Outside of the farming community of Antigo, Wisconsin, Evergreen Dairy Resort has been operating for nearly 20 years, growing significantly and improving the dairy’s breeding efforts along the way.

In recent years, dairy crossbreeding has been a topic of conversation because it presents the opportunity to create a cow in one generation that is more efficient, makes fewer trips to the hospital pen and possesses better fertility. While the benefits of dairy crossbreeding can positively impact your herd, it does take the management of a focused genetic plan to incorporate.

Our research group conducted a study at a large organic multibreed dairy equipped with an automated milking system. The goal was to describe and compare the milking behavior of cows from different breeds during the week before and after the diagnosis of clinical mastitis.