The females in our program are all registered with Jersey Canada until such time as the Canadian Miniature Jersey Association can begin to participate in the All Breeds Classification Program. All of our cows in milk participate in the Classification program on an annual basis. Classifying cows during their lactation helps us to identify both the strengths and weaknesses each individual cow has; thereby allowing us to make better choices when breeding.
Our focus is on not only hardy and thrifty *little* cows, but also on type and traits. Proper mammary system (udder depth, teat placement, udder cleft, fore and rear udder attachment, rear udder height and width and teat length) dairy strength and form as well as feet and legs - all necessary traits for a good genomic foundation. Stature or height traits are secondary because first and foremost to have a good cow, she must have a good foundation. We believe, that without a good foundation, there will be no thrift, no hardiness or longevity and fertility as well as production can be adversely affected.
Our cow herd lives their lives out of doors, in a herd setting and much of the time with their calf at side. We do have a few exceptions to that rule - cows that will "milk her back off" (spending too much time and energy on raising her calf), cows that raise orphans or grafted calves and cows that are designated as strictly milking cows will all spend time separated from their calves; mostly as a benefit to the cow's overall health. Our herd calves seasonally, beginning in April and we work to be competed by the end of May. Most all of our cows are hand milked and a few are trained to milk on a portable milker. The focus of our cow's diet is mixed grass - grazing on our creek pastures spring through fall. From deep snow season through green grass again, the cattle are eating dry, mixed grass hay which has been grown on our property. We also feed locally grown and sourced crushed grains to our milking cows while in their stanchions for milking.
We do not bottle raise calves nor will we sell calves for bottle rearing. We believe that while temperament is largely genetic a good portion is also herd dynamics and handling. All calves have or get a momma to raise them and all calves are either members of the cow's herd or they are raised by a "bovine babysitter" in a calf mob. Calves are taught from an early age to tie, lead and accept handling; all as building blocks to becoming a Bovine Good Citizen. There is no greater feeling than to walk out to the calves and be mobbed for attention and scratches than to have those calves mature and seek you out for grooming and attention!
Up to this point, we have been using live cover to breed our cows, but beginning in 2021 we will be using SOME Artificial Insemination with purebred, smaller stature (standard) Jersey bulls with proven genomics to improve on rear udder height and width, cleft and fore udder attachment while preserving teat length and placement. Corrective mating involves trying to correct a cow’s faults by breeding her to a bull that is strong in those areas. Usually breeders use this strategy to correct conformation problems. For example, a cow with a poor suspensory ligament in her udder would be bred to a bull proven to produce cows with excellent udders. While this method usually leads to some genetic improvement, it is important to remember that we cannot change every trait at once. Selecting a few key traits that you want to correct will usually be more successful and make breeding decisions more straightforward than trying to improve 10 traits at once. Selecting a sire is the most important decision you make to improve the genetics in your herd. If you use bulls with poor genetics than your herd will not improve and will fall quickly behind the rest of the breed.
Over the years, we have been breeding down stature by utilizing heavy production Dexter cows, so as you look through the following females you will find that many of them are sired by either Standard Jersey bulls or Mini Jersey bulls which were bred to Dexter cows. Those that are not Dexter have been selected for their smaller stature to be bred to the Mini Jersey bulls. This has resulted in a moderation in stature of the home grown females to being that of Mid Sized height (43-46 inches tall to the top of the hook bone); which in our opinion provides us with an easier to milk cow as well as a cow which is tall enough to keep an engorged udder off the ground and out of harms way.
“breed the best and cull the rest”
Our focus is on not only hardy and thrifty *little* cows, but also on type and traits. Proper mammary system (udder depth, teat placement, udder cleft, fore and rear udder attachment, rear udder height and width and teat length) dairy strength and form as well as feet and legs - all necessary traits for a good genomic foundation. Stature or height traits are secondary because first and foremost to have a good cow, she must have a good foundation. We believe, that without a good foundation, there will be no thrift, no hardiness or longevity and fertility as well as production can be adversely affected.
Our cow herd lives their lives out of doors, in a herd setting and much of the time with their calf at side. We do have a few exceptions to that rule - cows that will "milk her back off" (spending too much time and energy on raising her calf), cows that raise orphans or grafted calves and cows that are designated as strictly milking cows will all spend time separated from their calves; mostly as a benefit to the cow's overall health. Our herd calves seasonally, beginning in April and we work to be competed by the end of May. Most all of our cows are hand milked and a few are trained to milk on a portable milker. The focus of our cow's diet is mixed grass - grazing on our creek pastures spring through fall. From deep snow season through green grass again, the cattle are eating dry, mixed grass hay which has been grown on our property. We also feed locally grown and sourced crushed grains to our milking cows while in their stanchions for milking.
We do not bottle raise calves nor will we sell calves for bottle rearing. We believe that while temperament is largely genetic a good portion is also herd dynamics and handling. All calves have or get a momma to raise them and all calves are either members of the cow's herd or they are raised by a "bovine babysitter" in a calf mob. Calves are taught from an early age to tie, lead and accept handling; all as building blocks to becoming a Bovine Good Citizen. There is no greater feeling than to walk out to the calves and be mobbed for attention and scratches than to have those calves mature and seek you out for grooming and attention!
Up to this point, we have been using live cover to breed our cows, but beginning in 2021 we will be using SOME Artificial Insemination with purebred, smaller stature (standard) Jersey bulls with proven genomics to improve on rear udder height and width, cleft and fore udder attachment while preserving teat length and placement. Corrective mating involves trying to correct a cow’s faults by breeding her to a bull that is strong in those areas. Usually breeders use this strategy to correct conformation problems. For example, a cow with a poor suspensory ligament in her udder would be bred to a bull proven to produce cows with excellent udders. While this method usually leads to some genetic improvement, it is important to remember that we cannot change every trait at once. Selecting a few key traits that you want to correct will usually be more successful and make breeding decisions more straightforward than trying to improve 10 traits at once. Selecting a sire is the most important decision you make to improve the genetics in your herd. If you use bulls with poor genetics than your herd will not improve and will fall quickly behind the rest of the breed.
Over the years, we have been breeding down stature by utilizing heavy production Dexter cows, so as you look through the following females you will find that many of them are sired by either Standard Jersey bulls or Mini Jersey bulls which were bred to Dexter cows. Those that are not Dexter have been selected for their smaller stature to be bred to the Mini Jersey bulls. This has resulted in a moderation in stature of the home grown females to being that of Mid Sized height (43-46 inches tall to the top of the hook bone); which in our opinion provides us with an easier to milk cow as well as a cow which is tall enough to keep an engorged udder off the ground and out of harms way.
“breed the best and cull the rest”
Classification is when an independent and objective classifier from Holstein Canada visits your farm to assess the conformation of individual animals. This is an optional form of record keeping for farmers but it is one that can have many benefits. The most profitable cows are ones that have functional type traits which facilitate adequate milk production and allow them to remain in the herd for a long time. Classifying helps farmers determine which cows are the best ones to keep in their herd, and which cows will best help them to meet their goals.
Conformation is one basis of high production. Cows that have desirable physical traits eat more roughage, transmit desirable characteristics to their offspring and improve their production levels as they get older. Classification can be a useful management tool in several ways:
• Breeding and raising the type of animals you want to work with.
• Providing information to make profitable decisions.
• Providing information to help improve your herd through corrective breeding.
Cows and heifers from classified families have higher Lifetime Profit Indexes (LPIs), and Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) than unclassified ones. Semen companies also provide computer generated genetic matings for classified herds. In addition, animals that are classified have higher resale values than those that are not classified. Cows that are classified higher tend to produce more milk and be more profitable than cows with lower classifications.
Animals of each dairy breed are evaluated compared to their breed scorecards, which have been developed based on the True Type Model. The classifier looks at the breakdown of four major composite traits: mammary system, feet and legs, rump, and dairy strength. While the same 21 traits are assessed for each breed, different goals, strengths and weaknesses of the breeds have led their classification committees to create slightly different scorecards. Each trait is assessed based on a linear system, rated 1 to 9, based on measurements and visual assessments.
When classified, cows are placed into one of the following categories:
• Excellent (EX) - 90 points and higher Animals can be reclassified for EX status in subsequent lactations, and will receive multiple “Excellent” status for scoring EX on different lactations. In Canada, a cow must have had 3 natural calvings to be scored this high. Jerseys that score EX when they are 10 years of age or older are awarded the title of Supreme Excellent (SUP-EX) to showcase their longevity. For example: A cow scored EX 92-3E has been scored 92/100 points and has been granted an Excellent score on three different lactations.
• Very Good (VG) – 85-89 points
• Good Plus (GP) – 80-84 points
• Good (G) – 70-79 points
• Fair (F) – below 70 points
To arrive at a final score, each animal is evaluated for a series of traits and assigned a linear score corresponding to that trait. Some traits, such as stature, are directly measured, and that measurement will correspond to standards established by the breed in order to determine a linear score. Other traits, such as bone quality, are not directly measured, but are evaluated based upon breed specifications. Linear scores are from 1 to 9. For some traits, 9 is the ideal score, while for other traits (i.e. udder depth), there is an intermediate optimum, meaning that 5 would be the ideal score. Evaluated traits fit into 4 categories, with the following traits and their relative weights evaluated under each category:
1. Rump (8% of final score) - Rump Angle (34%) - Pin Width (21%) - Loin Strength (32%) - Thurl Placement (13%)
2. Mammary System (48% of final score) - Udder Depth (14%) - Udder Texture (12%) - Median Suspensory (16%) - Fore Attachment (15%) - Front Teat Placement (8%) - Rear Attachment Height (16%) - Rear Attachment Width (12%) - Rear Teat Placement (5%) - Teat Length (2%)
3. Dairy Strength (29% of final score) - Stature (5%) - Height at Front End (5%) - Chest Width (20%) - Body Depth (25%) - Angularity (27%) - Body Condition Score (3%) - Udder Texture (5%) - Loin Strength (10%)
4. Feet & Legs (15% of final score) - Foot Angle (22%) - Heel Depth (25%) - Bone Quality (9%) - Rear Legs Side View (15%) - Rear Legs Rear View (29%) - Locomotion (research only)
The classification report is generated by the classifier immediately after the animals are classified during a herd visit. This form will show the type profile of the cow, and relate her linear scores back to the ideal scores set by Jersey Canada. The breeder will also receive a herd report, giving the breeder an overall look at the type profile of the herd on a trait-by-trait basis.
For more about Classification and Linear Trait assessments and understanding the benefit of the program, please click on the following link:
www.holstein.ca/Public/en/Services/Classification/Breakdown_of_Traits
Conformation is one basis of high production. Cows that have desirable physical traits eat more roughage, transmit desirable characteristics to their offspring and improve their production levels as they get older. Classification can be a useful management tool in several ways:
• Breeding and raising the type of animals you want to work with.
• Providing information to make profitable decisions.
• Providing information to help improve your herd through corrective breeding.
Cows and heifers from classified families have higher Lifetime Profit Indexes (LPIs), and Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) than unclassified ones. Semen companies also provide computer generated genetic matings for classified herds. In addition, animals that are classified have higher resale values than those that are not classified. Cows that are classified higher tend to produce more milk and be more profitable than cows with lower classifications.
Animals of each dairy breed are evaluated compared to their breed scorecards, which have been developed based on the True Type Model. The classifier looks at the breakdown of four major composite traits: mammary system, feet and legs, rump, and dairy strength. While the same 21 traits are assessed for each breed, different goals, strengths and weaknesses of the breeds have led their classification committees to create slightly different scorecards. Each trait is assessed based on a linear system, rated 1 to 9, based on measurements and visual assessments.
When classified, cows are placed into one of the following categories:
• Excellent (EX) - 90 points and higher Animals can be reclassified for EX status in subsequent lactations, and will receive multiple “Excellent” status for scoring EX on different lactations. In Canada, a cow must have had 3 natural calvings to be scored this high. Jerseys that score EX when they are 10 years of age or older are awarded the title of Supreme Excellent (SUP-EX) to showcase their longevity. For example: A cow scored EX 92-3E has been scored 92/100 points and has been granted an Excellent score on three different lactations.
• Very Good (VG) – 85-89 points
• Good Plus (GP) – 80-84 points
• Good (G) – 70-79 points
• Fair (F) – below 70 points
To arrive at a final score, each animal is evaluated for a series of traits and assigned a linear score corresponding to that trait. Some traits, such as stature, are directly measured, and that measurement will correspond to standards established by the breed in order to determine a linear score. Other traits, such as bone quality, are not directly measured, but are evaluated based upon breed specifications. Linear scores are from 1 to 9. For some traits, 9 is the ideal score, while for other traits (i.e. udder depth), there is an intermediate optimum, meaning that 5 would be the ideal score. Evaluated traits fit into 4 categories, with the following traits and their relative weights evaluated under each category:
1. Rump (8% of final score) - Rump Angle (34%) - Pin Width (21%) - Loin Strength (32%) - Thurl Placement (13%)
2. Mammary System (48% of final score) - Udder Depth (14%) - Udder Texture (12%) - Median Suspensory (16%) - Fore Attachment (15%) - Front Teat Placement (8%) - Rear Attachment Height (16%) - Rear Attachment Width (12%) - Rear Teat Placement (5%) - Teat Length (2%)
3. Dairy Strength (29% of final score) - Stature (5%) - Height at Front End (5%) - Chest Width (20%) - Body Depth (25%) - Angularity (27%) - Body Condition Score (3%) - Udder Texture (5%) - Loin Strength (10%)
4. Feet & Legs (15% of final score) - Foot Angle (22%) - Heel Depth (25%) - Bone Quality (9%) - Rear Legs Side View (15%) - Rear Legs Rear View (29%) - Locomotion (research only)
The classification report is generated by the classifier immediately after the animals are classified during a herd visit. This form will show the type profile of the cow, and relate her linear scores back to the ideal scores set by Jersey Canada. The breeder will also receive a herd report, giving the breeder an overall look at the type profile of the herd on a trait-by-trait basis.
For more about Classification and Linear Trait assessments and understanding the benefit of the program, please click on the following link:
www.holstein.ca/Public/en/Services/Classification/Breakdown_of_Traits
