What are the Different Breeds of Dairy Cattle- Which breed is the best?- Why do we have them all? 

We are about 50 miles South of Duluth, MN. Sturgeon Lake, in East Central Minnesota.

Our first Shorthorn was named Satan if that tells you anything haha!

I'll have to check it out!

Unfortunately she severely damaged 2 teats, and infection took her. That was a very hard day.

Sorry to hear that that must’ve been a very hard day and I’m sure she was a pet

Yes she was.

You’ll see her again when you go to heaven I see your pets and love ones God is good God bless and you still have Duchess and Jolene hopefully you’ll get some more brown Swiss cows in the future

Yes totally agree there!

That's terrible

they can all be mean, even a cow if you come between her and her calf. I know the Holstein Bull is one of the worst. My aunt went to bring the cows in for milking and the bull even charged at the tractor, after that she took one of the bigger tractors out when they brought them in

@@Mattea68 I helped a guy back in the early 2000s, back when cows was still on pasture on small family farms he milked 100 I think, anyhow his Holstein bull was in pasture with the cows and he said when you go get them watch him that bull was big and mean as hell, I got the cows going in and had to floor it that dang bull chased me clear to the pasture gate. I am glad bulls are no longer needed on dairy farms really maybe very small, I know a guy that milks 40 cows and he had a bull that put his young kid in the hospital, he now has somebody come and a.i

Thanks for watching!

Craigslist has a lot, or even local dairy farms. We love seeing our girls go be a family cow.

Not a dumb question at all. Fresh farm milk does taste better because it has a higher butterfat content than store bought. Right now we have our beef heifers with our dry cows. Once they calve, I'm not sure if we'll separate the beef cows from the dry cows. We have friends that hand milk a couple cows and they keep them with the beef cows.

We do both. I have a Jersey bull as a back up, but we mainly AI breed. I would like to get each breed back to purebred.

Actually Guernsey cattle give A2 milk, as well as true Jersey cattle. With genetics, now Holsteins can have the A2 milk. The cattle in India are amazing though. To be honest, I haven't found a cow yet that I didn't think was beautiful! Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!

I have very limited experience with Ayrshires, so I'm glad to hear you have a different take on their personality. I did just have another Ayrshire heifer freshen, and she is a sweetheart.

Thank you so much!!!

Yes they are a very healthy cow, we had a couple that were in their mid to upper teens and still milking. Probably why a lot of our cows have Milking Shorthorn back in their pedigree. We didn't care for their milk production. It seemed like they milked like crazy for about 60 days and then they just dropped and plateaued and that's where they stayed.

A farm I worked on had Shorthorn and Shorthorn/Holstien crosses. I would agree that the Shorthorn produces well for the first couple months, then they drop off. However, the Shorthorn made up the difference in having great health: calving ease, no trouble with mastitis, and no hoof problems. I would love to have my own farm one day, with a barn full of Shorthorns, Guernseys, and Brown Swiss.

@@jackallen7680 I am with you on that.

A friend of mine has Linebacks, too. They are so pretty!

Yes we had a Holstein Shorthorn cross that was blue. She never had blue calves though. I could see Shorthorn helping toughen up a Guernsey and be a good cross.

She looks like it doesn't she! She's a Holstein/Jersey cross though.

A friend of Jen's had some Lineback calves and they are pretty for sure.

Cool!

Haha!

Not as a dairy cow.

I have been there! Went for my AI certification. I was there when they were installing the robot milkers, and one caught on fire!

Trinity Dairy cool. I work there as a custodian

It was a fun experience, and I loved how the hallway was like a museum.

We went over the main 7 dairy breeds. A person could have also talked about Fleckvieh, Montebeliarde, Norwegian Red, Dexter, miniature breeds, and the list could go on.

Possibly genomic testing to get the absolute best characteristics of the breed, otherwise you would have to cross it with something. Even the main dairy breeds have been crossed with each other. Jersey's were crossed with Holstein's just enough to get them to produce more milk without losing Jersey characteristics. Ayrshires and Red and Whites share a lot of the same lineage.

@@trinitydairy This was really helpful, thanks a lot!

In Brazil there has been a lot of research and development on dairy Gir cattle. www2.crvlagoa.com.br/TourosGrade.aspx?idTipoRaca=16

I have no experience with them, but a friend of mine has Normande, and likes them.

​​@@trinitydairyEDIT: found your channel looking for information about Bison-Guernsey cross ... Specifically for the A2 milk & genetic strength/durability...and some versatility .... Maybe that won't be what I am after... Also want that dense fat and nutrient profile to the milk .. Also looking to find more information on Cows that genetically have mutation or the gene that allows them to produce Colostrum continuous... Hoping to find in an A2 ... Also, out state just recently passed the Raw milk purchased off the farm direct option so, perhaps that is a secondary possibility as I am first specifically looking for my own benefit...

I see no real genetic advantage in breeding a dairy cow to bison. To me, it would seem similar to breeding it to a beef animal. I have also heard that the bison crosses don't have the best disposition. The dairy industry has the genetics game down to a fine art, and if you're looking for an A2/A2 animal that is going to last while still producing a high component milk, there are plenty of breeds that fit the bill better than Guernsey and especially better than a bison hybrid. I've never heard of a cow with a mutation to produce only colostrum, so I'm no help there.

There was no bull on the farm at that time

@@trinitydairy just be safe my friend.

Oh I've heard of the Canadienne! I'm lucky enough that my AI Rep is Independent, so he is able to look at a lot of companies and private sales to find a good Guernsey or Ayrshire bull.

It definitely takes a good amount of family support!