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How Do Dairy Cows Make Milk? Link to Dairy Education Australia's "How Do Dairy Cows Make Milk?".

Breeding Values - Black and White, New Zealand Downloadable Excel File. Sourced from http://www.nrs.nl/index-eng.htm.

A hardy breed THE Montbeliarde breed originated in the mountains of eastern France and was first registered as a pure breed in 1888. Hamilton dairy farmer Bruce Weir has bred Montbeliarde cows and recently took an overseas trip to France to see the breed in its natural environment. “I was very impressed with the cows. They’re good rugged animals,” he says. Mr Weir says the tough climate of the France’s alpine areas has made Montbeliarde a hardy breed capable of handling extreme hot and cold conditions. On his visit, he witnessed Montbeliarde cattle still happily eating grass in temperatures of 38degC. Another advantage of the breed is strong legs and feet also developed by the tough conditions the breed experiences in its native country. The breed is perfect for use over dairy cows that need to put on more condition and this is already being done in the US and UK with great results showing through in the progeny. Some of the advantages include higher fertility rates in daughters compared to their mothers, better udders, and stronger legs and feet. “If they can do that here, there has got to be value in it. They’re a breed suitable for cross breeding in New Zealand and I know that for sure,” says Bruce. The Montbeliarde breed is now one of the biggest breeds of cow in France, second only to Holstein Friesian’s but the numbers of both animals are now growing at an equal rate. Contact Samen NZ for more information about their range of Montbeliarde bulls available from Coopex.

Outcross Genetic — Answer to inbreeding

Samen NZ offers a wide range of outcross genetics. By outcross
we mean a sire-line up not excessively used in NZ by the two
major AI companies.

Recent studies have indicated that inbreeding have a greater
impact than had previously been suspected. Overseas and NZ
research have proven that inbreeding levels higher than 6% will
result in reduced production, health, vigour and fertility.

In NZ cost of production loss, in the case of father daughter matings
(25% inbreeding), is at least $700 per lifetime. Losses for fertility
are estimate at 12.5% per lifetime. Longevity and animal
health costs are on top of that.

Diversity in bloodlines is declining rapidly with the two major AI
companies in NZ using high-ranking sires more and more intensively
though the use of fresh semen.

Computer mating systems are only a safeguard when record keeping
is at 100% accuracy - with at least 3 generations of ancestry
recorded. This is an unlikely scenario on NZ dairy farms where
most animals will not meet these criteria.

A short-term solution, which may not suit everyone’s breeding
objective, is cross breeding with other breeds. The only long-term
solution to minimise inbreeding is to use at least 20% of outcross
bloodlines.

The few extra dollars you may spend using Samen outcross
genetics in combination with your chosen bull team, will by far outweigh
the damage done by inbreeding. Any loyalty rebates that
you may receive by using just a single source of genetics could
cost you more in the long run.

Dutch and British Friesian — Another Outcross Option

British and Dutch Friesians offer a unique opportunity to use
black and white genetics that are virtually unrelated to North
American Holsteins bloodlines.

Dutch Friesians were imported from the Netherlands to the UK in
the 1800’s and some have remained distinct and separate from
Holstein bloodlines since that time.

In the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world, Dutch and British
Friesians have a reputation for good fertility, high components,
longevity and beef production.

In Holland the average fertility score for Dutch Friesian bulls is
109 compared to a base average of 100.

Use Dutch and British Friesian sires on extreme dairy cows to
moderate dairy form.