YPERIOS CROSSBRED BULLS
OPTIMIZE SEGMENT
Objective:
"Crossbreeding is an integral part of my workshop's technical and economic strategy".
Crossbred calves in demand:
"I use crossbred bulls whenever I can on the least interesting females. I'm looking to improve the Conformation of my crossbred calves to get the best selling price while maintaining my level of milk production."
OPTIMISE bulls:
Sires that offer the best risk/benefit ratio and ideally complement a renewal management strategy for optimum value and assured milk production.
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butcher’s shop on the farm
Testimonial by Mickaël RAGEYS
Mickaël RAGEYS, Prim Holstein breeder at GAEC DE L’ENVOLEE in Pomeys in the Rhône department (69) started crossbreeding 4 years ago.
“Once we had reached our target number of cows, crossbreeding seemed the best way to optimize the economics of our dairy farm. The aim was to obtain an additional meat product,” explains Mickaël RAGEYS.
“The presentation of the results projected by the OPTI’GEN software thanks to the combination of genotyping, sexed semen and crossbred semen definitely convinced us.
The priority in GAEC DE L’ENVOLEE’s breeding strategy is to ensure renewal. Thanks in particular to the use of genotyping, the best females in the herd are identified and inseminated as purebreds: sexed female semen for 80% of heifers and conventional semen for 40% of cows. Females excluded from renewal production are systematically inseminated with YPERIOS Excellence bulls (60% of cows and 20% of heifers). To manage the renewal/crossing balance as effectively as possible, the schedule is readjusted every quarter. The OPTI’GEN tool enables us to fine-tune this strategy.
“On our farm, crossbreeding is used to improve the genetic and economic performance of our herd,” explains Mickaël, a connoisseur of Prim’ Holstein genetics.
“Our watchword is to go for added value on the calves, but without taking any risks on the lactation to come.”
GAEC DE L’ENVOLEE markets its calves between 20 and 30 days old, after a rearing phase in individual hutches. On average, a crossbred male is valued at €130 to €150 more than a Prim Holstein male. The difference between the male and female cross is around €100.
GAEC DE L’ENVOLEE is targeting 4 Excellence crossbred bulls with its inseminator, taking into account feedback from bulls used in previous campaigns.
- 2 bulls are intended for heifers, with particular attention paid to Birth Ease. ” Our priority is to ensure that the calf passes easily, so that the cows can get off to a good start in milk,” explains Mickaël.
- 2 bulls with superior calf-conformation potential are used on cows. “Calf buyers encourage us to use bulls with more Conformation, which would add €20 to €30 per calf sold at 3 weeks – 1 month”.
BREEDING IDENTITY CARD
GAEC DE L’ENVOLÉE – POMEYS (69,590)
GAEC with 3 partners (between third parties) set up in 2008 with a doubling of cattle numbers in 7 years (2008 – 2015).
Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA): 120 ha, including 35 ha of corn and 25 ha of cereals. The remainder of the plot is grassland, with a further 25 ha of RayGrass grown as a catch crop between maize crops.
Herd: 120 Prim’Holstein cows
Average production: 1.1 million liters of milk
Installation of two milking robots in 2015
Development of a methanization business in 2018
Farm involved in YPERIOS crossbreeding test
SEGMENTATIONS