The importance of good front-end structure for longer cow life

  

Linear mating concepts are much more focused on the rear end (hind legs and feet + udders) than they are on front ends (which also have legs and feet!).    Thus in many herds, problems accumulate in how cows walk, get in and out of stalls, and breathe.                        

Hoof trimmers point out problems in front legs and feet leading to chronic lameness
A poor front foot stance (uneven weight bearing between inner and outer claws) will often lead to lameness.    Your hoof trimmer takes the excess off the toe carrying less weight.    Next time he comes, he sees same cow, and trims the same problem.    You cannot fix a poor front foot by hoof trimming.   It is a problem caused by bad mating selection; she will have this all her life.

The chest of cows need to be deep enough to house a fully functioning heart and wide enough to fully and easily inflate the lungs.    Thus a triangulated (“wedge shape”) front end is best.   In  such a front end, the elbow places the foreleg “out” to provide a more sturdy stance, the feet will point straight ahead (rather than spindled to the side) and the weight bearing will be even from side to side.    Cows will get up and down easily, and feet will wear evenly, minimizing the need for hoof trimming.    ( Interestingly, you will find the head on the cow proportional to the dimensions of the front end. )

A proportional front end will carry that proportionality into the body
When the front end of the cow has the desired wedge shape, you will find the body also has a desirable “wedge shape” (over the topline, from “sharp” shoulders the back expands to “broad” hips: in side view, the ribs sweep back at an angle from elbows getting longer as they approach the flank at the joining of fore udder to body wall).

Ribs need to be both “elastic” and deep, NOT tight and shallow.     When the skeletal frame has these three “triangle” dimensions, you will have fully functioning ruminant digestion.

But the front end is the “engine” of the cow, housing heart (blood circulation) and lungs (blood oxygenation) essential to maintaining the body for a full productive life.    286 pounds of blood circulate through the udder for every pound of milk the cow produces!     So capacity in a front end should not be overlooked in your mating selection process.

How does the “aAa” process aid you to consistently produce good front ends?

aAa #1 “DAIRY”  lengthens the neck, triangulates from shoulder to elbow, and broadens hips.
aAa #4 “STRONG”  makes a deeper chest for a larger heart (stronger blood circulation)
aAa # 5 “SMOOTH”  widens the elbow, sets the front leg sturdier, shapes the foot evenly

Bulls  with  great  front  ends

The “modern” cow had its origin in the mid 1960s.    The two most transformative Holstein bulls into that era were Osborndale Ivanhoe and Romandale Reflection Marquis.    “Ivanhoe” was “Tall” and “Dairy”:  “Marquis” was “Tall” and “Strong”.
  
Type classification and Show judging were both changing in favor of such bulls at that time and set the breed up for a rapid improvement in the pace of production, and the ability of cows to have a full lifetime of production, as bulls who sired cows whose production increased as they reached maturity and held steady into older ages.     The “Tall” features they offered, which we now associate with the production of bovine somatotropin (“growth hormone”) helped as the dairy nutrition industry focused on utilizing more corn and oilseeds as production supplement.

Both these bulls had good front ends.    “Ivanhoe” could add refinement while “Marquis” added substance and strength;  these blended well with the “Burke” and  “Dunloggin” bloodlines that dominated early AI programs prior to the advent of frozen semen, that often led to smaller and frailer cow physiques.

What do we seem to need now?     W I D E R  front ends
Here are some choices that will restore width to the narrow front-ended cow.

525 HO 117   Rex PP Red        (aAa 5 4 6 3 1 2)    sturdy front legs, deep chest                Triple Hil
A2A2 for Beta Casein, AB for Kappa Casein.    Improves Protein %          
In combining the “Roxy” and “Apple” cow lines, gains milk yield dramatically into maturity.

515 HO 452   Prada                 (aAa 5 6 1 4 2 3)     sturdy, wide chests, deep rib                A I Total 
A2A2 for Beta Casein, BB for Kappa Casein.   Improves Butterfat % and Protein %
Look to him to improve milkout, this bull helps teats both in placement and length.

54 HO 1156  Pace Setter       (aAa  4 6 2 5 1 3)     deep chest, durable bones                    No Bull
This brand new “No Bull Solutions” sire from Regancrest’s “Barbie” family is a “special” one
His dam is now working on her third lactation and looks capable of 40,000 pounds    

799HO 045  Dynasty             (aAa  3 4 5 2 1 6)     wide at both ends, great rumps            Blondin
A2A2 for Beta Casein, BB for Kappa Casein.   Improves butterfat % and Protein %.
#1 Type of Progeny Proven bulls USA (December 2025)  another Kings Ransom success story

733HO 012  Goliath PP        (aAa  1 2 3 5 4 6)     ultimate “wedge shape” physique         A G 3
A2A2 for Beta Casein, BB for Kappa Casein.    No extremes in linear evaluation.
Combines today’s two leading ranked PP sires:  Stantons Remover PP and Vogue A2P2 PP

WHAT IS THE IDEAL RATIO OF BUTTERFAT% TO PROTEIN% FOR CHEESE?

  

CONCEPTIONS   Dairy Route Newsletter             Feb-March 2026

Mark Curry        (989) 984- 7027      Route service and sales

Sue Palen           (989) 277- 0480      Office manager, orders coordinator

Greg Palen         (989) 277- 6031      “aAa” Breeding Guide, certified seed specialist

MICH LIVESTOCK SERVICE, Inc   “For the Best in Bulls” and “High Energy Forages”
110 N Main St   (PO Box 661)   Ovid,  MI  48866   *** phone (989) 834- 2661  fax (989) 834- 2914
www.michiganlivestock.com        email:  greg@michiganlivestock.com         (also on “Facebook”)

 

Hilmar Cheese Company in central California was founded by a dozen committed Jersey dairies who were struggling for profitability back in the 1980s under California’s “fat quota” pricing (an order that believed animal fats were health trouble for humans, and which assumed most milk was going into a bottle rather than into butterfat or casein products, typical of USDA’s thinking).

Today, Hilmar is a nationally recognized cheese producer and the Jersey dairies who are primary suppliers to their plant are very healthy financially.    The blend of milk they process daily is in a ratio of 4.5% butterfat to 3.6% protein.    Over 80% of the cows whose milk flows to Hilmar are BB for Kappa Casein (of which the Jersey breed is the clear leader), and the “cheese yield” from this milk is substantially higher (15% more) than you find in typical cheese plants utilizing milk from a cooperative pool.    

As the traditional Jersey cow was always 5% butterfat (or even higher, a few cows reaching 7%) why would a cheese plant owned by Jersey dairymen not seek for that level today?   Simply that the limiting factor is the percentage of protein.     When 5% Jersey milk was desired for cheese, the typical Jersey also produced 4% protein…  80% of the level of butterfat.    As we bred Jerseys to milk more, the percentage of components declined, but the ratio between pr% and bf% that is desired for direct-vat cheese-making is still easily achieved in the Jersey breed.

The same can be said for Brown Swiss, and the traditional “Swiss Cheese” was able to be made directly from Brown Swiss milk without any skimming  (4.2% bf and 3.4% pr with high frequency of BB Kappa Casein).    BB Kappa Casein gives you the highest curd forming milk in any breed.

 

Should a replacement heifer look like a well-fed steer ?

      When you put it that way, I expect you would all say “NO”.    According to Dr Jan Bonsma (late of South Africa (as well as Texas A&M) back into the 1970s), his studies in endocrinology (glandular functions)  led him to postulate,  “Bulls should look masculine, and the best ones will produce a cow that looks feminine.”    Cows with a “bully” (blocky) look generally do not have an optimal level of natural fertility, nor are they reliably “maternal” in behavior at and after calving.

Statistically, the beef “breed” with the poorest breeding record is the “Club Calf composite”.   It is not that surprising given that the primary genetic selection criteria in club calf breeding is the ability to grow coarse hair and the predominance of steer traits in the physique.   After a couple generations of such bulls, the retained females start to look more “clubby” than truly feminine.   With the decline of feminine qualities, natural fertility follows, and then maternal behavior.

Given the prevalence of CIDR use and OvSynch to get “clubby” females bred for optimal calving dates, loss of natural fertility  (which occurs gradually over generations)  is not always detected.   But it should be a consideration in which females you need for commercial beef replacements.

Growth rates are also not always as good in clubby herds as they might be in straight-bred cow herds, as well.    While the original clubby bulls  (representing three way crosses)  exhibited lots of hybrid vigor, this disappears when crossbred cows get bred to crossbred bulls over multiple generations.    Studies in both Beef and Dairy herds have shown that when using crossbred bulls we get better results in growth rates and the feminine quality of heifers if their dams are mostly purebred cows  (especially those sired by successfully linebred bulls).    

Maintaining heterosis  (hybrid vigor)  is easier when one side of the mating is linebred.    You get consistency from the linebred cows, while you get genotype variation from the crossbred bulls.    Clubby bull lines began from the desire to gain the heterosis possible from two and three way breed crosses among performance-type sires.     But the availability of straight-breed cows to be bred at that time is what made the whole process work spectacularly at first.   

Tri Shield - The premium choice to provide calf immunity to scours

   ImmuCell Corporation in Portland Maine has been producing ORAL scours vaccines for a couple decades.    This is a colostrum-based product:  Tri-Shield is drawn from healthy cows vaccinated for three major causes of calf scours deaths:    Rotavirus     Coronavirus     K99 E. Coli

This product was developed to be their successor to “First Defense”, which covered two of the three diseases listed above.    We sold  “First Defense”  successfully for years, so it was exciting when this new “three way” oral vaccine came on the market.

Production is now catching up to demand and we are keeping stock in our store.    This should be refrigerated until you are ready to use it.    There are twelve single-dose syringes in a box.

We also have available for delivery, cidrs for timed breedings and estrotect stickers for heat detection. 

How old is your semen tank ?

    We have three models of new “state of the art” semen tanks always in stock here.    We will be displaying them at Michigan Beef Expo if you have been thinking about trading up.    Two of the models are 20 week holding time (great if you are storing embryos) while the larger capacity model is rated for 12 to 16 weeks.     

What it takes for a persistent alfalfa stand (new insights)

     Alfalfa has been getting a lot of attention from forage research lately, given concerns that the big seed marketing brands  (generally owned by chemical companies today)  have been selling off or dropping their premium alfalfa lines.     Industry observers site three reasons:  (1) these companies make more money producing corn and soybean seed than alfalfa:  (2)  over the last twenty years, alfalfa growing farms have plateaued yields around 4 tons per acre  (bringing all the genetic selection efforts  into question):   (3)  RoundUp Ready alfalfa never got further than the irrigated fields of Idaho, costing 50% more than conventional seed without promising any increased yields.     Conventional seed sales volume plateaued for several years now.

A new technique for extending alfalfa stand life  

We already knew that the ideal soil pH for alfalfa to grow and persist is 6.5.      Less thought has been put into the ideal soil nutrient ratio for alfalfa, which is 20 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen. Soil microbial populations that feed nutrients to the alfalfa roots are maintained at these levels.

During the harvesting season, each cutting removes carbon.    Alfalfa leaves are not that great at drawing in carbon dioxide (grass species are much superior to legumes in this process).    Thus a “pure” alfalfa stand will begin to die off just from periodic harvesting.     Mixed stands of alfalfa and improved grasses do much better (the alfalfa draws in nitrogen to root zones, and the grass draws in carbon to the root zones);  thus yields from mixed alfalfa-grass stands will be greater over the life of the stand.    But if you planted “pure” alfalfa, just overseed forage oats into the alfalfa stand after last cutting, and they will restore carbon to the soil.   The oats die off during winter, and you will see a more vigorous alfalfa regrowth in the spring!!

Great Lakes  Forage and Grazing  Conference   March 19, 2026
CTE John C Magnus Center:     3200 S Clare Ave.—Clare MI          9:00 am to 3:00 pm

This event happens once a year, with interesting speakers and topical breakout sessions.  The annual business meeting of Michigan Forage Council including election of rotating directors is held in the idle of the day.    If you register before March 15, admission is $65 (includes lunch).
To register online, go to https://bit.ly/GLFGC2026...  Or call Brittany Schultz (989) 426- 7741.

AI technique training schools happening

    We have partnered with Chris McTaggart, AI technique trainer for Central Star/Select Sires, on a  breeding schools which will be held in Elsie this January.    This schools is already full;  however, Chris says he is trying to do another session in March but will be at a different location to be determined.   If this is of interest to you, let us know and give us your email and we will keep you updated on what gets scheduled.

 

Mark Curry      (989) 984- 7027    Route sales and services

Sue Palen         (989) 277- 0480    Products and Order desk

Greg Palen       (989) 277- 6031    Certified Seed Specialist

Mich Livestock Service, Inc ***     “For the best in Bulls”    “High Energy Forages”
110 N Main St  (PO Box 661)   Ovid,  MI  48866 ***  phone (989) 834- 2661   fax (989) 834- 2914
email:  greg@michiganlivestock.com     website:  www.michiganlivestock.com     (also Facebook)
Spring  calving  coming  soon:    Ordering  semen  for  spring  breeding