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Genetics
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 […] 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, […] 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 […] 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, […] 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 […] 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), […] Read more
Dairy farmer eager to see results of low-methane breeding decisions
Lynden-area farmer's herd one of the first to use trait
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 […] Read more
New dairy innovations featured at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show
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 […] Read more
New players find way into dairy genetics markets
Some Canadian farms are now selling bull semen
New service providers and technology allow some large dairy farmers to sell genetics from their own bulls. Stanton Farms, one of Ontario’s largest dairy farms, now sells its bull semen […] Read more
U.S. researchers uncover emerging Holstein genetic defect
Affected recumbency calves unable to stand after birth
The North American dairy breeding sector is providing early-stage advice to protect herds against a newly discovered and potentially fatal genetic defect affecting Holstein calves. The first official word on […] Read more