Holstein Cattle - Genetics

Genetics

The golden age of Friesian breeding occurred during the last 50 years, greatly helped lately by embryo transfer techniques, which permitted a huge multiplication of bulls entering progeny testing of elite, bull-mother cows.

Osborndale Ivanhoe, b. 1952, brought stature, angularity, good udder conformation and feet and leg conformation, but his daughters lacked depth and strength. His descendants included:

• Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation, b. 1965, often abbreviated RORA Elevation, was another top-class bull. He sired over 70,000 Holstein cattle, with descendants numbering over 5 million; Elevation was named Bull of the Century by Holstein International Association in 1999. Elevation was the result of a cross of Tidy Burke Elevation being used on one of the best ever Ivanhoe daughters, Round Oak Ivanhoe Eve. He was unsurpassed at the time for type and production.

• Penstate Ivanhoe Star, b. 1963, sired daughters with similar stature and dairiness as the Ivanhoe's, but with higher production. He also notably sired Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell, the great production bull of the 80s, known also for good udders, feet and legs. A present-day genetic disorder, complex vertebral malformation, has been traced to Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell and Penstate Ivanhoe Star.

• Hilltop Apollo Ivanhoe, b. 1960, sire of Whittier Farms Apollo Rocket, b. 1967, was the highest milk production bull of the 70s; and Wayne Spring Fond Apollo, b. 1970, was the first bull ever to have a milk transmission index of over 2,000 M and have a positive type index. "Wayne" had a very famous daughter, To-Mar Wayne Hay, that was dam of the great To-Mar Blackstar, b. 1983.