Management
Natural: Independent and Multifaceted Source of Elite Czech Genetics
Since the recent April release, Natural is the proud owner of the two highest Czech Holstein bulls: Zetor and Zologram-P, while their colleague Attila also shines in the top-5. On...
Worldwide breeding index 2019: Focus on fat, new traits and additional indexes
Several years have passed since the last calculation of the worldwide breeding index (2013), which Holstein International did regularly since 1996. Enough time, which national breeding associations and other organizations...
Electronic Cow-Management: Trust the Data and Breed the Cow as the System Recommends. It Works!
As herds get larger and livestock handling systems become more mechanized, time spent on heat detection for each individual cow continues to dwindle. However, next to top nutrition and elite...
Roger Turner: The Busiest Man in the Genetics Industry?
With a unique selection criteria, that includes the requirement of all bulls to be A2A2 and have no haplotypes, a look into Jetstream Genetics’ ethos makes interesting reading. Still a...
Hoof Health: Improvements Possible Via Breeding
Problems with hoof health (lameness in cows) is among the biggest irritations of dairy farmers – the costs of lost milk production, additional labour, veterinarian visits, involuntary culling, and lower...
Extreme Weather is on its Way: Alleviate the Impact of Heat Stress
Soon the stifling heat of summer will be with us and that can adversely affect the production levels of high yielding dairy cows. Here we look at some of the...
Robots and Sire Selection: Breeding “a Robot Cow”
Over the forecast period of 2017-2023, the robotic milking market is projected to grow at an annual growth rate of 9.78%. Yes: We can expect a lot more robot dairy...
LPI and Pro$: The Inner Workings of Canada’s Total Merit Indexes.
Canada has two main total merit indexes. The Lifetime Performance Index (LPI) has been the recognized measure of Canadian genetics for decades, while the Pro$ was added as an alternative...
Management: Natural Ways of Disease Prevention
Antibiotic resistance and reducing the amount of antibiotics used in livestock production – it’s a topic all livestock producers have heard over and over during the past decade. Of course...
Beef-on-Dairy: Various Beef Breeds Have Their Own Selection Programs
In HI’s February issue (pgs. 10-11) you became acquainted with the phenomenon Beef-on-Dairy: the breeding of dairy cows to beef bulls. As the result of extensive use of sexed semen...
Mastitis – The New Heavyweight Among Health Traits
Theoretically, a breeding value for somatic cell score (SCS), as is routinely calculated in most countries around the world, could continue to serve as a genetic indicator for udder health...
“Beef on Dairy”: Significant Increase in the Use of Beef Bulls on Dairy Cows
In HI, we seldom or never write an article about the beef breeds. Nevertheless, there is a good reason to do that now, because the use of beef bulls on...
Emu Banks: The Nr.1 BPI Herd in Australia
The Roumare son Emu Banks Christmas spent two years topping the daughter-proven sire list in Australia, and earlier this year Emu Banks Rizboy became the Nr.1 on the genomic bull...