FROM HOARD'S DAIRYMAN - JUNE 2010

"COLORFUL TREND IS UNDERWAY U.S. DAIRY HERDS"

"A growing A.I. trend is literally changing the look of the U.S. dairy industry: herds are becoming more colorful.

Black and white still dominates the landscape, but a gradual shift toward color is clearly underway. Breeding Holstein females to colored breed sires is a trend that has established a strong foothold on many dairies, and the resulting offspring already account for a sizeable amount of the nation's total milk production.

In her presentation at the recent High Plains Dairy Conference in Amarillo, Texas, American Jersey Cattle Association director of development Cherie Bayer said in 2009 an estimated 6.6 percent of dairy cows in the U.S. were identified as being in herds that were Mixed. That number was higher than every breed except Holsteins, and was 135 percent more than in 2000. As seen in the graph below the soaring number of Mixed herd cattle has even passed the number of Jerseys on test, which are themselfs a growth success story."

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"Crossbreds are significant component of the total U.S. dairy herd today, and we expect continued growth in their numbers" - Cherie Bayer

source: Hoards Dairyman