BlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 12,1982 Holstein popularity leads the daily industry LANCASTER Holstems have contributed to the good life of American farm families for more than 100 years. Their ability to profitably produce high quality, nutritious milk under all climates and a variety of management systems has made them one of the most popular dairy breeds in America, according to the Holstein Association of Brattleboro, Vt. Holstems are number one both in milk production and in income over feed costs. U.S. Holstems offer the world’s dairymen an opportunity to reach the same level of total production with fewer cows and less energy. But how did this all come about 9 The Holstein cow originated in Europe. Her parents were the black cows and the white cows of the Batavians and the Fnesians, two migrant European tribes, who moved together into the fertile Rhine Delta region about 2,000 years ago. That Rhineland region became the Netherlands and for many years the Holstein cow was bred ‘SW I . &LACK 2. PEP 3. iBUOW 4-. BLUE 5. BROWN NBVAOA: TUB RARE Re~ VADP JS FROM P SPPR /bp word mearns "s//ow CLAD." wa /V/CFA/PMBB "SAS£&R(/5P S7fire"FHX> we "s/l vsfsrare 'F/r A/euAPPu/eiL, aiask# /6 we ORty srare mors TPWLysernep war FeVAPP. Tu/O FAMOC/B RF~ SORTS. ATReRO y ARP lAS VB6AB ARE V/SfT£o By Woospfds of People. A/evAPF jo/red rue or/or /R /set. through a process of ruthless culling to obtain those animals which would make the very best use of the area’s most abundant resource, grass. Much later, after the New World was settled and markets began to develop for milk in America, forward-looking American breeders turned to Holland for their seed-stock. Winthrop Chenery, a Massachusetts breeder, purchased a Holland cow from a master of a Dutch sailing vessel who had landed a cargo at the Boston port. The cow had furnished the crew with fresh milk during the voyage She proved to be such a satisfac tory producer that Chenery made later importations in 1857,1859 and 1861. Many breeders soon joined the race to establish the Holstein upon these shores. But, after approximately 8,800 animals had been imported, cattle disease broke out in Europe. Imports ceased. No longer were seed-stock animals available from the old country. 6. PEACH 7. GREEN 0. LTBROWM 9. LT. BLUE 10. LT. GREEN smre \ FLOUieR: 1 sf&ezROSH 6-/o-'Bz 0 And so, the American breeders gathered together, formed then associations, merged them in 1885 into the Holstem-Fnesian Association of America, and with their own Herd Book and their own foundation stock, they set about the tremendous task of building their own Holstein breed. Today’s Holstein cow is a large, stylish animal, with outstanding milk producing capability and distinctive color markings of black and white or red and white. A healthy, newborn Holstein calf will weigh 90 pounds, or more, at birth. A mature cow, in milk, should weigh about 1,500 pounds and stand 58 inches at the withers. The breed is homed, but horns are rarely seen on the animals because they are removed or prevented from growing by dairymen for the sake of safety and good management The Holstein has emerged as the major dairy breed in the United States. Holstems are raised suc cessfully in every state and produce 85 percent of all the milk consumed in the country. Unex celled production, physical adaptability to commercial con ditions, greater income over feed costs, longer productive herdlife and higher salvage value are major contributing characteristics for the breed’s popularity and dominance. It’s a staggering fact that of the 11 million milk cows in the country, more than 9 million are Holstems. They are bred, raised and milked by about 300,000 dairy farmers, who use a variety of management systems to improve their herds’ productivity and profitability in each region of the country. The strength and ruggedness of n Did you know? The only birds that can fly backwards are hummingbirds Holsteins allow them to adapt easily to a wide range of climatic variations. They produce well in the hot, and areas of the south west, the" tropical climates of Florida and Louisiana, the high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains and the temperate environment of the Com Belt and Atlantic states. Wisconsin, New York, Penn sylvania, Minnesota and California lead the nation in numbers of Holstein cows. Herd sizes range from 30 to 3,000, with West Coast herds tending to be larger than average. One and one half million of the country’s Holstems are registered in the national herdbook of the Holstem-Fnesian Association of America, allowing then- ancestry to be traced back to the original importations. This population is used as the source of genetically superior breeding stock for the entire industry. Because of their superior per- ' r ita\ i * CARSON CIT/ formance, Holsteins have earned worldwide acceptance In recent comparison tests in Germany, the offspring of U S. Holstein bulls out yielded offspring of German bulls by more than 2,300 pounds of milk and 75 pounds of fat per year. In the Netherlands, where Holsteins originated, crossbreeding ex periments with Dutch Fnesians resulted in a 1,625 pound milk increase and 17 pound butterfat increase over the native cattle. U.S. Holsteins, completing their first lacations in Eastern Europe, produced twice as much milk as the native cows. Such convincing evidence of Holstein’s production superiority lias created an active export market. Currently, U.S. Holstein females, bulls and frozen semen are being exported to about 50 countries and used extensively to improve foreign food supplies and dairy farmer income.
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