BullsEye Makes Sire Sorting a Snap

With the release of the latest Jersey genetic evaluations, breeders can purchase semen from more than 600 Jersey bulls marketed by genetic companies as Active A.I. Bulls or Foreign Bulls. But with such a large pool, how does one narrow it down to a manageable group of sires “best” suited to their situation?

A gem of a tool to streamline this process is BullsEye. This free, online application allows them to sort bulls in real time using filters for a wide array of traits and include or exclude bulls based on their marketing organization.

BullsEye is available on the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) website or infoJersey.com, its online portal for registering animals, ordering JerseyTags or genotyping kits, viewing progeny reports, and accessing programs like JerseyMate and HerdView, among others.

BullsEye Basics

While the genetics of an animal come from both parents, dairy cattle breeders have more freedom in changing the influence of the sire than the dam.

“Sire selection is the first step—and the most important—because it brings in new genetics from the male side and is the biggest driver of genetic change,” said John Metzger, the research and genetic development consultant for the AJCA.

“After that—how you assign the bulls to individual females—is the second step. But if you don’t start with quality sires, there is only so much you can do assigning them to females.”

That is where BullsEye can come into play, helping Jersey breeders make those all-important, objective early decisions.

When the program is launched, all bulls are sorted by Jersey Performance Index (JPI) in descending order, by default. The filter feature allows breeders to check boxes that include or exclude sires based on recorded status, polled status, beta casein or kappa casein test results, JH1 and JNS haplotypes, and marketing organization.

Range sliders can be used to increase or decrease the pool of sires on 13 production traits, 10 udder traits, eight body traits, six fitness traits and seven health traits, along with values for Percent Jersey Ancestry (PJA), Breed Base Representation and Genomic Future Inbreeding.

Two traits that are unique to BullsEye and not available on progeny reports, performance pedigrees and other reports are Combined Fat and Protein and Energy Corrected Milk, accessible as sliders under the production tab.

An average for all traits for all bulls included in the pared-down list will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.

BullsEye is also very versatile. The application can be viewed in either light or dark modes and columns can be added or deleted or rearranged for viewing. Results can be exported as an Excel file, so the list can be saved on the computer or printed.

“Many producers download the results so they can further sort bulls on the computer by one or two specific traits,” Metzger continued. “Advanced users can even create their own custom indexes by applying standard deviations to several traits of importance.”

BullsEye is updated a minimum of three times each year with official genetic evaluations in April, August and December. It is also updated as new genetic criteria become available, including the recent addition of PJA.

BullsEye in Action

Among the Jersey breeders who heavily use BullsEye is Wade Kessenich, who operates Kessenich Farms LLC with his parents, Jeff and Robin, and sister, Natalie, and their families in De Forest, Wisconsin.

“BullsEye helps me narrow the list of available bulls to the seven or eight we will use for our quarterly mating period,” noted Kessenich. “It allows me to build my own selection formula by cherry picking traits important to us.”

“Our goal is to breed long-lasting, problem-free cows, so type, reproductive efficiency and health traits are important,” he continued. “I am willing to sacrifice a few pounds of first-lactation peak milk to breed animals that are healthy and easy to care for. Traits like mastitis, Cow Conception Rate and foot angle carry extra weight in sire selection because I believe they will help our cattle remain productive in the herd for years to come. Milking a barn full of cows that are easy on the eyes and good for the balance sheet makes dairy farming more enjoyable.”

Kessenich starts the BullsEye sort with type and udder traits to narrow the list of 600-plus bulls to about 15, then culls this list based on availability and cost. Bulls are then ranked by production to get a final list.

The Kessenich family milks 650 cows and raises all replacement heifers on the farm. The actual herd average for 2024 stands at 19,377 lbs. milk, 1,025 lbs. fat and 694 lbs. protein. With the last appraisal, the herd includes 57 Excellent and 416 Very Good cows.

The Kesseniches have been genotyping the herd in some capacity for the past 15 years. Though they were more selective initially, they have been genotyping all female calves for the past three years. The bottom 25% of the herd from a genetic standpoint and repeat breeders are bred to sexed (male) Angus bulls. The top 70% of the herd is bred using sexed dairy semen or conventional bulls in the young sire program at Select Sires Inc.

“Our goal is to make 12-15% more females than we need,” Kessenich remarked. “This allows us to sell about 60 head as replacements every year. As a Jersey breeder here in south-central Wisconsin, the cost balance is more optimal to make dairy replacements than Jersey-Angus cross calves. We don’t have to buy replacements and can cull more heavily.”

BullsEye has also made it easier for Wade to keep up with and incorporate relatively new traits, like mastitis, in the breeding program. By fiddling with the range sliders, he can rank bulls from most desirable to least desirable in seconds.

“As recently as 2-3 years ago, we thought mastitis was largely an environmental issue,” said Kessenich. “But genetic evaluations for mastitis are opening our eyes to other findings, and we are beginning to see opportunity to impact mastitis through genetics.”

BullsEye also includes links to complete performance pedigrees on all Active A.I. and Foreign bulls, a resource that is not available elsewhere in the industry.

“I may use the pedigree feature as much as anything,” Kessenich noted. “Pedigrees give me a bigger picture of what is there. This helps me manage inbreeding and haplotypes because I can immediately eliminate bulls with conflicts.”

Joel Albright, Albright Jerseys LLC, Willard, Ohio, also uses the pedigree feature of BullsEye to delve deeper.

“I like the fact that I can see full pedigrees on BullsEye,” said Albright, who operates the 650-cow herd with his father, Fred, and his family. “On most websites, there is not much depth, and it is not easy to see what is behind a bull.”

The pedigree lets you see whether there are final scores and production records of dams and grandams, and if popular bloodlines have been used repeatedly, so inbreeding can be managed, noted Albright.

Integrate with Other Programs for Optimal Results

Though sire selection is important for genetic progress, so are matings. The two go hand in hand.

Albright uses BullsEye in tandem with two other programs for herd owners on AJCA performance programs: JerseyMate, a free mating service designed to optimize genetic gain, and HerdView, an online herd management program.

This strategic combination has helped Albright manage a herd that has ranked nationally for both genetic merit and production. The herd ranks #9 for JPI, with a herd average of +84 (April 2025), and #1 for actual milk among herds with 300-749 cows, with a herd average of 21,520 lbs. milk, 1,071 lbs. fat and 781 lbs. protein (2024).

Albright uses HerdView to identify the top 40% of the herd from a genetic standpoint to breed using sexed dairy semen, while the remainder are designated for beef semen. He sorts bulls on BullsEye, primarily by JPI and a few other key traits, and then exports the results directly to JerseyMate with a click of a button. After running JerseyMate, he reviews the mating recommendations.

“If I don’t like the overall results, I will fiddle with settings in BullsEye and JerseyMate,” explained Albright. “For example, if the inbreeding average for a group of 150 heifers and six bulls is too high in JerseyMate, I know I have to increase genetic diversity in the bulls.”

This adjustment can be made by modifying filters in BullsEye to expand the list of eligible bulls or in JerseyMate itself.

“By default, JerseyMate recommends the highest JPI bulls first—often a young sire,” Albright noted. “To force bulls to be used equally, I can set equal usage parameters across the board to get a more balanced use of young versus proven bulls.”

The BullsEye-JerseyMate combination has also helped the Albrights efficiently manage semen inventories.

“I usually choose one of the three JerseyMate recommendations if semen is in the tank,” explained Albright. “We try to keep our inventory clean and not store semen we are not using. This streamlined process has worked well for us.”

Kessenich also uses BullsEye in combination with JerseyMate, but with a slightly different approach.

“We use JerseyMate mostly as a backup plan,” he noted. “While every animal is mated individually, JerseyMate provides a second opinion. It sometimes catches things I miss, like inbreeding issues or haplotype overlaps.”

Give BullsEye a Try

Every dairy farm is unique, from management style and facilities to herd genetics. One of the great aspects of dairying is the ability to shape the kind of cows you want. BullsEye can help you make smarter, more targeted sire selections from a myriad of choices.

So, what is the best way to see what BullsEye can do for you? Try it out. The only way to truly understand its value is to put into action. It is free, easy to use and available through the online Jersey Genetic Summary, aka Green Book, or directly at https://infojersey.usjersey.com/publictools/BullseyeV2/.