farm-production-november-8.html
VikingNews UK 04 2016
9 / 28
9 november 2016 | vikingnews ?from the beginning,
farm
ing was in my blood. i always wanted to be a
farm
er?, claes johansson the fourth-genera- tion owner of the märene
farm
says surrounded by his work- ing-team around the meeting table. the märene
farm
in skara in sweden is a pure holstein
herd
and it?s a place full of life, projects, dreams, and com- promises. ?the coffee meetings are important. everyone is here and we talk a lot about our goals; we discuss, what do you want? how would you like to have it? and then, we set goals, and you know what to achieve? claes? wife, amanda jansson, explains. the next big project they are focused on, is to become an organic
farm
by taking advantage of the ?green? cows as claes johansson refers to his vikingholstein
herd
. ?we have always been a viking
farm
. viking has done a good job all the time, and we like the vikingholstein because they are
healthy
?, he states.
healthy
cows with high production along with an in- creased demand for organic products is keeping the team motivated to make märene a green
farm
. ?if you have these good-looking,
healthy
cows producing much on pasture in your
herd
, then you have gained a lot when you talk to con- sumers?, johansson states. the breeding goal in his
farm
is efficiency, and the strate- gy is designed to the smallest detail. the manager, jakob nielsen, explains that they make the genomic test on every single heifer when they are born, and 10% of those with the lowest results are sent to slaughter in order to keep a high ntm (nordic total merit)
herd
level. they also use x-vik on their best females to guarantee that they will have heifers from them. ?we want a cow that milks 11-12,000 kg ? not only 9,000 kg per year. although this is a good cow, we don?t want to have daughters from her; instead we inseminate with beef?, he explains. with 10% of the lowest ntm heifers going to slaughter and 10% inseminated with beef, they can guarantee a
healthy
and high-producting
herd
. health in focus with 11,543 kg ecm (energy corrected milk) per year in production average, the märene
farm
is producing above the average in sweden which is 10,452 kg ecm on holstein. ?i think we have the milk so we can look at other things and of course health is the most important?, nielsen says. "we are looking at individual needs when planning the breeding?, nielsen adds. nordic health traits suitable for organic
farm
ing by verónica löfgren, vikinggenetics märene
farm
in sweden is about to take a big step in its history, to become an organic dairy
farm
. märene has already, long time ago, decided to breed for
healthy
cows, which makes the step easier. » in just some weeks from now, i will open my own little cheese factory. this is the next step in the dairy chain filip larsson, son of claes johansson, märene
hoof-health-disorders-10.html