Angus

Posted: December 3, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies | 20 Comments

Angus is the latest breed  I am using in my breeding program.  Most of us have milked a few Angus cross cows at one time or another.  I have one Angus cross cow left in my milking herd and I hope she will be the last.  I just purchased some Angus semen from Select Sires of which I am breeding some of my lower relative value cows.  I have no intention of ever milking any of the daughters.  I will sell all of the Angus calves after birth.  With the strong  Beef market I will be able to receive a very nice premium for Angus calves.

My  philosophy behind using Angus is to accomplish the opposite of what is being done with gender selected female semen.  As a result of crossbreeding I have to many heifers.  I am milking 1300 cows three times a day through a double sixteen parallel parlor, we wash every 12 hours to maximize parlor usage.  Going into the winter I would prefer to be milking between 1200-1250 cows.  My Pregnant heifer pens are running at over 120% capacity.   In the past when dairy cow prices were strong I sold excess cows to other dairies.  It was also easier to sell pure bred cattle.  The past couple of years with low dairy cow prices and high beef prices I have chosen to aggressively cull off the bottom end.  I will continue with that strategy for the time being as well as look for opportunities to sell crossbreds.

By using Angus semen on low relative value cows I will be able to cut down on the number of replacement heifers I am raising as well as improve the genetic makeup of my herd.  With feed prices at record highs it is not economical to feed more heifers than I need for replacements.  This strategy certainly will change if dairy heifer and cow prices increase significantly.  Please comment and let me know if you think this is a good idea or if you have other suggestions.

Guest Post: Wes Bluhm on Fleckvieh

Posted: November 30, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Fleckvieh | 3 Comments

The following is a nice report from Wes Bluhm of Geno UK on the Fleckvieh breed.  Whether Montbeliarde or Fleckvieh is your preferred flavor (and you could put Normande in this category too), I believe perceptions are changing when it comes to the strength breeds.  To get milk out of a cow, she doesn’t need to look malnourished.  My own thoughts on the strength breeds has been tepid at best but I’m starting to come around to the thought that these strength breeds need to be an integral part of my own crossbreeding system.  Strength has always been the common denominator with my oldest cows and now that I’m convinced there is not a direct negative correlation between milk production and strength, I’m jumping in head-first with the strength breeds.

Output is Vanity – Profit is Sanity

I remember the first time I saw a herd of Fleckviehs milking.

I had been travelling in Europe with a colleague and we stopped to visit one of his clients. While my colleague was talking I briefly looked over the herd. I was not impressed; 230 big, strong, coarse milk cows that were not “dairy” cows as far I my “Holstein” eyes were concerned and I went back outside.

When they came out, I asked about the production. The translated answer came back: “about 9000 kgs.” I stopped in my tracks, to go back and re-examine these cows. We then went through the herd, looking at the farmer’s official 305 production records; there was no getting past it; these strong “beef” cows were milking well.

This was my first introduction to Fleckvieh (pronounced Fleck – vee) a breed that combines muscularity, strength and durability along with very respectable production. Since then I have developed a growing respect for the breed and farmers that work with them. I have seen Fleckvieh crossbreds milking from Austria, Czech, Slovakia, France, Germany, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and the UK and everywhere the same scenario: strong, long-lasting productive cows that are profitable for their owners.

Fleckvieh is the dairy branch of the Simmental breed (think of Dairy Shorthorn and Beef Shorthorn) and is the second largest dairy breed in terms of bulls sampled (Interbull). Over the last 150 years the breed has spread through the World as farmers have come to appreciate the combination of strength and dairy production. Fleckvieh breeders have worked to develop dairy cows of:

  • Good production
  • Well attached silky udders
  • Low cell counts
  • Longevity

The Genetic Austria dairy testing programme is large, independent and unbiased. And is using the latest genetic tools as well including Genomic Evaluations.

The breed offers something else as well. Fleckvieh sires in Austria initially go through a beef testing programme. Then, the best of these, go through the dairy testing programme. DUAL PURPOSE used to be a “dirty word” in dairy cattle breeding. For the last 40 odd years of a virtual International monopoly of milk production by Holsteins; most commercial farmers were forced to accept the Black and White cow as the World’s most superior milk producing animal. However things have evolved. Profit and high milk yield no longer go hand in hand. With spiralling input costs, it is no longer all about “buying” milk production but rather about efficiently producing the dairy products your milk buyer wants and delivering a profit.

To quote a wise British farmer “Output is Vanity but Profit is Sanity!”

With the World wide growing interest in Crossbreeding; Genetic Austria embarked on a thorough trial on Fleck crossbreeding together with the respected WageningenUniversity & Research Centre in Holland.

Participating Dutch farmers inseminated their Holstein cows randomly with either Fleck or Holstein semen. Fleckvieh semen used included the Genetic Austria bulls: Rumba, Dionis, Ress, Hupsol, Rotax and others. The goal was to compare Fleck crossbreds to pure Holsteins under similar feed, management and environmental conditions. The pure Holstein cows used as dams were of similar production.

In order to ensure a “level field” for comparison; the farmers applied the same insemination policy for the purebreds and the crossbreds and the heifer calves were reared under the same conditions.

The data thus far has been analysed by the University.

Heifer Period

Table 1 Figures for the rearing period

Crossbred (FLX)

Holstein (HF)

#calved

192

148

#inseminations in rearing period

1.7

1.6

age at 1st insemination

471

476

% non return 56 days

73

70
age at 1st calving (days)

782

777

% difficult calvings

9.7

9.0

% normal calvings

59.5

60.7

% easy calvings

30.8

30.3

% stillbirth

12.1

16.6

As can be seen, the trial involves a significant number of animals. Age at first insemination and first calving is virtually the same for both groups indicating that the crossbreds matured at a similar rate to the purebreds. Comments from the farmers indicated that crossbreds and purebreds were raised in the same groups and this presented no management problems. While the crossbreds had a marginally better non-return rate and the purebred had slightly more “normal” calvings; it is questionable whether either of these figures are significant.

However the crossbreds had significantly lower death losses in calves due to early mortality (stillbirth).

Production in First and Second lactations

It is important to compare “apples to apples”.In order to have a level playing field, standardized production figures (actual or predicted 305 day yields) were used in the trial. Adjustments were also made for age at calving and the season of calving to account for any deviations.

In the Netherlands this is reported as a percentage of the herd mean. i.e. the mean production of the herd is 100. This is referred to as the LW. So an average animal for production in any herd has a score of 100. In the case of the herds used in the trials the vast majority of the milking animals are purebred Holsteins with just the few trial crossbreds included. So the Fleckvieh crossbreds are being compared to their Holstein herdmates with influences of age, nutrition, management and environment all being accounted for.

Table 2 Summary of milk production in 1st and 2nd lactation

305-day yield

Lact.

#

breed

#

LW*

kg milk

kg fat

kg prot.

%fat

%prot.

kg f+p

1

FLX

138

100.5

7105

320

254

4.51

3.57

574

1

HF

101

103.3

7401

322

259

4.35

3.50

581

2

FLX

53

102.8

8861

401

321

4.52

3.63

722

2

HF

26

102.9

8639

393

311

4.55

3.59

703

In 1st lactation the crossbreds had a 4% lower milk production, but as can be seen in table 2 this was largely compensated by higher fat and protein content such that fat and protein yield was only 1.2% lower. Standardized productions were less than 3% lower for the crossbreds. The figures for 2nd lactations are still preliminary, but suggest that crossbreds will realize the same or even higher 305 day production than the pure Holsteins.

Of course profitability on the dairy farm is about a lot more than just production. A number of other key factors were also monitored in this well designed trial.

Reproduction

Table 3 Non production index figures for 1st lactations

Index figure

FLX

HF

% re-inseminated

86

91

Number of inseminations

1.7

2.2
interval calving – 1st insemination

71

85
interval 1st – last insemination

26

48

% non return 56 days

70

54

realized or running lactation length

270

308

average weighted SCC

103

119

The researchers state that the % re-inseminated is not significant. However the better reproductive performance is substantial. Combined the improved reproductive performance translates to less problems getting cows in calf, shorter calving intervals and more calves per year.

The researchers also referred to increased value for the Fleck cross bull calves. This price difference varies from country to country based on the market. In the UK farmers have reported receiving £280 and higher for 2 week old crossbred calves. This compares to an average Holstein bull calf value of approximately £45. The arithmetic is interesting. £280 – £45 = £235 extra for a Fleck cross bull calf. Average of 1 bull calf every 2 calvings (lactations) therefore an increased value of £235/2 = £117.50/lactation. This works out to an extra 1.56 pence per litre produced on a cow averaging 7500 litres/milk/year. That’s 1.5 pence for each litre produced without doing anything extra.

Conclusions

The researchers reported the following results from crossbreeding to Fleckvieh:

  • Increased bull calf value
  • Similar production
  • Better reproductive performance

Plus anticipated gains in:

  • Higher cull value

Fewer health problems

This study proves that you can have strength and durability in your herd while at the same time having good milk production. This means easier keeping cows. Plus you don’t have to sacrifice yield in order to get improved reproductive performance.

 

 

Fall Breeding Plan: Update

Posted: November 28, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies | 6 Comments

Valfin

In late September, I outlined my plan to make a pretty drastic change to my breeding program.  As a refresher, the biggest change I decided to make was to no longer breed my pure Holsteins to Holstein.  I’ve always maintained a population of pure Holsteins in my herd to compare crossbred performance with pure Holsteins.  I decided to use this opportunity to explore some of the strength breeds from Europe.  My crossbreeding program has been heavily skewed toward Swedish Red and Jersey though I’ve used and am milking some Montbeliarde and Normande crosses.

December (and winter) is approaching so I figured it would be time to update my progress.

Here are the pregnancies since 9/1/11:

Montbeliarde

15 Valfin

5 Redon

1 Urbaniste

Notes: Excellent conception with Valfin.  I’ve used 30 of the 40 units I bought from Sierra Desert Breeders and half (15) resulted in pregnancies for a 50% conception rate.  Redon has also created pregnancies at a high rate as those 5 pregnancies came from 8 units used.  Urbaniste has been a little lower, but earlier this spring I had good luck with him.

Fleckvieh

3 Isegrim

1 Enrico

Notes: These numbers will increase dramatically the next few weeks.  There are 24 cows currently with Enrico semen in them with 13 of them having passed 21 days without showing heat.  Isegrim has shown me early promise in the semen fertility department as the three pregnancies were on cows that have been historically hard to get pregnant.  Actually one of the Isegrim pregnancies was on a cow’s 9th service.  I’ve used 61 of the 100 units of Bavarian Fleckvieh I purchased from Big Bear Genetics

Normande

2 Royal Holl

1 Redondo

Notes: I sprinkled a little Normande into the process early and am have been ramping up the Normande usage the past few weeks.  One of the Royal Holl pregnancies is interesting, maybe a little frightening.  The cow is a Montbeliarde X Jersey X Holstein that really doesn’t milk much at all (we’re talking about 15-20 lbs/day).  I’ll keep her around to see what she does in her second lactation, as I can tolerate that kind of production as long as they get pregnant in a timely manner.  Redondo probably would’ve been a better Normande choice for her.  But this was one of those deals where my herdsman grabbed whatever he felt like at the time.  Holstein you say?  Not necessarily, as her Holstein-sired niece is giving about 15 lbs/day too.  The good news is that this family never milks anything in the first lactation before getting to respectable levels in the second.

Norwegian Red

4 Ronningen (polled)

3 Raastad

1 Braut

1 Aasheim (polled)

2 Hjulstad

2 Torp

9 Bosnes

1 Nordbo (polled)

1 Eggtron (polled)

As you can tell, I’m still cleaning up with Norwegian Red.  A lot of these are from early September when we were cleaning up from the summer.  If I need to get a cow pregnant, I still turn to Norwegian Red.   And remember, this is just looking at my lactating cows.  For you Swedish Red fans out there, that’s what being used almost exclusively on my heifers that are housed at other farms.

So what happened to the Milking Simmental from Switzerland?  It’s looking like that is going to be a Fall or Spring breeding plan as Semex only receives shipments from Swiss Genetics at certain times.  So they told me it would be a 3-6 month wait as apparently the demand for Milking Simmental semen in the United States is low.  So low that I may be the demand.  I had to guarantee that I would buy everything they sent over from Switzerland.  So we’ll see what happens with that.

Crossbred Herd Bull

Posted: November 26, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Two-Way Crosses | 10 Comments

Jons recent poll and discussion regarding the role of crossbred bulls has come at quite a significant time for me, as i’m currently rearing a crossbred bull calf for use as a future herd bull. Hes a 3 week old Swedish Red (Orraryd) x Holstein. Maybe i should christen him a ‘Swestien’ for short.

The Swestien calf

His Holstien dam

This will be the first crossbred bull i’ve reared and i guess its kind of an experiment. Its an idea i’ve toyed with for while. When my first Swedish Red crosses arrived, the question of “where do we go from here” cropped up as it does with many people. Before i went with a 3 way cross, one option that crossed my mind was to breed them using only Swedish Red crossbred bulls to keep the ideal 50/50 mix going. I suppose this idea is similar to what the New Zealander’s are doing with the Kiwi cross to keep an even mix of Freisian and Jersey genetics.

I was talked out of that at the time by breeding advisers who said by breeding a crossbred with a crossbred, the potential is there to end up with either a pure Swedish Red or Holstien or anywhere inbetween. Depending on how the genes merged, it wouldn’t necessarily be 50/50 not to mention the loss of heterosis.

This time, my plan is to eventually run him with my Procross maiden heifers, except the ones with Orraryd already in the pedigree. Using a herd bull on our heifers is something that my dad and i have done for many years with reasonable results. The 308 acres ring fenced around the farm are entirely dedicated to silage making and milk cow grazing so consequently our heifers have to graze blocks of land away from the farm, which would make A.I. difficult.

The calf’s dam has been a terrific cow. My dad bought her in as a 2nd calver back in 2005 and 6 calves later she has several 10,000 litre lactations under her belt. I may not have heaped much praise on my Holstiens on the blog, thats not to say i dislike them all. I have several individuals that i’m very happy with and this cow is one. If i had 300 more like her then crossbreeding would never have been on the agenda!

The resulting calves should have a nice mix of genes from the 3 breeds; 37.5% Holstien, 37.5% Swedish Red and 25% Montbeliarde. I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket here as only a section of my heifers will be bred this way, but the results should be interesting.

Fall Breeding Plan: Normande

Posted: October 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Normande | 6 Comments

Voupigny Daughter

Next in my series of posts on my Fall Breeding Plan is the Normande. I’ve used some Normande in the past and have three milking daughters with a few more on the way.  The few Normande daughters that I am milking have been impressive in their own ways.  I’m intrigued by the breed enough to want to use more than I have in the past.  Two of my three milking Normande daughters have dramatically improved udders over their mothers.After talking with Jerome Chateau of Normande Genetics at Expo and through e-mail, I’ve put together a list of Normande bulls that I will be utilizing at this time.

Bulls I’ve Used and Will Continue to Use:

Redondo – I did a profile of Redondo here.  I have one milking Redondo that will calve any day for the second time.  She was very impressive in her first lactation, making almost 25,000 lbs of milk in under 305 days.  Redondo continues to add daughters to his proof (over 7000 now) and remains one of the top Normande bulls.  Personally, if I could choose only one Normande bull it would be Redondo.  This bull also has a head start on the fall breeding program as I have nine pregnancies (three more to check).  This group of pregnancies is largely on top of HoJos and Swedesteins (Swedish Red X Holstein for those unfamiliar with my naming system).

Royal Holl – Another well proven bull with over 4000 daughters, Royal Holl is the udders and milk solids bull.  And he breeds true.  The one milking Royal Holl I have made only 18,000 lbs (though she only had a 285 day lactation) but she rarely had a fat test below 5% and protein was often times approaching 4%.  Her mother was a Holstein with a terrible udder and this cow is much improved.  I think Royal Holl will make the long-lasting kind.  They may not make eye popping 305 day records but with fantastic milk solids and good udders, I think he merits continued use in my herd without hesitation.

Singleton – The first two phrases that Sersia uses to describe Singleton on his webpage are “Powerful cows” and “Perfect udders”.  I plan on doing a post about my first milking Singleton and do a mother daughter comparison.  She is most certainly powerful and I was so extremely surprised with the udder that is on this heifer given what I had to work with from the mother.  She is barely fresh so I’m not sure what kind of production I will be getting, but Singleton’s production profile is more like Royal Holl than it is Redondo.  Singleton isn’t in my next order of Normande semen, but I plan on getting back to him soon.

SaintYorre – I have a few daughters from this bull though none are milking yet.  I stumbled upon some of his semen in my tank so I will be able to get back to him without buying more.  When I used him he only had first crop daughters and now second crop daughters are starting to add to his proof and he’s maintaining fairly well.  His production profile is more like Redondo’s while his proof also him siring nice udders.  He’s looking like a solid bull whose second crop daughters are confirming a very good proof.

New Bulls I Will Be Trying:

Caramba – This will be the first bull from any strength breed that I’ve used with 0 milking daughters.   Using a bull like this carries risks but I have a high degree of confidence in a Redondo’s genetics.  His genomic proof says he will sire daughters in much the same mold as Redondo.  Maybe a little taller, and maybe with a little better milk solids.  Otherwise strikingly similar.  As far as risks, I think Caramba is a decent risk and it’s not as if I’m using him across the whole herd.

Voupigny – This is a very intriguing first crop sire.  The first thing that stands out is his milk solids percent at +0.56% for fat and +0.16% for protein.  He also has a higher milk proof than a solids bull like Royal Holl.  With no holes in his type proof, I think this will be a solid choice.

Uvray – This is the top ISU Normande bull, so it makes sense that I should use some of the best.  When you factor components, Uvray is one of the best Normande production bulls.  He has Redondo-like volume with excellent components percentages.  Uvray doesn’t have as high of an udder composite but I don’t think the udder profiles as all that bad.  He is negative for udder support and udder depth so that may be something to watch for.

Fall Breeding Plan: Montbeliarde

Posted: October 15, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Montbeliarde | 6 Comments

Redon Daughter

As promised, the next breed I will cover in my fall breeding plan series is the Montbeliarde.  I’ve been using Montbeliarde for several years now, but never as much as I’ve used breeds like Jersey, Swedish Red and Norwegian Red.  By mostly abandoning the purebreeding of Holsteins in my herd, I’m looking to have the Simmental based breeds like Montbeliarde, Fleckvieh and Simmental itself take the place of Holstein.  Part of the reason was from my conversations with Mike Osmundson of Creative Genetics and Stephane Fitamant of Coopex Montbeliarde in France.  The general consensus seems to be that the ProCross is more effective when using Montbeliarde on pure Holsteins and then breeding the resulting progeny to Swedish Red.  In my case, most of my ProCrosses (and the first two are fresh now) will be the opposite direction (Monty X SRB X Holstein).  So I want to setup more opportunities to not only evaluate the F1 progeny of the strength breeds (Montbeliarde, Fleckvieh, Normande, Simmental) but also evaluate three-way crosses with a Strength X Holstein base as opposed to a Jersey or Scandinavian X Holstein base.  Another area I’d like to potentially investigate is a “strength on strength” mating.  I have one Montbeliarde X Holstein that is currently pregnant to the Normande Redondo and I’d also like to try Fleckvieh on some of my Montbeliarde crosses.

When it comes to Montbeliarde bulls I’ll be using this fall, some have a head start as I’ve been using more Montbeliarde anyway. The following are what I’ve been using:

Valfin – Current number one bull in France.  Early conception numbers have been excellent, though small sample cautions apply.  At the moment, he is the bull we are pushing through our inventory fastest with.  Pretty solid all-around bull, obviously being the number one ISU bull.  Also a very good calving ease bull.

Urbaniste – Number two ISU bull in France and again, another all-around very good bull.  I’ve been using Urbaniste in a much more targeted way, mostly on some of my better crossbred families.  Once I get some more, I’d like to use him on some of my better Holsteins too.

Redon – This is the top well-proven Montbeliarde bull.  They will be taller than the Valfin’s and the Urbaniste’s but otherwise have similar production profiles. Redon’s pedigree is the same as a bull I’ve got several milking daughters from, Plumitif.

Ugostar – Loads of milk with Ugostar.  I’ve got a few ProCross daughters on the ground now but I don’t think this will be one that works his way into being used on pure Holstein.  I like to see better fat percentages on my Montbeliarde bulls.  Ugostar would likely work well on high component Jerseys that need some milk (provided the udder on the HoJo isn’t deep).

The following are bulls that I haven’t used yet but would like to use:

Vokendo – A solid second tier bull that does many things well.  He is a Mic Mac son that is above average across the board for type and has solid production numbers.  The proof says he sires a deeper udder so that would be something to protect for.

Triomphe – This bull’s proof says he will sire lots of milk, with component percentages only slightly below average.  Another bull that is pretty solid across the board for type, he also may sire a slightly deep udder.  With an ISU of 148, he is definitely in the upper echelon of Montbeliarde bulls.

Ulemo – Another Mic Mac son, this bull’s proof intrigues me.  Similar to Triomphe, but perhaps to a lesser degree, Ulemo will sire lots of milk with only slightly below average component percentages.  His type proof doesn’t appear to have any holes.  One potential caution is his temperament score of 91 which may turn off some.

Ussage – The poor man’s Urbaniste.  They share the same sire (Masolino) and maternal grandsire (Gardian).  Ussage will give you shorter daughters that will put pounds of fat in your tank.  He is above average for udders and feet and legs.  If you don’t want to pay the money for Urbaniste, perhaps this is one to look at.

I may decide to look at other bulls down the road, but I think these bulls give me a diverse combination of upper tier and middle tier bulls that will give me a good start in building my Montbeliarde numbers.

Next up will be Normande.

 

Fall Breeding Plan: Bavarian Fleckvieh

Posted: October 11, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Fleckvieh | 13 Comments

The next step in my breeding plan for fall and winter has been completed.  World Dairy Expo is a fantastic place to meet with experts representing almost any dairy breed you can think of.  It’s an excellent opportunity to meet with people that know the breeds the best.  Whether it be people that have used the breeds extensively in North America or people that deal with the actual purebreds in Europe, it’s an excellent knowledge-base to draw from.

I had the opportunity this year to learn a great deal about a breed that had in the past been a curiosity but one I had never acted upon, the Fleckvieh.  The best way to learn  was to have Dr. John Popp from Big Bear Genetics visit my farm and walk my herd to get a feeling as to which Fleckvieh bulls would work best.  Along with John was a German Fleckvieh expert and a Canadian Fleckvieh breeder (John, I forget their names so feel free to give credit to these guys too in the comments!).  Together we walked several pens of cows and by the end, we could all agree on one thing about my herd: tons of variation!

For starters I’ve begun to use three different Bavarian Fleckvieh bulls and have three more I will begin using soon:

Enrico – Enrico is for use on my sharper, more frail cattle.  This means a lot of HoJos and some Swedish Red crosses will be seeing Enrico along with the pure Holsteins that are on the frail side.  This is going to be the strength bull in my Fleckvieh rotation.  He is also rated very well for calving ease and is well proven.

Isegrim – Isegrim is going to be one for the taller Holsteins that need some milk.  When John was walking my cows I noticed him pointing out a lot of Holsteins with Durham bloodlines that would be good fits with Isegrim.

Harvester – Harvester is for more middle of the road cows.

John, if you want to expand more on your observations about my herd, feel free to add some comments to this post.  Those are the three that John got me started on and at some point others I’ll be looking at using are Don Juan, Round Up, and Striker.

One thing I’m doing differently with Fleckvieh than I have with other breeds is that I won’t be dabbling lightly to get a feel for the breed.  That carries risks, but with the guidance I received from the people that know the breed best, I believe I am set up well for success.  If anybody has questions about Fleckvieh, I know John checks this blog out and has answered questions.  He can also be reached by e-mail at bigbeargenetics@inetlink.ca.

Next up I will cover the Montbeliarde bulls that will be in the rotation.

 

Fall Breeding Plan

Posted: September 25, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Fleckvieh, Montbeliarde, Normande | 23 Comments

Every so often I like to evaluate what I’m doing with my breeding plan.  Usually no drastic changes are made, but in the past year I made the decision to scale back the purebreeding of Holsteins in order to increase the amount of crossbreds in my herd.  That decision led me to using Norwegian Red on the Holsteins that needed it most, cleanup cows.  I now have dozens of Holsteins that are pregnant to Norwegian Red that would have otherwise been culled or pregnant to Holstein where the same process would likely be repeated with the offspring having poor fertility.

A few observations have lately had me leaning toward phasing out purebreeding entirely from my herd(minus a special family or two).  For one, the production results that I’ve posted on this blog would support that choice.  The crossbreds were much better equipped to handle the hot and humid weather we faced this summer.  Even during times of peak production for pure Holsteins, the crossbreds are producing just as well if not better.  Another observation I’ve made is the increasing inability to find mates for my pure Holsteins that are not going down the slippery slope of inbreeding.  I’ve always used the Holstein Inbreeding Calculator along with mating services from the different studs I use.  6.0% inbreeding has in the past been the number that I like to stay at or below for inbreeding.  It’s simply getting harder and harder to acheive this goal.  Especially when selecting for health traits, it seems like I’ve exhausted the different health trait bloodlines and going back to them would be slowing any progress I’ve made.

Observation number three came a few weeks back when I visited a local farm (just a few miles away) with a similar system to mine that had a number of Fleckvieh crosses milking.  I was extremely impressed with the way they looked.  They are very strong and rugged cattle and most impressive was when I was shown the production numbers.  Many of the 75% Fleckviehs were even producing at very high levels without BST.

Factoring all the observations I’ve made, I’m in the process of tweaking my breeding plan once again.  The plan on young heifers will remain the same.  Holstein/Jersey/Swedish Red is still going to be the cross of choice, mainly for calving ease reasons.  But in lactating cows, pure Holsteins will now be serviced to one of what I consider to be the “Strength” breeds (dual-purpose tends to imply they don’t milk, which is not true).  The strength breeds are Fleckvieh, Montbeliarde, and Normande.  I may also throw a few surprises in there, as I know there is something I plan on investigating at World Dairy Expo that may have some scratching their heads (if they aren’t already).  Norwegian Red will still be used to cleanup, as these cows will still need to get pregnant and nothing seems to do that job better than NRF.

I plan on meeting with Dr. John Popp of Big Bear Genetics in order to get myself more acquainted the Fleckvieh breed and choices of bulls as I’m not all that familiar with the Fleckvieh breed as a whole.  After World Dairy Expo, I’ll have a list of bulls from all breeds that will be a part of this slightly new direction I’m taking.  And if any of you out there have suggestions, feel free to comment!

Netherlands Crossbreeding Trip

Posted: August 30, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies, Fleckvieh | 17 Comments

Recently i took the opportunity to go on a 2 day tour of the Netherlands. The trip was organized by Geno UK and we were touring farms that were crossbreeding. In total we visited 6 farms, all with various sized herds, diferent systems and all with their own approach to crossbreeding.

I always feel that taking a bit of time away from the farm can be a positive thing. Especially when it involves visiting other farms, after all, you can’t possibly learn everything there is to know by staying at home!

The level of crossbreeding in the Netherlands seems to be one step a head of the UK, just by looking at the countryside from the roads, you see plenty of fields with ‘black legged’ or ‘white faced’ dairy cattle grazing. Crossbred cows are worth more money than purebreds, some are fast tracking their way into it by selling their Holstiens and buying milking crossbreds in, rather than waiting the 3 years it takes to breed your own.

The price farmers are being paid for their milk here equates to about 35p/litre, and with a population of just 16 million, 70% of the milk produced is exported. The biggest restriction they have to expansion, is the shortage of land and is why the price of land here is about £18,000 per acre. Much of the country is below sea level as a lot of the land has been reclaimed from the sea. Every acre counts here, even the road side verges are mown and baled up! The main crops grown seem to be grass and maize.

Hans Kerhof and Filisia Sieperda from X sires did a great job showing us round the farms and translating when needed, although most of the farmers spoke good english. The majority of the crosses we saw were Fleckvieh crosses. When you first see them, you think they look beefy cows, but thats because we’re used to looking at a diferent type of cow. Once you make that step up in your mind, you realize they are great cows. Below are some pictures i took.

Fleckvieh x Holstien

Norwegian Red x Fleckvieh x Holstien

This 300 cow herd was housed indoors and aswell as being fed silage, they were fed fresh grass 3x a day.

Although the majority of this herd was Holstien, the highest yielding cow was a Fleckvieh x Holstien.

The cubicles were bedded with horse manure from local stables! Unbelievable, but the farmer said since making the switch, mastitis levels had fallen.

Jersey x Holstien

This next farm was milking 100 cows through 2 robots. The Fleckvieh crosses were said to be better for the robots, with their good teat placement and large teats.

Fleckvieh x Holstien. The next farmer was a big pedigree Holstien man, having a number of 100,000kg cows, selling bulls and embryos. Yet he was moving towards 100% crossbreds!

His chosen 3 breed rotation was Brown swiss x Fleckvieh x Holstien. He obviously liked his cows on the large side.Fleckvieh x Holstien. I can’t remember the names of all the bulls used. The bull Rumba was mentioned quite alot.

Fleckvieh x Holstien

Norwegian Red x Fleckvieh x Holstien

Norwegian Red x Fleckvieh x Holstien

Behind the Crossbreeding

Posted: August 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Breeding Strategies | 6 Comments

Well, as most of you know I have not been breeding for 100% crossbreeds.  Starting around summer I had seen enough crossbreeds in my herd to jump to 50% of my services resulting in crossbred calves.  I was selecting problem breeders and cows/heifers from the lower end of my herd.  This week that all changed. I was on a weekend vacation last week and got a call from my dad that a Holstein which had a DA (displaced abomasum) operation 5 days before was too weak and injured herself in a stall after getting stuck.  Then on Tuesday I had to operate on another Holstein with a DA that had a 130lb bull calf 10 days before.  I called a cattle hauler to take the first cow to the slaughterhouse (she wasn’t able to get up on pasture and was never loaded) and added 2 more Holsteins that had bad feet, one of which just got a mastitis infection.  I realized then and there that I had a decision to make regarding how many crossbreeds I want in my herd and what type of crossbreed I wanted.  Here are my thoughts and the plan for going 100%  into crossbreeding.

Why jump to 100% crossbreeds?

  1. In a few years my dad hopes to retire.  My dad and I both do not really know what all that means and what will actually happen.  But the question I need to ask myself, “Will I hire someone to help with the 100 milking cows or should I cull a few to make it easier on myself?”  I believe I can milk 100 by myself if I have problem free cows which is obviously crossbreeds.  In our parlor we can milk 60 cows an hour with one person.  An extra 30 cows is only half an hour extra of work per milking.  The work I do not need is the extra work to take care of sick cows and breed cows in heat.  Crossbreeding should lower the extra work.
  2. Lack of available land. Half an hour to the south is the only county west of the Mississippi that is in the top 10 counties for milk production in the US.  The county I live in has nearly the same concentration of cows/mile but my county is smaller.  Cropland rent goes for more than it should because there are so many dairy farms that need forage.  Also, a dairy farm can no longer count on land for forage because grain growers will offer higher rent and take over the land.  This tells me that I need an efficient cow to take a little feed and make good milk and components. This is why the main cross for my herd will be Holstein/Scandinavian Red/Jersey.  I will use some other breeds to see how they do and to keep things interesting. Jerome from Normande Genetics has gotten me interested in Normandes.  The breed has been selected for feed efficiency which may offset their large size.  Also cull cows and bull calves will be of higher value as well.
  3. My new milk per acre philosophy.  As a result of #2, my new direction now is to try to capture the most milk per acre that I can.  In the past we kind of did our thing and tried to make sure the land was productive.  I hope to try to capture as much milk/components as I can with the 40 acres of pasture and 100 acres of cropland that I have.  With my land this means that grazing may not be the best use of the land and expanding the 40 acres of pasture may not be the best option.  With corn crops averaging around 120-150 bu/acre it’s harder to make grass pay.  However, grazing offers other benefits beyond just forage and it will still be a vital part of my operation.  I hope to graze more summer/fall crop combinations like sudan grass and then forage oats to maximize pasture production.  This all may change depending on how well the different crossbreeds do on pasture.  Feed and fuel prices may alter my philosophy as well. 

What service bulls will I use?

  1. Holsteins:  I will be selecting for net merit with an eye on components.  I want small to medium stature, decent type (no holes in the linear) and positive DPR stats.  I will use proven bulls like CM, Freddie, Levi and McCormick.
  2. Scandinavian Reds: All of the Scandinavian breeds have a few great bulls and I will not limit myself to one breed.  I will again select for net merit with an eye on components without too much type or DPR compromise.  I will use high component bulls like Valpas, Tosikko, Ruud and possibly Eggtroen (poor udder cleft).  I will use higher type bulls that have high net merit such as Facet, Gunnarstorp, R David and Velsvik. Tosikko and Valpas also fit into that category.
  3. Jersey: I will be selecting for net merit and components again but with a heavy eye on udder traits.  I will use Jersey in the 3rd slot which will be implemented nearly 2 years from today.  I will select bulls like Zuma, Legal, Medalist and Louie.
  4. Other breeds: I will mostly select bulls from other breeds that I can’t pass on.  I will be selecting for type and components with an eye on health and reproduction traits. Of the Montbeliardes I will be careful with size and use bulls like Urbaniste, Rapallo and Timor.  Of the Normandes I again will watch size and plan on using Redondo and Ucany.  I do not plan on using New Zealand sires mostly because I do not have a ‘fit’ for them in my rotation.  Are they enough of a cross to replace the Jersey slot?  I do have some Mint Edition and Brody in my tank.
I want to clean out some of my Holstein inventory so it may be around fall or winter until I start breeding all Holsteins to other breeds.  I will have a handful of Holsteins that I’ll keep pure.  I will likely sell them as replacement heifers or I may just end up crossing them as well.
Let me know your thoughts.  Am I missing a good breed or bull?
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