| Veepro news august 2020 |
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Index run:
With ‘healthy’ confidence, a significant improvement for CRV bulls
The balance between health and efficiency is what makes CRV’s breeding program so unique. Important breeding values, therefore, come together in the CRV Health and CRV Efficiency indexes. These are new names, because CRV wants to make progress together with cattle farmers.
This index run once again shows impressive (genetic) progress with both surprising newcomers and proven commonly used bulls. CRV stands for healthy cows with a functional conformation that achieve excellent production with good components.
https://www.crv4all.com/with-healthy-confidence-a-significant-improvement-for-crv-bulls/
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Index run:
Top bulls that prove themselves time and again
It is the balance between health and efficiency that makes CRV’s Fleckvieh breeding program unique as well. Important breeding values, therefore, come together in the CRV Health and CRV Efficiency indexes. These are new names, because CRV wants to make progress together with cattle farmers throughout the world.
https://www.crv4all.com/top-bulls-that-prove-themselves-time-and-again/
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Cows are morning eaters
Cows consume most of the feed in the early morning and in the second half of the afternoon. Around noon the feed intake decreases again, according to American research. This natural behavior of cows also provides tools for feeding the cows properly in difficult periods, for example during very hot weather.
By feeding the cows early in the morning you are in line with the natural behavior and stimulate the intake by offering fresh feed. It is even better to feed twice a day, the second time later in the afternoon, also in line with what the cow prefers to do. Feeding in the night to avoid the heat is less useful. The cows will come to the feed fence, but they will eat faster in a short time and that results in subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA).
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With optimization of dry period towards older cows
The dry period is crucial in the pursuit of older cows. It ensures that the cows make a smooth transition to lactation. At research company KTC De Marke, a strict dry period protocol has been drawn up for the dry period with the aim of allowing the cows to age.
The cows are dry for five to six weeks. At the time of drying off, they produce no more than 10 kg of milk. To achieve this, the experimental farm will stop supplying concentrates one month before drying off. A week and a half before drying off, the cows are fed separately on a ration of threshed hay (or straw) and water.
The cows absorb 14 kg of dry matter from the dry-period ration. The ration contains about 13.5% protein and there is 715 VEM per kilo of dry matter. A low-energy, but very tasty ration. Three weeks before calving, the animals are given concentrates up to a maximum of 2.5 kg at calving. It is also special that the cows are given "prenatal exercises", movement in the form of a special walking program. Active cows are healthy cows.
After calving, the cows receive the dairy cows' ration, which means a doubling in terms of energy and protein. This is not only necessary for a trouble-free start of the new lactation, but it also ensures that the cows become pregnant again more easily afterwards. Also essential in the pursuit of older cows.
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The Meijer family: more than 41 cows with 100,000 tons
The Meijer family has already brought 41 cows to a production of 100,000 kg of milk. Their aim is to realize as much lifetime production as possible from roughage. Good management and high cow comfort are at the basis of an average production of 51,500 kg of milk for every cow that leaves the farm.
Sand and mastic asphalt
The family has relocated their business about 10 years ago. From the east of the Netherlands they moved to the north of the country, where they built a new barn for 350 cows.
In the design and layout of the barn much attention has been paid to cow comfort. For example, a 2 + 2 set-up was chosen because in that way also a feeding place could be realized. The cows walk on a solid floor of mastic asphalt between the boxes, with rubber behind the feeding fence. The cubicles have a sand bedding and are automatically filled. In order to be able to feed and care for the animals in the large groups, as much as possible according to their needs, seven groups were formed. For example, heifers and fresh cows are in a separate group. The 315 dairy cows show a rolling annual average of 11,889 kg of milk with 4.28% fat and 3.39% protein.
Click here for a photo report of their company (https://veeteelt.nl/foto/blijham-staan-de-koeien-centraal)
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AI bulls pampered
CRV has renovated the sire stables at Harfsen. As a result, the housing meets the highest quality requirements and ensures the very highest comfort, which is important for the health of the bulls and thus ensures the best semen quality.
Harfsen can house a hundred sires, all of which have a straw pen of 27 square meters. In addition to extra space, special UV lighting has also been installed. This imitates sunlight and ensures that the bulls produce vitamin D. Thanks to a controlled climate system, which works with overpressure and filters on the air inlet, midges and other pathogens stay out. For veterinary reasons, the sire stables are not accessible to visitors, however a virtual video tour can be made.
Click here for the video.
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Generously feeding calves pays off
Calves that have grown fast in their youth give more milk later and are more likely to reach the third lactation. This is shown by research of Trouw Nutrition.
The study was carried out with 86 calves, one group receiving four liters of milk replacer per day and the other group receiving eight liters. Those calves are now third calvers and it appears that the difference in rearing also makes a difference in performance at a later age. The generously fed calves were 23 days younger when they first calved. In the first and second lactation they produced over a kilogram more milk per day. The dropout rate was also considerably lower. Of the 43 generously fed calves, 23 reached the third lactation. In the other group, that number was 16.
This research is an example of so-called "epigenetics" in which at a young age, and even during the pregnancy, management and nutrition can make certain properties come to expression.
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Veterinary animal disease control is better organized
Increasingly, there are reports in the media that it would be mainly intensive livestock farming that is responsible for the current corona crisis. According to the Dutch outbreak management team, COVID-19 is a zoonosis that has nothing to do with intensive livestock farming. The theme of “risks” is evident in the interaction between humans and animals when it comes to "emerging infections." These animal-human interactions will therefore also need to be investigated in more depth. The key question here remains how you can maintain the balance between people, kept animals and biodiversity.
On the basis of the last bird flu epidemic in 2003, a comparison can be made between the approach of a human and a veterinary epidemic. That bird flu virus spread in both humans and animals. The veterinary control was organized much more top-down than the current humane approach to the corona virus. Medical Corona crisis management is organized differently, in which many parties participate. That makes it difficult to roll out a "so-we-will-do-it" protocol.
The current coronavirus causes an infection in the lungs with a lot of tissue damage. But prior to that, the virus multiplies in the nose. During this nasal augmentation, there are hardly any complaints, while the virus can already be spread by the patient. It is precisely this phenomenon that makes the approach so difficult. Actually, you should already stay indoors for only mild complaints.
In this context, the question arises as to what is the best way to arm ourselves against future pandemics. To create weapons, it is necessary to think structurally; various think tanks have been set up worldwide for this. The relationship between all parameters will have to be studied first. From a veterinary point of view, it means that less sensitive animal groups may be bred, or that surveillance can be set up differently and a vaccine could already be developed for real high-risk pathogens.
For Dutch livestock farming and the export of Dutch livestock, this also offers opportunities in the longer term. After all, targeted breeding is one of the specialties of the Dutch livestock improvement organizations and thus also the (different) organization of surveillance programs.
In these uncertain times it is important to have good thoughts, we become what we think.
Lianne van Dongen
Veterinary Director
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