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The Dairy Crossbred Blog An Independent Look at Crossbreeding Home Post Categories General Photos Videos Production Results Reproduction Results Scientific Research Polls Discussion Questions Nutrition Genetic Selection Guide Two-Way Crosses Jersey X Holstein Finnish Ayrshire X Holstein Brown Swiss X Holstein Cow/Family Profiles Bulls Swedish Red Norwegian Red Normande Montbeliarde Illawarra Breeding Strategies Swedish Red Red and White Holstien Other breeds Norwegian Red Normande MRI Montbeliarde Jersey Holstein Fleckvieh Finnish Ayrshire Canadian Ayrshire Aussie Red Brown Swiss AI Companies North America ABS Global Accelerated Genetics Alta Genetics Big Bear Genetics Creative Genetics CRV USA Dairy Bulls Online Genex Cooperative Global Genetic Resources New Generation Genetics Normande Genetics Select Sires Semex USA Sierra Desert Breeders Taurus Service Europe Bayern Genetik Cogent Coopex Montbeliarde CRV Deutschland Formakin-Montbeliarde Genesi Project Genetic Austria Geno Global Geno UK Genus Breeding Jura-Betail Koole & Liebregts BV Sersia Spermex Sterling Sires Viking Genetics XSires Australia/New Zealand AuzRed XB Genetics Australia Livestock Improvement Corporation Viking Genetics Australia Bull of the Year 2014 – Triomphe (Montbeliarde) 2013 – Braut (Norwegian Red) 2012 – Papayou (Montbeliarde) 2011 – Valfin (Montbeliarde) Cow of the Year 2013 – 1449 2014 – 6424 (Lance Johnson) Select a page Home Post Categories General Photos Videos Production Results Reproduction Results Scientific Research Polls Discussion Questions Nutrition Genetic Selection Guide Two-Way Crosses Jersey X Holstein Finnish Ayrshire X Holstein Brown Swiss X Holstein Cow/Family Profiles Bulls Swedish Red Norwegian Red Normande Montbeliarde Illawarra Breeding Strategies Swedish Red Red and White Holstien Other breeds Norwegian Red Normande MRI Montbeliarde Jersey Holstein Fleckvieh Finnish Ayrshire Canadian Ayrshire Aussie Red Brown Swiss AI Companies North America ABS Global Accelerated Genetics Alta Genetics Big Bear Genetics Creative Genetics CRV USA Dairy Bulls Online Genex Cooperative Global Genetic Resources New Generation Genetics Normande Genetics Select Sires Semex USA Sierra Desert Breeders Taurus Service Europe Bayern Genetik Cogent Coopex Montbeliarde CRV Deutschland Formakin-Montbeliarde Genesi Project Genetic Austria Geno Global Geno UK Genus Breeding Jura-Betail Koole & Liebregts BV Sersia Spermex Sterling Sires Viking Genetics XSires Australia/New Zealand AuzRed XB Genetics Australia Livestock Improvement Corporation Viking Genetics Australia Bull of the Year 2014 - Triomphe (Montbeliarde) 2013 - Braut (Norwegian Red) 2012 - Papayou (Montbeliarde) 2011 - Valfin (Montbeliarde) Cow of the Year 2013 - 1449 2014 - 6424 (Lance Johnson) Photo Update May 2017 May 17, 2017 by Jon Lundgren · 11 Comments Took a stroll around the pens and snapped a few pictures: Defender (Holstein) x Enrico (Fleckvieh) x TD (Brown Swiss) x Holstein First lactation – peak 94 lbs/day 4.5% fat 3.2% protein Supersire (Holstein) x Ugostar (Montbeliarde) x Sperringe (Swedish Red) x Holstein First lactation – 122 lbs/day 3.2% fat 3.2% protein Pell Pers (Viking Red) x Iota (Holstein) x Pollyden (Brown Swiss) x Paramount (Jersey) x Holstein First lactation – 76 lbs/day 3.9% fat 3.0% protein Vanstein (Fleckvieh) x Crown (Holstein) x Celebrity (Jersey) x Peterslund (Swedish Red) x Holstein First lactation – 66 lbs/day 3.7% fat 3.1% protein @ 68 days in milk Pell Pers (Viking Red) x Petrone (Holstein) x Raastad (Norwegian Red) x B Jurist (Swedish Red) x Manfred (Holstein) First lactation – 70 lbs/day 4.2% fat 3.2% protein @ 58 days in milk Adi (Swiss Simmental) x Cadet (Holstein) Second lactation – 109 lbs/day 4.3% fat 3.0% protein Pronto (Brown Swiss) x Peterslund (Swedish Red) x Holstein Second lactation – 94 lbs/day 4.3% fat 3.4% protein Enrico (Fleckvieh) x Rocket (Jersey) x Jonah (Holstein) Third lactation – 97 lbs/day 5.2% fat 3.2% protein Foske (Viking Red) x Merchant (Jersey) x Holstein Third lactation – 112 lbs/day 3.5% fat 3.1% protein Arbelunda (Swedish Red) x Oran (Montbeliarde) x Holstein Just fresh for her sixth lactation. Fifth lactation – 31570 lbs milk 1179 lbs fat 1018 lbs protein in 338 days Days open by lactation: 80, 66, 78, 101, 116 Posted in Photos . Breeding Plan 2017 February 4, 2017 by Jon Lundgren · 18 Comments Being that we are a month into 2017, I’m finally getting around to spelling out a breeding plan for the year. The basic theory of my breeding plan will not change. There was a discussion in the last post about uniformity. Are there benefits to having a uniform herd? In economic terms, I don’t necessarily believe so. That’s facility dependent of course. Over my ten years of crossbreeding experimentation I’ve probably put together one of the least uniform herds out there. Has this been detrimental? I wouldn’t say so. Yet as I look at my heifers freshening, I’m beginning to see more and more uniformity. Uniformity is a consequence of finding our own breeding patterns. I’ve become more dialed in the past few years on the type of cow I find to be most successful in my operation. It only makes sense that as I find my successful cross that my young cows begin to reflect that. And the shades of past experimentation become so diluted they are no longer noticeable. So when we talk about uniformity, it’s not necessarily something to strive for, but it will happen on its own as you settle into your own breeding plan. Now that we have uniformity out of the way, we can talk about some nuts and bolts of how I’ll be breeding cows in 2017. While my base of purebred Holsteins has dwindled almost down to zero, that also means I’m also seeing fewer two-way crosses. Most of the heifers I am freshening are now working their way through the second rotation in a three-way crossing system. No matter what I’ve done, I’m always going to go back to pure Holstein every third generation. Having a good high production Holstein bull in the pedigree of your cows will give you a lot of latitude in the next few generations of a three-way cross. We’ve been using a lot of Seagull-Bay Supersire over the past several years. I’m now milking crossbred Supersire daughters in second lactation and I’m pretty well content that putting a high priority on pounds of combined fat and protein in my Holstein selection criteria is a sound strategy. With that in mind, it’s hard to back away from Supersire as he is approaching 10,000 daughters in his proof and still ranks among the best in the breed for lbs. CFP at +179. Even among his sons and grandsons that have no milking daughters! I am backing off on Supersire on my heifers in favor of S-S-I Montross Jett-ET . Jett’s full brother Jedi gets more headlines as a sire of sons, but Jett is a nice alternative for the same genetics. At +166 lbs CFP, he combines elite production with some nice health traits. Being that I’m not trying to create the next elite genomic purebred Holstein, I’ve become more conscious of selecting some more budget friendly sires that still meet my genetic criteria and also provide excellent semen fertility. Pen-Col Marty has been the Holstein bull that’s filled that gap for me. At +147 lbs CFP, Marty is more than adequate for production. To top it off, he’s been running about 15% above average on conception for me. For the Red breeds, I will continue using a mix of Viking Red and Norwegian Red. Both breeds have some great bulls and there is enough quality with both that if you want to stick to one, you can. For Viking Red we have been using Flame across heifers and cows. Foske X Gunnarstorp x O Brolin for a pedigree reads like a list of bulls I’ve used in crossbreeding over the years. While I worry less about inbreeding when crossbreeding, given that my herd is saturated with Foske, Gunnarstorp and O Brolin genes I will probably lay off Flame after using a hundred or so units. We’ve recently brought in some semen from the genomic yo...