What's New in Alta BLUE LINK

Check out the latest improvements and features in Alta BLUE LINK!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Summer 2024

You can easily monitor the future of your herd using the new Heifer Inventory tools! The Heifer Inventory and Future Calving widgets are now available in Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Dashboard's new Heifer Inventory tab. Open the Genetic Dashboard and click the Heifer Inventory tab in the upper left corner to see the Heifer Inventory widget, which shows all live heifers grouped by birth year and reproduction status, and the Future Calving widget, which shows all future heifers still in utero grouped by due date.

See Heifer Inventory to learn more!

When you create your genetic plan in Step 4: Create Your Strategy, you can now restrict the bulls in your plan to only be the first, second, and/or third mating choice. This option helps you better control the mating preference given to each bull and ensure that the plan's matches more closely align with the plan's goals. Simply click the Options button Options button and select Bulls Restrictions. Choose the female group that will benefit from the bull restrictions and the bulls that you plan to restrict. Then, designate whether each bull type should be the first choice, second choice, third choice, or a combination for the selected female group:

See Bulls Restrictions in Step 4: Create Your Strategy to learn more!

We have expanded support for bull proofs: Alta Blue Link can now access proof bases from Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, in addition to the United States. When you search for a bull by its International Registration Number, NAABClosed National Association of Animal Breeders. www.naab-css.org code, or name, the genetic planning will check all proof bases for the bull.

You can now search for and include bulls in your genetic plan if they don't have a NAAB code. As long as a bull has an International Registration Number (IntRegNum), you will be able to find the bull and add it to your genetic plan.

We completed numerous bug fixes and improved the performance of various widgets in the last few months to ensure that your genetic planning tool works better than ever!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Spring 2024

To implement the genetic plan, follow the instructions in our newest help topic: Activate a Genetic Plan! You can activate your plan after you finish building the plan and review the generated reports. During the activation process, you can also select the items you want to send to PULSE. If some items are not configured, see Configure Items in DC305 (DairyComp Unlimited Users Only) to learn how!

On the Mating page, you can create and download the Inbreeding report, which shows the inbreeding value between each female and each bull in the mating plan. Each row in the report lists the female, the bull selected for mating, and the resulting inbreeding value. When applicable, the report also lists the haplotype or recessive gene that restricts the pairing between the female and the bull.

To generate the plan, click the Create Inbreeding Report button at the top right side of the Mating page.

While the report is generating, the button displays the Creating Report button. After the report is generated, the button displays the Download Inbreeding Report button. Click the button to export the CSV file of the full report.

See Inbreeding to learn more!

During Step 4: Create Your Strategy, we added new options to help filter your mating options:

You can now choose to filter the females included on the list by calculated index or age in days. You can also include pregnant heifers based on their DCCClosed Days carrying calf/pregnant! Check out Other Filters to learn more about setting the filters!

You can now filter the data shown in the Mating! By default, all fields are included in the mating report, but you can now exclude the following data points: Female Index, Sire NAAB Code, Short Name, INB%, and STOCClosed semen type of choice. The system saves your filters if you leave and return to the report page.

If you selected Reverse Mate as your genetic plan's mating option, you can now export the Mating Report to view all the bulls in your plan. The exported report lists up to 20 prohibited bulls that an animal should not mate with. Previously, the report only included the top three bulls.

The genetic planning tool now pulls an improved abortion rate from PULSE, which calculates the annual abortion rate to better match industry standards. Previously, the calculation only included pregnancies that were lost after an animal was pregnant for a month. Now, the calculation includes all pregnancies that are lost, including pregnancies that are lost before an animal reaches 42 DCC.

The genetic planning tool now pulls an improved cull rate from PULSE, which calculates cow and heifer cull rates to better match industry standards. The new cull rate provides a more accurate representation of how many animals require replacement each year.

When you create the strategy for your genetic plan or view reports, we now display the true actual total of projected milking females and required milking females per month. Previously, we included an 11% buffer in the calculation, which increased the number of needed females.

We completed numerous bug fixes and improved the performance of various widgets in the last few months to ensure that your genetic planning tool works better than ever!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Fall 2023

The Female Average Index by Age widget is now available in the Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Dashboard! Use this widget to view your herd's indexes by age group:

Alta BLUE LINK can now send versatile and useful planning data from your genetic plan to PULSE and DairyComp 305! The system can share information like the top sires for each female in the genetic plan or female index values directly to PULSE and DC305! When you first activate the genetic plan, select the information you want to see in PULSE and DC305! To learn more, see Activate the Plan!

In mating plans, Alta BLUE LINK now includes females that have duplicate international registration numbers (IntRegNum), the most reliable and globally-unique identifiable number.

Previously, if two females had the same registration number, we only included one female in the plan. Now, we include all females in the plan and if we find duplicate registration numbers, we ensure that the female's birthdate matches the dam proofs. If one female has a different birthdate (within seven days of the proof's birthdate), we remove the female from the plan. If both females have a different birthdate, we remove both females from the plan and use the female's parent averages for the genetic planning tool's calculations instead.

In the Data Integrity Report, the system now includes the breed of the Sire of Conception, as it is interpreted by the genetic planning tool, and the breed of the Sire of Conception, as it is shown in PULSE. These values were added to help troubleshoot and understand the quality of the data behind the information collected for some pregnancy widgets.

In Genetic Projection, we now describe how progeny values are projected for Reverse Mating plans. The progeny values are based on the female's potential matings with bulls that have the semen type of choice you selected. The tool uses the average of the bulls with the selected STOC to determine the progeny values.

We have improved how the genetic planning tool calculates genetic values for potential progeny. During genetic planning, we collect the genetic values for all females and calculate the average of the collected female data. During Step 4: Create Your Strategy, we collect the genetic values for all bulls and calculate the average of the collected bull data. We then use the average female value and the average bull value to project the progeny's genetic values. After mating, we use the bull’s actual genetic values to predict the progeny’s genetic values.

See How Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Planning Works to learn more about the genetic planning tool's calculations.

We updated the logic for calculating Days in Milk values for females added to new plans. Now, Days in Milk is calculated using this formula: DIMClosed Days in milk = Dry Date - Fresh Date. If a date is not available for the Dry Date or Fresh Date, the current date is used. The system will update the DIM calculation on a daily basis until the animal enters a state that is not DRY or FRESH.

Alta BLUE LINK now automatically retrieves the latest Marketing List from Alta BLUE LINK every 24 hours to ensure your data is accurate and up-to-date. Previously, this process was done manually.

We completed numerous bug fixes and improved the performance of various widgets in the last few months to ensure that your genetic planning tool works better than ever!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Summer 2023

Before a male and female are matched, the genetic planning tool now checks if the potential sire and potential dam carry the Calf Recumbency haplotype. If both of them carry the gene, they will be prohibited from mating with each other and will not be matched again.

We have removed all references to beef pregnancies from any dashboard widgets that include pregnancy information. Your widget data is now more accurate than ever!

In Step 3: Choose Your Bulls, the eligible bulls list is now more accurate and only includes bulls that are truly active. We have updated how the genetic planning tool flags ConceptPlus and high fertility bulls to ensure that bulls are only included on the list if they are Conventional Active or Sexed Active.

In the Data Integrity Report, the system now uses an animal’s isoID or EIDClosed 15-digit electronic ID number associated with the animal eartag as the animal's identifier if the animal’s IntRegNum does not match a proof in our female animal proof database. If the animal's IntRegNum does match a proof in our female animal proof database, the system uses the IntRegNum as the animal's identifier.

If you chose Reverse Mate when you selected your plan's mating type, you will no longer see the Genetic Projection report. Since the plan only lists animals that you should not use, the projections are invalid and should not be shown.

When you use the Genetic Averages by Company widget on your dashboard, the companies are now listed in alphabetical order so you can quickly find the information you need:

We completed numerous bug fixes and improved the performance of various widgets in the last few months to ensure that your genetic planning tool works better than ever!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Spring 2023

You can now clone a new plan based on a previous plan on the Genetic Plans page in just a few clicks! The new plan will include all your settings from the existing plan, so you can swiftly add a similar plan for a dairy's eligible animals.

Simply click on the plan you want to copy to view its details in a side panel, select the Options button at the top right corner, and select Duplicate Plan.

To learn more about the Genetic Plans page, see Get started with your plan!

It's now easier than ever to track the status of your genetic plans on the Genetic Plans dashboard! Previously, we only provided two genetic plan statuses, so we have added new statuses to give you a quick, but more accurate look at your active plans, plans that need attention, and plans that have become inactive.

Here are the new genetic plan statuses:

  • Draft: You have started the genetic planning steps, but you have not completed them.
  • Ready for Activation: You have completed the genetic planning steps, but you have not activated the plan yet.
  • Activated: You have completed the genetic planning steps and you have activated the plan.

    • Additionally, an inactive plan's status can be defined as Expired depending upon the circumstances of the plan's inactivity.

To learn more about the Genetic Plans page, see Get started with your plan!

We now include more information in the Data Integrity report to give you more details about the dairy's missing information. The Data Integrity report now includes information about the sire of conception (including the semen type) and the previous lactation's sire of conception.

See Data Integrity Report to learn more!

Your genetic planning tool now continuously pulls information from PULSE to ensure that all active herd females are included in the genetic plan, not just animals that were active when the plan was first created.

Alta BLUE LINK is now constantly aware of changes in your herd, including new animals, exiting animals, and updated statuses (pregnancy, lactation, days in milk, etc.).

If a sire IDClosed Identifier is missing, we can better attempt to match the sire's bull ID to a bull in the sire proof database based on whatever identification you can provide.

Now, the system will search for sire identification information using the following sires: sire of conception, sire, maternal grandsire, maternal great-grandsire, and previous lactation sire of conception.

NOTE: Some partial standardized identification is still required to find the bull ID. Additionally, we still do not support identification for beef sires or unsupported breeds.

We have better filters in place to determine female eligibility for plans, including omitting dry or pregnant animals. This update will have a positive downstream effect on economic and genomic projection of your plan.

For more information about setting up the list of eligible females, see Set Mating Options.

A new warning message displays if you try to create a new genetic plan when the dairy's data is out of sync with PULSE. Contact the dairy to let them know, and proceed with creating the plan with the latest herd data when it's ready.

We added new breeds to the breed list and updated our list of breed codes to include Italian breeds.

We completed numerous bug fixes in the last few months to ensure that your genetic planning tool works better than ever!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Winter 2022/2023

The new Data Integrity report is available to help quickly identify missing or incomplete animal data. You can then consult the dairy to add more information or resolve data errors in PULSE or DC305. When you improve the integrity of the herd data, Alta BLUE LINK assessments and genetic plans become more accurate and provide more value to the dairy. Inaccurate herd data could result in matches that don't provide the best possible value or the loss of healthy, valuable animals. You can download the report from the Genetic Dashboard page.

See Data Integrity Report to learn more!

The Genetic Overview widgets now allow you to filter by one or more breeds using the multi-select Breed filter.

Alta BLUE LINK previously only showed data for the predominant breed in the herd. The Breed filter allows you to check trait data specific to the different breeds in the herd and provides additional details to support more informed genetic planning decisions.

See Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Dashboard to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK now supports negative values when selecting bulls in Step 3: Choose Your Bulls. This change provides you even more control and flexibility when setting filters for specific bull traits.

See Filter bulls by traits to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK now includes jersey-specific multipliers for index calculations to improve the accuracy of plans for jersey herds.

See Step 2: Set Breeding Goals & Index to learn more about setting your index!

Alta BLUE LINK now supports secondary IDs for building bulls' pedigree profiles, resulting in significantly improved inbreeding calculations. This enhancement is especially valuable for non-US herds where secondary bull IDs are commonly used.

See Step 4: Create Your Strategy to learn more about setting plan options, including inbreeding restrictions.

All widgets now include a time stamp to indicate the last time DC305 or PULSE sent data updates to Alta BLUE LINK. This improvement helps you quickly identify new or outdated data. On the Herd Assessment widget, hover over the symbol to see when each data point was last updated. On all other widgets, the time stamp is available at the lower left side of each widget.

See Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Dashboard for more information!

You can now select multiple female breeds you want to include your plan. Additionally, you can select the sire breed for mating assignments.

See Step 1: Name Your Plan for more information!

The help now includes more information about how Alta BLUE LINK evaluates genomics data to generate a genetic plan! Tips for Genetic Planning has been updated to specify additional details about parent and breed averages, and How Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Planning Works has been updated to provide more details about inbreeding, trait averages, and how trait data is used to match bulls to females in the mating list.

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Fall 2022

Alta BLUE LINK now pulls the dairy's average age at freshening for heifers from PULSE for more accurate heifer cull rate calculations and heifer projections. Previously Alta BLUE LINK included an annual heifer cull rate, which did not take into account the second year of potential culling.

You can view the average age at freshening value for the dairy in the Parameters section where the Value of Proposal details are shown.

See View Economic Details or Value of Proposal to learn more!

The Genetic Dashboard widgets now include more accurate animal groupings to make interpreting herd genetic data more reliable and straightforward. Select widgets no longer include data for heifers and pregnancies, and the pregnant animal group now includes both PREGClosed Pregnant (Reproductive code = 5) and DRY (Reproductive code = 6) animals.

See Alta BLUE LINK Genetic Dashboard to learn more about available widgets!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - Summer 2022

Alta BLUE LINK now offers additional semen distribution options! You can distribute different semen types to the animals in your herd based on the animal's genetic index value, lactation group, or number of breeding attempts. There are three semen distribution strategy options available:

  • Distribute Females by Index: Distribute the semen type based on animals' genetic index values.
  • Distribute Semen Type by Lactation Group and Service: Distribute the semen type based on animals' lactation group and number of breeding attempts.
  • Distribute Females by Index and Service: Distribute the semen type based on animals' genetic index values and number of breeding attempts.

Use the strategy that works best for your dairy's needs.

See Step 4: Create Your Strategy to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK now allows you to set a chosen bull to use conventional and/or sexed semen.

NOTE: This setting only applies to the current genetic plan and will reset to the default setting in the marketing list when you create a new plan.

See Set a Bull's Semen Type to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - April 2022

Alta BLUE LINK now supports country-specific identifiers used for bulls outside of the US. Use the search field in Step 3: Choose Your Bulls to find bulls using international IDs.

Reports and genetic summaries also support international bull IDs and include a column or field to identify the country-specific identifier.

The following reports and summaries now support international bull IDs:

  • Austria
  • Czechia
  • Germany
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Great Britain
  • Hungary
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Poland

Alta BLUE LINK Update - March 2022

Alta BLUE LINK's Mating Options are now more robust and intuitive, allowing you to limit your plan by lactation group and reproductive status. For instance, you can now choose animals in lactations 2 and later, including only fresh and open animals.

To access these settings, click the Options button Options button and select Mating Options during Step 4: Create Your Strategy. All lactation groups are included and only DNBClosed Do Not Breed and pregnant animals are excluded by default in the first genetic plan for the dairy. Subsequent plans default to the last plan's mating options. See Mating Options to learn more!

When setting your herd goals during Step 4: Create Your Strategy, you can now set your Annual Expansion as low as -30% (previously limited to -5%).

This offers you more flexibility while working with the dairy to establish their goals, especially if they're aiming to reduce the herd size. See Set Herd Goals to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - February 2022

You can now choose how to calculate inventory projections as part of Step 4: Create Your Strategy. Include all females eligible within 12 months or limit eligibility based on the plan duration and mating options you set.

See Set Eligibility to learn more!

You can now export the semen type used for each animal in the mating plan to PULSE as a standard item, STOC. To enable this option, select Semen Type of Choice during Step 4: Create Your Strategy.

Once enabled, Alta BLUE LINK sends the data to PULSE and your Mating Report includes an STOC column. See Set Semen Type of Choice to learn more!

We've improved the usability and responsiveness of the Female Distribution Graph available as part of Step 4: Create Your Strategy.

As you adjust the percentages for semen types, the graph and table update to match your settings. The table also includes animal counts and percentages for each semen type. See Female Distribution Graph to learn more!

Alta BLUE LINK Update - January 2022

You can now export your mating plan to comma-separated values (CSV) format, allowing you to perform additional analysis and manipulation of your plan. See the Reports > Mating section to learn more about exporting your mating plan!

Alta BLUE LINK now calculates your cull rates based on the dairy's actual SOLD and DIED events. We've also improved how prices, conception rates, and optional values are set in Step 4: Create Your Strategy. In cases where these values aren't available in PULSE, they are automatically populated based on a previous genetic plan or industry-standard values. These updates significantly improve the accuracy of your genetic plan and associated reports, especially inventory projections and value of proposal.

Alta BLUE LINK Update - December 2021

We've made the process of creating a genetic plan simpler and more intuitive! The number of steps required to create a genetic plan is now down to 4, and multiple improvements were made to the final step of the process (Step 4: Create Your Strategy): 

Start using the new and improved workflow today!

Here's where to find them in the new workflow:

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