Cowpollinator

[M5farm]

Did you do a lot of this bull in your route.
It wasn’t some milk magnate or a famed innovator, but an ornery, 2,700-pound bull named Toystory—a titan of artificial insemination who sired an estimated 500,000 offspring in more than 50 countries.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-breeder-a ... 1421196530

 

[cow pollinater]

Not a single straw. Genex is the one company that I won't do business with and 90% of my career has been in jerseys. He was a he!! of a bull though.

 

[Bigfoot]

I wonder what bull in beef cattle would be his equivalent?

 

[cow pollinater]

I wonder what bull in beef cattle would be his equivalent?

SAF Fame might be close ND878 is still going... It's hard for a beef bull to match just because most of us buy a son and turn him out because that's so much easier but most dairies will AI just because they've already got the cattle right there handy twice a day.

 

[AllForage]

I wonder what bull in beef cattle would be his equivalent?

SAF Fame might be close ND878 is still going... It's hard for a beef bull to match just because most of us buy a son and turn him out because that's so much easier but most dairies will AI just because they've already got the cattle right there handy twice a day.

Would you say that dairies single trait selection of milk production and environment being irrelevant leads to this type of use? A little different priorities than beef cattle.

 

[cow pollinater]

I wonder what bull in beef cattle would be his equivalent?

SAF Fame might be close ND878 is still going... It's hard for a beef bull to match just because most of us buy a son and turn him out because that's so much easier but most dairies will AI just because they've already got the cattle right there handy twice a day.

Would you say that dairies single trait selection of milk production and environment being irrelevant leads to this type of use? A little different priorities than beef cattle.

My dairy customers are big time into balanced cattle that last. I hear more about cripple cows and hospital cows than I ever have production. In fact it's been at least ten years since I've had a dairy customer pick a bull based solely on production.

 

[AllForage]

I figured crippled cows was more due to management and housing.

 

[cow pollinater]

I figured crippled cows was more due to management and housing.

It can be but making correct cattle is the easiest way to keep them out of the cripple pen.
Most large modern dairies here really "get it". Slower is faster. Middle of the road is safe. They want a mid range cow that breeds up on time and doesn't get sick or lame more than they want a milkwagon that they have to manage differently from her herdmates to keep her producing without having a bunch of metabolic problems.

 

[regolith]

My dairy customers are big time into balanced cattle that last. I hear more about cripple cows and hospital cows than I ever have production. In fact it's been at least ten years since I've had a dairy customer pick a bull based solely on production.

What of temperament? I've heard producers here complain that US bulls don't have 'workability' traits listed. Possibly management systems obscure innate nervousness that very quickly becomes a problem in 'free range' dairies?
It's almost a primary selector in my herd. So many bulls with otherwise good traits that I turn away from because their daughters' temperament and adaptability are poor.

 

[cow pollinater]

My dairy customers are big time into balanced cattle that last. I hear more about cripple cows and hospital cows than I ever have production. In fact it's been at least ten years since I've had a dairy customer pick a bull based solely on production.

What of temperament? I've heard producers here complain that US bulls don't have 'workability' traits listed. Possibly management systems obscure innate nervousness that very quickly becomes a problem in 'free range' dairies?
It's almost a primary selector in my herd. So many bulls with otherwise good traits that I turn away from because their daughters' temperament and adaptability are poor.

There's no selection for disposition unless it's bad enough that the cow evaluater notices that he's getting kicked by the same bulls daughters over and over again and then it's just word of mouth. These are all factory farms so except for the first couple of times they milk a fresh heifer it is all the same routine for the rest of the cows life so we never see the cows in a situation where disposition can become a problem. About as close as I ever get to having a problem is getting kicked a few times a day instead of my normal once a week and then I just go tell the milkers to ease up and it's gone two days later.

 

[regolith]

Curious. I have six daughters of a Danish Jersey sired by a US bull and every one of them is nervy and tends to kick - in an otherwise very placid herd, born and raised with the rest of their age group. I've heard from the classifiers and a couple of other farmers around the place that they all hate these girls - but in their home country that bull was the best!
Contrary to what greybeard suggested they haven't been ill-treated here.
One of them was in the habit of kicking the cups off and turning and walking out of the shed last year, beautiful young cow. Managed to get her to quit that behaviour about a month after she calved for the second time. It's a shame when they're perfectly good otherwise.

 

[cbcr]

My dairy customers are big time into balanced cattle that last. I hear more about cripple cows and hospital cows than I ever have production. In fact it's been at least ten years since I've had a dairy customer pick a bull based solely on production.

This is why cross breeding in dairy cattle is continually growing, and especially with Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde for strength. Also several crossing with the Viking Reds (Finnish Ayrshire, Swedish red and White, and Red Dane) and also Norwegian Reds. There is an animals that is called a ProCross that right now is a continual 3-way rotation of Holstein, Montbeliarde and Viking Red. With the Montbeliarde and Fleckvieh sired animals, they are producing very well against their Holstein herdmates with many outproducing them. Better components, better herd health, better fertility.

As the registry for these breeds in North America, Composite Dairy Cattle Registry http://www.dairycattleregistry.com, on the last proofs in December, these breeds represented over 20% of the animals in the top 5% Elite Cow List. excluding Holsteins. What is interesting is when looking at animals sired by the traditional breeds that were crossbred, The breakdown: Ayrshire sired cows 61% crossbred, Brown Swiss sired cows 53% crossbred, Guernsey sired cows 56% crossbred, Jersey sired cows 37% crossbred, Milking Shorthorn sired cows 87% crossbred and Holstein sired cows had 6% crossbred. These numbers were based on 266,341 animals on the Elite Cow List.