Three Generations Deep: The Pedigree Story Behind Highland Dale's AAA Quality Herd
Updated: Jun 23
What UC Davis genetic marker testing revealed about our foundation dams, our bloodlines, and what we're building tow
There's a version of Highland cattle farming that's about aesthetics — the hair, the horns, the photographs. And then there's the version that's about genetics. At Highland Dale, we've always been committed to the second version, even when the first version is more Instagram-friendly.
We recently completed a full round of UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory parentage and genetic marker testing across our herd — eight animals, 15 ISAG-standardized loci per animal, third-party verified. What came back confirmed what we hoped, surfaced a few surprises, and gave us a clearer picture of exactly what we're building here in Missouri. We want to share it honestly.
The Foundation: Three Dams, Three Distinct Genetic Contributions
Our Gen 1 dam line rests on three females, each with her own genetic story and each making a distinct contribution to the herd's profile.
Gwendolyn AAA Quality (reg. 57279) — the rare allele carrier
Born October 2015, Gwendolyn is by RTH Vannorman (48200) out of Skye High Yelene (50999). She carries BRR allele 258 — not present in any other animal in our tested herd. She also carries the rare CYP21 187 allele. Her confirmed daughter Amber also carries Gwendolyn's rare ETH10 223 allele — exactly the kind of allele transmission you want to see when verifying parentage. Gwendolyn's heterozygosity sits at a solid 67%, and her maternal line through Skye High Yelene gives her a pedigree foundation that traces cleanly through AHCA records.
Flanna AAA Quality (reg. 57415) — the CBS Laredo daughter
Born April 2017, Flanna is by CBS Laredo (53242) out of Skye High Yelene (50999) — making her a half-sister to Gwendolyn through their shared dam. This shared Skye High Yelene foundation is worth noting for AHCA members: her alleles are present across multiple animals in our herd, and we are managing that concentration intentionally in our next breeding cycle. Flanna's confirmed daughter Flossie of AAA Quality carries a strong 73% heterozygosity profile — among the highest in our Gen 2 animals — which we attribute in part to Flanna's diverse maternal allele contribution at TGLA126 and ETH003.
Finley Falls Phyllis (reg. 56541) — our genetic standout
Born April 2016, Phyllis is by CBS Laredo (53242) out of Lea Faye (48224). At 93% heterozygosity — 14 out of 15 tested loci carrying two distinct alleles — Phyllis is the most genetically diverse animal in our herd by a meaningful margin. For breeders who understand what heterozygosity means in a dam, this number speaks for itself. High dam heterozygosity is one of the most reliable predictors of hybrid vigor in offspring. Her two confirmed calves in our herd bear this out: Dusty (by Duncan II of Faye-AAA, sire reg. 58837) carries a strong and diverse marker profile, and Buttercup (also by Duncan II's predecessor J Bar T's Magnum Force, reg. 59185) rounds out a consistent contribution from Phyllis's maternal line. We consider Phyllis the cornerstone of our breeding program going forward.
Finley Falls Phyllis: 93% heterozygosity at 15 UC Davis ISAG-panel loci. Among the strongest heterozygosity scores achievable in a verified purebred Highland dam.
The Sire Lines: Duncan II and J Bar T's Magnum Force
Our Gen 2 animals were produced primarily through two sires: J Bar T's Magnum Force (59185), who sired Amber (out of Gwendolyn) and Buttercup (out of Phyllis), and Duncan II of Faye-AAA (58837), who sired Dusty (out of Phyllis) and Secret Agent Number Three (dam candidate: Gwendolyn). Both sire assignments are UC Davis verified.
Duncan II introduced BM2113 allele 133 into our herd — a marker that appears in only two animals (Dusty and Secret Agent) and is notably less common in American Highland populations than the predominant 139 and 141 alleles at this locus. J Bar T's Magnum Force brought CYP21 allele 198 and ETH003 allele 119 through Amber — both unique to her within our entire tested population.
What We're Watching: One Shared Marker Across Six Animals
INRA23 allele 214 appears in six of our eight tested animals: Flanna, Finley Falls Phyllis, Flossie, Secret Agent, Dusty, and Buttercup. INRA23 is a microsatellite on bovine chromosome 5 — a region that has appeared in multiple breed studies in connection with growth and body conformation traits. We want to be precise: microsatellite markers are not direct trait tests, and we are not claiming a proven phenotypic outcome. What we can say is that the consistent representation of this allele across three generations of our herd — through multiple sire and dam combinations — is a pattern we are tracking with interest, and one that buyers interested in conformation may find worth discussing with us.
All genetic marker data from this article is available to serious buyers upon request. UC Davis case numbers and Report IDs are on file for each tested animal. AHCA members are welcome to cross-reference through the registry.
Where We're Headed: The Next Breeding Cycle
We're transparent about one structural consideration in our current pedigree: CBS Laredo (53242) appears as sire of both Flanna and Finley Falls Phyllis, and Skye High Yelene (50999) is dam of both Gwendolyn and Flanna. For our next breeding cycle, we are deliberately selecting an unrelated sire — one with no CBS Laredo, Skye High Yelene, or Duncan II lineage — to maintain genetic breadth and keep inbreeding coefficients well below AHCA-recognized thresholds. This is not a flag; it is an intentional program decision, and we are making it now, before it becomes a constraint.
The animals we're selling carry clean, verified pedigrees backed by UC Davis documentation. They come from dams with above-average heterozygosity. They carry allele signatures that are traceable, unique, and documented at an internationally accredited laboratory. And they come from a farm that reads its own genetic reports carefully and tells you exactly what they say.
That's what buying from Highland Dale means.
Gwendolyn AH5446, Flanna AH14207, Finley Falls Phyllis AH14206, Dusty AH14372, Secret Agent AH14656, Flossie AH14642, Amber AH14204, Buttercup AH14205
All parentage testing conducted by UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory · vgl.ucdavis.edu · ISAG-standardized 15-locus microsatellite panel · Reports authorized by Dr. Rebecca Bellone, VGL Director · Highland Dale Family Farm · Missouri · highlanddale.life • blog written by Claude
Comments