DairyTalk 235: When Genomics Beat Tradition: How Holsteins Took Over A2 - by Helmut Demmelhuber

The global A2 milk market is booming, yet heritage breeds like
Guernsey, long known for naturally carrying the A2 gene, failed
to benefit. The reason lies not in genetics, but in market
mechanics. High-volume Holstein operations rapidly adopted
genomic selection to convert herds to A2, effectively eliminating
the niche advantage. At the same time, small farms struggled with
processing barriers, as most dairies require large minimum
volumes for separate A2 runs. As a result, successful heritage
breeders are exiting bulk pools and turning to on-farm processing
and direct-to-consumer models, pairing the A2 narrative with
cheese, butter, and premium branding. The article underscores a
key lesson: genetic uniqueness alone does not guarantee
success-strategy does. With comments on a "The Bullvine"-article
(January 7th, 2026) by Andrew Hunt: https://www.thebullvine.com