Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Beginners Board
Beef or dairy
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="cbcr" data-source="post: 1142658" data-attributes="member: 16303"><p>Yes, I've been there and done that too, except I milked 3 times a day. I grew up with Holstein's and back in the mid 70's or so when the Normande was first introduced I looked at them more for dairy than beef, so I crossed a few of our dairy cows with Normande, never regretted it, they were some really nice cows, milked well and their components were better than the straight Holstein.</p><p></p><p>But, the Holstein cow today is different than years ago, they have been bred to the point that they are able to produce more milk than what their build will allow. Many of today's Holsteins lack strength and body to support production. This is one reason that cross breeding in the dairy industry is gaining in popularity, by using breeds such as the Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde on Holstein cows, production of this cross are equaling or exceeding the Holstein in production with higher components. The milk from these non-traditional dairy breeds is ideal for making cheese too!</p><p></p><p>We have one member, that reviewed his records, and in a year when he had about an equal number of Holstein and Crossbred heifers (about 50 head in each group), today he has 1 of the Holsteins remaining in his herd compared to 9 of the Crossbreds. </p><p></p><p>Some as the old saying goes, "can't seem to see the forest for the trees", and if it isn't a Holstein its not a milk cow.</p><p></p><p>We have visited with many producers who were hesitant about these other breeds, and when ask if they ever regretted using Fleckvieh or Montbeliarde, there is one answer they all give. Using the Fleckvieh or Montbeliarde was the best decision that they ever made. Some said that those around them that thought the Holstein was the only milk cow, thought that they had gone crazy, but these days some of them have gone craze too.</p><p></p><p>One of our Canadian members grew up with one of the premier Holstein herds. They have bred considerably to Montbeliarde and some of their animals that they recently registered with us have reached purebred percentage (87%) or higher.</p><p></p><p>On our website, under the Crossbreeding Education Center is a video of Dr. Les Hansen a leading dairy geneticist at the University of Minnesota where he discusses crossbreeding and the benefits.</p><p></p><p>I can honestly say that I enjoyed dairying. But like others on here have said there are very few dairies in our area as well. Back in 1974 when I started doing AI work it was dairies that provided my living. It was nothing unusual for me to drive 300 - 500 miles a day breeding cows and never be more than 50 miles from home. Now in our county I think that there are only 3 or 4 dairies left.</p><p></p><p>Not all dairies quit because of financial decisions. Some dairymen quit because they had no one to take over, kids were all grown, moved away and wanted nothing to do with the farm.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cbcr, post: 1142658, member: 16303"] Yes, I've been there and done that too, except I milked 3 times a day. I grew up with Holstein's and back in the mid 70's or so when the Normande was first introduced I looked at them more for dairy than beef, so I crossed a few of our dairy cows with Normande, never regretted it, they were some really nice cows, milked well and their components were better than the straight Holstein. But, the Holstein cow today is different than years ago, they have been bred to the point that they are able to produce more milk than what their build will allow. Many of today's Holsteins lack strength and body to support production. This is one reason that cross breeding in the dairy industry is gaining in popularity, by using breeds such as the Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde on Holstein cows, production of this cross are equaling or exceeding the Holstein in production with higher components. The milk from these non-traditional dairy breeds is ideal for making cheese too! We have one member, that reviewed his records, and in a year when he had about an equal number of Holstein and Crossbred heifers (about 50 head in each group), today he has 1 of the Holsteins remaining in his herd compared to 9 of the Crossbreds. Some as the old saying goes, "can't seem to see the forest for the trees", and if it isn't a Holstein its not a milk cow. We have visited with many producers who were hesitant about these other breeds, and when ask if they ever regretted using Fleckvieh or Montbeliarde, there is one answer they all give. Using the Fleckvieh or Montbeliarde was the best decision that they ever made. Some said that those around them that thought the Holstein was the only milk cow, thought that they had gone crazy, but these days some of them have gone craze too. One of our Canadian members grew up with one of the premier Holstein herds. They have bred considerably to Montbeliarde and some of their animals that they recently registered with us have reached purebred percentage (87%) or higher. On our website, under the Crossbreeding Education Center is a video of Dr. Les Hansen a leading dairy geneticist at the University of Minnesota where he discusses crossbreeding and the benefits. I can honestly say that I enjoyed dairying. But like others on here have said there are very few dairies in our area as well. Back in 1974 when I started doing AI work it was dairies that provided my living. It was nothing unusual for me to drive 300 - 500 miles a day breeding cows and never be more than 50 miles from home. Now in our county I think that there are only 3 or 4 dairies left. Not all dairies quit because of financial decisions. Some dairymen quit because they had no one to take over, kids were all grown, moved away and wanted nothing to do with the farm. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Beginners Board
Beef or dairy
Top