THE BREEDS IN THE STUDY Two-crosses between Holstein (HOL) and VikingRed (RDM). The breeds under the ProCROSS (Holstein x RDM x Montbeliarde) and VikingGoldenCross (Holstein x RDM x Jersey) were also compared. SIMHERD IN BRIEF The breeding consultants in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, use SimHerd to help set the best breeding strategy in their herds and calculate the economic impact of different management changes. “ Crossbred cows live longer, so you don’t need as many replacement animals, resulting in a smaller youngstock herd. Ruth Davis Kring, Consultant at SimHerd. The amount of methane per kg ECM is lower for both the two-way and three-way crosses, 4.2%, 4.7% and 6.6% respectively. Holstein HOL X RDM HOL X RDM HOL X RDM X MON X JER ECM, kg 10,554 -70 -140 -318 Replacement rate, % 40.7 -6.3 -7.7 -7.8 Youngstock 195 -33 -39 -42 Calving interval, days 397 -6 -8 -9 Mastitis* 35.5 -2.9 -1.2 -0.1 Net herd profit, €** 2,175 +92 +101 +37 g CH4/kg ECM*** 20.01 -0.84 -0.95 -1.33 diff CH4, % -4.2 -4.7 -6.6 * Disease treatment per 100 cows. ** Per cow-year. *** Output based on the SimHerd methane model. Crossbreds earn +$0.34 more per day The trial which revealed this performance was carried out by the University of Minnesota over a period of 10 years. T he report was published in the Journal of Dairy Science and concludes that crossbred dairy cattle which combine the Holstein, Montbéliarde and VikingRed breeds, are US$0.34 (25p, 0.28€) more profitable per day of life than the pure Holstein. The drivers behind the improved profitability were numerous but can be summed up in the -4% reduction in their costs of production, countered by a small reduction in daily income of just -1%. This increased the crossbreds’ daily profitability by +9% (+$0.34/+25p/+0.28€). Highly complementary breeds Dr Amy Hazel, lead author of the JDS report, says: “The breeds used in the trial were very complemen- tary, the Holstein offering production and udder traits; the Montbéliarde bringing fertility, body condition and strength; and the VikingRed featuring calving traits, udder health and fertility. Furthermore, the three breeds are complementary for stature, helping to bring size uniformity and ease of management.” She added: “To ensure a fair comparison in the study, it was important that we used the best available genetics for each of the sire breeds, including the pure Holstein.” Heterosis A further factor in the success of the three-way cross is the phenomenon of heterosis, otherwise known as hybrid vigour. This confers better performance on the progeny of unrelated animals than expected from their parent-average breeding indexes. All these factors were reflected in the performance of the cattle in the study, with improved health, fertility and lifespan all feeding into the reduced costs of pro- duction of the ProCROSS cattle. “In an era in which we must look carefully at the resources used, as well as the costs of producing any human food, these are important considerations,” she says. 13 INNOVATIVE BREEDING
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