Dairy Crossbreeding

by Dr. Ted Burnside, Technical Advisor, Geno Global

A survey of dairy farmer opinions on performance of pure Holstein first lactation heifers compared to contemporary Norwegian Red heifers was carried out from June to Sept., 2009. Sixty farmers on a crossing project in Canada, who bred and owned over 1000 F1 NR x HO heifers were surveyed and 37 responded in the busy harvest season. They rated the two heifer groups which had calved out for first lactations on a scale from 1=not satisfied through to 9=very satisfied. Over 600 of the 1000 heifers have calved.

White spotted heifer sired by Brenden: 1st lactation milk 21,194 lb, 858 lb fat, & 705 lb protein. Black polled heifer sired by Berge projected at 21,448 lb milk, 730 lb fat & 730 lb protein.

 The overall ratings for dairy merit were not significantly different for HO purebreds and NR x HO crosses, at 6.79 for Holstein heifers and 6.76 for NR x HO crossbred heifers in the same herd. When the two contemporary heifer groups were ranked and the rankings were analysed on their relative merit for 14 individual traits, Norwegian Red x Holstein crosses were significantly more satisfactory for calving ease, and four health traits, mastitis, digestive problems, feet and leg problems and reproductive problems. The NR x HO crossbreds were also rated significantly more satisfactory for feet and legs conformation. Purebred Holstein contemporaries excelled over the crossbreds significantly only on milk yield, udder conformation, and temperament. While not significantly superior the crossbreds had higher scores for fat and protein yields, for low stillbirths, for body condition score, and reproductive performance.  

This Berge daughter (also pictured above) carries the polled gene, as do 60% of Norwegian Red cattle! The two heifers pictured in this article were bred and owned by Henrik and Frida Van Dijk, Westlock, Alberta. Photos used with their permission.

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by Dr. Ted Burnside & Dr. Gary Rogers, Technical Advisors, Geno Global

The December proof round at Geno once again proved that the larger daughter numbers in Norwegian Red sire proofs guarantee accurate rankings. This proof round had no surprises as far as the previous sire line-up is concerned. All of the top sires ranked the same, with the ”All-Rounder,” Raastad, 252NR10115, at the top, with the same Total Merit Index (TMI) of 26.

Raastad, 252NR10115, is positive in all departments for production: milk, fat, protein, and the percentages with an overall index for production of 110, putting him in the top 2% of the breed! His daughters are two standard deviations above the breed for udders at 122, and rate high across the board! For daughter fertility his index is 108, and to cap it off Raastad’s index for non-return rates on his daughters in milk is 113, which means he is easily in the top 2% for fertility. For mastitis, his index is 103, and for all other diseases he is in the top 1.5 % with an index of 118! Where can you find a sire that will produce milky, healthy, fertile daughters with splendid udders? Use Raastad, 252NR10115, with complete confidence on cows as he is above the Norwegian Red breed average of 2% difficult calvings and 2.6% stillbirths, and you can only succeed!

Following on in second place once again is Hjulstad, 252NR10245, the greatest udder sire ever proven in Norway, with the same 25 TMI as last round, transmitting four standard deviations above the breed for udders (139), and 1.5 standard deviations above for daughter fertility and mastitis resistance. This sire is best suited for herds in cheese production, as he improves percentage protein (108), however he will not improve milk, fat or protein yields , as he is slightly below the breed average (89, 89 and 94, respectively) in these traits. He can be used to the greatest advantage on highly productive cows and heifers needing improvement in udders, mastitis resistance and female fertility.

The most exciting news in this proof round is that a newly proven sire, Velsvik, 252NR10432, comes in third place in the rankings with a TMI of 24! Like Hjulstad just above him, this sire has a high rating for percent protein (114) but he is a terrific “fat lifter” with indices of 136 for percentage fat and 110 for fat yield. This, coupled with across the board improvement for fertility of his daughters (124) and extremely high mastitis and other diseases resistance (110 and 118, respectively ) and also very easy calving and low stillbirth ratings as a sire and a maternal sire, make Velsik a logical choice for crossing on milky Holsteins, or Brown Swiss, either heifers or cows. His daughters are pleasing for milking speed and temperament as well! He will displace Braut in many markets, although he does not equal Braut in production!

During the last proof round we saw Bosnes, 252NR10402, graduate with tremendous production credits, and an overall rating of 21. With the advantages of youth, he maintained that rating in this round and vaulted over Haga, 252NR10039, and Haugseth, 252NR10032, both of which slipped down to 20! Bosnes fills the production slot among the top rated Geno sires, with an overall milk index of 121, putting him right at the top 1% of all sires proven in the breed for the combination of milk, fat, and protein yield and percentages. He leaves them medium in size, with excellent fertility (105), better than breed average resistance to mastitis (101) and high resistance to other diseases (114). With an overall rating of 111 for udders, Bosnes may need a little protection in fore udder attachment, but udder floor distance is excellent (108) and this sire leaves quiet daughters.

Both Haga, 252NR10039, and Haugseth, 252NR10032, have maintained high TMI‘s of 20 in this latest round of proofs, and these sires have seen very heavy use world-wide. Haga, 252NR10039, is an udder (121) and fertility (121) specialist, with excellent production (107), while Haugseth, 252NR10032, is still an “All- Rounder” with positive indices for production (110), female fertility (102), mastitis (109), and udders (105) (and has sexed semen available).

Another newly proven sire, Halsne, 252NR10406, has excellent production indices for milk (115), fat (120), protein (119) and percentages (107 and 103 for fat and protein, respectively). This sire has 140 daughters in the production proof to date, so his proof may shift a little next round. He does have a positive proof for both mastitis resistance (101) and other diseases (114), and transmits tall daughters (stature of 113), is breed average for heart girth, and leaves daughters with plenty of distance between udder floor and ground (107) and desirable slope to the rump. Feet and legs and udders score above breed average, at 107 and 105, respectively. This sire is a son of the well known Swedish Red sire, Peterslund.

A great team of sires with ratings at 17 await your consideration. They include Braut, 252NR10177, who transmits very easy calving (109), high production (111), high daughter fertility (105), improved feet and legs (115), and improved udders (106) and who is enormously popular world-wide. Braut has the added advantage of extremely high fertility as a service sire. Most Norwegian Red sires have a non-return rate at the least 5% higher than Holstein service sires, but Braut is the most fertile of the team!

A son of the great Ulsaker, Haga II, 252NR10278, settles in at 17 in his overall TMI. He transmits excellent production (106), high daughter fertility (111), and terrific udders (118) that are positive across the board, along with fast milking speed (118) and pleasing temperament (104). A paternal half- brother, Holund, 252NR10285, transmits a similar pattern, leaving moderately productive daughters (104), with splendid udders (131) and improvement in both fertility (105) and mastitis (104), with tall daughters (stature of111), large heart girth (109) and lovely shallow udders (110). This bull is the ideal mate for high milk cows requiring improvement in mastitis resistance and fertility!

A couple of heterozygous polled sires round out the Geno team. Arsvoll, 252NR10439, a newly proven red sire at TMI 17, heads the polled sire team, with high producing (110) exceptionally fertile (122) daughters. His daughters are breed average for resistance to mastitis, superior in resistance to other diseases (109), and have sound udders with strong mid ribs (117). Arsvoll is a good mate for taller heifers and cows, transmits easy calving (108), and is breed average (about 2%) for stillbirth rates as a service sire.

The second highest ranking polled sire, Aasheim, 252NR10183, has seen extensive service in the United States with a TMI of 16, and similar breeding patterns to his paternal half-brother, Braut. Aasheim will improve production across the board, with an overall index for production of 114, improves daughter fertility (115), and leaves desirable udders (108) and feet and legs (108). In summary, a great team of NRF sires are ready to create crossbred cows that produce and are fertile, healthy and profitable!

The Geno sire line-up has never had more genetically robust leaders than right now. Invest in crossing traditional European and North American dairy breeds to the Norwegian Reds, the only breed that transmits improvement in production, udder health, resistance to ketosis and other diseases, and female reproduction. Norwegian Red sires also minimize calf losses and start the heifer or cow off to a good lactation because of an easy calving.

270 participants (dairy farmers, advisors, representatives from the milk industry and editors) from all over Europe attended the EDF congress in Cork, Ireland. What is needed in Ireland, and the animals that were showcased in visits to 3 farms, are “easy care,” long lasting animals that are capable of producing large quantities of milk from grazed grass consumption (average over 60%) and that produce a calf every 365 days. And, to be able to utilize the grass as efficiently as possible they need compact calving.

Farm visits: During the congress all participants visited 3 farms with Norwegian Red (NRF) crosses. This was done in groups of 20 – which gave people the chance for dialouge (and there were A LOT of questions !!!).

One farmer hosting a tour, Tom Dunne (200 cows, started crossbreeding in 2000) finds that the NRF crosses are back in calf at a much higher rate than Holstein, they are easy calvers and the calves are quickly on their feet and ready for life. Incidents of mastitis were around 5-6%. He also has no problem with legs. He started breeding with Swedish Red in 2000 – but in his opinion the NRF are better for fertility so now he only uses NRF. His intention was to use 2-way cross (Holstein x NRF) but has decided to ONLY use NRF since fertility is the main focus for him. This spring has been terrible in Ireland (cold with a lot of rain) putting stress on the cows – all the purebred NRF cows (he had a few from the trial) were in calf after 1st insemination. In the rest of the herd he was having problems this year. One of his purebred NRF cows was now in her 7th lactation – and pregnant again after 1st insemination.

Tom noted that his bull calves were sold to Italy at a price between 80-120 Euro (which was a low price compared to last year). This made the UK farmers almost weep – they have to pay 8 Euros per bull calf (Holstein) to have them slaughtered.

Another farmer on the tour, Shane Fitzgerald (160 cows) started crossbreeding in 2002 due to infertility problems. Shane was (as he stated himself) VERY skeptical to crossbreeding. When he started he tried various breeds in his herd. He started with 15 NRF crosses and of these he still had 14 of them now in their 4th lactation. He said the NRF had highly improved his fertility and he now had a calving interval of 368 days. He had also noticed a health benefit in the herd after starting crossbreeding. For the future he would continue to crossbreed with NRF, Jersey and Holstein.

A report from a third farm that was part of the tour was provided by Rasmus Lang-Ree, chief editor for BUSKAP as follows:
Joe Mulcahy and his son John operate a farm with 156 cows and 90 ha of land. They practice intensive grazing with a grazing period of 308 days. The milk yield is 5,177 kg ECM and the break-even point low because low cost production. The farm participates in the Moorepark study and Joe said that the Norwegian red cows are very impressive because of overall health status and fertility. Their milk volume is as good as the Holsteins and the solids are only very slightly behind. – The Norwegian red crosses are very good animals for a big herd because they are low maintenance and go back in calf with very little effort and cycle apporox 19 days after calving, Joe told the EDF- members during the visit at his farm.

There can be little doubt about the leading elite Norwegian Red sire living today! He is Raastad 252NR10115, a true “All Rounder”! Raastad managed to nudge out his closest rival, Hjulstad, in a proof round which saw the top ten sires essentially ranking as in March, 2009. Consistant sire rankings from run to run is bound to inspire dairy farmer confidence in a sire proving system and once again the Geno system demonstrates this important credential.

Raastad’s proof changes very little, at an overall Total Merit Index (TMI) of 27, shifting upwards one point to 111 for production, with high protein (110) and fat yield (114) and %’s (105 and 110), respectively, and slightly downwards for a remarkable fourth overall ranking for udders (124), with 109 on daughter fertility and 103 and 114, respectively, for resistance to mastitis and other diseases. His fertility as an elite sire in Norway has also contributed to his popularity. We recommend him for use on lactating cows as he is below the Norwegian Red breed average for calving ease and stillbirth frequency, even though he has seen extensive service on yearling heifers in Norway. A true production and udder leader, transmitting daughter fertility and health traits! Some of the most knowledgeable dairy operators in the world are using this sire very heavily. You cannot go wrong on Raastad!

Bumped to # 2 ranking by a single TMI point at 26, stands Hjulstad 252NR10245 the leading udder sire in the Geno lineup with an overall udder conformation rating of 141, the highest rating yet achieved by an Elite Norwegian Red sire. Hjulstad ranks fourth among active sires for mastitis resistance at 116, and is also in the top ½ % of all NR sires for female fertility at 116. He is an easy calver, consequently he is a great choice for yearling heifer breedings. He is slightly below the Norwegian Red breed average for milk, fat, and protein yield (93) but a significant improver for protein % (110) so he is a logical choice for high production dairy breeds for crossing purposes, and should result in crosses with exceptional udders, reproduction and health, thus complementing the Holstein perfectly.

Two sires, Haugseth 252NR10032 and Haga, 252NR10039 are tied for third rank with TMI‘s of 25! Each of these offers a unique genetic package. Haugseth, a perennial “All Rounder” improves all key economic traits significantly and is relatively easy calving, so he currently is in production of sexed semen and is a solid choice for yearling breedings. His fertility is way above the breed average for NR sires on matings as a mature sire in Norway, since he returned to service three years ago, so we expect his sexed semen to be highly fertile too! He leaves daughters with pleasing production (111), exceptional fertility (111) and resistance to mastitis and other diseases (110 and 108), respectively, and soundly attached udders (106). Use sexed semen from this fine sire on your yearlings!
Haga 252NR10039 also ranks third highest at a TMI of 25 and is a perennial favourite in Norway and around the world, excelling in his own fertility and leaving daughters with the highest fertility (127) of any active sire, as well as beautiful, snugly attached udders (122) with quality to burn. Haga has excellent calving performance, so he may be used on heifers. He is just below the Norwegian sire average for mastitis resistance (96), but will improve this trait in other breeds and his daughters are highly resistant to other diseases (110). He is a solid improver for all production traits including %’s with an overall production index of 107.

A new arrival in the top ranking five sires is Holund, 25210285 a ¾ brother to Hjulstad, with a TMI of 21. He contrasts nicely with his brother, with an overall production index of 107, improving all traits but fat %. Holund is an “All Rounder” with 104 on daughter fertility, 106 on mastitis resistance and sterling 132 on udder conformation! These Ulsaker sons will see extensive service in crossing programs around the world, and Holund looks like a solid choice, being an easy calver (108) with low stillbirths (109) and very desirable fertility as a service sire. I like this sire’s proof!

There are three elite sires at 20, and two of the three are very desirably proven. Braut 252NR10177, very popular globally, is an easy calver (111) with low stillbirths (111) more than suitable for yearling matings. Braut transmits high production (111) for yield and %’s (105), excellent daughter fertility (106) and very desirable udders (108), particularly high in the rear attachment (125). Fore udders are a trifle bulgy on occasion (98), so protect him in matings for this trait. This sire is very popular in the USA and Canada.

Haga II 252NR10278, another Ulsaker son is also an “All Rounder “ with a very well balanced proof for production(107) daughter fertility (111) calving ease (101) with low stillbirths (110), as well as excellent udders (118) and mastitis resistance (101). He might be called the “Robot” sire, as his daughters are exceptional in teat placement, as Haga II leaves front teats close together and rear teats wide apart. This makes him the logical mate for Holsteins that have rear teats touching or crossing, as this kind is a problem in robot milking systems. Be sure to note Haga II‘s Reg. # 252NR10278, when using him, as he has the same name as Haga 252NR10039 above, since they were bred by the same breeder! In Norway the breeder’s name often is assigned to the bulls he breeds!

Sand 252NR10232, maintains a very high TMI at 19, excelling in all departments with the exception of daughter fertility (93) where he is just below the NR sire average. All sires, of course, average 100 for all traits except for Total Merit Index (TMI), where the average is 0.0!
Aasheim, 252NR10183, at TMI 16 is a very popular easy calving polled sire with top production across the board (114), excellent udders (110) and daughter fertility (115), and he has sexed semen becoming available right away!

In summary, Ulsaker, 252NR05277 is going down in history as a very desirable bull sire, with several notable sons already at the top of the proof listings, including the 2nd, 5th and 6th ranking sires in the active sire lineup. Any of these three sons, Hjulstad, Holund, and Haga II will transmit improvement in a balanced package!

I had a very nice Email from Gerry Plester, owner of Chemainus Farms Ltd., who is participating in a major way on the Canadian Norwegian Red x Holstein vs. pure Holstein comparison trial. Gerry and family have a beautiful dairy on Vancouver Island. He is currently milking 27 Norwegian Red x Holstein heifers, and sent me their projected records with the following comments. “This represents all of our Norwegian cross cows to date, except for one heifer who got mastitis and was only slightly below the others. And will have to be culled. We have 6 more that were too fresh to project on test day Mar. 2, 2009, and 3 more to calve. All these heifers are great to work with, conception is excellent, notably better than Holstein first calvers.”

The records on the 27 crossbreds average on a Canadian age-adjusted basis 270, 318 and 280 Breed Class Average using the Holstein age adjustment factors. These convert to a very high Mature Equivalent average for our American friends of 31,482 lb ME milk, 1364 lb ME fat and 1016 lb ME protein. More impressive is the comparison of actual 305-day milk fat and protein of these Norwegian Red crosses to their Holstein first lactation herdmates. They average +814 lb ABOVE their Holstein first lactation herdmates for milk, 48 lb of fat for actual 305-day fat, and 26 lb higher for actual protein yield in 305 days. Little wonder that Gerry is ordering Norwegian Red semen from our elite Norwegian Red sires!

The commercial dairy industry in the Republic of Ireland is dependent on annual calving of 100-150 cows per farm, and efficient milk solids production from grass. This industry has now accepted a fine research project carried out on 50 farms by Moorepark Research Centre on the Norwegian Red as a breed to cross over Holsteins, Holstein-Friesians and Jersey x Holstein crosses for commercial cheese production. The study has verified that the Norwegian Red crosses on Black-and-Whites are much more fertile, reduce mastitis problems and lameness, and last much longer than the purebred Holsteins. Farmers are now using Norwegian Red (NR) Elite proven sires in their across-the-herd AI breedings in very significant numbers in preference to Jersey sires, which started the crossing programs in Ireland, as well as across the board on their Holstein cows or Holstein-Friesians. They find the NR x HF cows are closer in size and yield to the Holstein-Friesians, than the Jersey x Holstein-Friesian crosses, bringing more at culling, that their bull calves are in demand for fattening, and that the cows have higher milk solids yield. No doubt some will opt to include the Jersey in a three-breed rotational cross, but it is also likely that many will settle on a two-breed rotation with NR and Holsteins used every other generation. Geno Global, the Norwegian AI Breeding firm trademarks this rotational cross the TWOPLUS cross!

Some farmers in Ontario and Western Canada and the USA are now expressing expanded interest in the Norwegian Red breed as a large trial in Canada reaches its third year. Over 450 NRxHO heifers are in milk, and they are actually milking within 70 kg at 305 days of their pure Holstein herdmates with 5-10 kg more fat and protein. Moreover the NRxHO crosses have substantially lower mastitis problems and breed back fast. Preliminary data indicate less than 1% death losses in the NRxHO during their first lactations, and this figure is now being compared to rather higher wastage rates for purebreds in the 60+ herds on the trial. Culling rates also look to be very low. Farmers are just beginning to realize that crossbred cows are trouble-free and they last longer with lower death and culling rates. One mid-western USA dairyman, who is also a veterinarian, tells me that since crossing his 850-cow herd to Norwegian Reds over the past six years, he is producing more heifers than he needs to maintain cow numbers, and has been able to expand his herd 10% per year over the past 3 years, and cull out problems cows at the same time. He and his brother have young family members interested in the business and are putting up new barns. Crossing to Norwegian Reds is a simple way to grow a dairy business without the capital outlay and health risks of buying in cows for herd expansion. With sexed semen now available from top proven NR sires, one can accelerate heifer production even faster!

Read more in April 18, 2009 Irish Farmer’s Journal article: “Norwegian Red crossbred – an Irish solution?”.

Livestock News | 9 April, 2009

Simon Wragg and Katie Lomas continue their report from the British Society of Animal Science’s (BSAS) annual conference.

by Dr. Ted Burnside, Technical Advisor, Geno Global

One of the frequently asked questions in our visits with Dairy Farm Operators, Managers and Owner – Operators  is, “How do I decide what breeds to use in my rotational dairy crossing program?”  We believe this decision is an important one, and it requires some thought and careful evaluation.  From time to time we notice attempts to compare the merit of breeds using the average milk production of different breeds, even in different countries. This approach is not very sound or practical.  Geno Global, the USDA, the University of Wisconsin, and the Norwegian Agricultural Research Council are working jointly to make comparisons of different dairy breeds and breed crosses in large commercially oriented farms which are dedicated to research. Data are accumulating, and being analysed carefully by University scientists, to make within herd comparisons which are meaningful.  We will eventually have facts for farmers to use in decision making about which breeds to cross. Some very exciting facts about breed crossing are also emerging in Canada, the Republic of Ireland and even in the hot climates of Iran and Israel.  In the meantime,  here are some basic ways to make  good sound decisions on which breeds to incorporate into your crossing rotation.

1)      Always base your decisions on which breed to use on  performance of large breed or crossbreed groups and within herd comparisons.  If the cattle are fed and cared for in a similar way, you can then make accurate decisions.  We recently visited for a half-hour with the management team of a large western dairy operation.  They had made a decision to crossbreed using the Holstein and Jersey breeds by comparing a pen of 100 each of purebred Holstein heifers in first lactation to a similarly-aged pen of Jersey X Holstein first-calvers, balanced by calving date.  The Crossbreds produced just ½ lb /heifer  less milk/day, than the Holsteins, but took 7 lb./cow/day less dry matter in feed consumption and settled in calf using 1.25 fewer A.I. services/heifer.  We had within herd data on Norwegian Red x Holstein crossbreds compared to purebred Holsteins and on the basis of our properly analysed comparisons, Norwegian Red was chosen as the third breed for a three-breed rotational crossing program.  This is a very sound method of making decisions.  Large herds can design and execute comparisons in-house, and we are more than willing to help you to design the trials you need, and to assist you in analysing and interpreting the results.  We are working with over 50 herds across the USA right now!

2)      Consider your milk market!  Producers who are looking at fluid sales tend to favour high production breeds like Holstein, Brown Swiss and Norwegian Reds.  A Penn State University study of  USA DHI data from Brown Swiss crosses on Holsteins compared to purebred Holsteins on a within herd basis showed the crosses were as productive as the Holsteins and superior for fertility and somatic cell counts.  Similar data are now emerging in a Canadian 70-herd crossing project which will compare 1000 Norwegian Red crosses on Holsteins to  several thousand purebred Holstein herdmates.  Based on these data Norwegian Reds and Brown Swiss breeds should cross on Holstein and give you similar fat and protein yields with much lower incidence of mastitis, superior fertility and higher liveability of calves, heifers and cows.  If for some reason you don’t like Brown Swiss, then a two-breed crossing program which we call TWOPLUS can get you high production, and greatly reduced costs of production for fertility, disease and calf and cow liveability.  A two-breed vs. three-breed cross reduces the maximum heterosis or hybrid vigour by about 20 %. Hybrid vigour for production is only 5%, so going down to 2 breeds may cause a loss of production of only 1% and if the two breeds used have much greater numbers of proven sires to choose from and a much superior A.I. progeny testing system and/or a more sensible breeding goal,  these factors will dwarf the 20% difference in hybrid vigour.

3)      If you are in a cheese producing market for your milk, then Holsteins, Jerseys, and Norwegian Reds can give you a medium sized cow with production, high solids,  easy calving and improved fertility and cows that will last!  Using a two-breed crossing program with Jerseys and Norwegian Reds may be your choice if you want small cows as specified by a Texas dairyman recently.  This may also work well if your free-stalls are too small to accommodate Holsteins or Swiss crosses.  Consideration of the physical plant where the cows work and the market you are gearing up for are very important practical points in deciding on breeds for crossing.

4)      Consider the breeding goals of the candidate breeds in relation to your cow herd’s current breeding goal! For Example; if you have been selecting for high production on your Holstein herd, but can no longer live with depressed cow fertility, sickness, and cow and calf losses, you should be looking for the breed which attaches the highest or nearly highest selection pressure to the traits that need improvement most in that Holstein cow herd! Namely, female fertility, disease resistance and  calf and cow viability!  You guessed right! Norwegian Red breeding goals ‘Complement’  Holstein breeding goals admirably!  In crossbreeding parlance we look for breeds that have ‘complementarity’! 

Table 1  Shows that the Norwegian Red  breeding goals really are strong where the Holstein goals are relatively weak and vice versa.  This is a good example of breeding goals that ‘Complement ‘ each other!

Holstein Indices like TPI and LPI put a lot of emphasis on milk and solids production,  and conformation other than the udder, but little on disease resistance, using SCC as a predictor of mastitis incidence, and relatively little emphasis on female fertility. They are just starting to focus on calving ease and stillbirth levels of newborn calves.  In Canada we are just starting to measure incidence of disease.  We have found there is real genetic  variation in disease incidence if we get enough daughters per sire to measure it accurately!  Norwegian Red cattle have been selected with heavy emphasis for these traits for 8 to 10 or more cow generations!  That is why Norwegian Red (NR) sires cross well with breeds like Holstein, Jersey and their crosses.  The NR sire brings into the cross genes which are complementary to the genes carried by North American Dairy cattle breeds!

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Table 1.  Comparison of Breeding Goals  - Emphasis in %’s for Different Traits

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  Traits                                    NRF  Breeding     Holstein    Holstein 

                                                             Goal                 TPI                 Net Merit     

Production                                    28                   45                       46

Mastitis Resistance                      21 (SCC)          5 (SCS)                9

Female Fertility                            18                    8                         9 Udders                                         15                    10                       6

Legs & Feet                                   6                       5                       3

Temperament                                2                       -                        -

Resistance to Other Diseases       2                       -                        -

Milking Speed                                1                       -                        -

Calving Ease / Stillbirths Lower    1                    2/1                     6

Misc.- Growth Rate/Meat             6 (Type/       13/10 (Size/      4/17 

                                                            Prod. Life)           Prod. Life)

5)      Consider if the progeny testing programs for each breed are powerful or relatively  weak!  This dictates if you have ample choices for good sires!  We can make these comparisons by asking a few questions like for example:

How many milk recorded cows in the breed ? For Norwegian Reds – 250,000 milk recorded cows! For Finnish Ayrshires -  about 200,000 milk recorded cows.  For Swedish Reds  - 135,000 milk recorded cows! For Danish Reds – 50,000 milk recorded cows!

How many young bulls progeny tested each year, giving us more scope for selection? For Norwegian Reds – 130 young bulls/year!  For Finnish Ayrshires – 125 young bulls/year;  For Swedish Reds – 75 young bulls/year! For Danish Reds - 50/year!

How many daughters  in first official proofs for  each sire proven, which tells us how accurate the proofs are ? For Norwegian Reds – 250 daughters /sire; For Finnish Ayrshires -  160 daughters/sire;  For Swedish Reds – 160/sire;  For Danish Reds – 100/sire.  Note that all of the Scandinavian Red breeds have much higher numbers of daughters/sire when they get an official proof. Thus, selection for traits can be more accurate than within North American Dairy Breeds which usually get only  50 to 100 daughters in first official proofs.  Genomic selection may help us to get more accuracy in production and conformation but not for the health and fertility traits!  More on that later!

In Summary: You guessed right again, if you chose to use Norwegian Red sires!  The Norwegian Red Progeny Test program is much more able to deliver superior proven sires with accurate proofs that don’t change!  Norwegian Red sires are from the only breed significantly improved for female fertility (1.7 A.I. services/conception), lower calf losses (2.7% of calves die at birth) and mastitis resistance (10-12% incidence/year and low incidence of ketosis and other common problems!  They can also dehorn your calves genetically!  Contact www.genoglobal.no  for sire proofs and advisor information!

A recent visit to Wisconsin and Iowa dairies reveals growing interest in industrial crossing of dairy herds among owners of large operations.  Some are now actively initiating programs in 50 to 100 % of their milking herds.  A number stated they were going to a complete crossing program,  and sited the superior fertility, vigor and health  of their crossbred herds as the reasons for the switch away from purebreds.

Please look at this Large Herd Operators in USA Swing to Dairy Breed Crossing document for a full report.

These Californians are not just “dreamin’”…