The Rural Voice, 2005-05, Page 25Photo by Sandra Orr
Martin de Groot
His ice cream plant means his
market is close to home
De Groot has embarked upon a
three-generation strategy involving
three breeds. While maintaining a
strong purebred Holstein presence.
he's using Simmental sires for some
of his black and whites. These
resulting Holstein/Simmental cows
are subsequently being bred to Jersey
sires.
De Groot has results from his first
10 Holstein/Simmental cows, a few
of which are in their second lactation.
The best cow, in terms of yield,
produced nearly 10,000 litres over
305 days. De Groot says his herd
average is just over 8,000 litres per
animal.
That's not the best news.
however. The crossed animals
have superior feed conversion.
The milk yield is comparable to his
Holsteins and the
Holstein/Simmental cows are able to
maintain good body condition.
"In fact, the biggest challenge is to
keep them from getting too fat," de
Groot says.
De Groot feels there's a heterosis
effect — hybrid vigour — coming
into play, along with breed
differences. He says other producers
have had similar results with their
second generation cows but were
disappointed when they've bred
these cows back to either of the
original breeds.
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MAY 2005 21