1. Question from Gerrie Du Preez (HI 5/2006);
In your opinion do you think there will be
demand for cross-bred bulls in the near future?

Winkels: ‘There may be some, but there shouldn’t be. It is well documented that there are many Holstein bulls that can give dairymen better results in the areas of calving ease, somatic cell, and productive life than the bulls
currently being promoted for crossbreeding. We simply haven’t been selecting for these traits; only for production traits. We now need
to do a slight correction, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.’

2. Do you see in-breeding as the cause
of the Holsteins reproductive problems?
‘Inbreeding definitely lowers fertility in all plants and animals.  The bigger problem in the United States is that we have been intensely inbreeding to bulls that are poor for fertility traits.   I am totally shocked that here in America we have inbred so heavily to the Bell bloodlines.  Mating of full, ¾, etc. brothers and sisters to each other are routine and highly praised. There is a reason that within the human race that we do not marry our sisters or cousins. Sometimes when everyone is going to the left it is a smart idea to go right and that is what we have done bringing in very limited amounts of Bell blood in our young sire program for a number of years. We feel that especially in the United States there is going to be a real need for outcross blood lines in the near if not immediate future.’

3. Would you be in favour of a system similar to the one in
New Zealand where all breeds are put on a common base?
‘I don’t know anything about the New Zealand system, but I do know that all bulls from all countries should get a fair comparison.’
 

4. What’s driving the current wave of interest in cross-breeding?
‘Simply put, MONEY. There are a few individuals that are making a large profit by importing, promoting, and selling semen for crossbreeding. There are supposedly 3 Montbeliarde bulls that are +3000 lbs of milk and several others +2000 lbs of milk with semen available. In the US we have no genetic base for the Scandinavian Red breeds, so the USDA figures their converted proofs on an Ayrshire base. The Ayrshire breed runs about a 15,000 lb. average while the Holsteins runs a 24,000 lb. average. Many of these bulls end up having proofs of over +1500 lbs. of milk, and that’s entirely misleading. It’s like saying that a 17 year old boy on the Rochester High School Soccer Team that scores 100 goals per year is going to score 100 goals per year playing for the Brazilian National team. It just isn’t going to happen.

When a commercial dairyman with limited knowledge of genetics is offered semen from a bull that will give him hybrid vigor, calving ease, high productive life, and is SUPPOSEDLY +1500  to + 3000 lbs of  milk he is going to buy it.  If these bulls have their proofs computed on realistic terms showing their true values for production and type the interest in cross breeding will completely cease to exist, at least on any wide spread basis, in less than 6 months in the United States.’

5. Have you seen good acceptance in
America of bulls proven in other countries?
‘We do have good acceptance now, and they should be because they really are all the same bloodlines anyway. Changing from ½ cc to ¼ cc straws is the real challenge we face. To make it worse all semen is still handled on canes which is really outdated technology. Herds of over 2000 cows are common in the US and they need multiple tanks to store their semen. If canes were eliminated and goblets used, semen handling would be simpler and settling rates would go up.’

6. Do American breeders still have questions
about the accuracy of proofs from other countries?
‘We saw quite a bit of that in the past, but the systems are much more accurate now and breeders accept them better.’
 

7. What does America have to do to retain its
leadership position in the Holstein industry?
‘We need to realize that we are not the centre of the Holstein universe as we once were. Other countries see genetics from a global perspective, and use the best bulls from all countries. And we need to do the same.’

8. What traits do you emphasize when selecting young sires?
‘We select bulls that will correct the faults in the general cow population. We have intentionally selected young bulls that will sire strength, width, power, and substance of bone, because cows today all over the world have become weak, narrow, and frail.’

9. Do you use set index criteria when selecting bulls?
‘Yes, a young sire’s Momma has to pass the “mouth watering test.” If she doesn’t make my mouth water when I look at her, no son will enter our program. This is a true statement, however we are realists. If a young sire does not have a reasonable plus index for type and production there is no point in sampling him as he will have no chance of having a marketable proof. My wife and I have 4 young children; we have to split up whatever money that comes in every month between caring for our children and feeding the bulls. A person who has to pay the board bill out of their own pocket has a completely different outlook when selecting young sires.’
 

10. What question would you like to ask our
next guest, the Irish breeder Paul Flanagan?
‘Are there any Holstein bulls named after famous Irish Soccer Players? If not, which soccer player would you like to have a bull named after?’