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VikingNews UK 04 2015
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vikingholstein
? much more than holstein is the vikingholstein cow like other holstein cows in the world? in brief: no. the vikingholstein cow is healthier, more fertile, calves easier and better for economy and longevity. v ikinggenetics has had high fo- cus on the cost reducing traits like udder health, hoof health, female fertility and calving ease for many years. in breeding, you get what you are looking for, and a comparison with the genetics in other countries shows that vikinggenetics? sires are su- perior for these traits at present. the figures in the following tables come from the neutral index calcula- tion made by interbull in august this year, who compared the average of daughter proven bulls in the biggest holstein populations. this is a fine way to see the differences in the genetic lev- els from the individual countries. health and reproduction in world class table 1 shows five significant holstein populations on global level
and their level for the health and reproduction traits. it is clear that the focus that we have had on these important traits for many years, has given vikingholstein a considerably higher genetic level. not at the expense of production it would be obvious to think that the high genetic level of health and repro- duction for vikingholstein is at the ex- pense of the production. however, this is not at all the case. as table 2 shows, the level of the weighted production in- dex is the highest for vikingholstein which primarily is due to protein and secondary to fat. especially in north america, there is more focus on kg milk and less weight on components. vikingholstein best for economy and longevity if we look at the total merit index (ntm) and longevity, the picture is clear ? vikingholstein has a far better average level. all cattle breeders in the viking area can proudly say that they have contributed to this ? and take ad- vantage of this every single day. how can we use this knowledge? most importantly, these results can be used to document that the genetic level for vikingholstein is high. the hoof table 1. genetic level for health and reproduction in five large holstein populations trait viking usa canada holland germany female fertility 101 98 94 97 95 birth index 101 96 96 97 95 calving ease 102
102 98 98 98 udder health 102 100 96 97 96 table 2. genetic level for production trait viking usa canada holland germany production index 105 102 102 103 102 milk 103 106 105 102 104 fat 103 104 104 102 102 protein 105 102 101 103 102 table 3. genetic level for economy (ntm) and longevity trait viking usa canada holland germany longevity 106 102 96 98 96 economy (ntm) 8.6 3.0 -2.8 0.2 -2.4 14 vikingnews | december 2015
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