APR, ASI, ABV, ABVI, CC, CE, RIP, ABV(g)s - these are just some of the acronyms associated with breeding dairy cattle in Australia.
If you are confused, you are not the only one.
The Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme have tried to make selecting bulls simpler with the release of its Good Bulls Guide.
ADHIS genetics learning package project leader Michelle Axford said the guide includes bulls from all companies across the Jersey, Holstein, Red breeds, Brown Swiss and Guernsey breeds.
Ms Axford said the Good Bulls Guide aimed to make it simpler for dairy farmers to select and compare bulls suited to individual farmer's breeding objectives.
"The guide is for farmers who want to make sound bull selections - good business decisions - without spending hours researching and comparing bulls," she said.
"Pick a bull, any bull from the guide.
"If it's in the guide you know it is a good bull, farmers can use any bull in Good Bulls Guide with confidence knowing it will contribute to the genetic merit of their herd."
Part of making bull selection simpler has been replacing most of the acronyms associated with sire selection.
For example APR, or Australian Profit Ranking, is replaced by Profit$, and Australian Selection Index, or ASI, is known as Production$.
Ms Axford said these changes would only be made for the Good Bulls Guide, as the technical names remain the same for other ADHIS publications.
Also, Australian proven and international bulls have been listed together.
"This means farmers wanting to breed for longevity can simply find their 'longevity table' knowing that the best bulls - no matter who sells them or where they come from - are on it," Ms Axford said.
"ADHIS uses world's best practice in genetic evaluation, which means a team of highly respected scientists use complicated statistical models to independently evaluate bulls and produce Australian Breeding Values for almost 40 traits for thousands of bulls."
Dairy Australia animal performance manager Mick Blake said the Good Bulls Guide would help dairy farmers meet their breeding objectives.
Decreasing mastitis and improving fertility are some examples of individual breeding objective preferences.
Dr Blake was quick to point out that genetics was just part of an overall animal's performance, other aspects included feeding.
The Good Bulls Guide will be available from September 6.
