TWOPLUS™ Program -  Crossbreeding For Profit

TWOPLUS™ symbolizes the use of the Holstein breed and Geno’s Norwegian Red or NRF breed as the two premier dairy breeds for crossbreeding. These breeds complement each other as the Holstein cow has been acknowledged as the dominant dairy breed for over 30 years due to her high milk production, while the Norwegian Red excels in calf viability, female fertility and disease resistance. This alternative source of genetics will couple high milk and solids production with exceptional calf viability, female fertility and disease resistance, enhancing your profit.

Often, attempts at crossbreeding dairy cattle have failed because there was no plan for the steps beyond the F1 cow. The TWOPLUS™ system does not end with the F1, but continues to balance between the breed that excels at increasing revenues and the breed that excels at decreasing costs in future generations.

TWOPLUS™ is a rotational crossbreeding system, whereby the Holstein and the NRF breeds are used alternately to produce the next generation. Thus, F1 heifers from NRF sires should be mated to purebred Holstein bulls; their progeny to NRF; the progeny of those to Holstein; and so on. With such a system, the level of hybrid vigor will be two-thirds of the F1, and the cross will become more and more uniform over time.

Several groups have recommended involving a third or even a fourth breed in the crossbreeding program. However, this could unnecessarily complicate the program. It will create more variation in the herd, and is likely to reduce over-all profitability. The superiority of the TWOPLUS™ system is largely based on the complementarity and high performance of the Holstein and the NRF breeds. Finding a third breed that can match these two and complement them well is a challenge, as it would require years to verify its improvement on the TWOPLUS™ program.

Crossbreeding programs must be designed to fit the species. In dairy cattle, the reproductive rate is low, and crossbred females must be used to produce the next generation of crossbreds. Therefore the most logical crossbreeding system in dairy cattle is rotational crossing.

The figure to the right is an example of the rotational crossbreeding process alternating between an NRF sire and a Holstein sire.

The Benefits of Crossbreeding:

• Higher Fertility – Reduces calving intervals, semen, vet and AI costs
• Calving Ease – Fewer stillbirths, less stress, more live progeny
• High Fat and Protein – Crossbred yields are very similar to Holstein
• Hard-wearing Feet – Increases lifespan, reduces lameness
• Calf Vitality – Easy, trouble-free calf rearing
• High-reliability Sire Proofs – Based on large daughter numbers
• Greater Mastitis Resistance – Healthy cows with a reduction in vet & drug costs

Gencor currently offers semen on the following eight bulls. Please contact your Gencor Representative for more details.

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 For additional sire proofs and information on Geno Global please visit GENO GLOBAL

 For additional information on crossbreeding in North America please visit www.dairycrossbreeding.com