cows-herd-high-21.html
VikingNews UK 01 2018
22 / 28
22 vikingnews | may 2018 o ur distributor in lithuania, gameta, arranged a seminar about
crossbreeding
together with viking- genetics in kaunas in march 2018. the seminar at- tracted 75
farm
ers and specialists where the opportunities
crossbreeding
can offer were the main topic. lithuania has 670,000 registered heads of cattle of which 500,000 are dairy livestock. black and white
cows
are most common (both local breeds and holstein). there are approx- imately 100,000 red
cows
and a few jerseys in the country and interest for this breed is increasing.
crossbreeding
is quite new in lithuania. however, local dairy
farm
ers have recently started using a lot of vikingred and montbeliarde. specialist and senior advisor morten kargo of seges and aarhus university, explained about the
crossbreeding
systems in the seminar. he also presented the results of
crossbreeding
in different countries and with different combinations. he was asked many interesting questions about the breeds and their effects on
crossbreeding
, which is always important to understand.
crossbreeding
has to be planned carefully to get the highest return on
crossbreeding
, both in production and other traits as well as economics. a presentation about vikinggenetics breeding goal was made to the participants, as well as an explanation about what vg can offer for
crossbreeding
. there was also big interest about health traits and their importance in breeding. vikinggenetics countries have been working with health traits since the 1980?s and the results can be seen in the genetic trends and proofs. k enya has one of the biggest cow populations in africa with around 3.5 million dairy
cows
in to- tal. over 70% of these
cows
are kept by over one million small-scale dairy
farm
ers in kenya although there are some large commercial herds in the country. the main breeds besides the local breeds are holstein-friesian, ayr- shire and jersey. most of the commercial herds are in the highland area. even though it is close to the equator, the climate is pleas- ant, not too hot for people or cattle and the soil is good for grass and maize. in this area, about 200 kilometres from the capital, nai- robi, is where our distributor in kenya, hamish grant is lo- cated. grant?s grandfather emigrated here from britain. built by british settlers, gogar
farm
is over 100 years old. the
farm
has 250 dairy
cows
. most are holsteins but there are also some ayrshire and jersey
cows
in the herd. gogar
farm
has been breeding ayrshire cattle since the 1930s and the breed is well-known for its good performance. holsteins have been bred at the
farm
since the 1970s. recently gogar
farm
has been using sexed semen with good results. over 90% of the calves are heifers. ?viking genes improve the health, fertility and produc- tion of the herd. the breeding goal for viking is economic, healthy and fertile
cows
with easy calvings. that is what we all need,? says grant, proud of what he can offer other dairymen in kenya. lithuanian breeders interested in
crossbreeding
viking bulls making fame in kenya hamish grant (to the left) owns and runs the more than 100-year old
farm
built by british immigrants. by seppo niskanen, export manager at vikinggenetics by seppo niskanen, export manager at vikinggenetics around the vikingworld
herd-export-new-23.html