The PTC+ (college campus) venue proved to be the perfect setting for Alta’s fourth Dairy Day organized in the Netherlands. In the Northern, town of Oenkerk (Friesland), 3,600 producers and international guests were provided an opportunity to see daughters of 5 popular sires developed from Alta’s European sampling program. Daughters were displayed all day long around the perimeter of the venue and at noon they were presented in the PTC+ arena to a standing room only crowd. It was a trade show too with an additional 26 dairy companies participating with their own stand and excellent lectures provided further educational opportunities for attendees.

3,600 people take in best event yet

With daughters displayed for 5 Alta sires, there were plenty of cows to inspect. AltaBINGO (De Crob Bingo – Lucky Leo x Mascot) with second crop daughters now popping up around the countryside was the only bull to have a mix of young and older daughters. The remaining bulls were all newer, having received their first evaluations in 2005. Still AltaBINGO daughters did cause a stir.

AltaBINGO daughter group – two from original
test crop and 5 second crop daughters

2nd Crop AltaBINGO daughters

AltaBINGO showed that he is an all-round sire: he fits on every farm. Not only are the second crop daughters impressive young cows, he now has the highest rating in the Netherlands for temperament. And then there is the exceptional development pattern that producers can expect. Clearly AltaBINGO has passed the test and he is now more popular than ever with Dutch dairy producers. It is the best advertisement: dairy farmers who milk second crop daughters are using him again!

Not surprisingly, the fanciest group of daughters presented belonged to AltaLEMMER (Den Dogge Lemmer – AltaAARON x Elton). Tied for Type leadership among the Dutch proven sires with well-respected bulls Allen and Roy, one might have expected to be impressed. The AltaLEMMER daughters indeed do display impressive frames with more strength and width than his sire delivers.

And the udders are extremely high and wide with teats right under the quarter. AltaLEMMER is indeed the best kept secret among Alta’s Type improver listing. “We could have displayed seven more of these”, adds Adrion Van Beek, head of the selection committee. If you want to make a leap forward on Type in one generation, this is definitely a bull to do it with. AltaLEMMER deserves a chance everywhere around the world where farmers strive to work with beautiful cows.

AltaLEMMER – outstanding Frames and Udders

AltaLEMMER delivers impressive udders

As impressive as the AltaLEMMER group was, the AltaDARWIN AltaDARWIN (Nederhorst Darwin – Addison x Labelle) group was not far behind. The udders were impressive and one couldn’t help but like their raw dairy strength. AltaDARWIN is a bull that manages to combine the best of his mother and the best of his father. His six daughters at the Alta Dairy Day included 3 second lactation cows and 3 first calvers that showed lots of strength. After calving a second time they develop into wide strong animals that are also sharp and clean in the bone. Their legs displayed some variability on set perhaps, but most definitely, AltaDARWIN is a Feet and Leg improver with all daughters tracking well and with excellent foot shape. These cows impressed a great many people and it isn’t any wonder the Alta sire analysts in the Netherlands are using him as a sire of sons.

The AltaCOSMONAUT (QG Cosmonaut – Jocko x Rudolph) group were a medium sized, deep-ribbed quintet with wide, beautiful quality udders. All five displayed strong center support and ideal teat placement. AltaCOSMONAUT delivers strong working cows. These are no-nonsense animals without luxury; very functional cows that without fanfare, will get the job done – and they seem to produce their high yields of fat and protein quite easily.

AltaDARWIN – Impressive framed dairy cows with excellent feet and legs

AltaCOSMONAUT – medium sized, easy
keepingCows with excellent udder quality

The final daughter group belonged to AltaAMOK (Southland Amok – AltaAARON x Largo), one of Alta’s highest conception rate sires. He hails from the strong Southland Belle cow family; acknowledged to be among the best in the Netherlands.The AltaAMOK group displayed lots of strength with nicely shaped shallow udders. In addition they had lots of bone and excellent foot structure.

There are numerous additional pictures that were taken throughout the day on the various daughter groups. Click on the link to take the virtual tour:
Alta Dairy Day Pictures

Written by Alta’s North American Marketing Manager, Paul Meyer

AltaAMOK – strong bodied cows with shallow,
well attached udders and excellent feet