Six years ago a 1,200-head operation in Inner Mongolia began a genetics programme with us. The brief was simple: raise fat and protein percentage without lengthening the calving interval.
What changed
By year four, fat percentage had moved 0.31 points and protein 0.14 points, with the calving interval unchanged. The mechanism was sire selection weighted toward functional traits rather than raw production.
What did not change
Feed quality and milking routine discipline. Genetics sets a ceiling; management decides how close you get to it. Six years of data made that uncomfortably clear to everyone involved.