Clarification of ASA Rule Amendment No. 1
It has come to our attention that there are some questions regarding Proposed Rule Amendment No. 1, and we would like to provide additional clarification to ensure that all members fully understand both the details and the intent of this proposed amendment. After reading the information below, please feel free to reach out to an ASA Trustee from your region if you have further questions.
Clarification of Rule Amendment No. 1
Proposed Rule Amendment No. 1 ultimately establishes the same DNA requirements for natural service sires as both AI sires and donor dams, beginning with natural service sires born on or after January 1, 2025. If passed, all bulls born on or after January 1, 2025, will still be eligible for registration; however, if used as natural service sires, appropriate DNA testing must be done before any of their progeny can be registered.
Encouragement for Testing
If Rule Amendment No. 1 passes, ASA encourages breeders to test all bulls born after the first of the year, if they believe the bulls may be used as AI sires or natural service sires in the future. This proactive step will help ensure compliance with the new requirement if the rule amendment goes into effect.
To help clarify the potential changes, we have provided examples below:
Example Scenario 1: On April 5, 2026, Mr. Smith registers bull calf 1P. The calf is the result of natural service. The calf’s sire was born on March 20, 2021, and is not DNA tested. Even though this natural service sire hasn’t been DNA tested, Mr. Smith is able to register the calf without an issue because his sire was born before January 1, 2025. Only natural service sires born on or after January 1, 2025, would be required to be DNA tested.
Example Scenario 2: In 2028, Mr. Smith applies for registration on bull calf 1S. The calf is the result of natural service; however, this time, the calf’s sire was born February 1, 2025, and is not DNA tested. Mr. Smith is not able to register bull calf 1S because the rule change would require natural service sires born on or after January 1, 2025, have the same DNA requirements as AI sires and donor dams. 1S would not be able to be registered until his sire had met the current DNA requirements.
Supporting Reasons for Proposed Rule Amendment No. 1
Natural service sires, although often not as prolific as AI bulls, can still have a meaningful genetic impact on the population. By requiring parentage markers to be on file for all natural service sires, we can go beyond parent verification to their progeny, but also confirm the sire’s pedigree if his parents have parentage markers on file with ASA. Pedigree accuracy is a large component of genetic predictions, and the closest we can come to having a truly accurate pedigree is acquiring parentage markers on all sires, not just AI bulls. Confidence in the pedigree will not only increase the accuracy of the sire, but also facilitate parent verification for future progeny comparisons.
The high-density genomic test requirement will increase the accuracy of the EPD for the natural service sire and his relatives. For those selling young and unproven sires without progeny, it is sound risk management, as this one-time genomic test is the equivalent to adding 10 to 25 phenotypic progeny records to the sire (depending on the trait). The more genomic tests in the evaluation associated with these phenotypic records, the more accurately we can generate future genomic predictions. By adding genomics, EPD are more accurate, and the amount of expected change in the EPD will decrease as we increase records/information in the evaluation. This all leads to more dependable information to make those important decisions on sale day.