A.I. & Breeding

Progressive Dairy recently asked leading experts from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding to provide an update on their work to better understand dairy cattle hoof health and reduce lameness via genetic solutions.

There’s no question about it: Beef-on-dairy breeding is red-hot right now. Stud companies are not the only ones catering their beef inventories toward dairy customers.

The cost to raise a heifer from birth to freshening is hard to calculate. You don’t actually write a check for every replacement heifer expense.

As milk prices continue to waver, dairy producers across the country are looking down different avenues for profit. One that seems to be growing in popularity is the practice of breeding the bottom end of a herd with beef semen and selling the crossbred calves at a higher market value.

Is the modern dairy cow less fertile than 20, 30 and 40 years ago? Some would say, yes.

The genetics of feed efficiency was the central focus of the 2020 Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) industry meeting held via Zoom on Nov. 2. One of the latest Holstein genetic traits to be released with Dec. 1 evaluations is Feed Saved, which will aid in breeding more feed-efficient cows.