June 21, 2024

AltaU is back

In April 2025, the US dairy genetic base was updated to reflect the amount of genetic progress made since the last base change five years ago.

AltaU is back
AltaU is an intense, 5-day course designed specifically for owners and managers of progressive dairy herds.

A full class of eighteen progressive dairy owners and managers from six different countries gathered at the URUS Office in Madison, WI, March 18-24 to build on their dairy management knowledge and skills at AltaU.

 

During the intense five-day school, participants dug deep into topics like replacement heifer development, reproductive management, genetics and herd inventory strategies, cow comfort and nutrition, milk quality & parlor management, dairy economics, and leading a team.

 

Each participant was challenged to identify the top three priorities they’d like to focus on first once they returned to their home operation. Alta team members will be partnering up to support the implementation of these changes.

 

This was the 45th AltaU session held since it began in 2010 – and the first one held in the US since 2019. In total, more than 640 dairy owners and managers have graduated from AltaU. The next session is being planned for November 2024.

 

Want to learn more about AltaU? Speak with your Alta advisor or head over to the AltaU page. 

How does this genetic base change compare to previous base changes?

We’ve made more genetic progress in the past five years than during any other five-year span in recent history.

The charts below show the base change numbers for 2025, 2020, 2015, and 2010. As you can see from the charts, the base change in 2025 is significantly more for most traits than it was for previous base changes.

That means we’ve made more progress over the last five years than during any other five-year span in recent history.

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