Spot the good traits to find the best type cow
Constraints on farm labour and rising economic pressures on dairy units mean an independent herd assessment to help select the best cows for breeding, cut the number culled for poor legs, feet and mastitis, and save on costs could be useful.
2 January 2007
1 minute read
Both milk buyers and the public find conformation defects increasingly unacceptable and dairy farmers are becoming more aware that cows of better type produce more efficiently and for longer, says Holstein UK's type classification manager Meurig James.
"But producers shouldn't view classification as a tool purely for the strict pedigree breeder. It provides an independent assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the herd, while identifying individual cow strengths and weaknesses to help eliminate specific health and welfare problems in the herd."
Source: Farmers Weekly
