Udder love on-line
Dairy workers around the world can now electronically transfer and receive herd mating results and herd information via a new feature added to Web-Mating for Generic Improvement (MGI). USA Edge Technologies Inc. and Manco Genetics’s Web-MGI is a real-time Internet cow mating service with an on-line database, allowing users to find potential mates for their cows. Dairy workers select candidates based on certain criteria, and then mating recommendations are given to ensure production, profitability and conformation improvement. Users download information from the dairy record processing centres, and results are uploaded from the user’s herd management programs. The database offers information and statistics about the animals, such as performance and physical characteristics. Information found in Web-MGI is received from sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other organizations. A sire-sorting program is also available to users, offering access to data and sorting capabilities on more than 20,000 sires. And inbreeding need not be a concern when using Web-MGI — an inbreeding protection program can be acquired to calculate the effects of inbreeding and inbreeding coefficients to avoid any problems. Web-MGI is a subscription service with prices ranging from US$60 a year for the inbreeding service to US$100 annually for the sire-sorting service. A demo of Web-MGI can be accessed at www.webmgi.com. Virginia-based Edge Technologies is at www.edge-technologies.com.
