Latest Newsletter

Genetics — page 3

VIDEO: Calves for a Cause draws crowds, top genetics
Dairy, Genetics, News

VIDEO: Calves for a Cause draws crowds, top genetics

Funds go to the London Children’s Hospital

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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
A genetic defect was discovered last year as a cause of muscle weakness (calf recumbency) in Holstein calves.
Calf health, Cow health, Dairy, Genetics, Livestock

Carrier status for two dairy defects available soon

Lactanet will publish evaluations for defects affecting Holstein and Brown Swiss

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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 of Alexandria, Ont. was third nationally in Lactanet's 2023 awards. The farm is run by David, Anne Marie and Andrew MacMillan.
Dairy, Genetics, Milking equipment, News

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

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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 led the Semex Alliance as CEO for 17 years, through significant growth and 13 straight years of record revenues.
Dairy, Genetics, News

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

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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
Next year, Lactanet plans to publish fertility ratings for sexed bull semen.
Cow health, Dairy, Genetics

Lactanet to publish sexed semen fertility ratings

Farmers will now have access to information previously only sent to bull line-up owners

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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
Hannah Woodhouse recently won the top student poster award at the International Dairy Federation’s meeting in Chicago. Her work involves free fatty acids in milk.
Dairy, Genetics, Milking equipment, Nutrition

Many factors affect milk frothing problem

Lactation length, milking frequency, prechilling and filter replacement all contribute to higher free fatty acids

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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
Cows could be evaluated on numerous traits using a Canadian camera-based system that could replace the need for on-farm classification.
Cow health, Dairy, Genetics, Livestock

Taking the human out of dairy cow classification

Canadian start-up eyes artificial intelligence-based dairy cow evaluation

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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
EastGen asked attendees to look over these heifers, assess their characteristics, and decide which two to keep in the milking herd and which two to sell. After choosing, attendees were shown genomic evaluations for comparison.
Dairy, Genetics, Livestock

Dairy farmers challenged to make tough genomics choices

Heifers at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show displayed competing genomic priorities

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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
Dairy cattle, Ontario
Dairy, Genetics, Livestock

Dairy farmer eager to see results of low-methane breeding decisions

Lynden-area farmer's herd one of the first to use trait

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Reuters — When dairy farmer Ben Loewith’s calves are born next spring, they will be among the first in the world to be bred with a specific environmental goal: burping less methane. Loewith, a third-generation farmer in Lynden, started artificially inseminating 107 cows and heifers in June with the first-to-market bull semen with a low-methane […] Read more
Sjenk Van Soelen of DeLaval explained the company's new behaviour analysis tool for monitoring in-barn cow behaviour and herd health.
Cow health, Dairy, Genetics, Livestock, Milking equipment

New dairy innovations featured at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

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Dairy business leaders’ perception of what consumers expect of Canadian farmers is driving information technology innovation in the sector.  The DeLaval dairy equipment company used the 2023 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show to officially launch in Canada and the U.S. its DeLaval Plus Behavior Analysis tool for monitoring in-barn cow behaviour and herd health. The company’s […] Read more

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