In the world of modern dairy farming, efficiency is everything. At Barrington Dairy, Pete Gelber has built an operation rooted in data, innovation, and a persistent focus on profitability: one straw, drop of milk, and genetic profile at a time.
Raised in the Bronx, Gelber's path to dairy farming was anything but ordinary. His parents encouraged him to get out of the city and experience something different. That opportunity came in the form of a 30-cow dairy farm, where he quickly discovered his passion for production agriculture. After graduating from Cornell, Gelber began working for Ron St. John, which laid the foundation for his future in the dairy industry.
“A hundred years ago.” Pete jokes. “I started working for a guy in Western New York, and he got tired of fighting the snow, and he moved to Florida. I followed him down and he ended up making me a shirt-tail partner.”
That partnership eventually led to the purchase of two dairy farms in southern Georgia, prompting another move, this time to Montezuma, Georgia, where Gelber now resides and operates Barrington Dairy.
When Gelber arrived in 2007, the dairies were milking about 5,000 cows. Today, the operation milks 13,600 Holsteins across three parlors on two sites, averaging around 95 pounds of milk per cow, per day.
INVESTING IN GENETIC PROGRESS – GENOMIC TESTING WITH VISION +™
At Barrington Dairy, every decision is made with a purpose. One that has delivered measurable value is genomic testing with Vision+™ by STgenetics®.
Unlike Gelber’s unique entry into the dairy industry, his reason for adopting genomic testing was fairly typical for large dairies: the need for accurate parentage. With roughly 60 calves born each day, tracing lineage was essential for managing inventories at scale, while not sacrificing calf health. “It’s more important for [his team] to get colostrum into the calf and to do a good job keeping the calf healthy than matching it up with the mother. That's one of the big reasons why we started with genomics. And basically, I like genetics, so it was kind of my golf game starting out.” Gelber says with a smile.
What started as a tool for parentage quickly evolved into the cornerstone of herd strategy. In 2015 when they began genomic testing, he saw Net Merit dollars (NM$) around 20, fast-forwarding to earlier this year where he’s been averaging closer to 950 NM$, a tremendous increase.
“Genetics have proven they’re a lot more important than I thought they were 20 years ago,” Gelber admitted.
Farming in the southern heat, knowing the genetic potential of each animal allows Gelber to make smarter breeding and culling decisions. He utilizes Chromosomal Mating® to identify heifer needs and sets genetic cutoffs for gender-sorted semen, allowing him to make genetic progress while also maintaining profitability.
Some of the most impactful traits he monitors is Productive Life (PL) and Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR). By focusing on PL and other genomic markers, Gelber has not only improved the top end of his herd but raised the baseline quality of the bottom quartile.
“And I think we got in trouble as a breed back 20-30 years ago, just breeding for production, production, production.” He shares that when comparing top and bottom quartile cows for Health Traits in his herd, he can maintain a 60% first service conception rate on the top cows in the summer, while that drops to 35-37% for the low Health Trait cows. “It really is astounding how accurate and how good the top quartile does, and how poorly the bottom quartile performs,” he notes.
Genomic data has also revealed a stark difference in cull rates between high and low PL animals, which continues to guide which cows stay and which ones go.
LEVERAGING THE LEGEND™ PROGRAM
Gelber is a proud, early-adopter of the STgenetics® Legend™ Program. He says the best thing he can do for his dairy is to bring in the best genetics, and his goal is to, “raise the whole genetic base of his herd,” and maintain progress on conception and pregnancy rates.
He remarks that simply, “There’s more money to be made for me doing a good job milking cows and milking a lot of cows.”
Through the Legend™ Program, Gelber accesses some of the industry’s most elite genetics, which is an investment that has paid dividends, especially as inflation pushes tighter and tighter margins.
When asked about his philosophy surrounding using higher-caliber bulls, Gelber shares that it’s important to change the paradigm surrounding bull selection. With increases in conception rates, coupled with rising prices, he says, “You’ve got to have higher expectations of what you want.”
With today’s improved conception rates, Gelber explains that using $34 semen with a 60% conception rate is actually more cost-effective—genetically speaking—than back when he was using $5 bulls with just a 10% conception rate.
LOOKING AHEAD
Always looking toward the future, Gelber is paying close attention to EcoFeed®, the largest evidence-based Feed Conversion index in the world, noting that with a herd his size, even small improvements can translate to significant savings.
Gelber says, “I try not to use any cows that have an EcoFeedcow® score under 100 and I use a lot of these bulls that are 110-120 EcoFeedcow®.”
With improvements in conception rates and the accuracy of genomic data, Gelber has fully embraced a new way of thinking about genetic investment. He no longer sees semen selection as a cost to manage, but as a strategic tool to drive long-term profitability. By focusing on value over price, he’s been able to raise the bar across his entire herd and improve not just the top performers, but the bottom as well.
Today, Gelber is more confident than ever in the future of his cows, and he’s doubled down on the tools that will keep Barrington Dairy efficient, productive, and profitable for years to come.
To hear all of Barrington Dairy’s story, visit the links below:
Spotify: STtalks #256 - Genetic Decision Making with Pete Gelber of Barrington Dairies
Apple: STtalks #256 - Genetic Decision Making with Pete Gelber of Barrington Dairies