The ongoing research by University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science clearly shows the advantages of crossbreeding, at the same time we believe that its also important to listen to those, who are making their living milking these crosses. They layed down the bricks, walked that road for a long time, and most importantly, succeeded! We don’t have to tell you what they were putting at risk. You can find these progressive dairymen all over the world in growing numbers. Watch them talk about their experiences:
RECOMMENDED CROSSES:
Every crossbreeding program needs a plan and a dairyman committed to that plan. The PROCROSS system provides the best plan.
Our Company has more experience with dairy crossbreeding than any other company in the world. We have used many different breeds to try to find the ones that rose to the top. We have found them:
The PROCROSS
Montbeliarde x Swedish Red x Holstein or
VikingRed x Montbeliarde x Holstein
The PROCROSS is by far the most successful cross. The PROCROSS herd has the promise of 25% extra profit! And that’s based not only on years of crossbreeding experiences, but also backed by University Research and California State Data that confirms our beliefs.
We have thousands of PROCROSS cows milking throughout the US. They are extremely nice looking, tall and strong and about as nice as you could expect them to be. They have extremely nice udders, high production and low SCC. This reassures us that the PROCROSS is the way to go! They are getting pregnant much quicker than herdmates with SCC well below 100,000. They are very well balanced between strength and dairy character. They are extremely pleasing to the eye! Average weight fresh: 1200-1250 lbs. At the end of the 1st lactation: 1300-1450 lbs.
So if you are about to start your crossbreeding PROCROSS program now, we recommend to breed the Holstein cow to either the Montbeliarde or the VikingRed breed. Here is what you can expect from these “F1” crosses:
Montbeliarde x Holstein
A cow about as tall as your Holstein but with 200 lbs more body condition. Slope to the rump with tremendous feet and legs. They are maturing into a big, strong dairy cow with a hidden will to milk and the oldest ones are now in their fifth lactation with a 20% yearly cull rate. The Montbeliarde cross is producing at the same level as pure Holsteins. Average weight fresh: 1250-1300 lbs. At the end of the 1st lactation: 1350-1650 lbs.
VikingRed x Holstein
They are dairy cows with better body condition than Holsteins, especially in late lactation. More substance of bone with a better leg than Holsteins. They are out producing A. I. Sired Holstein by 7% with a lower SCC and good reproduction. The VikingRed breed has both strength and dairy character. This breed is known as a calving ease breed with the average calving difficulty of 4.2%. Average weight fresh: 1100-1250 lbs. At the end of the 1st lactation: 1300-1400 lbs.
Please do not confuse the VikingRed with Norwegian Red as they are completely opposite. The Norwegian Red is a dual purpose breed. The VikingRed is the highest producing with the best type.
We have tried the Brown Swiss, Jersey, Norwegian Red, Ayrshire, Normande, Milking Shorthorn and their combinations in large enough numbers to make a comparison. We found them somewhat disappointing. All of these breeds have been discontinued by our company. They did not meet our specifications either for type and/or production.
Some of our competitors are trying to promote a disaster called “Flip Flop”. They were Jersey/Holsteins or Holstein/Jerseys that were bred back to one of the parent breeds. They consistently were very low production and extremely inconsistent on type.
If you need new information or assistance with a crossbreeding program, please feel free to contact us with ANY questions you might have; 800-640-BULL(2855).