Delta Rietje VG 86, first Delta donor at farm Nooijen-Maas

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1 HIGHLIGHTS REPORT ENGLISH EDITION JUNE 2015 CRV will use significantly fewer young bulls On an annual basis the number of InSire test bulls will be reduced to 60, including 18 R&W bulls. The change of the test program is a logical consequence of developments in bull use nowadays, explains Sijne van der Beek, who is worldwide responsible for the offer of CRV bulls. In the Netherlands and Flanders more than half of the number of sold straws are already from bulls with a genomic breeding value. We see that farmers keep using the most interesting InSire bulls, even if there are no producing daughters yet. Increase rate of genetic progress The increased popularity of genomic bulls is at the expense of daughter tested bulls. Only the excellent sires are still brought back in production based on daughter performance. We are confident that we are able to predict which bulls this will be on the basis of genomic breeding values, Van der Beek says. This makes it possible to make the test program more efficient and increase the rate of genetic progress by sharper selection. Consequences for testers The change in the test program has consequences for farmers with a CRV test agreement. They keep the price advantage in the use of young bulls, but the bonus for farm inspection will be reduced. The testers receive a compensation for supplying health and efficiency data. Delta test heifers perform well on the new test farms CRV has been working closely together with test farms since many years. On these farms the heifers start producing milk which are used as embryo donors during the Delta nucleus program in Terwispel. The best heifers are used again as embryo donor. Both embryos of these donors on test farms as embryos from heifers in Terwispel are going to Delta Satellite farms. These Delta Satellite farms are also very important for CRV. A large part of the calves for the breeding program has been born on these farms. Last year, CRV recruited two extra test farms, namely the farm of Koen and Laura Nooijen-Maas in Coevorden and the farm of family Peeters in Geel (Flanders). With these two extra farms the distribution of the test farms over the Netherlands and Flanders is balanced. Now a test farm can be visited in every region. Meanwhile, on both farms a group of Delta heifers is producing. The results are very good. In table 1 the conformation results of the Delta heifers are shown. Remarkable new donors From the embryos of these animals that have been collected in Terwispel have been and will be born plenty of calves. Based Table 1 Conformation results of the Delta heifers Delta Rietje VG 86, first Delta donor at farm Nooijen-Maas on the marker breeding values CRV buys back the best of them and they will be the donors for the next generation. In the case of a young bull it will be the InSire test and top bull of the future. With these high conformation results CRV will show that all is well with the conformation of the animals in the breeding program. The farm of the family Nooijen has already the first donor cow. Delta Rietje has the scoop. As an Epic sister of InSire top bull Danno she is from the Etazon Renate family. Delta Rietje has 86 points for conformation and a lactation value of 107. Meanwhile, Delta Rietje is successfully flushed with the FARM #OF ANIMALS FRAME TYPE UDDER FEET & LEGS TOTAL SCORE Nooijen-Maas Peeters Delta Gabi rf VG 86, Stellando daughter from full sister of G-Force sire Penley. Another remarkable Delta heifer is Delta Gabi rf. With Stellando as father and as mother the full sister of Delta G-Force, she combines two bulls that received high values during the last index run of april. Next to a nice heifer, she is also a productive heifer with a lactation value of 113. The family Peeters is milking more than 500 cows. Also on this farm the Delta heifers perform very well, especially with an average lactation value of 105. We know from experience that Delta heifers are more persistent than average, so it is interesting to compare the animals on the farm again when most of the animals have completed their first lactation. It s just too early to appoint donors, because most heifers are relatively fresh. However, there are a number of good Stellando and G-Force daughters and also a good red factor Rozello daughter. Therefore, the first Delta donors in Flanders will be a fact. A photo shoot for a number of Delta heifers is already planned. CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE

2 MANAGEMENT Strict management improves fertility Successful Delta Satellite farms that use embryo transfer show excellent fertility results. What can we learn from these farms? They have strict management methods, work with automated heat detection and health and feeding is managed well. Mid-September CRV organized theme days about the Delta Satellite embryo program. CRV s fertility specialist Peter Vercauteren gave a presentation about fertility. Participants of the Delta Satellite program are found to realize an average pregnancy rate of 50 to 60 percent. Ideally, even a percentage of 80 is possible. So, in terms of fertility Delta Satellite farms are doing very well. What can we learn from them, and also from other farms that score high for fertility? In essence, it is about proper heat detection, prevention of embryonic mortality and work according to fixed methods. Automated heat detection Nowadays, it is unimaginable to work without modern heat detection systems. 2 CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE 2015 These systems notice heat even better than the eye of the farmer. In less than five years Ovalert became a household name. The Utrecht Faculty of Veterinary Medicine calculated a rapid payback time of just seven years. The success of modern detection systems like Ovalert also shows how difficult and time consuming it is to recognize heat on the right moment. Especially when the herd is outside or is kept on another farm. Three times a day when it is quiet in the stable or looking at cows in the meadow for fifteen minutes is a text from theory books of ancient times. Moreover, you now no longer suffer from the phenomenon silent heat. Those animals appear literally automatically at the right moment. Therefore, automated heat detection is a profitable investment. Prevent embryonic death Good heat detection is one thing, but will lead the first insemination at the right moment to pregnancy? If only that was true Embryonic death is very common and can often be traced back to the following three factors: bad ration, lack or excess of minerals and diseases. An incorrect feed ration results often in a negative energy balance, acidosis or a high urea content in the milk. If the last one increases to a value above 30, this will inevitably lead to embryonic death. The fertility mineral selenium continues to deserve attention. Especially when a large part of the ration exists of maize. Older young stock also needs special attention, a category that gets the least attention, but scores best in terms of fertility. When

3 MANAGEMENT grass silage is withered with natural grass to prevent young stock gets too fat, there is risk of selenium deficiency. Heifers need a ration of approximately 15 percent crude protein. Also the diseases BVD, IBR and Neospora cause embryonic death. The basis to prevent IBR and BVD is to control bulk milk and take hygiene serious. The Animal Health organization warns for embryo receivers who are carriers of BVD and Neospora. Participants of the Delta Satellite program have a major focus on the disease approach since repurchase of embryos after birth lucrative for the farmer is only possible if compliance with the veterinary requirements. Accurate detection and suppression varies by disease and requires consultation with the veterinarian and the CRV fertility specialist. Large farm, better fertility Fertility benefits from a strict management. A recently completed data analysis from the Animal Evaluation Unit (AEU) of CRV has shown that the group s largest farms with more than 200 cows not only achieve the highest production, but also the shortest calving interval (409 days) and the shortest interval calving-first insemination (88 days). The Dutch national average is a calving interval of 414 days and the interval between calving and first insemination is on average 93,5 days. SCC in the uterus Besides subclinical mastitis, there is also subclinical inflammation of the uterus. Subclinical mastitis can be recognized by a high somatic cell count. These cows can be effectively treated with antibiotics to improve udder health. The same accounts for threatening uteritis. This is the background of research by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Ghent headed by professor bovine fertility and health Geert Opsomer. Cows with subclinical uteritis are not sick, length of heat doesn t differ, the cycle length neither and also nothing strange is found with ultrasound. Subclinical uteritis can be measured on the basis of the somatic cell count in the uterus. If the SCC is too high in the uterus, it is not wise to inseminate Large farms scored better because they often work with standard weekly fertility counseling and strict protocols. They also make more use of automatic heat detection and they often have modern barns with lots of light, air and space. Which are important factors for a good fertility result. as there is a real risk of embryonic mortality. The Ghent Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is working on a simple test consisting of uterus smear, which is going into the uterus with an insemination pipet. Reduce embryonic death with testing uterus tissue Good fertility can be reached by everyone, it s not just for the large farms or the Delta Satellite farms. It s all about good heat detection, prevention of embryonic death, and strict management that works with regular methods. In less than five years Ovalert heat detection became very common CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE

4 CRV BULLS TOTAL INDEX BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCY INDEX BETTER LIFE HEALTH INDEX BATENBURG G. STELLANDO RF (Fidelity x O Man) Batenburg G. Stellando rf was already very popular as an InSire bull. After the first index run on the base of 250 lactating daughters he shows what was expected. With Stellando daughters, dairy farmers can produce very high levels of fat and protein (+106kg). This red factor Fidelity son was already very popular as an InSire Top Bull. His daughters make his scores more than worthwhile, with excellent milk production and positive contents. Stellando daughters also have fantastic legs (114) with very good, healthy claws (108). Stellando will show an excellent daughter group at the coming CRV Cow-Expo. KG MILK 760 % FAT 0.23 % PROTEIN 0.28 UDDER 99 FEET & LEGS 114 LONGEVITY 212 CALVING EASE 103 Roza 417 (s. Stellando) MS RIVERBOY RF (Aikman x Planet) Ms Riverboy is another absolutely top bull for farmers. Riverboy is from the combination Aikman x Planet and traces back to a German cow family. This family was already several times in the spotlight with bulls like Guarini (=full brother of Riverboy s granddam) and the popular sire of son Sundance. Riverboy is an excellent bull for farmers wanting to breed lots of kilograms of fat and protein (+96 kg) and high longevity (+721 days) into the herd very efficiently (+11%). Riverboy is an udder specialist par excellence with a score of 110 for general type characteristics and an extremely high udder health score (115). KG MILK 1064 % FAT 0.21 % PROTEIN 0.06 UDDER 110 FEET & LEGS 101 LONGEVITY 721 CALVING EASE 103 Ms Riverboy DELTA PALOMA BY (Direct x Award rf by) Delta Paloma stands for good components and kilos of fat and protein. This son of Direct (of Fidelity) is a very attractive production bull. Paloma is an efficient (+5%) content inheritor (+0.16% fat and +0.14% protein). In addition, Paloma passes on very good conformation (108) and udders (110). With high scores for udder health (104) and claw health (105), Paloma makes a sound contribution to herd health (+4%). He is a top bull on many fronts, ahe combines a good production with very strong feet&legs and daughters of Paloma will also be easy to manage. KG MILK 423 % FAT 0.16 % PROTEIN 0.14 UDDER 110 FEET & LEGS 105 LONGEVITY 489 CALVING EASE 101 Delta Paloma 4 CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE 2015

5 CRV BULLS TOTAL INDEX DE VLOTTENBURG FANTASY (Fiction rf x Lightning) BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCY INDEX BETTER LIFE HEALTH INDEX With very positive values for udder health, fertility and claw health, De Vlottenburg Fantasy is a true health specialist. His daughters are less susceptible for ketosis, as the breeding value ketosis shows. Fantasy is the highest available daughter tested bull from CRV. He is also one of the highest scoring bulls for health (+6%) and daughter fertility (104). Fantasy daughters produce a lot of milk (+902kg milk) from healthy udders (105). And with scores of 102 for claw health and 104 for easy calving, Fantasy is an excellent utility bull in every respect. KG MILK 902 % FAT 0.16 % PROTEIN 0.02 UDDER 101 FEET & LEGS 104 LONGEVITY 209 CALVING EASE 104 Bertha 320 (s. Fantasy) RIVAAL (Rudolf x Matthijs) With his high longevity Rivaal will appeal to every farmer, both pure MRIJ breeder and the farmer who wants to improve his cows with crossbreeding. He passes on excellent milk production (+396kg milk) and substantially increases herd efficiency (+7%). With their high longevity (+393 days), Rivaal daughters are able to achieve high lifetime yield and have very healthy udders (106). Rivaal is not suitable for maiden heifers because he produces heavy calves. KG MILK 396 % FAT % PROTEIN 0.12 UDDER 110 FEET & LEGS 104 LONGEVITY 393 CALVING EASE Freddy 24 (s. Rivaal) RALDI (Rau x Nepoldi) Once again the daughter proven bull Raldi confirms his breeding values in april index run. Since December his values increased with 8 points for fitness (134) and 4 points in udder health (121). Furthermore he raised in somatic cell score with 4 points (121). All these figures result in a better life health index of +9%, what makes him to one of the best CRV Fleckvieh bulls in this segment. Additionally his longevity increased with 8 points to 123, that is more than two standard deviation above average. Both his longevity and his good production figures result in a better life efficiency index of +7%. With a paternal calving ease of 118 he fits well for inseminating heifers. KG MILK 834 % FAT 0.13 % PROTEIN 0.04 UDDER 122 LONGEVITY 123 CALVING EASE 118 Raldi CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE

6 CRV AROUND THE WORLD Costa Rica a country with many breeding variations From January 27 to 30, 2015, CRV organised several business trips to Costa Rica, in cooperation with distributor Global Genetics. During the visits to different units, the major differences in cattle breeding could be seen. These differences are partly due to climate, as it is quite cold in the mountains and hot and humid in the tropical areas of the country. Due to these conditions, Jersey and Holstein cows are kept in the mountain areas and crossbreds with the Gir breed are kept in the humid regions. Many producers keep the cows partially housed, where they are fed with forage and concentrates. Grazing all year round is not possible due to heavy rainfall. Holstein bulls from CRV, including Klimmer and Franklin and Kodak, are very popular. Black-and-white sire Canvas has been used extensively, but he s now been replaced by bulls including Amno and Gofast. In Costa Rica, Canvas is cited as one of the most efficient and productive bulls from the top 50 bulls in the Holstein Registration System. The recent trend in Costa Rica is to use more Jersey semen. The reason is that cows with good milk production and high components are by far more versatile cows for the mountain regions. Genetica Global purchases semen from American CRV Jersey bulls, like Murmer and Sentinel, which have good feed efficiency. For tropical areas the CRV Lagoa Gir bulls from Brazil are very popular. They can be crossed with Holstein bulls, which results in cows (often Girolando) that are resistant to tropical diseases. G-force Daughter group showcased at Danish Agro Nord show After the CRV Cow Expo in Ghent, a G-Force daughter group has also been shown at the Danish Agro Nord show by CRV distributor BreednCare. BreednCare showed six Danish G-Force daughters during the show in March. The Man-O-Man son from Delta Gem (s. Jordan) got his first daughter breeding values in December. As a genomic bull, G-Force was already heavily in use. Therefore his first daughter breeding values contain information from more than 700 daughters. This Man-O-Man son has a breeding value of 288 NVI with a reliability of 85%. For total conformation he scored 109. G-Force daughter group at Agro Nord show Excellent grazing cows in Uruguay During some recent grazing field days, organised by Procreo in Uruguay, delegates visited Bentancor Velazquez Hnos farm, managed by brothers Rosanna, John and Deivi. The brothers run a 363-cow herd on 370 hectares of grass. The pastures comprise a mixture of grasses including rye grass, white clover and fields with Soudan rye grass (sorghum). The herd produces 7,963kg of milk per hectare and the herd average is 6,766kg of milk per cow, with 557kg milk solids (3.60% fat and 3.39% protein). The brothers breeding goal is to increase milk constituents so they are currently using CRV Ambreed bulls including: Firenze, Macca, Rupert, Overdrive, and the Dutch bull Klimmer. Visitors at Bentancor Velazquez Hnos unit 6 CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE 2015

7 CRV AROUND THE WORLD Genetic success with CRV: Moserdale Dairy LLC MOSERDALE FARM FACTS COPENHAGEN, NY Herd: 750 cows Average yield: 27,508litres at 3.88% butterfat and 3.17% protein Breeding: 100% AI Since switching to CRV genetics almost five years ago, New York s Moserdale Dairy LLC has made tremendous strides with its breeding programme. It has increased milk and component production, and boosted pregnancy rates, while utilising CRV s genetics and services. Fourth-generation producer The Moser family Andrew Moser first began using CRV products in July 2010 and has been pleased with the results he has seen so far. Based in Copenhagen, New York, the unit has been run by his family since Originally starting with about 20 cows, the dairy has since expanded to 750 Holstein cows on 565 hectares under the watchful eyes of Doug and Andrew Moser, and business partner Patty Beyer. CRV is dedicated to helping producers to build long-lasting, efficient herds of cows that will produce high quality premium milk. Andrew feels that CRV s philosophy is a perfect fit for the modern-day commercial herd that is looking to increase margins. The herd utilises CRV s US and Dutch genetic programmes to meet their unit s goals. Andrew feels he can get some hybrid vigor from within the Holstein breed by utilising Dutch outcross sires. Of his 750 milking cows, 297 are daughters of CRV sires. The success of these sires can be seen by looking at the milk production of their daughters compared to their herdmates. CRV sires are ahead of any other stud for conception in Dairy Comp, and the pregnancy rate is as high as it has ever been, says Andrew. He is also impressed with the calves produced by CRV sires, adding that they are very lively and aggressive, as well as uniform size, and they are performing well and adapting to the unit s new calf barn. The dairy has seen a lot of changes since it started in Most recently the dairy has built a new state-of-the-art robotic calf barn. The Mosers continue to embrace technology and growth on their unit, whether that means adding more cows or investing in better management systems. They also strive to maintain a pregnancy rate of 25% or higher. International seminar in Paraguay On February 18, 2015, CRV BU Latin America organised an international seminar, in conjunction with the San Carlos University of Asuncion in Paraguay. Speakers at the conference included: Ronaldo Dietze, rector at the San Carlos University and director of agricultural products; Bart Vrolijk, Dutch agricultural attaché for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay; José-Maria Hernandez, director of the animal feed products at DSM-Tortuga for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay; Henrique Brinckmann, vet and sales manager for CRV Lagoa in Brazil; and Fokko Tolsma, CRV s business manager for Latin America. More than 120 delegates attended this seminar. Main themes discussed at the seminar included the importance of micro and macro minerals for dairy and beef cattle and which genetics, combined with management, are best suited to Paraguay s climate. Many people were interested in the international seminar CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE

8 CRV NEWS Marijke 48 has been voted MRY cow of the year On Friday March 13th, the cow of family Spierings from Den Dungen (the Netherlands) is honored at the MRY day. Marijke 48 is a daughter of bull M.V. Mario (v. Majoor). She is registered with 86 points. The nearly five year old cow has a total milk production over 857 days of 20,779kg of milk with 4.27% fat and 3.72% protein. In her current third lactation, she produced until day 130, 3956kg of milk with 4.05% fat and 3.53% protein. A video of Marijke 48 can be found on the global website. NINE daughter groups at CRV Cow-Expo On June 20 the next CRV Cow-Expo will take place in the Brabanthallen in s Hertogenbosch. It will be a special edition. On this day CRV will show nine excellent daughter groups representing five different themes: efficiency, health, fertility, production and longevity. In the table below bulls of which daughter groups will be present. COLOR BETTER LIFE EFFICIENCY BETTER LIFE HEALTH TOTAL SCORE NVI G-Force (Man O Man x Jordan) BW +10% +6% Stellando rf (Fidelity x O Man) BW +5% +2% Hunter (Man O Man x Shottle) BW +5% +6% Atlantic (Ramos x O man) BW +4% +10% Rozello (Sunrise x Shottle) BW +1% +5% Reality (Fiction x Gogo) RW 1% +2% Camion (Fender x Goldwyn) RW +7% +8% Rivaal (Rudolf x Matthijs) MRIJ +7% +1% Next to these 8 sires, also a daughter group of Fleckvieh crossbreds will be shown. Fidelity daughter group at the Cow-Expo in 2013, Zwolle, the Netherlands Highlights is a publication of CRV BV. CRV is a Dutch-Flemish farmers co-operative with six business units (International Business Development, Central Europe, Oceania, North America, South America and Western Europe). Highlights is published three times a year. Editor: CRV International Business Development. For information about CRV, please go to our website: global.crv4all.com or contact: CRV, P.O. Box 5073, 6802 EB Arnhem, the Netherlands. Phone: , Fax: , sales@crv4all.com Material appearing in Highlights is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission of CRV. FUTURE EVENTS 20 JUNE 2015 CRV Cow-Expo, s-hertogenbosch, the Netherlands 8 CRV HIGHLIGHTS REPORT JUNE 2015