I just received a message from one of our visitors to Holsteinworld.com in regards to our latest online poll.  This month’s online poll asks the question, “Should shows continue to have dry cow and bull class included?”  Feel free to send me your opinions on the latest poll for inclusion in our blog. 

I am indifferent on the topic of dropping dry cow classes, but bull classes need to be dropped from shows.  Bull classes should be eliminated not just because of the almost comedic lack of competition and safety of handling these animals, but due to the image it reflects of the Registered Holsteins industry.  From an economic standpoint, there is not a single study that shows natural service can compete with AI based on fertility and economics, not to mention the obvious genetic superiority that AI bulls provide.  The March 25th issue of Hoard’s Dairyman does a great jop comparing AI vs. natural service and its hidden costs.

Can registered breeders truly promote the value and extra price of registered cattle in a market while continuing to use/promote untested, less fertile, and lower genetic quality jumper bulls to breed their “superior” cattle versus their grade counterparts?  (Not to even mention the obvious safety concerns that having a breeding age bull on farm has to the people working with cattle and their families.)

The key to a successful blog is generating discussion.  This month’s online poll serves as a good starting point for discussion on the importance of dry cows and/or bulls at shows.  On a side note, holsteinworld.com is going to look into the possibility of adding other answers to the question.  For example, instead of voting just “Yes” or “No”, we would also like to provide the voting options of “Drop the Bulls Only” and “Drop the Dry Cows Only”.  Continue to check back to see if this becomes reality.

Last night my husband, Kelly, and I took a trip to the Sioux County Youth Fair in Sioux Center, IA, the Northwest corner of the state.  Admission to the fair is free so we were pretty excited upon arrival - you don”t see that much anymore! 

Some of you may know that my husband works for the American Simmental Association.  Yes, he’’s a beef boy.  But the great thing is, he’’s really interested in Holsteins too!  So, our first stop was to the Dairy Barn to hear how the show had gone earlier in the day.  We visited with Alan & Barb Dykshorn to learn that about 90 head were shown in the 4-H show, which is a little up in numbers from last year.  The Dykshorn kids, Maggie & Levi, had a fun day showing as their heifers were named Junior and Reserve Junior Champion.  The Jr. Champ was Shawnee Dundee Carbon, a MAY Jr. Yearling from Wilcoxview Rudi Cali-ET (EX-90).  This heifer has grown extremely well and competes hand in hand with the full-aged heifers in her class.  Res. Jr. Champ was Rodash-View Durham Nike, a Fall Yearling that was the IA State Jr. Show Jr. Champion last year as a Fall Calf.  Grand Champion of the show was exhibited by the Vierhout Family and Res. Grand was shown by the VanderVeen Family.  I”m sorry I wasnt able to get more info on the Champions - I”ll do some investigating and see what I can find.

After a brief trip to the Beef Barn, we then checked out the rest of the fair.  It was a beautiful, but warm, evening to go to the fair and we had a fun time.  Nothing beats fair food for dinner! 

Do you have any fun fair stories to share?  If so, I”d love to hear about them! 

SOS

Yesterday I received an interesting email from Jeff Higby, a dairyman from Kansas.  He suggested to me a unique topic of conversation for our blog - cow names.  He was thinking, and I agree, that it might be fun to have readers send in their favorite, most unusual or most common cow names they have ever heard. 

Jeff’s not the only one who loves cow names - Im sure there are many out there that have a bit of a name fettish.  My family always enjoys naming new baby calves.  We utilize all kinds of resources - dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, etc.  When I was in eigth grade, one of my best friend’s recovered a Baby Name book and gave it to me as a Christmas present.  The new cover read “Sarah’s Baby Cow Name Book.”  I still have it and continue to use it today:)   

Drop me an email and let me know some of your favorite or least favorite names.  And if you have any unique ways of naming or finding names.  Jeff and I look forward to hearing what you’ve got!

SOS

Red & White Holstein Junior members will be gathering in Beaver Dam, WI for the annual convention at the end of July.  Junior activities will begin on Wednesday, June 26, with a bale tossing contest, milk chugging contest, wheelbarrow races and a pizza party.  A showmaship competition will take place Thursday evening.  During their convention we will be posting the latest news and even some pictures.  If you have any questions regarding this year’’s event, please call the convention hotline at 608.310.5337.  Have a great time Juniors! 

EDMONTON - Another suspected case of mad cow disease has surfaced, this time in a young dairy cow on a farm near Edmonton.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is conducting tests to confirm whether the 50-month-old dairy cow, the youngest so far detected since the first case turned up in 2003, had bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) when it died.

The cow, which was pregnant at the time, was a downer, which meant it couldn’t stand without assistance, and it later died on the farm. A private veterinarian sent samples to the provincial laboratory, where screening tests could not rule out BSE, and samples were sent to the CFIA laboratory in Winnipeg.

If the case is confirmed, it would be the seventh in Canada and the fifth in Alberta. It’s also the second Canadian case in the past week - tests confirmed BSE in a 15-year-old Manitoba cow on July 4.

The Alberta cow was born in 2002, five years after a ban on feeding cattle parts such as brains and organs to other ruminants - considered to pose the greatest threat of spreading BSE - went into effect in 1997

Dr. George Luterbach, senior veterinarian with the CFIA, said the fact that occasional cases are appearing is not surprising, and not a bad reflection on the effectiveness on the feed ban.

”I think in all countries that have had BSE in the world, they have found some cases after the feed ban. I guess the most logical explanation is there is some contamination that remained within their feed systems for a period of time.

”That said, Canada has tested 115,000 of the highest risk animals and we have had six cases over the last three-year period.”

The fact that this case has been detected shows the effectiveness of the BSE surveillance program, he said.

The farm and all of the animals on it have been quarantined, and CFIA officials are going through feed records to see if the affected cow was part of a ”cluster” of cattle that ate feed that went through a mill in the Edmonton area. Luterbach would not say where the farm is located, and he did not know how many cattle are located there.

While feed containing cattle parts has been banned for cattle, feed for hogs and chickens still contains the parts, which are called specified risk materials (SRMs). A total ban on ruminant feed was approved last month, but won’t go into effect for a year.

Dr. Gerald Ollis, chief veterinarian for Alberta Agriculture, said cross-contamination can occur when handling or transport systems for feed are used for both cattle and other types of feed.

”It only takes a milligram of contaminated feed to cause BSE in these animals,” Ollis said. ”That was not known when the ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban was implemented in 1997.”

Rob McNabb, a senior manager with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said he didn’t expect this to affect trade with the United States, which since the beginning of the year has allowed Canada to export cattle under 30 months.

The U.S. had imposed a temporary ban on Canadian cattle after the first BSE case showed up in 2003.

Source: Edmonton Journal

This California Little League team (Gustine Youth Baseball)proudly displays their milk mustaches as they pose for a photo taken by Karen Campbell photography.  The team is sponsored by a local dairy - what a great promotion!

Here’s an idea from one of our blog visitors that I have found especially intriguing and would like to hear your comments on:

Junior Queen of the Breed Contest

In order for cows to be considered for this contest they must be bred and owned by a Junior member and the cow should still be alive.  The Junior would then write a short essay and list the cow’s qualifications in an effort to show why she should be queen!  For example, maybe the cow is 3E-93, made over 200,000M and has some great offspring.  Or maybe she is a great show cow who has transmitted genetics and has sons in AI. 

What do you think?  Would this be a fun and popular national contest?  Should it be open to those breeders who bred the cow while a Junior but have now graduated from the Junior Holstein program? 

Drop me a line with your thoughts - my email is sschmidt@dairybusiness.com.   Have a nice Tuesday!

Great news from Mil-R-Mor this morning - Kaye Miller has come home from the South Dakota Convention following quadruple bypass heart surgery and is doing really well!  The family is grateful for all the support and friendship they received from convention goers, and reports that Kaye is trying to get back in action to see her grandchildren show next week at the district show!!  Great news, indeed.

According to the latest InfoHolstein publication from Canada, several points from the convention were published that reaffirm Holstein Canada’’s proactive position in taking care and servicing its members.  Among the points listed:

* Udder traits for fore attachment, rear attachment height and rear attachment width are being added to extended pedigrees this fall

* All classifications, including reclasses of first lactation animals, will be used in the calculation of bull proofs and cow indexes for type traits, commencing in May 2006

* Member registration fees will be adjusted to encourage breeders to identify animals at their highest purity level and as a result of the new pricing structure, most producers will witness a 15-20% decline in the costs of identifying their animals.  Producers utilizing electronic registration will pay $9.00 or less per registration.

This just in! Sapa-Ska Farm - The Pierson Family of Lake City, MN - are the Premier Exhibitors AND Premier Breeders of the 2006 MN State Holstein Show. Congratulations to the Piersons on this very special honor!