Herd reports

December 2024

Herd reports

Bernd Sommer, For More Than 30 Years the Familiar Face of Holstein Forum: ‘Deep Cow Families and Personal Contacts Form the Foundation’

‘We want to do much more than just organize a sale; we want to know who we are working with, and together build a long-term relationship and create something successful,’...

December 2024

Herd reports

The Global Influence of Farnear Holsteins is Growing Quickly… Especially Via Their “Secret Agent”

It was an historic milestone, when during the recent World Dairy Expo the “Premier Sire” titles were captured by two bulls from one breeding enterprise: Farnear Holsteins in the American...

December 2024

Herd reports

Otto van Zuilen, the highest ISU herd in France: A story of Maradona, Pelé, Cruyff and Oumea Prin!

Endurance: the ability to maintain a given production over the longest time possible. There is no better description for Otto van Zuilen, the protagonist of this herd report. In his...

November 2024

Herd reports

Milchhof Diera: German Exemplar for Management, Breeding, and Productivity

Managing a large dairy (30 employees) with leading results year in, year out, requires, knowledge, organizational skills, and craftsmanship. The owners of Milchhof Diera have been very successful in this...

November 2024

Herd reports

Heritage-Pride, California: Impressive Dutch Belted Herd, Acquired Via Two-Pronged Approach

In the 1990s, the number of representatives of the Dutch Belted breed world-wide turned out to have dropped below 500. For Ronald (Ron) Pietersma – an American with Dutch roots...

November 2024

Herd reports

Character Dairy Genetics in Canada: Homebase for Progenesis

Enthusiasts throughout the Holstein world would be familiar with the name Progenesis, the prefix of the Semex internal bull development program. Character Holsteins at Mildmay, Ontario, is where it all...

November 2024

Herd reports

Herds Worldwide - November 2024

Farming in southern Wisconsin has its challenges – land prices are high and the weather is sometimes extreme, from -28°C in the winter to 43°C in the summer. ‘Sometimes the...

October 2024

Herd reports

Level-Plain Holsteins: Lots of AI Sires, All from One Homebred Cow Family

Breeders who want to breed animals with competing or even higher genomics than those from large nucleus programs, give themselves a huge task. Keith Nettekoven does not shy away from...

October 2024

Herd reports

Drouner Holsteins: One of the Very Best Holstein Herds in the Netherlands

International sire of sons Drouner-K&L Augustus-P-Red and the elite Dutch bull Drouner Altitude-Red: Both are ambassadors of the already longer successful Drouner Aiko family. Drouner Holsteins, owned by the Dutch...

October 2024

Herd reports

A Splendid Afternoon at L’Echelotte in the French Department of Meuse

It is but a small hamlet, Burey-la-Côte in the French department of Meuse, with about 80 residents. However, it was still hard to find among the small streets – even...

September 2024

Herd reports

HI on a Reporting Trip: California Tour 2024

Breeder reports are an absolute favourite for HI readers. This is evident from every previous reader survey, and is underscored multiple times by personal conversations with farmers. Breeders really enjoy...

September 2024

Herd reports

HWH-3Star Ella-P-RC: German Solitair Daughter with Seven Sons in AI

‘It is interesting to see how a relatively small investment can eventually lead to so much influence… like a small stone that you throw in the water, with the rings...