How to Crossbreed Cows for Organic Milk Production

Crossbreeding is becoming increasingly evident in the dairy industry, including organic dairy farming. Crossbreeding is not an effective way to increase milk production or levels of fat and protein in milk, since no cattle breed can produce more than a Holstein, and purebred Jerseys yield the highest percentage of milk components, such as fat and protein. Crossbreeding can, however, create offspring that are superior to purebreds in other aspects, such as durability, feed-to-milk conversion efficiency and fertility rates. The 2-breed rotational cross system is one of the simplest and most commonly used.

Things You'll Need

  • Artificial insemination semen of 2 breeds
  • Artificial insemination supplies
  • Breeding records
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the qualities that you want the offspring to inherit and select 2 breeds that posses these traits. For example, an organic dairy farmer may have Holsteins because of their high milk production. If his farm operation is a rotational grazing system in which the cows are fed little grain, he may want to cross the Holsteins with a breed that thrives better on grass, such as Milking Shorthorns.

    • 2

      Artificially breed the dam with semen from the opposite breed. Although a crossbreeding system can be implemented with natural service, it is more labor intensive because 2 bulls must be kept separately from each other, as well as from the cows they are not meant to breed.

    • 3

      Breed the offspring of the first mating with semen of either breed. The first generation of crossbreeding will have equal genetic makeup of both breeds. Note the offspring's performance in the organic herd in comparison to the purebred cattle. If they do not match your expectations you may decide to cease the crossbreeding program or start over with different breeds.

    • 4

      Breed the next generation of offspring with semen of the cattle breed that is the opposite of their sire. For example, if offspring that were half Holstein and half Milking Shorthorn were bred to a Holstein sire, breed the following generation to a Milking Shorthorn sire. Continue to rotate breed sires throughout the length of the crossbreeding program and evaluate the success of the crossbreeds in comparison to the rest of the herd.