beyond calf export forum andy dodd march 2011. uk diversity
TRANSCRIPT
Crossbreeding case studies• Provide clear rewards/implications of
crossbreeding
• Gaps in research
• 7,000 – 9,500 grazing/TMR systems
• Separate business decisions from genetics
• Assess health and fitness differences between breeds
Case studies continued
• Bull calf and cull cow values
• Survival rates
• Assess yield differences between crossbreds and pure breds
• Environmental impact of crossbreeding
• Farmers reasons for crossbreeding
Case study farm three
MB+ Average Farm Three
Number Of Cows 246 286
Labour Hrs/Cow 27 20
Grazing Weeks 26 31
Feed (ppl) 7.08 7.14
Vet & Med (ppl) 0.97 0.6
AI/Breeding (ppl) 0.43 0.62
Calves Transferred (ppl) 1.19 0.35
Cost Milk Production (ppl) 25.17 23.78
Margin (ppl) 1.88 1.85
Fertility 1/9/10 - 1/2/11Swedish Red X Danish Red X Holstein
Number of Cows 63 16 207
Yield (305 day) 10,118 10,562 10,559
SCC (12month rolling)
159 119 250
Days – 1st Serve 67 64 65
Serves - Conception 2.6 5.6 3.1
% in calf @ 100d 50 31 45
Conception Rate % 39 (26) 18 (8) 33 (23)
Mastitis Cases per 100 cows
0.27 0 0.56
Lameness Cases per 100
0.48 0.28 0.41
Pure breds - Crossbred
Conventional Crossbred
Top 10% Bottom 10% Top 10% Bottom 10%
Av. Herd size 239 136 252 172
Av. Yield (l/cow) 7443 6740 6415 5962
Grazing weeks 28 24 32 20
Total feed cost (p/l) 5.94 7.73 7.41 8.37
Labour (hrs/cow) 23.06 38.33 16.63 30.99
Herd replacement (%) 20.87 26.02 15.84 45.45
Net margin (p/l) 5.44 -6.59 6.84 -8.42
•Milkbench+ business benchmarking data sets 1/12/2009 – 30/6/2010 •Pure bred farms - 235 (195 conventional and 40 organic)•Crossbred farms – 39 farms
What is the difference?
HF Bullocks average 530KG @ 21 months £640/head
HF X Monti Bullocks average 520kg @ 17 months = £820/head
Impact group aims• Provide impartial crossbreeding research
results for all breeds in one place• Get like minded farmers together
– Already crossbreeding– Considering crossbreeding
• Help farmers find answers/solutions to specific questions
• Find where gaps in research exist and try to fill these