news-procross-future-3.html
VikingNews Global 2-2019
4 / 28
farm
ing for the future s ofia and gustav kämpe started their dairy business
in 2008 together with gustav´s parents, and bought the farm in 2015. during this time, they built a new barn and increased the herd from 100 to 200 cows
. the family also includes viggo, 10 and hilda, 8. the kämpes both work on the farm, and sofia also works as a consultant to the local community and is a specialist in reducing agriculture-related eutroph- ication of rivers. an advisor from växa (the swedish coop, and one of the owners of vikinggenetics) visits them four to five times a year to discuss their three-year strategy for the business. ?our main goal in the business is to reach 12.500 kg ecm (energy corrected milk) within the next 3 years. we have used vikinggenetics from the start, and when we increased the herd in 2015, all cows we bought had viking pedigrees?, sofia says. to reach their goal they have decid- ed to increase the ntm (nordic total merit index) in the herd by 8 units above average. ?we know that this is the way to go, as ntm also take health traits into sustainability in practice at torpet farm sustainability is running a profitable business while safeguarding the environment. consideration, and animal welfare is im- portant to us?, she adds. the kämpes genomically test all heifer calves born, as this is the best solution for them ?we use x-vik semen on our top 20% and beef semen, currently angus for the rest?, she comments. the latter are sold to a farmer breeding heifers for slaughter. efficiency in focus the couple have a wide-ranging under- standing of the challenges of climate change. environment issues are impor- tant to them. ?we need to be on our toes in the dairy industry if we are to achieve the goal of net zero co2 by 2050. this is also one factor behind our strategy to increase production to 12,500 kg. efficient cows are good for the climate?, gustav explains and there is more to do on the farm in this area for the future, solar cell panels and a biogas station, for example. ?the debate about climate and cows is frustrating, but we feel confident it will calm down. cows are needed in the cycle, and they eat grass which we can?t. our cattle graze on 60 ha of natural pas- by camilla rosman, vikinggenetics when you use a tool like genomic selection, it?s important to stick with that 100% and use the results. we never think about cow families, we look at the ntm. and we have been able to see that high ntm heifers also become the highest producing dairy cows says gustav kämpe tures, that would become overgrown if the cattle were not there?, he says. vikinggenetics? recently introduced saved feed index will play an important role at torpet farm. ?feed is the biggest cost on a farm, and if we can breed more efficient cows, that will be great.? they are waiting for the registrations from the cfit* cameras into the saved feed index, which will be the most sophisticated tool on the market. 4 vikingnews | november 2019
farm-sofia-proud-5.html