|
Back to Main News |  Print This Page E-Mail this Page
|
News |
AltaAdvantage® Showcase – Day 4 & 5
|
|
The progressive dairy tour for progressive dairymen crossed the Wisconsin border on Day 4 of the Alta Advantage® Showcase. The feature dairy tour was at Spring Grove Dairy, a well managed dairy that was one of the first herds to join as an Alta Advantage® partner. Spring Grove Dairy is located in the south-central part of the state and milks 1800 cows 3 times per day. |
|
The Spring Grove facility is exemplar of the environment that Alta is testing its genetics in. The Alta Advantage® program includes product development partnerships with 175 dairies that milk 850 cows on average. “This is how you need to go. This program design is fit for the commercial dairy,” says Dan Monson, a co-owner of Spring Grove Dairy. |
|
In herds like Spring Grove’s, cows must compete to perform so Alta focuses on developing sires that make cows “fit” for commercial dairies. Alta Advantage® tested daughters are compared to larger and more comparable contemporary groups than in traditional young sire programs, which makes for a superior assessment of “true” genetic deviation. It’s not uncommon to compare an Alta Advantage® tested daughter to 30 contemporary cows that have all freshened within 1 month of each other. Plus, the daughters are DNA-tested to ensure only accurate data is contributing to an Alta Advantage® sire proof.
The value of these testing standards for progressive dairy managers like Monson is large. “It is extremely important. My confidence in the bulls has increased a lot. The daughters are delivering on expectations,” says Monson. “The dairy producer has to look at return on investment,” he continues. “The return on investment with Alta comes a lot faster than with other programs.”
For dairies like Spring Grove to benefit from the genetic potential of the Alta Advantage® program, heifer calves must get the best start they can. Calf management is a key management area at Spring Grove, and the topic was the subject of a producer panel held on-farm that included neighboring calf managers Marsha Keller and Ken Norgard. Dr. Stephen Acres, CEO of The Saskatoon Colostrum Company which produces Calf’s Choice Total™, also joined the panel.
The panelists were unanimous in the view that a program to feed clean and quality colostrum to newborn calves is a must, if those heifers are to achieve their true genetic potential. According to Norgard, a calf raiser in Wisconsin, “poor calves coming into our facility can usually be traced back to the quality of colostrum feeding.” Meantime, Keller prescribes close attention to detail in the calf program. “Scours is a symptom, so we need to look at what is causing the problem.” Clean calf drench bags regularly and ensure the calf environment is sanitized routinely, advises Keller. She reports that they haven’t treated for scours on their farm for ages and that they have less than a 2% death rate. Apparently an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
|
|
The genetic potential of Alta Advantage® daughters was once again on display in the Performance Pen at Spring Grove Dairy. The pen included 40 daughters from 18 Alta Advantage® tested sires. Voted the favorite sire by the 150 guests from 22 countries was AltaTOMAHAWK – the consistency of the daughters from farm-to-farm has been evident in this HealthPlus bull that offers welded on fore udders, +3.3 PL, +2 DPR, plus above average calving ease and stillbirth evaluations. Once again, the outstanding type and production performance of AltaZESTY proved popular with the Showcase guests. AltaFOURSTAR also made a big impact among observers who noticed this 2nd crop sire that stamps out averaged sized daughters with well attached wide udders capable of producing tons of milk (+1754). |
|
Day 5 Day 5 of the Showcase program opened the doors to World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Guests from the 22 countries on the tour got to see some of America’s finest cows and heifers on display in the show ring in the Coliseum. Alta also was pleased to help welcome all international guests at Expo during a reception hosted by Hoard’s Dairyman Español and co-sponsored by Alta. |
|
|
|
The welcoming and lively atmosphere of the Alta Advantage® Showcase continued into the Alta booth located in the Exhibition Hall at World Dairy Expo. The Alta booth proved once again to be popular among all attendees at Expo, with product and program information on display alongside “games of chance.” Alta introduced black jack tables into the Expo booth to help give farmers a friendly reminder – Don’t Gamble With Your Repro!” Alta’s Advantage® program takes the gamble of out sire selection and making genetic improvement, thanks to a commitment of DNA-testing daughters and large herd testing. |
Posted Oct 9th
