VH Bernell at the top of proven bulls in the Netherlands Long-term strong partnership pays off and our distributor in the Netherlands has a precise approach to progressive dairy farmers. V ikingHolstein bulls are positioned among the best Holstein bulls in the market in the Netherlands. VH Bernell is the Number One daughter proven Holstein bull in the Netherlands, and VH Bosman is also performing excellently. “This is an amazing result in a country with very strong competition from semen producers from all over the world”, says Claus Langdahl, Senior Holstein Breeding Mana ger at VikingGenetics. He adds that the work of our distributor Koole & Liebregts B.V. plays a large role in the achievement of these splendid results. “VH Bernell and VH Bosman are being promoted intensively together with other top VikingHolsten bulls by Koole & Liebregts B.V. VikingHolsteins are being used in pure Holstein farms, but Procross herds also contribute to the high number of doses sold”, he says. VikingGenetics in the Netherlands has again proven to show a good growth through a long-term partnership with our partner Koole & Liebregts B.V. who are among our top five distributors. They performed a solid growth in 2019 and this seems to be continuing in 2020. Koole & Liebregts B.V. is a private owned company with a strong group of highly skilled owners and salespersons, who take great pride in their work and always use all available tools in their daily work. A huge part of their work is also arranging smaller meetings with groups of farmers, where knowledge can be exchanged and the latest news can be presented. Koole & Liebregts B.V. work directly with farmers, but have also established a strong network with other smaller private resellers, and thereby they are doing a great job representing the core values of VikingGenetics: health, fertility and productivity. “In short, they are leading to sustainable, profitable cows, benefitting the farmers in the Netherlands in their earning and daily work”, Langdahl adds. Daughter fertility - a main reason for culling Poor fertility is the most frequent reason for culling in most of the world and thereby also underlines the need for keeping a full focus on improving female fertility, together with achieving progress in production. When we talk about culling, there are two groups that we need to distinguish: 1. Voluntary culling 2. Involuntary culling Voluntary culling is when the farmer is in a situation to select which of his animals to cull. This could, for example, be when he thinks the cow is not producing enough. Involuntary culling is when the farmer is forced to cull the cow because it is too costly to keep her. This is, for example, when she has chronicle mastitis or poor fertility leading to a very long calving interval and low production. Below you will see the five most common culling reasons for Holstein in VikingGenetics’ home markets. Poor fertility is the most frequent reason for culling and accounts for 21.6% of all registrations. When culling is related to poor fertility, it is always involuntary. The second highest reason is udder diseases (16.0%) and then the voluntary culling reason “low yield” (15.5%). How to lower culling When culling is related to poor fertility, it is always involuntary. With a consistent focus on fertility in your breeding strategy, you can achieve higher profitability. Herds with a higher production level can achieve bigger savings from improved fertility, because every day without milk costs more. Tabel 1: Top culling reasons for Holstein. Culling reasons Holstein Top 1 Poor fertility (21.6%) Top 2 Udder diseases (16.0%) Top 3 Low yield (15.5%) Top 4 Feet and leg diseases (11.7%) Top 5 Other diseases (9.5%) Source: VikingGenetics. 28 INNOVATIVE BREEDING MAY 2020
Download PDF file