm you're messing up everyone downstream 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:08.419 who relies on the accuracy of that pedigree and 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:12.830 if a buyer invests say $10 ,000 in a contract 00:16:12.830 --> 00:16:15.710 for daughters from that line, and the resulting 00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:18.889 calves fail to deliver the expected color. That 00:16:18.889 --> 00:16:20.909 registration error is costing you potentially 00:16:20.909 --> 00:16:24.490 massive liability and, again, huge reputational 00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:27.490 recovery cost. Scenario three, the donor disaster. 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:30.409 This is where the losses get truly massive. Oh, 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:32.669 yeah. Imagine you have an elite black cow with 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:35.190 high genomics, a cow you want to convert into 00:16:35.190 --> 00:16:37.960 red genetics. using a variant red bull, you decide 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.259 to flush her. You're spending, what, $4 ,000 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:43.840 to $6 ,000 on cinch, hormones, vet fees, recipient 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.679 cow management. All planning to sell the resulting 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:50.580 embryos for maybe $500 to $1 ,000 each, based 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.480 on a 50 % red guarantee. But if you made a false 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:56.139 assumption about the donor cow's hidden MC1R 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:59.779 status, or if your VRC bull wasn't fully tested, 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:02.519 those resulting embryos might not deliver that 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:05.309 promised red -black ratio. So you commit thousands 00:17:05.309 --> 00:17:07.990 to the flush, and then you have to refund pre 00:17:07.990 --> 00:17:10.730 -buyers. Or worse, the resulting calves are just 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:14.390 unsaleable because of a phenotype -genotype mismatch. 00:17:14.509 --> 00:17:17.329 We're talking easily five figures lost, the cost 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:19.569 of the flush, the lost revenue on the embryos, 00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:22.589 the time spent waiting, all because a $30 test 00:17:22.589 --> 00:17:25.130 was skipped on the sire or the dam. And the final 00:17:25.130 --> 00:17:29.099 one? Scenario four. The cleanup bull chaos. This 00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.200 is the simplest financial trap. You turn out 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:34.440 a heterozygous variant, Red Bull DRN, and EBOL 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.559 for summer cleanup breeding in a mixed color 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.059 group. He's cheap, he's healthy, he gets the 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:41.279 job done. The calves are born, some red, some 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.359 black, some a little mottled. Now you've got 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:45.799 two problems. One, you have no idea which of 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:47.819 those red calves are recessive red and which 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:51.440 are variant red. And two, because you mixed colors, 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:54.720 you can't track the pedigree easily. So you need 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:56.920 to select replacements intelligently for the 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.380 next generation. But you can't tell the difference 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:01.259 just by looking at them. So what do you have 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:04.220 to do? Now you are forced into genomic testing 00:18:04.220 --> 00:18:07.819 the entire calf crop, not just the keepers, just 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:09.940 to sort out the replacements and understand their 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:13.240 genetic value. At $30 to $40 per head for the 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:16.279 full color panel across dozens or hundreds of 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.500 animals. You've just spent thousands to clean 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:20.740 up the mess caused by skipping the initial $30 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:23.910 test on the bull. The chaos of phenotype ambiguity 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:26.730 forces you into expensive testing downstream. 00:18:27.150 --> 00:18:29.630 So when you weigh a one -time $30 investment 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:33.230 against a $5 ,000 refund, $10 ,000 in lost embryo 00:18:33.230 --> 00:18:36.309 sales, or $3 ,000 in unnecessary calf testing. 00:18:36.630 --> 00:18:40.069 That $30 test is absolutely non -negotiable insurance. 00:18:40.470 --> 00:18:43.109 If color is affecting your revenue stream, meaning 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:45.849 you are selling genetics, not just milk, you 00:18:45.849 --> 00:18:48.069 cannot afford to guess. You need to know both. 00:18:48.490 --> 00:18:51.390 the COPA status, and the underlying MC1R status. 00:18:52.430 --> 00:18:54.529 Let's shift gears and talk about the strategic 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:57.589 appeal of Variant Red. I mean, why would any 00:18:57.589 --> 00:19:00.509 breeder willingly introduce this level of complexity 00:19:00.509 --> 00:19:02.829 and risk into their program? The answer is simple. 00:19:03.250 --> 00:19:05.650 Speed and efficiency. That's the core appeal, 00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:08.670 and it's why VRC is here to stay. Traditional 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:11.470 recessive red breeding is a generational commitment. 00:19:11.710 --> 00:19:15.250 It's so slow. If you breed a heterozygous recessive 00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:18.970 red cow, ED day, to a heterozygous bull, Edie, 00:19:18.970 --> 00:19:21.609 you only get a 25 % chance of a red calf. It's 00:19:21.609 --> 00:19:23.849 just hugely inefficient when you're trying to 00:19:23.849 --> 00:19:26.930 inject color or any associated desirable redline 00:19:26.930 --> 00:19:30.380 trait into an elite... black genomic line. Variant 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:32.460 red lets you do it fast. It's rapid integration. 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:35.920 Breeding a VRC bull to a high merit homozygous 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:39.079 black cow yields 50 % red calves in the first 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.339 generation. You instantly jumpstart the color 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:43.460 inheritance process. It makes the variant red 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:46.539 trait a really powerful strategic asset for commercializing 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:48.440 high genomic females from the black population. 00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:51.259 And this trait was legitimized by specific animals 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:54.160 that combined that variant red gene with other 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.380 elite characteristics, particularly high type 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.329 and production. We have to talk about the matriarchs 00:19:59.329 --> 00:20:01.910 that dragged VRC into the mainstream. We always 00:20:01.910 --> 00:20:05.269 trace back to Rosabelle, the 1980 founder. But 00:20:05.269 --> 00:20:08.269 the pivotal modern matriarch was Stoned and Fool's 00:20:08.269 --> 00:20:11.650 Gold Red, born in 2007. She was sired by the 00:20:11.650 --> 00:20:14.109 legendary Braydale Goldwyn and critically... 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:17.039 Fool's gold combined the dominant red gene with 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.119 show -winning type and high production index 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:21.720 numbers. She was a dominant female who brought 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:25.160 VRC into the mainstream genomic era. She made 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:27.579 it viable for breeders focused on profitability, 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:30.759 not just novelty. And that line continues right 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:33.420 through to modern sires. A great example is Vogue 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:36.940 Zircon P. He's a key modern carrier, heterozygous 00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:39.599 DRN. But what makes Zircon P so strategically 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:41.859 valuable is what we call the double dominant 00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:44.440 advantage. He also carries the polled trait. 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:47.099 That is a massive breeding tool. You are transmitting 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:49.680 two dominant market desirable traits, red and 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.779 polled, with a 50 % success rate for each in 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:55.099 a single generation straight into an elite black 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:58.420 line. That's how VRC moves from a genetic curiosity 00:20:58.420 --> 00:21:02.019 to a strategic money -making asset. It's an instant 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:05.000 accelerator for specific traits. But now, the 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.740 nuance that gets breeders into trouble. The phenotypic 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:12.650 expression. We said VRC animals look red. But 00:21:12.650 --> 00:21:14.690 we know they can darken. And this is where we 00:21:14.690 --> 00:21:16.869 have to hammer home the difference between Telstar 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:20.410 and the VRC leaky blockade. Yes, we need to spend 00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:23.150 time here. Because failing to distinguish these 00:21:23.150 --> 00:21:25.049 two mechanisms is what leads to those registration 00:21:25.049 --> 00:21:27.890 mistakes. Variant red expression isn't always 00:21:27.890 --> 00:21:31.029 uniform and sable like the absolute non -functional 00:21:31.029 --> 00:21:33.250 silence of a recessive red animal. The underlying 00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:35.609 biology is completely different. Recessive red 00:21:35.609 --> 00:21:38.329 is a broken receptor. It simply cannot make black 00:21:38.329 --> 00:21:40.750 pigment. But variant red is a disrupted delivery 00:21:40.750 --> 00:21:43.430 truck. that COPA defect that just slows down 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:45.250 the production of black pigment. And blockages, 00:21:45.309 --> 00:21:48.130 especially biological ones, are inherently leaky. 00:21:48.230 --> 00:21:50.589 Research confirms this. The inhibition of those 00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:54.269 black pigment enzymes, TYR and TYRP1, in VRT 00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:56.730 animals is less complete than it is in E -recessive 00:21:56.730 --> 00:21:58.789 red animals. The cell is still trying to make 00:21:58.789 --> 00:22:01.430 black pigment. And sometimes some of that machinery 00:22:01.430 --> 00:22:03.950 gets through. especially as the animal matures 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:06.930 and hormonal balances shift. This explains the 00:22:06.930 --> 00:22:09.869 famous Tecventuro calico red case. He was born 00:22:09.869 --> 00:22:12.470 red, but he darkened significantly, eventually 00:22:12.470 --> 00:22:15.809 turning mostly black later in life. And breeders 00:22:15.809 --> 00:22:17.950 sometimes mistakenly assumed he was a Telstar 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:20.349 carrier because he darkened. But that darkening 00:22:20.349 --> 00:22:23.450 is due to the inherent leakiness of that copa 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:26.509 blockade. over time, and it's potentially influenced 00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:28.829 by testosterone, which is why darkening is often 00:22:28.829 --> 00:22:31.450 more pronounced in bulls. The melanocytes manage 00:22:31.450 --> 00:22:34.369 to synthesize enough eumelan to cause intermixed 00:22:34.369 --> 00:22:36.910 black hairs or a darkening of the extremities. 00:22:36.990 --> 00:22:38.930 They're just overcoming that transport blockage 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:41.190 slowly. It is absolutely crucial that breeders 00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:44.109 understand this distinction. This VRC darkening 00:22:44.109 --> 00:22:47.170 is not the Telstar mechanism, the EB gene. Right. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:50.240 Telstar animals darken because their MC1R gene 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.220 is specifically programmed to switch on black 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:55.680 pigment production later in life. Calico Red 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.319 still transmits the dominant red gene, VRC. He 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:01.400 is darkening because his COPA mutation is an 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:03.839 imperfect block against the ED gene he carries. 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:07.440 Two different genetic processes. Similar visual 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:09.920 outcome of blackening, but completely different 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:12.319 inheritance patterns and breeding values. And 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:14.480 only testing tells the difference between the 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.839 red calf that will turn entirely black, that's 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:19.380 Telstar, and the red calf that will stay mostly 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:21.599 red but might darken at the extremities, which 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.460 is VRC. Okay, let's synthesize this into a practical 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.920 mating outcomes cheat sheet. If a farmer is using 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:30.799 VRC, what is the safest path and what is the 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.170 highest risk they absolutely have to avoid? The 00:23:33.170 --> 00:23:35.829 cleanest, safest path to guaranteed red outcomes, 00:23:36.069 --> 00:23:38.970 if you prioritize color consistency, is to use 00:23:38.970 --> 00:23:42.549 a homozygous variant red sire, a DRDR bull. These 00:23:42.549 --> 00:23:44.910 bulls are rare. We mentioned Vogue Red IP as 00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:47.250 an example. But because they have two copies 00:23:47.250 --> 00:23:50.690 of the override switch, they yield 100 % red 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:53.130 offspring, even on your homozygous black cows. 00:23:53.369 --> 00:23:55.750 The override is guaranteed. Every single time. 00:23:55.769 --> 00:23:58.210 This eliminates that 50 % risk. And the high 00:23:58.210 --> 00:24:00.089 risk, high reward strategy. That's for the much 00:24:00.089 --> 00:24:03.109 more common heterozygous variant, red sire, the 00:24:03.109 --> 00:24:05.869 DRN, the zircon peas of the world. You have to 00:24:05.869 --> 00:24:07.990 be surgical in their use. Use them aggressively 00:24:07.990 --> 00:24:11.490 on your elite black dams, which are $80 at MC1R. 00:24:11.809 --> 00:24:14.700 That's the strategic move. You instantly inject 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:17.160 red color into that pedigree with a 50 % hit 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:18.980 rate, and you accelerate your breeding plan. 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:21.819 And critically, do not, under any circumstances, 00:24:22.180 --> 00:24:24.859 use them on your recessive red dams, your e -cock 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:27.380 cows. That is the precise mating we identified 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:29.579 at the very beginning that introduces the 50 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:32.599 % black calf risk, because you risked removing 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:36.039 the copa override by passing the N allele. and 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:38.039 exposing the bull's hidden dominant black gene, 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:41.099 AD dollars. If you are using a variant red bull, 00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:44.640 you must know his underlying MC1R status. Is 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:47.859 he eated? If so, the risk is 50 % on your red 00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:50.240 cows. It's all about risk management. If you 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:53.160 need guaranteed red, use DRDR or clean eGenetics. 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:55.779 If you're leveraging the speed of ERC, only mate 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:58.980 those DRN bulls to black cows. It's a simple 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:01.700 rule, but with massive implications. The industry 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:04.039 is clearly reacting to this newfound complexity. 00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:06.579 The elite tier of genetics is already moving 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:09.720 toward mandatory COPA and MC1R testing at registration. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:12.160 It's no longer optional. It's an inevitability 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:14.579 driven by the demand for transparency and accurate 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:17.500 pedigree data. Exactly. Competitive pressure 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:20.500 demands this clarity. When major AI studs, like 00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:24.440 select sires, publish specific codes DR1, DR2, 00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:27.440 and detailed mating guidance, they set the standard. 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:30.640 And breeders spending premium dollars on embryos 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:32.819 or semen demand to know exactly what they are 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:35.519 buying. If one supplier provides total genetic 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.180 transparency and the next one doesn't, the market 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:40.519 will always choose transparency. But here is 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:42.680 where the complexity gets international and where 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:45.119 breeders importing or exporting genetics can 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.039 get burned. Ah, yes. We need to decode those 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:49.500 standards because the names change depending 00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:51.240 on which country you're dealing with. It's the 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:53.329 same genetics, just different shorthand. And 00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:55.869 this can lead to massive expensive errors in 00:25:55.869 --> 00:25:58.150 tag reanalysis. So in the U .S., the Holstein 00:25:58.150 --> 00:26:01.789 Association and CDCB use DR0 for tested free, 00:26:01.910 --> 00:26:05.450 DR1 for a heterozygous carrier, and DR2 for homozygous 00:26:05.450 --> 00:26:09.349 dominant red. DR0, DR1, DR2. Got it. But if you 00:26:09.349 --> 00:26:11.329 are looking at Canadian genetics... Holstein 00:26:11.329 --> 00:26:14.430 Canada uses VRF for free, VRC for a carrier, 00:26:14.549 --> 00:26:18.210 and VRS for a homozygous. VRF, VRC, VRF. Think 00:26:18.210 --> 00:26:20.390 about a breeder in the U .S. purchasing semen 00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:23.619 from a high genomic Canadian bull. The bull is 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:27.480 listed as VRC. If that U .S. buyer mistakenly 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:31.480 assumes VRC means variant red clean or somehow 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:34.140 confuses it with each genetics. They are introducing 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:37.339 a massive risk into their program. A VRC bull 00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:39.920 in Canada is the same as a DR1 bull in the U 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.940 .S., a heterozytis carrier with that 50 percent 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:45.480 black risk when bred to a recessive red dam. 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:48.220 You absolutely must know which country's code 00:26:48.220 --> 00:26:50.259 you are reading to prevent catastrophic breeding 00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:53.309 mistakes. It requires a dedicated checklist at 00:26:53.309 --> 00:26:55.609 the time of purchase. And this is just one example 00:26:55.609 --> 00:26:58.009 of the increasing complexity that breeders have 00:26:58.009 --> 00:27:00.190 to manage. It's not just about color, it's about 00:27:00.190 --> 00:27:03.210 the fact that one mutation on chromosome 3 completely 00:27:03.210 --> 00:27:05.450 overrides the effect of a gene on chromosome 00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:08.269 18. This kind of network thinking is the future 00:27:08.269 --> 00:27:10.670 of genomics across all traits. However, we have 00:27:10.670 --> 00:27:12.450 to take a moment to acknowledge the holdouts 00:27:12.450 --> 00:27:14.609 and their rationale is perfectly sound. We can't 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:17.680 just preach mandatory testing to everyone. Absolutely 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:21.940 not. For a large commercial 500 -cow dairy that 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:25.180 ships bull calves at a week old and selects replacements 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:28.519 purely on efficiency, milk production, and health 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:31.500 traits like feed saved. Color genetics are completely 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:33.960 irrelevant to their income statement. Right. 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:36.539 Mandatory testing across all registrations is 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:39.470 just... unnecessary friction, cost, and complexity 00:27:39.470 --> 00:27:42.069 for those operations. Their rational business 00:27:42.069 --> 00:27:44.910 decision is to prioritize traits that generate 00:27:44.910 --> 00:27:47.710 revenue, which is milk, and reduce cost, which 00:27:47.710 --> 00:27:50.009 is health and feed efficiency. They are maximizing 00:27:50.009 --> 00:27:52.109 profit by ignoring color. We have to respect 00:27:52.109 --> 00:27:55.029 that. The $30 test is irrelevant to them when 00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:57.289 they are looking at $100 gain in health dollars 00:27:57.289 --> 00:28:00.069 per animal per year. This deep dive is primarily 00:28:00.069 --> 00:28:02.650 focused on operations that monetize genetics 00:28:02.650 --> 00:28:05.150 and phenotype. Which brings us to the ultimate 00:28:05.150 --> 00:28:08.289 verdict for anyone marketing genetics. Phenotype 00:28:08.289 --> 00:28:11.490 alone is now useless in the Holstein breed. Wait, 00:28:11.529 --> 00:28:13.769 that's a heavy statement. Unpack that again for 00:28:13.769 --> 00:28:16.049 the farmer driving down the road. Phenotype alone 00:28:16.049 --> 00:28:19.230 is useless for predicting genetic outcome. A 00:28:19.230 --> 00:28:22.470 red calf at birth can be three fundamentally 00:28:22.470 --> 00:28:24.390 different things, and you cannot tell the difference 00:28:24.390 --> 00:28:26.930 just by looking at it. Okay, number one. One, 00:28:27.009 --> 00:28:29.869 it could be variant red, VRC, or DR1. It carries 00:28:29.869 --> 00:28:32.549 hidden dominant black. EDD2 and the dominant 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:35.650 override gene. Number two. Two, it could be recessive 00:28:35.650 --> 00:28:39.029 red, EB2 exit. It is clean and transmits true 00:28:39.029 --> 00:28:41.549 red. And number three. Three, it could be Telstar, 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:45.230 EE2. It will turn black in six months and may 00:28:45.230 --> 00:28:47.869 carry the ED gene. They all look red at day one. 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.359 But only testing confirms which one. And that 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.480 distinction dictates the animal's future breeding 00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:56.640 value, its marketability, and its potential to 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:59.079 wreck your mating program. If it's Telstar, it 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:01.980 turns black buyer beware. If it's BRC, it hides 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:04.480 black genetics breeder beware. If it's recessive 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:06.819 red, it's clean. That's the gold standard. It's 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:09.859 the ultimate lesson in modern genomics. You cannot 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:12.220 manage what you can't measure. The COPA discovery 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:15.119 didn't complicate color genetics. It just revealed 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.079 the complexity that had always been hidden beneath 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:19.460 the surface. It was always there. We just didn't 00:29:19.460 --> 00:29:21.500 have the tools to see these epistatic interactions 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:24.880 before 2015. The breeders who adapt their programs 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.220 now, moving away from simple one -gene thinking 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:29.960 toward network analysis, are the ones who will 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.839 avoid those expensive surprises and, critically, 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:35.759 leverage the speed of the variant red trait strategically. 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:39.480 All right. A farmer just finished milking. pulled 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:41.420 out their phone and is driving to the feed store. 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:43.740 What are the three things they need to remember 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:45.859 and act on from today's discussion about the 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:48.579 COPPA switch? We need three actionable steps 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:52.099 based on clear timelines focused entirely on 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:53.519 protecting their investment. What's number one? 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:56.299 Immediate action this week. Immediate action. 00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:58.819 Test your red sires. If you own, lease, or use 00:29:58.819 --> 00:30:01.160 any variant red bulls or any red factor bulls 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:02.819 that trace back to the Roosevelt or Foles gold 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:05.700 lines, get their full color panel, COPA, and 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:09.000 MC1R now. This is your $30 insurance policy. 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.880 And the reasoning. You need to understand the 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:13.680 hidden dominant black genetics, the e -dealers 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:16.400 they are carrying. If that sire is DRN and e 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:18.680 -dealers, you know immediately that the 50 % 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.799 black calf risk exists when you mate him to any 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:24.220 recessive red cow you own. If you skip this, 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:26.950 you are betting thousands on a coin flip. What's 00:30:26.950 --> 00:30:29.130 the medium -term strategy? Three to six months 00:30:29.130 --> 00:30:31.750 out. Number two, rethink your red mating programs 00:30:31.750 --> 00:30:34.589 and documentation. If guaranteed red calves are 00:30:34.589 --> 00:30:36.849 your goal, especially for marketing high -value 00:30:36.849 --> 00:30:39.349 heifers, stop relying on heterozygous variant 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:43.029 red, the DRN sires, on your red cows. The financial 00:30:43.029 --> 00:30:45.509 risk of a failed calf or a refund is just too 00:30:45.509 --> 00:30:47.690 high. So what's the alternative? Switch immediately 00:30:47.690 --> 00:30:50.829 to using homozygous variant red, DRDR, sires 00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:54.049 for guaranteed results, or... Use proven, tested 00:30:54.049 --> 00:30:56.109 recessive red e -genetics that are confirmed 00:30:56.109 --> 00:30:59.910 COPA -free, DR0 or VRF. And start documenting 00:30:59.910 --> 00:31:02.890 the full COPA and MC1R status on all your replacement 00:31:02.890 --> 00:31:05.309 heifers and animals you intend to market. Use 00:31:05.309 --> 00:31:07.950 those breed standard codes clearly. Transparency 00:31:07.950 --> 00:31:09.970 protects you from liability. And the long -term 00:31:09.970 --> 00:31:11.829 positioning, one to two years down the road. 00:31:12.069 --> 00:31:15.990 Number three, leverage VRC strategically, not 00:31:15.990 --> 00:31:19.039 casually. Understand the actual strategic value 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.619 of variant red. Use the trait to convert your 00:31:21.619 --> 00:31:24.059 highest genomic black females into red bloodlines 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:27.900 instantly. Mate your DRN bulls only to high merit 00:31:27.900 --> 00:31:30.759 homozygous black cows to quickly produce valuable 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:33.759 50 % red daughters in the first generation. And 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.720 what should they avoid? Never, ever use VRC bulls 00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:39.799 as cleanup bulls on mixed color groups during 00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:42.180 the summer. The subsequent expense of sorting, 00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:44.099 testing, and verifying those resulting calves 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:46.519 later, the thousands spent on genomic cleanup, 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:48.660 will wipe out any perceived breeding benefit. 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:51.160 Just stick to a clean, heat -recessive Red Bull 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:54.019 if you need a specific color cleanup. This has 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:55.779 been another deep dive from the Bullvine Podcast. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:58.279 Managing complexity in dairy genetics is the 00:31:58.279 --> 00:32:00.440 new reality, and the COPA switch is just the 00:32:00.440 --> 00:32:02.099 first step in understanding how two different 00:32:02.099 --> 00:32:04.400 genetic pathways affect our profitability. For 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:06.720 more straight -talking industry analysis, head 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:11.359 to www .thebullvine .com. Absolutely. The epistatic 00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:14.380 interactions we saw today, one pathway overriding 00:32:14.380 --> 00:32:16.880 another, they don't just stop at color. These 00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:19.700 genetic networks show up in fertility, health, 00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:22.380 and efficiency traits as well. The mental model 00:32:22.380 --> 00:32:25.119 you build managing variant red is the same sophisticated 00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:28.079 model you'll need for the next layers of genetic 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:30.279 complexity headed for your future breeding program. 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:32.279 It's all connected. It is. Subscribe wherever 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:34.279 you get podcasts. We're out with new episodes 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:36.539 every day, and next time's topic will be analyzing 00:32:36.539 --> 00:32:39.339 how genetic networks like the epi - static interaction 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:42.259 we saw today show up in fertility, health, and 00:32:42.259 --> 00:32:44.480 efficiency traits and what that means for your 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:46.519 future breeding program. We'll see you next time.