Page 4-*-Ag Progress Section 2, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 15, 1998
GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN
Extension Dairy Specialist
University of Delaware
NEWARK, Del. Forty years
ago in this country, Holstein cows
weren’t the primary producers of
milk that they are today.
In addition to Holsteins (and in
almost equal numbers) at least
five other European dairy breeds
produced milk for commercial
sale, including Ayrshires, Brown
Swiss, Guernseys, Jerseys, and
Milking Shorthorn.
European dairy farmers have
many more dairy breeds than
these six, particularly Simmental.
None of these breeds have ever
played a role in the U.S. dairy in
dustry, not to mention dairy sheep
and dairy goats, although the latter
have increased in importance in
the last 20 years.
European dairy breeds have
been the milk producing leaders;
for this reason, they have been ex
ported for crossbreeding around
the world.
Because the Holstein cow, for
various reasons, is predominant in
the United States today, we think
less about physiological differ
ences of the different breeds, even
in research.
Yet when travelling through
Florida, I witnessed many Hol
stein herds with a large compon
ent of Jersey cows. Why?
People familiar with older phy
siological research conducted in
temperature controlled chambers
at the Missouri Agricultural Ex
periment Station will recall that
some cow breeds differ in heat
tolerance.
For example, the Jersey cow,
although smaller than the Hol
stein, has a larger body surface
area relative to her body weight, so
she can get rid of more body heat
when necessary. This explains, in
part, why Jerseys are mixed in
with Florida Holstein herds, as
Champions
Atlantic National
Junior Angus Show
TIMONIUM, Md. - Young
Angus breeders from 16 states
competed for top honors in the
1998 Atlantic National Junior
Angus Regional Preview Show.
Craig Wallace, Mt. Vernon, Mo.,
judged the 262 entries shown at
the event May 23 in Timomum,
Md
Bradley Lutz, Mt Jackson,
Va., walked away with grand
champion honors in the owned
heifer division Whitestone
Chloe JO5l, a January 1997
daughter of Rite 9F83 of SHII
Fullback, was the winning entry.
She was first named the early
spring heifer calf champion.
Reserve grand champion
owned female honors were
awarded to Jesse Clark,
Edinburg, Va Clark's entry, a
March 1997 daughter of
Leachman Saugahatchee
3000 C, is named Champion Hill
Sandoe 817 She first topped the
late spring heifer calf division.
In the bred-and-owned heifer
division, Kruegers Errolhne
Lexi captured the grand champi
on title for Amy Kruegar, East
Fallowfield, Penn, The winning
entry is a January 1997 daugh
ter of 0 C C Backstop 8888 and
How Dairy Breeds Compare On Hot Summer Days
well as why there aren’t nearly as
many Jerseys in the northern
United States.
I recall a discussion years ago at
UD’s Farm and Field Day, to
which I had invited the famous Dr.
F.B. Morrison from Cornell Uni
versity to speak. He stated empha
tically that Brown Swiss cows
were much better suited than Hol
steins (a big push then) for export
to hot and humid places Vene
zuela, for example because
Brown Swiss were more tolerant
of heat
It stands to reason, Holsteins
and Brown Swiss have different
zoological ancestors and origin.
The theory is that Brown Swiss
were related to Zebu cows of India
before migrating west to Europe
thousands of years ago. And Ze
bus are more heat-tolerant than
European cows.
However, discussion about
breeds has been limited in recent
years until now.
I found an interesting new study
from the University of Arizona.
It’s not there most of the time for
any cow, European or Indian.
The researchers are interested
in lowering heat loads of cows as
they do in Florida, not only to let
panting cows suffer less, but more
significantly, because people in
Arizona want to buy their own
fresh milk, not milk powder or
evaporated milk. And they don’t
want milk shipped in from Penn
sylvania, Delaware, New Jersey or
Maryland.
The dairy farmers milking cows
under such hot conditions have to
survive financially. This means
non-suffering cows that will eat
better, produce more milk and
reproduce more normally. But
how can dairy farmers ensure that
cows suffer less under hot condi
tions?
Inventing ever-better cooling
systems for cows has been one
Named At
was first named the spring
heifer calf champion.
Bree Taggart, Waynesburg,
Penn., led T C C Daltons Gina
702 to the reserve grand cham
pion bred-and-owned female
award Krugerrand of
Donamere 490 sired the March
1997 entry that was first named
reserve spring heifer calf cham
pion.
Grand champion bred-and
owned bull honors went to Carl
Detwiler, Roaring Spring, Penn.
G R F Touchback 018, a May
1997 son of Bushs Flashback
880, was the name of the entry.
Deanna Bloom, Westville,
Ind , took reserve grand champi
on bred-and-owned bull honors
with Car Don Durango 8399, a
February 1997 son of N Bar
Emulation EXT
Jeff Coveil, Frederick, Md,
claimed both the grand and
reserve grand champion steer
titles at the event The grand
champion entry wa Covells
Reload 9711, an April 1997 son
of Rito 9F83 of SHII Fullback,
while Champion HUI Kylo, a
May 1997 son of Leachman
Saugahatchee 3000 C, was the
reserve winner.
solution for the hot conditions in
Florida and Arizona.
It used to be that shade trees or
shading structures were recom
mended until the cows indicated
that was not good enough. Thus,
fans were added to cool cows
still not good enough and over
head water sprinklers to soak
cows were added to the fans and
the shade to make a difference for
the suffering cows.
Yet, this new Arizona study
adds one more factor genetic
differences of cows, or different
breeds.
I looked up some older research
conducted by Florida workers in
Central America, covering almost
3,000 lactations in 19 herds with
six different breeds and crossbreds
including Holsteins and Brown
Swiss.
The data indicated that Brown
Swiss were less sensitive than
Holsteins to heat stress as evi
denced by their milk records.
Crossbreds with 50 percent
Holstein blood averaged 5,661
pounds milk/year, compared to 50
percent Brown Swiss with 6,219
pounds milk (for 385 and 145 re
cords, respectively) under typical
Central American feeding and
management conditions; 88 per-
Troy Fair
Ayrshire Champions at the Troy Fair Youth Show pause to smile at the camera.
Shown, from left are Justin Goodwin with the reserve juinior champion, Amanda Cole
with the junior champion, Bradford County Alternate Dairy Princess Jackie Schriner,
Ronnie Croft with the reserve rgand champion, Amberleigh Yurkanin with the grand
champion and Bradford County Dairy Princess Talitha Coolbaugh.
Heather Yurkanin’s Elm Brook Sooner Osha was named supreme champion of the
Troy Fair youth dairy show. Shown with the winner are Dairy Maid Tara Gray, Alter
nate Dairy Princess Jackie Schriner, Sullivan County Dairy Princess Jill Broschart,
Rick Hoover, president of the Troy Fair, Heather Yurkanin, dairy princess Talitha
Coolbaugh, and Dairy Maid Ashleigh Selfridge.
cent Holstein crossbreds had
5,837 pounds milk versus 88 per
cent Brown Swiss, making with
78,643 pounds of milk. (Results
based on 107 and 89 records, re
spectively.)
Given this, the new Arizona re
search wanted to find out how
Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jer
seys react physiologically under
either just shade, fans or water
cooling management on hot Ari
zona days.
Clearly, only the water-cooling
system prevented the cows from
suffering elevated body tempera
tures (101 degrees Fahrenheit)
while cows with fans or under
shade had 102 and 103 degrees,
respectively. Here in Delaware we
have recorded similar data in our
UD herd.
The Arizona cows under the
water-cooling system also had the
lowest respiration rates at 40 to 56
breaths/minute, while the cows
under fans had 63 to 70 breaths
and the shade-only cows 66 to 85
breaths/minute.
Brown Swiss had the highest
rate of skin evaporation. The skin
temperature of Brown Swiss was
cooler than that of the other breeds
under any cooling management
system. Respiration rates were
Youth Dairy
less for Brown Swiss under the
water-cooling system.
Jerseys had the lowest respira
tion rates under the shade-only
system, probably because they
had the largest relative skin sur
face area, giving them an advant
age over the other breeds for heat
loss when no fan or water cooling
was available.
When cows were exposed to
direct sunlight, Holsteins ab
sorbed 89 percent of that solar
heat load, 11 percent was re
flected, while Brown Swiss ab
sorbed 81 percent and reflected 19
percent Add to this the metabolic
heat production and subtract the
energy given up through skin and
breathing evaporation, these cows
can suffer a body temperature rise
of 2 degrees Fahrenheit in only 20
minutes.
Even under cooling systems, it
may take more than an hour to re
turn to normal body temperature.
It is understandable why men
cows do not want to eat, to save
themselves from more metabolic
heat production.
Dairy farmers who understand
these physiological and genetic
studies not only can help their
cows, but improve their bottom
line as well.
Winners