Management
Preventing Holsteins from Becoming Too Tall
The breeding of tall, impressive looking cows has been the goal for many a breeder down through the years. Now, slowly the tide of opinion is changing and many believe...
TPI and Net Merit: Do You Know Exactly What They Include?
With US Holstein genetics playing a major role on the international scene, the TPI is widely recognized and has become a common language understood in many different countries around the...
Cow Comfort: What Are the Main Options for Bedding Material?
Improved cow comfort is often listed as a major contributor to increased milk production. Improved barn design, increased air flow and ventilation, better access to the feed bunk, and more...
Lepoint: ‘Genomics Overestimates Popular Families. That Needs to Change.’
France has two large breeding companies: Evolution and Gènes Diffusion. At the latter, Frédéric Lepoint has already been employed for 28 years and thus is both a genetic manager and...
Bull Fertility - Much Consulted Trait in Sire Selection
Timely pregnancy of heifers and cows is critical to the economics of dairy farms. That is the reason why during the past number of years, fertility has received increased attention...
Arnout Dekker about the Positive Effects of OmniGen-AF
‘Stress reduces the resistance of cows, causing the likelihood of infections to increase. And the number of stress moments is quite high actually; cows are like people with autism, they...
10 Years of Revolution: Paul VanRaden Looks at the Evolution of Genomics
It is now almost 10 years since the arrival of the genomics. In that time it has evolved into the biggest revolution the cattle breeding industry has seen. To look...
Growing Demand for AI Equipment
A common sight on many farms around the world is the arrivial of the AI technician to breed cows. Now the number of farmers with their own tanks and doing...
Pieter Karst Bouma: Get the Most from the Cows with a Milking Robot and Extra Information
A daily production of 40 kg/cow; Pieter Karst Bouma wants to reach this goal within two years. ‘After raising the roof on the old barn, that is certainly realistic,’ says...
Udder Health: How do you Maintain a Low Somatic Cell Count?
Elevated somatic cell counts not only cause production losses, but also increase the likelihood of mastitis, with all the associated problems and costs. To prevent financial damage and animal losses,...
ProFitPlus in Germany: “The Program for Healthy Cows”
“The Program for Healthy Cows”: That is how the ProFitPlus program is described on the websites of the German AIs RinderAllianz (RA) and Rinderzucht Berlin Brandenburg (RBB). For more specific...
Tremendous Efficiency Potential Possible with Smart Use of Management Support. Top Farms Heading Towards 1 Million Kg Milk per Robot
Average daily milk production per robot for all Lely milking robots world-wide reaches 1628 kg, while the top farm is now above 3000 kg! ‘The robots are the same everywhere,...