Management
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...
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...
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...
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...
Wellness Traits: Building a Healthier Herd
Use of genomics in official genetic evaluations has transformed the dairy cattle breeding industry over the past decade. Now genomics is being used to offer breeders new options when it...
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...
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...
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...
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...