Genus ABS Open Day at Beechlodge Holsteins

Their herd comprises of 240 Holstein cows, with a herd average of 11,500 litres at 4.24% BF, 3.33 Pr and SCC of 124.

The predominantly Autumn calving herd are currently averaging 41 litres per day and have been using Genus’ RMS service for the past seven years.

Stephen and Chris have also been availing of the GMS mating programme, to breed the correct cow for their system and have recently commenced Genomic testing their young stock with Genus.

After refreshments of bacon and sausage baps and tea and coffee were served, everyone divided into groups to attend each of the different workshops.

At station one, Johnny Ewing and Conall Daly from Genus ABS gave a very informative presentation on both GMS and Genomic testing, which included a demonstration showing calves sired by the same bull, but from different dams and the variation in their Genomic values.

At station two, Craig McAllister from Parklands Veterinary Group discussed calf rearing, including nutrition, vaccination and general husbandry.

At station three, nutritionist, Stephen Agnew spoke in-depth about all aspects of herd nutrition, including management of dry cows and during the transition period. The milking herd at Beechlodge Holsteins are split into two groups, with the high yielders currently averaging over 50 litres daily.

Finally, ABS St Jacob’s Business Manager, Brian Behnke, introduced Genus ABS’ newly launched Linear Choice range of sires.

The Linear Choice Sire programme was started three years ago, with Brian explaining how he sourced bulls from very specific cow families, with the key priorities being to breed for balance, with positive chest width, rump width, good capacity and great production.

Also at station four, Conor Loughran, Genus ABS, talked about the five cows on display and also the broad criteria he and Chris used, when selecting bulls for the whole herd, before tailoring their selection through the GMS mating programme.

He further explained how much of the herd has been sired by Genus ABS bulls, who are very typical of the Linear Choice model.

Genomic testing has yielded great benefits for Stephen and Chris. It has allowed them to identify star animals, including Beechlodge Elevated Bertolli, who is the No seven Type heifer in the UK, whilst also being the highest PLI heifer in that elite group.

The Genus ABS NI team would like to thank Stephen McAllister, Chris Coote and Aidy Sharkey for hosting the Open Day and for their hospitality and thanks too, to the large number of people who attended and to all the speakers on the day.