Are you lost in the Breeding Maze?

Scoring a cow in Wiltshire

The modern Dairy herd demands the best of attention; in the short term, the best feeding, in the medium term the correct level of care and facilities and in the long term a breeding policy that will produce cows that suit the system.

The knowledge and detail applicable to each aspect of herd management has vastly increased in recent years, nowhere more so than in breeding. Wider sources of genetics and the diversity of proofs have allowed skilful marketing to capitalize on confusion and lack of detailed knowledge.

The Cattle Breeding Consultancy uses in depth knowledge and experience to provide the dairy farmer with a balanced, unbiased breeding policy for his herd in line with the requirements of his system and his future plans.

The Cattle Breeding Consultancy uses in depth knowledge and experience to provide the dairy farmer with a balanced, unbiased breeding policy for his herd in line with the requirements of his system and his future plans.

Firstly, an initial survey establishes the herds current management and performance along with recent history and following that, the long term aims for the breeding policy are discussed along with any criteria within which the farmer wishes us to work.

Having done this, each individual cow is inspected for conformation and when individual production information is added, we are able to build up a profile of the herd as it stands and group the cows according to their strengths and weaknesses. Individual bulls are then selected for each group using the criteria previously established.

Daughter of Emerald-Acr SA-T Derek

Our extensive sire database is continually updated with information obtained from companies and breed societies world-wide giving us confidence that the bulls selected will offer value for money for the improvements required.

Our report to the farmer comprises the basic data we gather along with our recommendations; it also includes details of the suppliers of the bulls selected and list prices, as well as possible discounts on semen purchases. We also include a Barn Sheet to keep in the dairy for recording service dates.

To maintain an impartial and independent stance, we do not purchase or sell semen or embryos, and our recommendations are frequently backed by our own independent journeys to source countries to inspect progeny of bulls on the UK market.