More dairy cows in Canada may have the potential to achieve top-rated status in publicly released genetic rankings, thanks to a change being introduced by the Lactanet organization in early 2025. The change will be of particular benefit to herds in which monthly milk samples are collected unsupervised by the herd owner. Why it matters: […] Read more
Genetics — page 3
Owner-sampled dairy cattle herds will see earlier genetic evaluations
Lactanet proposes move to monthly official evaluations for Canadian cows in early 2025
Top genetics shouldn’t change much under modernized LPI
Lactanet to update its benchmark Lifetime Performance Index by early next year
The emphasis given to production and health characteristics will change in a proposed new Lifetime Performance Index (LPI) for Canadian dairy cows – with new weighting for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing “milkability”. Brian Van Doormaal, chief services officer for Lactanet, the genetic testing and data management organization leading the process, says changes in […] Read more
VIDEO: Calves for a Cause draws crowds, top genetics
Funds go to the London Children’s Hospital
The fourth annual Calves for a Cause sale brought together more than 100 lots to raise funds for the London Hospital Foundation. The sale, which was hosted by the Canadian Dairy Xpo (CDX), brought together about 40 top genetic calves, but also rare semen, embryos from top cows and even old, rare dairy sales catalogues […] Read more
Carrier status for two dairy defects available soon
Lactanet will publish evaluations for defects affecting Holstein and Brown Swiss
Lactanet says dairy producers will soon have access to genetic information on tested bulls and females that carry the defect for muscle weakness (Holsteins) and the BH14 haplotype (Brown Swiss). Why it matters: To prevent potential spread of the fatal defects, breeders must avoid mating two recessive carrier-status animals. Dr. Allyson Fleming, a geneticist with […] Read more
Lochdale Holsteins third in Lactanet dairy performance awards
The Alexandria-area farm was the top Ontario herd, with five of the top 10 from the province
An Ontario farm had the third highest dairy herd performance index in Lactanet’s annual national awards. Lochdale Holsteins, of Alexandria, Ont., had a score of 969. The farm is owned by David, Anne Marie and Andrew MacMillan. They milk 78 cows in a pipeline system. Lactanet is the national herd recording and dairy farm data […] Read more
Paul Larmer – the retirement interview
The CEO of the Semex Alliance led the organization during 17 years of growth into a global entity still owned by Canadian dairy farmers
Paul Larmer retired as chief executive officer of the Semex Alliance on Dec. 31, after growing a farmer-owned Canadian company into a leading global player. Over 17 years as CEO, Larmer led the organization to become one of the top five dairy genetics companies in the world, and saw it through dramatic change driven by […] Read more
Lactanet to publish sexed semen fertility ratings
Farmers will now have access to information previously only sent to bull line-up owners
Canadian dairy farmers will soon have access to fertility ratings for sexed bull semen. Lactanet recently announced it plans to publicly release the ratings, previously provided to artificial insemination service providers only, in early 2024. Dr. Gerrit Kistemaker, the national organization’s manager of genetic evaluations, gave an update on the process during Lactanet’s Open Industry […] Read more
Many factors affect milk frothing problem
Lactation length, milking frequency, prechilling and filter replacement all contribute to higher free fatty acids
A frothy problem identified by Starbucks baristas in British Columbia does not have a simple solution. Elevated levels of free fatty acids in milk can result in cheese coagulation issues, milk with poor taste and shorter shelf life, and a lack of frothing ability, which is the big concern for coffee chains. Why it matters: […] Read more
Taking the human out of dairy cow classification
Canadian start-up eyes artificial intelligence-based dairy cow evaluation
A Canadian start-up company says results from its artificial intelligence-based classification of dairy cows come within two per cent of human results. Animal science specialist Ghader Manafiazar, one of three co-founders of iClassifier, says through the analysis of approximately 30,000 images collected from Canadian dairy farms, an accuracy rate of 98 per cent was achieved […] Read more
Dairy farmers challenged to make tough genomics choices
Heifers at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show displayed competing genomic priorities
At Rose Vega Farm near Cambridge, Luke and Kelly Donkers agree that emotion sometimes creeps its way into dairy breeding decisions. But at the recent Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS), Luke also agreed that when it comes to overall dairy farm profitability, genomics is a valuable tool. “There are probably more grey-haired cows on our […] Read more
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