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To supplement a 160-milking cow herd and diversify business, Ian Crosbie has ventured into new territory as he breeds animals from the farm’s Holstein herd with Japanese Wagyu to produce snow beef.
Crossbreeding cows has become the new normal for Birkstead Holsteins in Elora, Ontario. Thomas Wantenaar and his family have been experimenting with Holstein crosses since the early 2000s, around the same time Wantenaar graduated university and began working on the farm full time. Of the farm’s 310 cows, only 55 are purebred Holsteins, the rest of the herd is a variety of Holstein crosses.
Biannually (spring and fall), the Lactanet Open Industry Session (OIS) offers an opportunity for the dairy industry to share and discuss dairy cattle genetics research, provide industry updates and bring forward future projects.
We’re facing unprecedented times, with many things seemingly out of our control. And we’re looking for ways to trim costs and be more efficient while not losing ground. Reviewing your genetic plan should not be forgotten. For some, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is more important than ever.
Canadian breed associations recently recognized some of Canada’s top herds with the prestigious Master Breeder award. Presented by Holstein Canada, Jersey Canada, Ayrshire Canada and the Canadian Brown Swiss and Braunvieh Association, the 2019 recipients are highlighted below.
Although milk production has almost doubled in the past 50 years, reproduction remains a significant challenge for producers. The performance of average Canadian herds is still unsatisfactory, with a gestation rate of 17.6%.
Holstein Canada and Lactanet, with support from Zoetis, launched Compass in November 2019. It is an online software system that aims to help producers navigate their herd’s genetics.
Dairy cows that become pregnant within a reasonable time frame produce more milk over their lifetime and are less likely to be culled from the herd. Thus, the goal is to have as many cows pregnant as possible by the time they are less than 150 days in milk.
With a growing interest in beef-on-dairy breeding programs and more and more dairy producers implementing these strategies, the organizers of the 2019 Canadian Dairy XPO invited a panel of speakers to share their experiences in this field.
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