A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 12, 1988
Opening Holstein Herdbook
(Continued from Pago At)
sire does not have to be known.
This foundation cow would have
to be properly identified and a min
imal fee would have to be paid ($1
has been suggested).
Female offspring of this cow, if
sired by a registered Holstein, are
eligible for registration under Step
2. Identification of the sire and a
higher fee (perhaps $4) would be
required. Step 3 would entail a
repeat of the previous step.
Female offspring from regis
tered sires and Step 3 dams would
qualify for Step 4 registration, the
first to include provisional status in
the herdbook. Such animals must
be enrolled in the association’s
classification program and, as
cows, in the official Dairy Herd
Improvement testing program.
These animals would carry a “QE”
designation for qualified entry
in the herdbook. The cost of
registering them would be the
same as that for registering other
Holsteins.
Finally, all male and female
offspring of these QE cows would
be eligible for registration in the
hcrdbook without a suffix. Only
Step 4 animals are required to be
alive at the lime registration is
sought.
Not surprisingly, the proposal
has struck a sour note among a
number of members. Critics have
accused Holstein Association staf
fers of supporting the plan solely
as a means of boosting income.
They have claimed allowing grade
bloodlines into the registry would
expose the breed to some of the
deleterious recessive genes regis
tered breeders have taken pains to
avoid.
In a recent letter to Holstein
World magazine, the directors of
the Manitowoc County t, Wis.,
Holstein organization blasted the
task force plan as dangerous,
unfair to current members and
likely to lower the price of regis
tered stock. They said approval
could cause a boycott of associa
tion programs by disgruntled
members.
Several participants in the
recent annual meeting of the Mary
land Holstein Association were
equally outspoken. Brian Osborne
of Cecil County, Md., said, “If we
register grade Holstcins, it would
be a disservice to all registered
breeders in the nation.” Both he
and Bob Knutscn, also of Cecil
County, said allowing others a
short-cut to registered status would
devalue the time and money they
spent developing all-registered
herds.
These criticisms and others also
were voiced at the Culpeper meet
ing, where task force member
David Slusscr, a Crawford County,
Pa., dairyman, made a case for
opening the herdbook.
Slusscr, who is president of
Atlantic Breeders Cooperative,
said giving some grade animals
registered status would increase
membership in the association,
broaden the base of animals avail
able for genetic progress, help the
finances of Holstein organizations
and expand the market for regis
tered animals all arguments
made in the 14-page report pro
duced by national association staf
fers and included in the thick pack
et of material given to forum
participants.
He also noted that the Holstein
Association is the only major dairy
breed registry that has not initiated
a grade-up program in recent
years. The report extensively
quotes the leaders of these other
However, Slusscr’s main argu
ment involved the issue’s implica
tions for the future of a changing
industry. At a lime when several
bull studs have turned to sampling
grade bulls, a market heretofore
reserved exclusively for registered
breeders, Slusscr said some
changes are needed. Reportedly,
grade cows account for 85 percent
of all domestic semen sales.
“From here on, we’re in a diffe
rent haHgarnc,” he said. “And, if
we don’t do something, we could
wind up playing second fiddle.”
Later, he asked, “Do we have to
have a grade Valiant before we do
something?”
Slusscr also claimed that some
grade dairymen have a lot to offer
their registered counterparts in the
areas of both type and production.
“I’ve seen some herds of grade
cows with udders on them I’d love
to have.”
Moreover, the widespread use
of semen from registered bulls
already has made many grade
cows the genetic equivalent of
registered ones, he said. For
instance, the genetic component of
an animal that has been bred artifi
cially for four generations the
wr **
minimum requirement in the task
force plan is at least 94 percent
registered.
But Slusscr did not go unchal
lenged at the meeting. Jason
Myers, a Carroll County, Md.,
breeder, said he is not worried
about registered breeders losing
theirgenetic edge over the industry
as a whole. Nor is he convinced, he
said, by the testimony of scientific
studies that say grade Holsteins are
genetically equivalent to regis
tered ones.
Other forum participants were
troubled by the fact that the pro
posal, as currently written, does
not impose any restrictions on the
quality of the grades allowed to
register. Slusscr said he opposed
the imposition of such criteria,
arguing that financial considera
tions will restrict entry to lop
quality animals.
Marlin Hoff, another Carroll
County breeder, said the price tags
for the grade-up process have been
set too low. As a result, it may
encourage dairymen who now
register all their calves to let the
papers lapse and use the grade-up
process to re-register only their
promising animals. “To me, it’s a
*
i
Dairy Of Distinction
(Continued from Pago A 1)
been broken down into 10 Dairy of
Distinction districts per state. New
Jersey contains one district. A
maximum of 10 awards will be
made per district. Award winning
dairies will receive an attractive
slap in the face to the guy who
registers all the lime,” he said.
Slusscr acknowledged the cur
rent version of the task force plan
is not without flaws. He said he
hopes some changes will be made
before a decision is made, hopeful
ly at the 1989 convention. But he
urged those at the forum to support
the concept in principle.
Few of the Culpeper particip
ants were willing to do so publicly.
Nonetheless, Slusser said he is
optimistic that many association
members, particularly those with
mixed herds part registered and
part grade eventually would
support it.
The results of an anonymous
straw poll of forum participants
appears to back this contention.
Those in favor of a gradc-up prog
ram in principle outnumbered
those opposed 23 to 17.
„ /ji
V
73
I ** '
* -A
Wm^k
18” x 24” sign identifying their
farm as a Dairy of Distinction.
Applications for the program in
Pennsylvania and New York are
due by April 15. Judging teams
Dairy
of S
Distinction
Dairy Farm Baautihcatton Program
will visit farms during the month
of May in order to scleclthis year’s
winners. New Jersey applications
will be due during the month of
May: an exact date has not been
set. Judging in New Jersey will
take place in June. Further infor
mation and applications for the
Dairy of Distinction program can
be obtained by calling the Ameri
can Dairy Association and Dairy
Council 101 l free at (800) HOT
MILK (in Pennsylvania and New
Jersey) and (800) ADA-MILK (in
New York).
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