EARL PLANEIGE: Artisan of collective progress
14 October 2024At Colombiès in Aveyron, Alexandre Enjalbert raises 55 Holstein cows, where he manages his herd’s genetic to optimize the combination of renewal and crossbreeding.
His neighbor Frédéric Deltort, breeder of some of the bulls in the catalog, is also a fan of crossbreeding. YPERIOS. They both tell us about their experience.
EARL ALEXANDRE ENJALBERT
Town : Colombiès
- 55 dairy cows
- 450,000 L sold to SODIAAL
- UAA: 64ha including 9ha of corn silage and 15 to 20 ha of “forced” grassland
EARL FRÉDÉRIC DELTORT
Town : Colombiès
- 50 dairy cows
- 420,000 L sold to SODIAAL
- UAA: 70ha including 8ha of corn and 8ha of cereals
TOWARDS A MORE SYSTEMATIC PRACTICE OF CROSSBREEDING
As soon as he took over the family business, Alexandre continued and accentuated the YPERIOS 95 crossbreeding tradition. “We’ve always done INRA 95 (YPERIOS 95). Today we’re at around 40 to 45% crossbreeding. For the past 2 years, I’ve been genotyping all my heifers, which I distribute according to their qualities: either sexed female semen or crossbreeding.
A stone’s throw away, Frédéric Deltort doesn’t hesitate to use YPERIOS crossbreeding on his heifers either. “At the time I would never have done it, but now I put crossbreds on those that don’t hold purebred and I don’t have any calving problems.
With 50 Holsteins and transitioning to a mixed Simmental-Holstein herd, in a grass-based system, he is looking to rationalize his practices. With a YPERIOS 95 cross-breeding rate of around 30%, he sells his calves at 1 month and a little longer when he has the space. . “I’ve sold crossbreds for up to €400, compared with €80 for a black. Today I’m going to work with Joël on optimizing or maximizing bull profiles. The calvings are fully insured, so I know what to do. that I can go for a little more conformation.”
TWO LOCAL PLAYERS IN THE PROGRAM
Frédéric and Alexandre are both AURIVA test partners. “I take part in the Blond and YPERIOS tests, which are advantageous and, above all, AIs are carried out from November to March, as they are at home. It’s not restrictive in terms of calving and it’s satisfying to be able to take part in the programs,” confides Alexandre.
Frédéric is also a breeder for the YPERIOS program. With 2 bulls in his catalog (OZIRIS and NOUNOURS), he remembers the birth of OZIRIS: “I came in one morning and saw the cow in great shape, as if nothing had happened, and OZIRIS next to her, born on her own. Today, I also have TOTEM YP and TINTO YP, who were selected following the individual test and will probably be entering the catalog shortly.
I enjoy taking part in the program, and I have a special history with YPERIOS, having worked at INRA in Carmaux. I looked after the INRA 95 herd and sorted calves in Soual with Jean-Christophe VERZENI. I know these animals well and I love them, so I’m all the more confident in the program and its quality. You feel useful when you give birth to bulls or take part in testing. We give good care to enable our neighbors or even breeders at the other end of the world to have additional income without taking risks.”
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