Highlights August 2012

ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

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All-Holland Dairy Show 2012

Water management

Progeny groups and cows with high lifetime production wowed the crowds at the NRM.

Water is probably the most undervalued ingredient for milk production. In general, cows need three litres of water to produce one litre of milk.

6

LEROY Bolton son Leroy is the perfect example of what Italian breeding has to offer.

He combines high production with the show element.

7

AUgust index run brings new bulls that excel in health and protein

Firm foundations for efficient farming CRV’s new bulls excel in protein and health traits. With high scores for these traits, bulls like Silver, Refiner and Summit lay the foundations for an efficient herd. A herd of animals that is capable of reaching high lifetime production all on their own.

E

fficiency. That is also the key word with genomic bull Delta Solero.

His huge NVI (+250) is largely due to an excellent milk yield (+682kg) with the added benefit of a high protein content (+0.08%).

Together with his towering longevity (+703 days) and strong management traits (108 milking speed, 106 udder health) he will breed self-reliant, easy to manage cows.

The same applies to Delta Joaquim (+229 NVI, s. Cricket). He has positive scores on

Refiner daughter B Griet 114 allready produced 7241kg in 214 days

udder health (+107) and fertility (+102). On top of that, his conformation is exceptionally strong (111), including a sublime udder score (112).

is CRV’s highest newcomer on the black-and-white daughter proven list. He combines a high milk yield (+1309kg) with great longevity (+640 days), and is suitable for use on maiden heifers (111 calving ease).

A second Mascol son is De Biesheuvel Summit (+189 NVI). Summit is an all-round bull who transmits a lot of milk (+1211kg) and protein (+0.13%), strong conformation (108) and high longevity (+391 days).

Mascol sons rank highly

Ideal production transmitters

Cows that require no extra care and attention. These are the type of cows that allows you to run your farm efficiently.

And those are precisely the kind of cows Het Broek Silver (+215 NVI) breeds. Silver

Mascol son Delta Persuader (+234 NVI) is CRV’s highest ranked black-and-white daughter proven bull. He has a production CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >

TOP CRV SIRES ON NVI Following the release of the August 2012 proofs, CRV’s top available sires ranked on NVI are: HOLSTEINS – DAUGHTER PROVEN 1. Persuader 234 2. Cricket 223 3. Refiner NEW 219 4. Big Winner 210 5. Goli 205 6. Pilot 203 7. Impuls 202 8. Malaga 200 9. Paramount 191 10. Tempo NEW 190 HOLSTEINS – INSIRE 1. Titanium NEW 271 2. G-Force 262 3. Atlantic 257 4. Sunset 254 5. Solero NEW 250 RED HOLSTEINS – DAUGHTER PROVEN (RED-AND-WHITE BASE)

1. Kodak 2. Arnold 3. Maniac 4. Talentino 5. Fidelity

217 188 178 174 173

RED HOLSTEINS – INSIRE (RED-AND-WHITE BASE)

ALGER MEEKMA

1. Camion 250 2. Aram NEW 242 3. Direct NEW 223 4. Maicon 220 5. Asterix P 203

Summit is a new available daughter proven bull

2 PROOF NEWS

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

ALGER MEEKMA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Summit dauhter Dolly is very balanced

Leroy daughter Zara is a great producer

inheritance of 800kg milk with +0.05% protein, +536 days longevity and good management traits (102 fertility, 107 udder health) and all-round conformation (107). This makes him a shining example of CRV’s breeding goal of high and efficient lifetime production.

Slotbooms Pilot (+203 NVI) is the next Mascol son. He smashes the 200-point NVI barrier as he rises in longevity (currently 350 days), fertility (currently 101) and conformation (106 feet and legs, 111 total).

Manager son Delta Refiner (+219 NVI) descends from the famous Art-Acres Tex B family that has already produced bulls like Paramount and Win 395. Refiner climbed in the previous index run, but now he has improved his figures even more. His management traits are strong right down the line, including 107 udder health, 107 claw health and 108 calving ease. On top of that he notes a fantastic conformation score (111) with a truly outstanding udder score (110). This same applies to Zani Bolton Leroy (2019 TPI) who was awarded a US breeding value of 3.29 rear udder height and 3.07 rear udder width. He is also a real milk transmitter with +2062 lbs.

Where Leroy is a real milk yield transmitter, Veneriete 252 Tempo (190 NVI) transmits constituents. He scores +0.17% for protein. With positive scores for udder health (106), productivity, claw health, protein, and a high score for conformation, Tempo is one of the most complete Goldwyn sons. Tempo made his debut at the 2012 NRM with a stylish, youthful group of heifers before his official index with daughter information was published.

This also applies to the red-and-white genomic bull De Vrendt Aram (+242 NVI). A high milk yield (+649kg), good longevity (+584 days), great udder health and strong conformation, he has it all. And, as an added bonus, he has an interesting pedigree with Award x Fiction.

Another new red-and-white InSire is Lowlands Standard (169 nvi, Jasper x Gogo). Standard can really increase milk production in his offspring (+2,215 kg) and he also scores highly on conformation.

In the list of daughter proven bulls, Ju Tobias is CRV’s highest ranked bull with +187 NVI. This Lionel son out of a Kian daughter transmits a high milk yield (+906kg) and very good conformation (112), which he already displayed with his daughter group at the All-Holland Dairy Show in June. With 111 calving ease he is very suitable for use on maiden heifers.

The captain of this ranking is Topspeed Kodak (+217 NVI, Kevin x Stadel). He retains the pole position he acquired in the April 2012 index run. With his consistent scores, where he excels in longevity (696 days) and calving ease (112), he is an sire of outstanding quality.

Strong performing second crop

Ralma O-Man Cricket (+223 NVI) has been around for a while, but he still remains at the top of the rankings. With his high scores for udder health (110), fertility (105) and calving ease (105) he is the all-time health specialist.

The first second-crop daughters of his half-brother De-Su O-Man Goli are now milking and his NVI score remains above 200 points, with good production figures (+789kg of milk) and health traits.

Efficient top notch performance with red and white

Mixing the best black-and-white and red-and-white bulls has not only given Delta Direct (+223 NVI) the red-and-white colour, but also a special bloodline and an exceptionally complete package of inheritance traits. He’s strong on protein (+0.28%), high longevity (+381) and has very fine conformation (108). All these qualities mean he will suit many of cows.

ALGER MEEKMA

Koba is a daughter of CRV’s highest ranked black-and-white daughter proven bull Persuader

FOR DETAILED PROOF INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.GLOBAL.CRV4ALL.COM

COLUMN GRASSLAND ALLIANCE OFFERS FARMERS MORE POSSIBILITIES The growing world population, in combination with increasing wealth, will lead to more mouths to feed and more pressure on resources.

Cows are able to turn grass into valuable milk solids which can be used to feed people.

There is also a worldwide trend towards dairy operations that produce lots of milk solids through maximizing profit out of pasture. In this way, milk is produced with great efficiency.

This trend is supported by the Grassland Alliance. Here, breeding organisations NCBC (for more information see page 4) and CRV closely collaborate in the field of breeding, research and marketing, harnessing a unique combination of breeding programmes in Europe and New Zealand.

The Grassland Alliance has the world’s largest breeding programme of cattle to suit grass-based and grazing systems. It aims to identify the dairy genetics that are ideal for grazing systems and also to positively contribute to fertility in dairy herds globally.

The advantages of working together in the Grassland Alliance are the wider gene pool (8,000 to 10,000 animals are genotyped every year), the higher genetic level, greater genetic diversity and increased biosecurity.

This form of co-operation enables the partners to select and sell bulls with the genetic pattern that best suits the local grazing conditions in various countries.

And another important benefit: the bulls selected in Ireland and New Zealand are tested and evaluated under the same grazing conditions the cows will be producing in!

We are extremely proud to be able to offer you a fine selection of the very best grazing bulls from CRV and NCBC, both daughter-proven as well as genomically tested bulls.

Our goal is to offer solutions that answer the local dairy farming needs and systems.

In this respect we are very happy to announce that CRV-colleague Peter van Elzakker started working this month as our new global product manager in New Zealand for our grazing programme. Together with our product management team he will lead, guide and support our grazing business.

We are convinced that the Grassland Alliance will boost our efforts to provide extra tools for profitable farming, and we wish you lots of luck in achieving your goals!

Theo Gieling, international breeding specialist at CRV

NRM 2012 3

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

Progeny groups and cows with high lifetime production wowed the crowds at the NRM

All-Holland Dairy Show 2012 was a resounding success CRV welcomed more than 450 international visitors from all over the world during the week of the All-Holland Dairy Show (NRM). And judging by their enthusiastic reactions to the daughter groups and tours, they all had an excellent time in the Netherlands.

CRV AT THE All-Holland Dairy Show

O

NRM Party

n Friday June 29, CRV’s progeny groups entered the show ring at the NRM. CRV showed 10 progeny groups to the captivated audience, who came in large numbers to the IJsselhallen in Zwolle.

The evening of the first day of the AllHolland Dairy Show ended with a party at the IJsselhallen. A huge cow made from 30,000 balloons welcomed CRV employees and customers at the entrance, where a delicious buffet awaited them in a beautifully decorated hall. During the buffet the women belonging to dance group Stream! entertained the audience. The DJ then turned up the sound and the dance floor was extremely crowded. It was a very successful evening.

Progeny groups impress

The Curtis progeny group made a real impression at the All Holland Dairy Show. This Kian son showed cows with high production and conformation figures. Curtis is a bull who combines high milk production with power perfectly. His daughters are very well balanced and have an ideal rump angle. The udders of these daughters are outstanding – they are wide in the back, with a good central ligament and with teats that are placed centrally.

The Ormsby (by Shottle) progeny group also demonstrated a lot of quality. Each one of the daughters showed a lot of strength. And they all had very good udders, which make them ideal for producers looking to breed for good longevity.

The overall view of the daughters of top longevity bull Klimmer presented during the show was that these cows are good functional ‘farmers cows’. They are not show types, but are strong no-nonsense cows. Taco son Klimmer is free of Kian, Lightning and Stadel.

Pilot (s. Mascol) showed a uniform group of cows that excelled in dairy strength. With this, they showed that they have the ability to produce milk particularly easy and that they are easy to manage. He is a perfect sire to use for cows housed in cubicle sheds all around the world.

Champions in lifetime production

In addition to these progeny groups CRV showed a group of cows that have produced more than 100,000kg of milk or 100 tonnes of milk per cow. This new element in the NRM programme was a major success. It was a magical moment when these grand ladies of production were drawn up in a long line in the final. It was remarkable that the sires of almost all the cows in this category were CRV bulls. With the presentation of the 22 selected cows that produced more than 100,000kg of milk, CRV showcased itself to be the breeding organisation that is extremely focused on lifetime production. Not only were our international visitors impressed by the sight of these champions in lifetime production, but the spontaneous applause from the crowd showed that everybody seemed to enjoy watching these production champions!

International visitors lounge

Also during this year’s All-Holland Dairy Show, the international visitors’ lounge, which was refurbished with CRV’s new and fresh corporate design, was a popular place to relax, to have a drink and a snack and to have a chat with CRV employees and other guests. Besides this it was the place to find all the information concerning bulls, on-farm management and information products.

Varied programme

Classic remains creator of champions

A noteworthy fact is that two out of the three categories in the red-and-white show are won

by Classic (by Stadel) daughters. And in the third category a Classic daughter became the reserve champion. Barendonk Brasilera 12 (Classic x Taco) won the red-and-white junior category. It is the fourth time in a row that a Classic daughter has won the red-and-white junior title at the All-Holland Dairy Show.

Brook Marie 61 (Classic x Taco) took the red-and-white middle category title, retaining her 2010 championship title. And Barendonk Wilma 208 (Classic x Tulip) was reserve champion in the senior red-and-white class. A very impressive score and it shows that Classic’s high breeding values for conformation proves to be correct in practice! Classic, real class comes in red!

CRV’s lifetime production champions. These cows have each produced more than 100,000kg of milk

Meet-and-greet BBQ

Each time the All-Holland Dairy Show is organised, the Thursday evening of the NRM week is the evening of the meetand-greet BBQ. About 450 international guests arrived to the premises of the hospitable Siebenga family, based in Swifterbant, to get a taste of the different kinds of Dutch meat and salads. Luckily the weather gods were barbecueminded as well as it was a warm and sunny evening. When everyone had finished dinner and dessert, the Lithuanian bus driver started playing his accordion and the guests enjoyed a little dance. A perfect end to a meet-andgreet BBQ!

In the week prior to the All-Holland Dairy Show, CRV organised an attractive and varied programme for its international guests. The farm tours formed the main part on the agenda and these visits were enthusiastically received. It is the perfect opportunity to get a good impression of the Dutch dairy industry and, of course, of CRV progeny. A wide and diverse range of farms was selected for these farm tours, from small family farms to large enterprises. The hosts themselves guided the international groups through their barns, which always proves popular with both the host and the visitors. In this way, the guests get a clear view of the opinion of the producer about the CRV progeny in their barn and hear stories about these cows in everyday practice.

In addition to the farm tours, different workshops were organised. A couple of interesting management workshops were given and classification workshops were offered in order to clarify how the Dutch classify a cow.

Besides this, tours to a Dutch cheese farm, CRV’s International Logistical Centre, the Sexing Technologies Laboratory, and, not to forget, different tourist programmes were all laid on for visitors.

4 HOME AND ABROAD CRV trains Russian AI staff RUSSIA In April, CRV’s dairy management consultant Fokko Tolsma gave, in collaboration

with the AI organisation OAO Mockovskoe, a two-day practical course for managers and vets of large dairy farms in the vicinity of Moscow. And he also trained the AI centre staff for two days.

At a farm, with a 500-cow herd, the 20 ‘students for two days’ were taught about various farm management aspects, like feeding, housing and hoof health. In the morning and in the afternoon they took practical classes regarding these subjects. The farm concerned had a tie-stall barn equipped with a fully automatic feeding system with feed belts through all stalls. The herd’s average milk production was more than 6,000kg of milk.

During other two days, Fokko travelled 50km northeast of Moscow to train people at the Noginsk AI centre. During this training many technical management aspects were discussed, which were particularly important for the sales representatives of Moscovskoe. After the training, the group visited the bulls and the laboratory. The bulls were in perfect shape.

The next day, the team of the office in Moscow was trained by CRV’s dairy management consultant. In this training Fokko explained the characteristics of an ideal cow.

Training was obviously a success and well received because Moscovskoe has invited Fokko to come back to carry out more training later this year.

Fokko Tolsma in front of the bull barn of Moscovskoe with on his left the director and on his right the responsible for the international relations regarding bull purchase and two employees of the bull barn

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

CRV success at Romanian National Show ROMANIA From May 18 to 21, CRV’s export specialists visited Romania. The national show and agricultural fair took place in Mogosoia, a small city close to Bucharest. CRV distributor SC Cow Genetics was present here with its own booth and CRV was also well represented in the young stock that was competing in the national show.

Producer Marin Stefan, from Miofan Agrotrans, entered four heifers that were daughters of Paramount, Olympic, Nevada and Win 395. The show was very successful for Stefan and his heifers, because the Paramount daughter got first price in her age group and became the overall champion for all young stock. The Win 395 daughter took first place in her class, the Nevada took fourth and the Olympic took second place. To achieve high breeding progress and to exclude inbreeding in his herd, Stefan’s farm will be the first farm in Romania to use the SireMatch mating programme. More information about this mating programme can be found at: www.global.crv4all.com.

On the day after the show, Stefan’s farm, which he runs with his son Ionut was visited by the CRV delegation. It’s home to a good herd with lots of CRV influence, particularly Canvas, Paramount and Olympic.

As well as the show and the fair, there was also a programme of presentations by companies supplying the Romanian dairy industry. CRV organised a presentation to inform Romanian producers about what CRV and its distributor have to offer. The visitors were particularly interested in the high lifetime production and high milk solids of the Dutch cows and breeding.

CRV booth at the national show and agricultural fair in Mogosoia

CRV experts grazing system to Grassland Alliance Conference Ireland The end of May the first Grassland Alliance Conference took place in Ireland. The Grassland Alliance is the world’s largest breeding programme of cattle to suit grass-based and grazing system. This joint venture between CRV and NCBC, Ireland’s biggest herd improvement organisation, utilises a unique combination of breeding

programmes from Europe and New Zealand.

The breeding programmes of the Grassland Alliance have created a unique subset of dairy genetics that is ideal for grazing farming systems, but is also the optimal genetic pool for use in addressing the ever-growing fertility problem of dairy herds globally and for the introduction

The Grassland Alliance Conference group in the beautiful scenery of Ireland

of new blood lines. Fertility and efficient low-input milk production systems are the cornerstone of this Grassland Alliance.

This conference was an excellent opportunity to share views on grazing systems, sharing of technical information as well as the building of international relationships in a pleasant, informal setting.

The conference was attended by people

from the CRV business units in Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, The Netherlands, and the US, and by people from NCBC, Avoncroft, Progressive Genetics, and Munster involved in grazing systems in their own area.

Besides different presentations, like bull presentations from NCBC and CRV Ambreed and presentations about the grazing systems in Ireland and New Zealand, tours were organised to different farms with this type of system. Last, but not least, an excursion was paid to the Teagasc Moorepark. Moorepark is one of the world’s leading dairy research centres and specialists in pasture-based systems of milk production. Moorepark, ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) and NCBC are working closely together through continuous innovation to optimise the total profitability of grazing systems, with the goal to achieve more profit on farms.

This conference has proved to be very useful, while everyone was able to refine their knowledge of the CRV grazing product again and is up to date now on the latest developments in this area. e | cazart@xtra.co.nz p |

021 202 5178 w | www.cazart.co.nz

HOME AND ABROAD 5

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

Fokko Tolsma goes to…

Brazil!

Kian celebrated his 15th birthday

The Netherlands Most of us know CRV’s Dutch dairy management consultant Fokko

The Netherlands CRV’s bull Kian celebrated his fifteenth birthday on June 11, 2012, in

Tolsma, but for those who don’t: Fokko travels around the world visiting cattle farms to improve their farm profits by enriching farmers and herd managers with insights and advice.

He also gives presentations and training on various farm management aspects. But, after two years of being the inspiration to many producers all over the world, Fokko is about to embark on a new adventure, and that is moving to Brazil!

On September 1, 2012, Fokko is moving, together with his wife Wiepie, to a town near Ribreiao Preto where they found a lovely cottage with three palm trees in the garden. The reason they’re going is that Fokko has been appointed as the area business manager South America. Regular contact with Chile and Uruguay and herds comprising between 10,000 and 50,000 dairy cows will be part of Fokko’s new job. CRV Lagoa is very blessed with the expertise and knowledge Fokko brings with him.

“I see this adventure as a great challenge and it has made me re-focus. It is difficult for me to say what it is that I’m most looking forward to, but it is probably when CRV is doing really well in South America. My wife Wiepie is also looking forward to our move to Brazil. It is also a new challenge. It is not the first time we’ve moved abroad. In the 1980s, we lived for a few years in Tunisia where I worked as a bilateral development expert. This adventure was a positive experience for us and that contributes to our confidence in this next project.”

Fokko has already visited Brazil many times and he just loves the country. In 2011 he went three times to give practical courses to vets, producers and managers. “The people from Brazil are very studious and appreciate this way of passing on and sharing knowledge”, explains Fokko.

One of the biggest challenges he will face is the language. He already understands a lot of words, but besides Portuguese, he also has to learn Spanish as the surrounding countries speak this language. “I think it will be a mixture of both languages ‘Portanish’.”

During his stay in Brazil, Fokko must temporarily take leave of his passion: playing music with the cycling band Crescendo from Opende (Groningen). The other members of the band have already asked whether it is possible for them to play in Brazil. “I can’t promise anything, but it is not impossible as we played already several times in Japan and Malaysia with this special band. So why not in Brazil?”

Despite the huge change that moving to Brazil will bring, Fokko remains very down-toearth. This becomes clear as he answers to the question what he will miss the most the following: “I expect to miss the real clay potato from Groningen the most.”

Fokko and his wife Wiepie in Ribreiro Pretor

the best of health. From young age he went on internationally to become the most popular red-and-white bull of all time. His unique qualities led to him being used extensively on both red-and-white and black-and-white cows. Even at this age, he is still used for breeding at least once a week.

Kian (Andries x Sunny Boy) caused a stir back in 2008 when he became the world’s first red-and-white bull to produce more than a million doses of semen. That total now stands at 1.4 million doses. Many of his daughters can be found in the Netherlands and Belgium, and also in countries such as Germany, South Africa, Brazil, the US, the Czech Republic and New Zealand.

Kian’s record performance is down to the fact that, since his breakthrough as a breeding bull in 2002, he was always in the top five most used bulls, even leading this ranking for four years in a row. Producers have used Kian so much for all those years on account of his trademark traits of protein (+0.27%), feet & legs (110), and claw health (108). Kian’s daughters are sturdy cows with excellent legs and high lifetime production.

During his long career, Kian has achieved many successes in the male line as well. His sons Delta Fidelity, Apina Curtis and Van de Peul Kylian are widely praised for the strong leg and claw traits they pass on. And grandsons such as Delta Maicon are attracting enormous attention and look set to take over the baton from Kian in due course. At fifteen, he may be the oldest bull in the shed, but the end of the Kian era is still a long way off.

Various information for several different farmers South Africa In July, dairy management consultant Fokko Tolsma visited CRV Xseed in South Africa. Together with the brand-new sales representative Jeremy Canton, who worked for the breeding organisation Taurus in Southern Natal for many years, and Tineke Dekker, the deputy manager of CRV Xseed, Fokko visited various large dairy herds with between 300 and 1,000 cows. The farm managers received advice concerning bull use and technical information to improve fertility results.

An information day has also been organised in conjunction with the producers’ organisation MPO (Milk Producers Organisation) and De Heus (concentrates) in the province of Natal.

During this day the visitors discussed how to cope with the higher concentrate prices and Fokko gave a presentation about the importance of a good diet (lots of long-chop forage) during the dry period and a good healthy start of the high yielding dairy cows in early lactation. He also explained the breeding values of the Dutch NVI system, the Dutch conformation traits (linear and composites) and the Dutch proofs for management with the health traits like longevity, udder health and fertility.

It became clear that many producers in Natal differ in their breeding goal. One group likes sires that give a lot milk. Another group likes medium-size cows with good udders and a high fertility and there was a group that only likes small sires for the grassland system. CRV X-Seed offers all these sires in a wide portfolio of breeds.

Presentation given by dairy management consultant Fokko Tolsma during the information day in Natal

Vanstein, the first Fleckvieh millionaire Germany Within the Holstein breed every now and then a bull manages to produce

more than one million doses of semen. Within the Fleckvieh breed, no bull had reached this milestone. Until the summer of 2012, that is, when CRV’s Fleckvieh bull Vanstein (Randy x Malf) achieved this magnificent goal.

CRV and AI-company BVN bought the bull in co-ownership in November 2001. Vanstein’s dam Ursel is a famous Malf daughter with conformation scores 9-8-8-8. In the German region Bavaria alone, there are currently more than 40,000 Vanstein daughters producing and around 150,000 animals with Vanstein blood in their pedigree. Worldwide estimations are that more than 500,000 animals carry genes from Vanstein.

Vlado is one of the best Vanstein sons. During the World Simmental Fleckvieh congress on September 21, 2012, in Mühldorf Germany, CRV will present a daughter group of this young InSire bull.

Many friends of Fleckvieh from all around the globe will join this congress, which will have a very interesting programme with a progeny show, a breeders evening and the Bavarian Agriculture Festival in Munich among others. If you would like to get more information about the congress, please visit our website: www.crv4all.de or www.wsffcongress2012.de.

Vlado, one of the best sons of Vanstein

6 COW MANAGEMENT

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

WATER, PROBABLY THE MOST UNDERVALUED INGREDIENT FOR MILK PRODUCTION

WATER MANAGEMENT High producing cows can drink up to 150 litres of water per day when they are in their peak of the lactation. In general, cows need three litres of water to produce one litre of milk and every kilogramme of dry matter intake is followed by five litres of water. Logically a lower intake of water will result in lower production results.

C

ows like to drink large amounts of water at one time. They can drink up to 50% of their daily demand of water in one session. Cows often drink directly after milking and between feedings.

Palatability

The uptake of water is strongly influenced by the taste and smell of the water. Palatable water is fresh, free of chemical residues, and has the right amount of calcium, magnesium, salt, iron and ammonia. Water that is consumed directly from ditches or lakes can be easily infested with too much nitrogen, sulphur or harmful bacteria.

Hygiene is very important to ensure high quality water for the cows. Water should be provided from troughs that can be cleaned easily. In that way, farmers will tend to clean the troughs more thoroughly, as feed particles will negatively influence the smell and taste of water.

Thorough cleaning is more important than frequent (but not so thorough) cleaning. It is best to clean the troughs very well once a week. Only clean the troughs earlier when the water is clearly polluted. When troughs are cleaned fast, but insufficient, small particles will remain in the water. By cleaning the troughs, lots of oxygen enters the water.

The active bacteria in the water will grow fast, thanks to this oxygen.

Temperature

The temperature of the water is also very important. Water that is too cold is not attractive to cows. Cold water will reduce the microbe activity in the rumen, which will lead to slower fermentation of the feed.

For the cows it is better to take up water of around 15°C (59°F), in that way the rumen temperature stays optimal and no production losses are caused by too low water temperatures.

Results show that dry matter intake can be raised with 3.4 to 6% when water is supplied between 30 and 33°C (91.4°F) compared to cold water of between 4 and 10°C (39.2- 50° F).

However, heating so much water per day might not be profitable compared to the extra milk production.

Farms in colder areas of the world should not only protect their plumbing against freezing but also to improve the water temperature for higher water uptake during winters.

GOOD WATER TEMPERATURE → HIGHER WATER INTAKE → HIGHER FEED INTAKE → HIGHER PRODUCTION

Accessibility

The placing of water troughs is crucial to achieve sufficient water uptake. Water troughs should be placed so the chance of manure getting into the trough is low. The troughs should also be placed in such a way that all animals can drink freely and are not afraid to approach the drinking place.

Because cows normally drink after milking and between feedings, the water troughs should be placed close to the feeding rack and in logical places after the milking parlour.

A good rule of thumb is to have one large water trough for every 15 milking cows. In that way all cows are able to drink enough water. Make sure the water level is not too low in the trough, as cows prefer to drink with their nose in the water. A minimal level of 30 cm is advised.

Quality

Regardless of the origin of the water, the water quality contributes to the quality of milk production – just like the feed and feeding quality. The water quality can be checked in several ways. The easiest way to check the water for the farmer is to ask yourself the question: “Would I drink this water myself?”

More scientific results can be obtained through laboratory research. The water can be checked for calcium content, for example, but also on chemical residues and bacterial growth.

When water is researched, make sure to test both on the source and the actual drinking place of the cow. Often the plumbing in the barn causes pollution of the water.

Health risks

Both tap water and water from open sources can contain different bacteria that can cause serious illness in cows. Water can also transfer different viruses for a long time.

Health problems in tap water are mainly caused by polluted plumbing systems in barns or polluted drinking troughs.

Most problems in drinking water, however, are in water from open sources and ditches.

A few diseases that are closely related to drinking water are mentioned below.

Salmonellosis

This water is of poor quality

The disease salmonellosis causes symptoms that are quite similar to other common diseases, like BVD. Mostly the animals show clear signs of illness for between two and five days. The percentage of infected animals can differ strongly per farm. Young calves are more susceptible to infection by this bacteria. The symptoms are high fever, up to 41°C (105.8°F), diarrhoea, abortion and death.

Provide large water troughs when cows are outside

The two most important salmonella bacteria that cause this disease are the Salmonella Dublin and Salmonella Typhimurium. These bacteria can be transferred through manure, but more important, through water. In manure storage the bacteria can survive for more than two months, in water even longer.

Cows can become seriously ill from just a gram of infected manure. When cows are infected, cow-to-cow contact can also cause infections.

Salmonella can be transferred to humans and is therefore of greater risk than some other diseases in livestock. Most common symptoms among humans are fever and diarrhoea.

Leptospirosis

The leptospirosis disease is caused by the L. Hardjo bacteria. When a cow is infected by this bacteria it can be recognised by the following symptoms: A sudden drop in milk production, higher somatic cell score, and deviant milk from one or more quarters.

When a chronic infection with this bacteria is present, abortion can occur. However it is very possible that an infection will happen without any symptoms.

The L. Hardjo bacteria can enter the cow’s body through all mucous membranes or small injuries in the animal’s skin. Bacteria enter the body through direct contact from infected urine or by feed or water where infected urine is present. Infected semen can also infect inseminated animals.

Animals can also infect humans (zoonosis).

The human symptoms are quit similar to those of influenza. Because this bacterium is able to survive in water, the infection of this bacterium should be closely monitored on the farm.

In many countries, farms are obliged to be free of this bacteria and farmers are obliged to register any occurance of this disease in humans.

Prototheca

The Prototheca algae are often present in water that is green in colour. It is mostly present in surface water that is in contact with manure and received lots of sunshine.

The algae grow fast in this water and can cause serious harm to the cows.

When the teats of cows come in contact with this water, a mastitis infection might occur. Because this variety of mastitis is not caused by bacteria but by algae, the use of antibiotics will not be useful. The only cure to get rid of these cows is to cull them.

Therefore make sure cows are not exposed to still shallow waters that have been in the sunlight for a long period of time.

This article is one of the chapters from the Dairy Management Guide. For more information about the Dairy Management Guide contact your local distributor or visit our website: www.global.crv4all.com

SIRE SPECIAL 7

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

H I GH L IGHTS ENGLISH EDI TI O N • J ANUARY 2011

italian bull leroy new in crv offering

Leroy combines production and the show element CRV has a wide range of bulls of various pedigree lines. We run breeding programmes in America, the Netherlands and New Zealand. And, since a short while ago, we now also offer bulls from Italy thanks to our cooperation with Genefix. Italy, the nation of top ranking show animals and high milk production. And the home of Zani Bolton Leroy.

B

olton son Leroy is the perfect example of what Italian breeding has to offer. His family is packed with award winning show animals, including his ¾ sister Zani Bolton Viola VG-89 who received an ‘honourable mention’ at the provincial show in Brescia in 2010 and finished as 2012 Reserve Champion at the provincial show in Montichiari. And his breeders, the Zani family from Ghedi, are the number one among large farms in the field of production in Italy.

Selection based on production and fertility

The Zani farm, ‘Agricola Zani’ is run by members of the family – Luciano Zani and Antonia Gonzata and their two sons Gianluca and Alessandro. Luciano’s father started the farm back in 1946. Over the years the farm has grown via natural progression to reach a 500-head herd. Average production is 10,907kg of milk with 3.46% fat and 3.50% protein. Forty nine of their cows have already achieved lifetime production in excess of 100,000 litres of milk. This illustrates PEDIGREE OF ZANI BOLTON LEROY

ZANI FORMATION MINNY EX-92 (s. Formation)

ZANI EMERSON EMILY VG-86 (s. Emerson)

ZANI ADAM JENNIFER VG-88 (s. Adam)

ZANI O-MAN ORIELLA GP-84 (s. O-Man)

LEROY (s. Bolton)

the value of selection based on production with an emphasis on protein and fertility.

Their cows and bulls have topped the index lists for many years. There are currently no fewer than four bulls bearing the Zani prefix in the top 50 bulls in Italy, and eight bulls appear in the top 100 rankings. And this accomplishment is not due to the animals being pampered in any way. Life on the Zani farm is hard, but optimal attention is devoted to the feed strategy.

What the Zani family likes to see are confident, assertive calves. “Calves must have the will to drink.

Alert calves and aggressive drinkers, that’s what it all boils down to.”

Leroy is the first choice

The tale of Leroy starts with his excellent foundation dam Zani Chairman Pawnee. She was highly successful in the show ring in the 1980s. Pawnee was a very modern cow for the era and closely resembled many of the cows that walk away with the prizes at today’s shows. She radiated a youthful demeanour and had superior udders. Partly thanks to Pawnee and her great grand daughter Zani Formation Minny EX-92, who was champion in the middle segment at the Italian national show in Cremona in 2001, the family enjoyed great popularity with AI stations.

The director of Genefix, Theo Pieters, explains how he managed to get his hands on a bull from this family. “I kept a close eye on Leroy’s dam Zani Oman Oriella right from when she was a calf. At the time she was the highest rated O-Man daughter as far as pedigree index. Another of her advantages was her Adam dam and Emerson granddam with Formation Minny in the family tree too. In the early stages of his breeding career the appearance-conscious AI organisations in Italy were not particularly keen on O-Man. And Oriella had been left with a slightly misshapen udder due to the hormones used for flushing. So I was given the first choice of a flush with Bolton which produced three heifer calves and three bull calves. I chose Leroy.”

Leroy’s sister Zani Bolton Viola VG-89 finished as 2012 Reserve Champion at the provincial show in Montichiari, Italy

Successes in male line

The male line of this family is also noted for its success stories. Breeding sire Zani Patron Step is also a member of this family. And more recently, a full sibling of Leroy, Zani Bolton Mascalese, created a stir. Out of the blue Mascalese shot into first place on the Italian list of proven bulls in April 2012. He also conquered the number one position based on TPI. Another member of this family made his appearance felt in Apri – Zani Shottle Neapol who entered the charts at number 17 in Italy. Neapol’s line is via a Boliver daughter out of Zani Emerson Emily, the great granddam of Leroy.

Leroy

Leroy will give the production a real boost. His pedigree is full of true heroines of production. Leroy’s dam, granddam and great granddam all produced more than 14,000kg of milk as heifers. And the average prediction for his daughters is 9578kg of milk with 3.64% fat and 3.27% protein.

Genefix director Theo Pieters has seen almost half of the 49 daughters in milk production. He describes the heifers as “not with an exaggerated depth, with clearly sloping rumps and nice, clean legs. They are the most active heifers in the herd and often the best producers”.

Leroy produces large cows with shallow, good quality udders that produce plenty of milk. Pieters: “Leroys look very youthful. With some of his daughters you wonder where they hide all that milk! Some of them show a bit more volume in their udders, but that too is usually a sign that they are highly productive. Their proportions balance out better later on in lactation when the udders start to get heavier.”

Zani Bolton Leroy

ZANI BOLTON LEROY

2019 GTPI

(Bolton x O-Man x Adam) PRODUCTION

REL. 77 %

DAUGHTERS 0 HERDS 0

LBS. MILK

% FAT

% PROTEIN

LBS. FAT

LBS. PROTEIN

NM $

FM $

2062

–0.03

–0.01

67

60

492

512

SCS

DAUGHT. PG RATE

3.07

0.3

FUNCTIONAL TRAITS

CALVING EASE

M. CALVING EASE

PROD. LIFE

1.6

CONFORMATION

REL. 84 %

SIRE STILLBIRTH DAUGHT. STILLBIRTH

DAUGHTERS 26

HERDS 19

FRAME DAIRY STRENGTH UDDER FEET & LEGS PTAT

0.83 1.25 1.25 1.35 1.43

STATURE STRENGTH BODY DEPTH ANGULARITY CONDITION SCORE RUMP ANGLE RUMP WIDTH REAR LEGS REAR REAR LEGS SIDE FOOT ANGLE FEET AND LEGS FORE UDDER ATTACHMENT REAR UDDER HEIGHT CENTRAL LIGAMENT UDDER DEPTH FRONT TEAT PLACEMENT REAR TEAT PLACEMENT TEAT LENGTH

1.68 –0.30 –0.01 2.73 2.95 0.64 0.20 1.01 1.26 1.76 1.44 3.29 0.60 0.15 0.83 1.26 0.09 –3

–2

–1

0

+1

+2

+3

TH

Y

S

SE

LTH

PRODUCTION

HOOF HEALTH

RELIABILITY

HOOF HEALTH

FERTILITY

8 TRAIT LEADERS

FERTILITY

PRODUCTION

RELIABILITY

FAT(%) CONFORMATION FAT RELIABILITY

PROTEIN FERTILITY PROTEIN (%)

SCARLET RF + 2,494 LASS + 2,292 PREDESTINE • + 2,138 HOOF HEALTH OMEN + 1,983 GILIAN + 1,944

BIG WINNER + 0.40 MATCHMAKER + 0.38 PRODUCTION NEW + 0.35 TEMPO SUAREZ • + 0.34 RACEY • + 0.25

SET UP + 0.25 FERTILITY LOGAN + 0.23 RELIABILITY + 0.22 LACEY SUAREZ • + 0.19 STELLANDO RF NEW + 0.19

CONFORMATION NEW + 2,215 STANDARD CALVING EASE LONGEVITY LILAC + 2,124 ASTERIX P • + 1,175 HOOF HEALTH

PROTEIN KIAN +0.48 UDDER FATEXTERIOR KLIMMER + 0.32 ALMIGHTY RELIABILITY + 0.30 PRODUCTION

SPENCER FEET/LEGS+ 0.30 SELECTION FEET/LEGS DIRECT • N EW +0.28 KIAN + 0.27

FERTILITY

FERTILITY

UDDER EXTERIOR

LONGEVITY GENOMICFAT SELECTION

LONGEVITY

UDDER HEALTH CONFORMATION FEET/LEGS FEET/LEGS

FEET & LEGS

PROTEIN

CONFORMATION

PROTEIN CONFORMATION

CONFORMATION

NAVARRO 113 PERSUADER 111 ENTERPRISE 110 CALVING EASE UDDER EXTERIOR PARAMOUNT

109 JARROT NEW • 108

JARROT NEW • 115 HIGHLIGHT • 115 GENOMIC GENOMIC CRICKET 111 UDDER EXTERIOR SELECTION SELECTION SUNRISE 110 ROZELLO • 110

CALVING EASE KYLIAN 113

UDDER EXTERIOR CLASSIC 111

UDDER HEALTH MANIAC 113 CAMION • 111

LILAC 110 ARAM NEW • 109

PRODUCTION

GENOMIC

LONGEVITY

CONFORMATION

FEET/LEGS FEET/LEGS

HOOF HEALTH

RELIABILITY

LONGEVITY

HIGHLIGHTS ENGLISH EDITION AUGUST 2012

FOR COMPLETE PROOF INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.GLOBAL.CRV4ALL.COM FERTILITY LONGEVITY FAT PRODUCTION RELIABILITY HOOF HEALTH

LONGEVITY FEET/LEGS PRODUCTION (KG) PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION

CONFORMATION

FAT

FAT

PROTE PROTEIN

RELIABILITY

CALVING EASE

CALVING FAT EASE CALVING EASE

LONGEVITY LONGEVITY EDISON (INSIRE) +773FAT MALAGA + 771 SOLERO NEW • + 703 ATLANTIC • +701 GRAVITY • + 696

LONGEVITY

KODAK + 696 CONFORMATION CONFORMATION PROTEIN CAMION • + 691 PAULUS PP RF • + 640

TEMPO NEW 115 OMEN 113 LASS 111 UDDER HEALTH G-FORCE • 111 SILVER NEW 111 UDDER HEALTH KODAK 112 PROTEIN ASTERIX P • 111 CAMION • 111

UDDER EXTERIOR

UDDER EXTERIOR UDDER

GENOMIC GENOM SELECTION

SELECT

BREWSTER • 114 SUNSET • 114 MORAZAN 113 ROZELLO • 113 TEMPO NEW 112 CLASSIC 112 CHARLTON • 112 PLEASURE 111

FAT CALVING EASE

HOOF HEALTH UDDER EXTERIOR

GENOMIC SELECTIONPRODUCTION

UDDER EXTERIOR

CALVING EASE

FERTILITY

UDDER HEALTH PROTEIN

UDDER HEALTH

FERTILITY

CRICKET 110 GUNFIRE 109 UDDER HEALTH AWARD RF • 109 CISCO 108 FRANCHISE 108

GRAVITY • 106 CAMERON 105 CRICKET 105 FEET/LEGS LOGAN 105 RUSSEL • 105

GENOMIC SELECTION NEW • 107 ARAM

KODAK 106 MANIAC 106

ARNOLD 105 TACO 104 TALENTINO 103 CALVING EASE

UDDER HEALTH

RELIABILITY

GENOMIC SELECTION

LONGEVITY

HOOF HEALTH HEALTH HOOF

FAT

NAVARRO 110 SURPRISE 110 NANO 109 CONFORMATION PROTEIN REFINER NEW 107 MIKA 107 FERTILITY

PRODUCTION

Sires marked with a dot • are InSire sires.

LONGEVITY

FAT

FEET/LEGS

CONFORMATION

PROTEIN

CALVING EASE

UDDER EXTERIOR

GENOMIC SELECTION

KLIMMER 112 TACO 111 GENOMIC KIAN 108 UDDER EXTERIOR SELECTION

InSire sires are genomically selected.

UDDER HEALTH

PROFESSIONAL AND RELIABLE MATING ADVICE BY CRV For every breeding goal, for every breed and for every cow, SireMatch finds the best unbiased mating. All breeding value bases can be used and all sires in the world can be included in a tailor made bull package.

UDDER HEALTH

SIREMATCH FOR EVERY FARM AND FARMER CRV’s mating programme can be used everywhere and anytime. SireMatch offers different mating levels dependent on the available information, so suits every dairy farm.

STANDARD BREEDING GOALS In every version of SireMatch the user can use one of the six standard breeding goals or create a customised breeding goal, so corrective mating is made easy!

UNIQUE FEATURES OF SIREMATCH • Web-based • Multiple cow groups/farm • Works with crossbreeding • Minimize breeding risks • Mating advice presented in several reports with three possible matings • Runs also on PDA or hand-held computer • Supports use of sexed semen and genomically selected young sires • Unbiased matings

FUTURE EVENTS

Highlights is a publication of CRV BV. CRV is a Dutch-Flemish farmers co-operative with six business units (Global Sales & Development, Central Europe, Oceania, North America, South America and Western Europe).

Highlights is published three times a year and is available in two languages: English and Spanish.

Editor: Marieke de Weerd. With cooperation of Piet Kloosterman (PTC+ Oenkerk) and Fokko Tolsma (page 6).

Printer: Senefelder Misset, Doetinchem, the Netherlands. ISSN 1878-1624

Subscriptions

Highlights is distributed free of charge to customers of CRV. For subscriptions and other information, please go to our website: www.crv4all.com or contact: CRV, P.O. Box 5073, 6802 EB Arnhem, the Netherlands, Phone: + 31 26 3898 500, Fax: + 31 26 3898 555, E-mail: sales@crv4all.com Material appearing in Highlights is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission of CRV.

RELIABILIT

4-5 September 2012 Dairy event and livestock show, Birmingham, UK 11-13 September 2012 Outdoor farm show, Woodstock, Canada 11-14 September 2012 SPACE, Rennes, France 2-6 October 2012 World Dairy Expo, Madison, USA 3-5 October 2012 Sommet de l’Elevage, Clermont-Ferrand, France 31 October-4 November 2012 Indagra, Bucharest, Romania 13-16 November 2012 Eurotier, Hannover, Germany