Forum

#6 Amalgamation of Illawarra and ARDB

By Steve (Feb 04 2011, 10:00 AM)

Hi Guys, Clicked the wrong button before I finished. The Aussie Red Breed is currently surging ahead of the other red breeds in terms of profit and genetic gain. To place any sort of restrictions on the Aussie Red whether it be color or breed composition % will reduce genetic gain. To reduce the progress in genetic gain in one breed to cater for the needs of another does not make much sense. The Aussie Red Breed is a registar of how breeders choose to breed their cows, they can breed them in any combination they wish with no restrictions. It would be very important that this does not change. The Progeny Test programs where the Aussie Red dictates the direction the genetic merit of the breed goes. This is where HF content can be restricted. Given that the majority of Aussie Red breeders and the commercial dairy indusrty need Red genetics of the highest genetic merit and minimal HF content, the Aussie Red PT policy is working well. This is another area that would be of concern to me if Illawarra restrictions began to be implemented on the direction the Aussie Red is heading thru our PT bulls. The new classification Optimumns and weights that will be used to classify Aussie Red cattle will help discourage the use of HF genetics, as the new system does not give the HF type an advantage and will lead to breeding Aussie Red cows for profit and function as the priority. Great discussion and a very complex subject. It must be remember that the Aussie Red Breed was established by Illawarra breeders wanting to move the Illawarra breed forward, this has and continues to be acheived. I see plenty of Illawarra breeders now using genetics in an attempt to move forward and in essence they are now breeding Aussie Reds!! Cheers Steve Snowdon

#7 Amalgamation of Illawarra and ARDB

By Daryl (Feb 13 2011, 10:18 AM)

If we are talking about a merger my first question is WHY & WHAT FOR? Is it for a warm & fuzzy feeling of only having 1 red breed is it for a far more focussed with a more strategic vision? In any merger of the 2 breeds one will have to give up on some of its current gains and focus and one will possibly get a free kick. If the Aussie Red breed is going to forego its current rate of progress I see this as a backward step. We have one of the best PT programs going and I would hate to see this comprimized in any way.

#8 Amalgamation of Illawarra and ARDB

By Steve (Feb 13 2011, 12:45 PM)

I agree 100% Daryl, why would the Aussie Red Breed want to go backwards. The Aussie Red is now clearly the most profitable Red breed in Australia and is surging ahead in genetic gain due to it's PT policy and PT teams. From an administrative point of veiw there may be a case to consider, but trying to build one breed simply would not be practicable. Cheers Steve

#9 Amalgamation of Illawarra and ARDB

By Michael Tuhan (Apr 01 2011, 8:47 AM)

As an Illawarra breeder I commend Michael & Sam for putting this topic up for discussion in the forum. Certainly an amalgamation would prove difficult, but realistically both breeds have similar breeding aims, and a similar product to offer, and there could be some benefits in weight of numbers by working together in some form (this may not have to be a full amalgamation of herd books). I am interested in Steve's comments that "the Aussie Red is now clearly the most profitable Red breed in Australia and is surging ahead in genetic gain" - sure this may appear to be the case if you focused solely on ABV's and APR's, however the latest herd recording statistics show Illawarras with a total solids figure of 466kg Fat & Protein, and the Aussie Reds with 441 kg solids. I would think this would suggest that Illawarra's can more than hold their own in our environment, and re-iterate my thoughts that both breeds have a similar product to offer the Australian Dairy industry. In response to Jason's comments regarding too much Holstein content in the Illawarra breed - this would certainly appear to be the case if you only take notice of what cows enter the show ring, but this is a distorted view of the total Illawarra population. In reality the vast majority of Illawarra animals have relatively small/limited amounts of Holstein blood - I was recently quoted a figure of around 8% of Illawarras registered in the last herd book sired by Holstein Bulls, so simple maths says 92% weren't!

#10 Amalgamation of Illawarra and ARDB

By Michael Riggs (Apr 06 2011, 8:45 AM)

Ok, I think everyone would agree that amalgamation will not be possible any time soon so how about we start discussing how the two breeds can work together in some areas? To start the ball rolling, Sam Graham has taken cows to IDW the last couple of years. Would it be possible to combine the two breeds in the show ring or would the show societies block that?

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