I agree with a lot of what Mike Cox has said. I use the best bulls available, proven or unproven, and I was always taught to get your fastest genetic gain breed your heifers to test bulls. As for genomics, it needs to be used as another piece of the puzzle. There are AI units in Canada and the USA that have gone too far. If there are 3 full brothers and the ugliest one comes up with the highest genomics guess which one they are taking. Another stud has signed a contract with a large, GRADE (no reg papers), free stall herd to genomic test bulls from their highest producing cows and sell semen from them!!!Red breeds are increasing in Canada as well but only due to cross breeding. Semex being our largest AI signed a deal to bring over Swedish Red semen. Possibly their advertising as being the top breed for health traits paid off for them. In Canada we do some breed promotion outside of our own newsletters, web site and magazine. We have 2 all breeds magazines in Canada that will give us free space to promote top records, top classifications and up coming events a couple times a year. One (Cowsmopolitan)will even print reports from our national show and annual meeting with pictures, if we send them in, for free. We have just started up a promotion committee this year as well. So far they have purchased 2 verticle banner displays that were at the conference and are soon to start making a brochure together with the American assoc. I would like to see a couple of our best Guernseys on display at some of the Holstein shows in the area and a on-farm show. Basically the same thing Digby was doing during the conference, farmers send in their enteries and then the assoc pays a judge to drive around for a couple days. Then get a report written up about the winner to provide the magazines.

This is a comment on "The Perfect World"

Comments (1)

1 Monday, 26 July 2010 11:46

Digby Gribble

Hi Scott, Cowsmopolitan magazine were at the All Britain show in the UK back in February and had results on their website before the British press, so I endorse what you have said about them. The Somerset & Dorset Guernsey club have an on farm competition annually, for in milk heifer, cow in milk and cow family (three or more) and in recent years have asked local Holstein breeders to judge it, this is good for both the competitors and the judges as it widens the appreciation of the Guernsey, but at the same time the Judge has no preconceptions as to what he might find. Lyndon Cleggett has suggested that semen sellers trying to increase the number of young bulls used that perhaps one third of the semen should be sold to other breed herds as this will not seriously affect the reliability of the proofs.This would maintain the all important revenue needed to pay for semen collection costs and perhaps allow a couple of extra bulls to be used annually. The UK data centre (Dairy Co) are now evaluating cross bred cattle due to the number of UK herds trying to use Holsteins in a New Zealand style grazing system (and finding that they starve) and therefore crossing with another breed usually Jersey, and thus enjoying all the delights of that cantankerous, dangerous and easy dying breed.

yvComment v.1.19.3