Holstein UK Master Breeder Award updated for 2021

The Master Breeder criteria are reviewed on a periodic basis to maintain the relevance of the award. Following the 2020 review, the Board of Trustees have decided to introduce several changes to the criteria from 2021 onwards. These are summarised below:

1. To emphasise the ‘breeder’ element of the award, from 2021 all females bred by a herd prefix, rather than just those bred and owned by the herd, will be included in the calculation for that (breeder) prefix as long as they reside in any pedigree herd which milk records.
2. ​In recent years, an increasing number of herds have been feeding for optimum rather than maximum yields. It has therefore been decided to re-weight the balance between production and longevity in the award criteria. Please see the tables 1 and 2 below for details.
3. The points structure for classification has been simplified (see table 3 below) and a new requirement has been introduced, that to be eligible for the award, a minimum of 20% of total herd points must be achieved from classification.
4. A Master Breeder score will now be calculated automatically for every herd prefix, each month. The ten herds with the highest average score over the previous 12 months will be awarded Master Breeder in April of each year. For 2021, the average score from January to March will be used, with awards being calculated in April.
5. As the British Friesian Club will have a new ‘Herd of the Year’ award commencing in 2021, similar in format to Master Breeder; from 2021 only females which are 87.5% or more Holstein will be eligible for inclusion in the Master Breeder calculation.

Updated Master Breeder criteria for 2021 onwards

1. Herd must be a current member.
2. To be eligible for inclusion in the calculation, animals must carry the prefix of herd.
3. Animals will be included in the calculation if they:
   a. are a minimum 87.5% Holstein.
   b. have a recorded calving date in the last two years.
   c. are recorded (by an official milk recording organisation) as having produced at least one lactation of 250 days or more.
4. Herds must have at least 40 eligible females included in the calculation.
5. Herds must achieve at least 20% of the total points from classification.

Points are awarded per eligible animal as follows:

Table 1 Production
Points awarded for each completed lactation of 250 days minimum.

1st completed lactation
700 kgs F&P	1 point
800 kgs F&P	2 points
900 kgs F&P	3 points
1000 kgs F&P	4 points
1100 kgs F&P and more	5 points

 

2nd and above completed lactations
800 kgs F&P	1 point
900 kgs F&P	2 points
1000 kgs F&P	3 points
1100 kgs F&P	4 points
1200 kgs F&P and more	5 points

 

Table 2 Lactation number
Points as per below for completed lactations of 250 days minimum.

4 lactations	1 point
5 lactations	2 points
6 lactations	3 points
7 lactations	4 points
8 lactations	5 points
9 lactations	6 points
10 lactations	7 points

 

Table 3 Classification    
Points awarded for the highest published score only.

VG85-87	1point
VG88-89	2 points
EX90-91	3 points
EX92	4 points
EX93	5 points
EX94	6 points
EX95	7 points
EX96	8 points
EX97	9 points

 

The Master breeder score is calculated using the following formula
[(total class points x 1.5) + (total production points x 0.25) + (total lactation number points)] / Total number of qualifying animals per prefix