Fleckvieh World USA 2018-2019

2018 | 2019 

FLECKVIEH 

WORLD 

The magazine for Fleckvieh breeding 

Can 

femininity 

breed 

masculinity ? 

Quia perro cus 

dest lam 

Nem quiam, 

iliquunt 

voluptatem XX 

Page 4 

N E . W 

Bayern-Genetik has a new look! 

. . 

With this issue of the WORLD magazine, we present 

you the updated appearance of Bayern- 

Genetik. Have a look at our new style and enjoy 

reading the new articles from around the world. 

Type Breeding 10 

Bulls information 26

With this issue of the WORLD magazine, we present 

you the updated appearance of Bayern- 

Genetik. Have a look at our new style and enjoy 

reading the new articles from around the world. 

Page 4 


INDEX 

Editorial 3 

Can femininity 

breed masculinity? 4 

Bayern-Genetik develops 

Type-Breeding Value 

for Fleckvieh 10 

Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics 

www.bayern-genetik.de 

Headquarters Grub 

Senator-Gerauer-Straße 19 

85586 Grub / Post Poing 

Phone: ++49 (0) 89 - 99 15 20 - 0 

Fax: ++49 (0) 89 - 9915 20 - 66 

eMail: grub@bayern-genetik.de 

Headquarters Landshut 

Altenbach 2 

84036 Kumhausen 

Phone: ++49 (0) 8 71- 9 53 10 - 0 

Fax: ++49 (0) 871- 95310 - 10 

eMail: landshut@bayern-genetik.de 

„So much milk and so fertile; 

amazing“ 12 

Primrose dairy Farm 15 

Fleckvieh Breed thicks all 

the Boxes for family dairy farm 18 

East Slovakian leader 

in Fleckvieh breeding 

AGRO-LENT s.r.o 20 

Fleckvieh breeding 

In the Czech Republic 23 

Bulls information 26 

Fleckvieh for Beef-Production 31 

Brenair Park FORMBY 

FORMBY is an outstanding Fleckvieh bull with roots on both sides to Namibia! He shows 

exactly the way to overcome the trouble with „heat & droughts“ - perfect adapted to the 

environment! 

Photo: Mavstar Photography 

Fleckvieh news 

from Down Under 32 

Bavarian Fleckvieh 

genetics worldwide 34 

Editor 

Dr. Thomas Grupp 

Ludwina Peter M.Sc. Agrarmanagement 

Reprint and duplication of the contents 

are not allowed without approval of publisher. 

Verlag 

Heimert Print GmbH 

37154 Northeim 

Hirschberger Straße 12 

Phone: ++49 (0) 55 51 - 97 31 - 0 

Fax: ++49 (0) 55 51 - 97 31 - 20 

The Fleckvieh-World is real! 

The cattle photos published in the Fleckvieh-World are not retouched. Cattle that are 

photographed are only allowed to be shared, washed and treated with oil, powder 

and gloss spray. 

FLECKVIEH 

WORLD 

The magazine for Fleckvieh breeding 

Can 

femininity 

breed 

masculinity ? 

Quia perro cus 

dest lam 

Nem quiam, 

iliquunt 

voluptatem XX 

N . E . W. 

Bayern-Genetik has a new look! 

Type Breeding 

10 

Bulls information 

26 

Cover 

The new look of Bayern-Genetik. With the new corporate identity 

you will see us more often with „Flecken“ from now on. 

2

FLECKVIEHWORLD 2018 / 2019 

Dear Fleckvieh breeders, 

Dear customers and friends of Bayern-Genetik 

Simultaneously with the printing of 

the Fleckvieh-World the World-Simmental/Fleckvieh-Congress 

takes 

place in Fort Worth / Texas / U.S.A. 

under the motto: „From Cattle 

Drives to Genomics“. Although 

this congress in Texas is dominated 

by beef cattle breeding topics, 

it is certainly of great importance 

and interest how genomic breeding 

values are used in the beef 

industry. 

In the Fleckvieh beef industry 

the same mistakes should not be 

made as already in the dual purpose 

direction! Animals which 

have very good genomic breeding 

values should also have the corresponding 

type. If clearly visible exterior 

deficiencies are recognizable 

on the bull, which show a high 

heritability, the use of such a breeding 

animal should be avoided in 

the sense of the breeding work. 

The employees of Bayern-Genetik 

have developed a breeding value 

for type in years of development 

work, which is presented in this 

magazine and which will make 

mating easier for our customers 

worldwide, if they work with 

breeding bulls of our organization. 

With our Type-APP, available in late 

autumn 2018, every breeder can 

mate his stock with this tool after 

appropriate instruction. 

Bayern-Genetik has relaunched 

its corporate identity (CI) and 

we hope that you, dear readers, 

will enjoy the redesign of Fleckvieh-World. 

With BFG MAHANGO Pp, Bayern-Genetik 

now offers a genetically 

polled breeding bull that fulfils 

all superlatives. Milk, meat, easy 

calving, polledness, fitness, outstanding 

exterior, united in a dream 

type – I personally advise you with 

the best conscience to use this 

bull also in your herd. You will feel 

the same enthusiasm as we do! 

Feel free to follow our daily work 

with postings on Facebook - Bayern-Genetik 

Deutschland. 

Yours sincerely 

DR. THOMAS GRUPP 

3

Cow and scenery in harmony. 

Photo: Grupp 

Can femininity 

breed masculinity? 

This story is about breeding heavy well muscled Simmental-Fleckvieh (SF) suckler beef bulls 

out of a fine and slender muscled Simmentaler cow and a son of a specialised German Fleckvieh 

milk lineage. We often hear from SF suckler beef breeders outside Europe that „these European 

milk cows can‘t breed beef.“ 

This may be true today where most 

SF organisations in Europe prioritize 

milk very much but when Southern 

African breeders imported large 

numbers of animals and semen in 

the 1970’s and 80’s from German/ 

Austrian dual purpose Fleckvieh it 

was usually not the case. For more 

background regarding this theory 

refer to the Annexure. 

THE BULL NAPOLEON 

During my time as CEO of Simmentaler 

South Africa/Namibia we had a 

few artificial insemination (AI) projects 

with the objective to improve 

the breed faster, providing superior 

genetics to breeders at a reduced 

price and generate a lucrative income 

for the breed association. For 

one of these projects, which was in 

cooperation with Bayern Genetik, 

I selected German AI bulls whose 

semen was made available via our 

„advisory service“ to interested 

breeders who did not want to follow 

the difficult import procedure. I 

was well acquainted with Fleckvieh 

genetics because of my four year involvement 

in selecting and promoting 

German Fleckvieh genetics for 

suckler beef production in countries 

outside Europe. 

One of my main selection criteria 

for choosing bulls for our AI programmes 

was that the bull had to 

have a good mother or even better, 

a good mother line. I experienced 

this association with so many good 

Fleckvieh bulls and that was the 

only reason for selecting Napoleon, 

a son of Reni, for our program. 

4

FLECKVIEHWORLD 2018/2019 

Breeding plan 

@ Visio Drawing.vsd 

5

#1: RENI, milkline from both sides. #1b: RENI „Miss Europe“ in Paris 1998. 

REFER TO BREEDING PLAN 

AND PHOTOS 

#1 (these # refer to the photo) 

Reni: I knew her from a few visits 

to breeder Herr Fragner in Northern 

Bavaria. She was a very correct dairy 

type out of a dairy mother- and 

father-line. Scored 9/9 for type, 

shape and udder; very large with 

a wither height of 145 cm and heart 

girth (breast circumference) of 

218 cm; sired by a bull going back 

to a Swiss line known for excellent 

udders they got from bringing in 

some Red Holstein blood. She unfortunately 

had a lot of white and no 

eye-pigmentation but this can be 

corrected quickly as you will note 

from the photos. Reni’s average 

milk production (15 years ago!) was 

9500 kg milk/lactation with 4.2 % 

fat, 3.6 % protein – in „beef language“ 

31 kg per day for every day in 

milk (#1a). Her slaughter weight at 

eleven years was 560 kg. She was 

Reserve Grand champion to „Miss 

Germany“ at their National Show 

and in 1998 represented Germany 

at the European Show in Paris 

were she won the „Miss Europe“ 

title against cows from France, 

Austria and Switzerland (#1b). 

#2 Napoleon (Reni’s son): As mentioned, 

his mother was decisive in 

selecting him because he was more 

a dairy type dual purpose bull with 

one unpigmented eye (other side) 

but structurally correct. We only imported 

around 200 doses because I 

#1a: RENI, 31 kg milk for every day in lactation. 

believed that his photo will not sell 

many doses. Fred Dell, one of our 

Technical Advisers who also believed 

in mother-line principles, promoted 

him amongst other AI bulls 

#2: German AI sire NAPOLEON, son of Reni. 

#3: ERICO DERBAL. Fine and medium sized three year old. 

#3a: DERBAL – That „womanly 

look“ we strive for. 

6


#4: ENRICUS, National Junior Champ 2011. #5: ENDRICUS, Res. National Junior 2011. 

to breeders and Mr. Erich Schulenburg 

(Erico stud) bought a couple of 

doses. I asked Erich why did he use 

Napoleon on his cow Derbal (#3): 

„Napoleon‘s impressive mother 

Reni caught the eye and I thought 

that the combination with Derbal 

which comes from a stronger beef 

background may work. I also wanted 

to improve udders.“ 

Unfortunately Napoleon’s SAfr 

Breedplan EBVs are not impressive, 

however most have a low accuracy 

due to weak linkage. 

#3 Erico Derbal (3 year on pic): 

Fine boned, very feminine with 

wonderful sleek haircoat, sound 

legs and that excellent „womanly 

look“ (#3a). 

She was the 2004/5 National Super 

Cow judged on reproduction 

and show achievement. Derbal 

and her dam are both ***cows 

(3-star - for reproduction and weaning 

weight). She has Benz (15 %) 

on both sides of her pedigree and 

in her 3-generation pedigree are 

three bulls from the then breed 

association’s national AI Programme. 

Why do I mention Benz? He is 

another bull which I selected and 

promoted heavily in the 1970’s 

because he was an average sized 

well muscled bull with an 

excellent mother (Nosta) a Bayer 

daughter. In my 2007 Sire-Bloodline 

Analysis on the active African 

population Benz was the second 

most influential Fleckvieh bull 

mainly through a couple AI sons 

and popular daughter’s sons. 

#4, 5 and 6 Derbal sons: These 

bulls bred by Elli’s (Andre Ellis) and 

Erico (Erich Schulenburg) demonstrate 

that an averaged sized, fine 

and light muscled cow like Derbal 

can breed beefy well muscled 

sons. That’s „sexual dimorphism“ 

which is described in the Annexure. 

#7 to #13 (all Erico): Napoleon X 

Derbal produced E. Derlion (#7) 

the African Napoleon-line founder 

who sired E.Napoleon (#8) which 

in turn was mated to polled cow E. 

Gret to produce polled son E. 07116 

(#9) who sired (#10, 11, 12) and is 

#6: ROLBAL, Res. National Grand Champ 2017. #7: DERLION: Grand Champ 2014. 

7

#8: E. NAPOLEON: Gr. Champ 2007 + Res. National Grand Champ 2008. #9: E. 07116, Grand Champ 2011 + National Grand Champ 2011. 

grandsire of (#13). The polled factor 

was introduced by the well known 

Canadian F’S Mr Dynasty and South 

African Association AI bull Salerika 

Eksellent. Note the number of 

show-champions and even a few 

National Champions. 

THE CHERRY ON TOP 

For five years in a row Erico Brussouw 

was the most used bull in 

South Africa/Namibia according to 

calves recorded in the herdbook 

of the breeders association. 

ANNEXURE 

Suckler milk production: Optimum 

always before maximum. 

During my years on the Board of 

the SF World Federation I introduced 

this slogan which was frequently 

used by the Federation’s 

Promotion Committee and the 

European export countries (where 

all cows are milked) to propagate 

the breed as beef breed in the 

suckler beef producing countries: 

„You can produce milk without 

beef but you can’t produce beef 

without milk.“ Though, this slogan 

must be handled with caution. For 

suckler beef we need optimumand 

never maximum-milk. Worldwide 

research reflect undoubtedly 

that under extensive farming with 

limited feed quality and quantity, 

suckler beef cows with a moderate 

size and milk production outperform 

the larger higher milking 

cows because their higher nutritional 

requirements are not met, 

they therefore don’t maintain sufficient 

body condition to rebreed 

and reproductive efficiency and 

therefore income from weaner sales 

drops. However, this is not the 

case when the higher milkers receive 

expensive supplementation 

which is usually not possible. 

Another aspect regarding this subject 

is that cattle do not perform the 

same in different environments i.e. 

genetic-environmental interaction. 

High milking genetics from Europe 

will produce significantly less 

milk under extensive suckler production. 

In fact I found no association 

between the German/Austrian 

„Milk EBV“ („MV“ - based on milk 

#10: ROCLA, Senior Champ 2014. #11: BRUSSOUW, Grand Champ 2012/14 + Res. National Grand Champ 2014. 

8


#12: E. 1149. #13: E.12179, Grand Champ 2016. 

recording data) and the BREED- 

PLAN suckler beef „200-day Milk 

or Maternal EBV“ („WV“ - reflects 

how much of the calf‘s adjusted 

200 day weaning weight is due to 

milk). I found a number of Fleckvieh 

bulls with a far below average 

„MV“ that are in the top 20 % in 

Africa for „WV“ and vice versa. 

Sexual dimorphism like no other 

cattle breed 

Bulls of dairy breeds are unusable 

for profitable beef production 

and you can’t milk cows from beef 

breeds i.e. Angus, Hereford, Charolais 

and Brahman. To the contrary 

you can successfully produce 

milk and quality beef with SF dual 

purpose cattle. 

Phenotypic differences in size, 

muscling, growth and body shape 

between males and females 

(known as sexual dimorphism) 

is much more pronounced in SF 

than any other cattle breed. In 

Southern Africa we aim for fine, 

lightly muscled feminine females 

(see E. Derbal) which breed well 

muscled bulls with a better growth 

rate than specialised beef breeds 

as proven in official growth tests* 

(* = „Beef Breeding in South Africa“). 

Another example: The national 

averages of the Austrian/ 

German Fleckvieh is unique in the 

world: Around 890 000 milk recorded 

cows averaged over 7 000 kg 

milk/lactation and their recorded 

sons have an average daily weight 

gain of 1.4 kg/day from birth to 

around 15 months which is superior 

to the majority of specialised 

beef breeds in the world. 

Note: Any comment is welcome 

at cpeterm@iafrica. 

PETER MASSMANN 

South Africa 

January 2017 

Photos: KeLeKi, V. Hussmann, RZV 

Franken, J. van Dyk, G. Bezuidenhout, 

E. Schulenburg and A. Ellis. 

9

Bayern-Genetik develops 

Type-Breeding Value for Fleckvieh 

According to most cattle breeding experts, Fleckvieh is the world‘s last classic „dual-purpose breed“, 

after specialisation (milk or beef), starting in the U.S.A., has begun its triumphal march in the past 

60 years. Former dual-purpose breeds such as Montbéliard, Normande, Gelbvieh or MRJ have either 

abandoned the consideration of beef performance in the breeding objective or the population was 

too small to maintain an effective dual-purpose breeding programme over the past 10 to 20 years. 

The current changes in global animal 

production, which demands 

ever greater efficiency and the high 

importance of health traits, but also 

the issue of „climate balance“ or 

„CO 2 

footprint“ in cattle, clearly 

show the great potential of the last 

remaining dual-purpose breed or, as 

Bayern-Genetik describes it, „the 

triumphal march of the world‘s only 

universal breed has already begun 

and will continue for many years to 

come“. 

One should be able to recognize a 

breed and the purpose a breed is 

used for in the exterior or type. Milk 

performance of a cow, its potential 

to develop muscling in the dry-off 

period or milk and beef yields with 

its calves, if the animal is used as 

a suckler cow in extensive beef 

production. The dual-purpose bull 

should also always demonstrate his 

ability to show beef characteristics 

through his type. 

THE HISTORY 

For years, Bayern-Genetik has observed 

a creeping change in the 

type of Fleckvieh dual-purpose cattle, 

which we regard as very dangerous 

for the character of the breed. 

Negative examples from the development 

of the breeds Holstein, 

Montbéliard or Normande were 

warning enough for us to dedicate 

ourselves very intensively to this 

topic. At two major and impressive 

Type Shows, the „Starkstierfest in 

Miesbach“ and „Fleckvieh meets 

Munich“, the „Fleckvieh type of the 

future“ was presented to a large 

audience, body measurements of 

all exhibition animals were recorded 

and documented. 

WHY A TYPE BREEDING VALUE? 

In the modern times of genomic 

selection, „breeding values on paper“ 

are becoming more and more 

important. The exterior of an animal, 

whether cow or bull, is judged 

subordinate if the pre-estimated 

„numbers“ fit. Of course ideal if 

the forecast and phenotype match. 

However, in the case of a strong 

deviation from the predicted breeding 

values, the non-consideration 

of the exterior of young bulls and 

their ancestors can lead the system 

ad absurdum. We observe increasingly 

that the eye loses influence 

on breeding decisions. The classical 

herdbook recording of the female 

animals or the judging of young bulls 

lose almost any meaning or are invalid. 

There is virtually no reason for 

the rejection of a young genomic 

sire at the judging, if the predicted 

Total Breeding Values are > 130. The 

hygiene of breeding and type characteristics 

fall by the wayside. 

Many farmers today are simply unable 

to make a decision when it comes 

to mating their cows and when 

it comes to choosing not only breeding 

values and inbreeding coefficients, 

but also the corresponding 

constitution type, which allows the 

offspring to fulfil the hopes placed 

in them for performance and fitness 

without physical impairment. 

Put simply, a cow should always be 

able to cope with the performance 

requirements in physical harmony. 

As the Holstein breeding expert 

Chad Dechow described it in 2006 

at the World Dairy Expo in Madison 

so very simply and yet precisely in 

one picture: „A dairy cow should 

look like an Olympic wrestler in 

the middleweight class“, i.e. for 

the cattle breeder and above all for 

Bayern-Genetik, we strive for the 

athletic all-round cow, which has a 

good to very good muscle coverage 

or muscle definition over shoulder, 

back and hindquarters and results in 

a harmonious overall picture. In addition, 

every AI bull, regardless of its 

type class, should have an athletic 

appearance, which is a great challenge 

for the future. 

OUR „TYPES“ 

In total we distinguish between 3 

type classes: 

• Robust (R) 

• All-round (A) 

• Sharp (S) 

10


which are further subdivided into 

Robust-All-round (RA) and All-round- 

Sharp (AS). 

Each type class is assigned characteristics 

which can be recognized by 

the animal or by the breeding value. 

• Robust = strong & convex 

• All-round = athletic & harmonious 

• Sharp = fragile & concave 

HARMONY MODELL 

Robust 

(strong/convex) 

All-round 

(athletic/harmonious) 

TYPE BULL 

R 

RA 

A 

TYPE COW 

R 

RA 

A 

The breeding value, which was 

calculated for all Bayern-Genetik 

KB bulls, includes the following 

data from the progeny test for 

Fleckvieh: 

Sharp 

(fragile/concave) 

AS 

S 

AS 

S 

• Performance 

• Exterior 

• Body measurements 

(sacrum height, torso depth, 

pelvic tilt, etc.) 

• Body condition 

HARMONY MODELL 

Robust 

(strong/convex) 

TYPE COW 

R 

TYPE BULL 

R 

The value classes were determined 

as follows on the basis of findings 

from the Harmony Model: 

Robust: > 121 

Robust-All-round: 107 - 120.9 

All-round: 96 - 106.9 

All-round-Sharp: 79 - 95,9 

Sharp: < 79 

All-round 

(athletic/harmonious) 

Sharp 

(fragile/concave) 

RA 

A 

AS 

S 

RA 

A 

AS 

S 

As with all other breeding values, 

100 for „type value“ is the average 

value and immediately the 

optimum range for „dual-purpose 

cows“. 

THE MATING 

With the systematic introduction 

and publication of the „Type Value“ 

we are able to make this information 

available to all our customers. 

The breeding options are manifold 

and every breeder can realize his 

own breeding philosophy much 

easier. Depending on the focus, 

bulls can now be selected from 

the individual categories in order 

to develop the herd in the desired 

direction. Likewise, when the individual 

cow is mated, a balancing 

mating according to the Harmony 

Model can be carried out directly. 

THE GOALS 

For the single cow, we aim for a 

harmonious, healthy animal without 

extremes that is in balance 

with performance and meets with 

100 % consumer acceptance. In 

the herds, the type variance is to 

be significantly reduced with the 

aim of achieving the most favourable 

and economical combination 

for each farm. The type value is 

not only very important in pure 

breeding, but also in crossbreeding 

Fleckvieh x Holstein, Jersey 

or Brown Swiss. Even for the extensive 

Beef production valuable 

synergies result. 

LUCAS FRITZER 

DR. THOMAS GRUPP 

11

Automation, self-reliant cows and Compact-TMR. Fleckvieh fits very well in the eyes of the 

Van Rooijens. The result is easy handling cows and an average of 36.5 kg milk/cow/day. 

Koen van Rooijen had big doubts with Fleckvieh, 

but now he is completely convinced 

„So much milk and so fertile; 

amazing“ 

At the same time that they were building a new barn, also Fleckvieh got more chances on the 

Dairy farm of Marjolein and Koen van Rooijen in the north of The Netherlands. They wanted a 

self-reliant cow. And that is what they got, just like a huge amount of milk and a very good fertility. 

From a Fleckvieh skeptic at the beginning Koen van Rooijen turned into a real fan of this dual 

purpose breed. „These cows give you a lot of pleasure in milking.“ 

The new barn of Marjolein and 

Koen van Rooijen in Groningen 

has place for 240 cows. At the moment, 

summer of 2018, 200 cows 

are milked by 4 milkrobots. „We 

had Holsteins for a long time. But 

there is no progress in this breed”, 

Koen tells us. „They have insufficent 

resistency and do not have 

enough durability in our view. Besides 

that the Holstein cow does 

not fit into the growing automation 

that we aim for in the barn.“ 

NO FAN… 

Searching for a replacement for 

their Holsteins Koen and Marjolein 

discovered Fleckvieh. 

„Honestly, I was no fan of this 

breed. A dual purpose breed does 

not produce enough milk, that 

was my prejudice. I was a real 

Holstein-milker and was skeptic 

about anything else. But when 

you are searching for a cow that is 

self-reliant and has more production 

power, then you automatically 

end up with Fleckvieh. So we did 

and we simply tested it.“ 

Koen crossbred his skinny Holstein 

cows with the round and 

powerful Fleckvieh sires. The 

skepticism disappeared and was 

replaced by amazement and enthusiasm. 

„The crossbreds are 

perfect. This race offers exactly 

what I missed at the Holsteins: 

the cows are not too big, but they 

have more broad bodies and have 

sufficient muscling. Look for in- 

12


stance at the muscling on the loins. 

That is what you want to see 

as a dairyfarmer in 2018!“ 

MILKPRODUCTION IS BOOMING 

That the Fleckvieh crossbreds 

work for their farmer is shown by 

the figures by Marjolein and Koen. 

„First of all, when you start with 

Fleckvieh you do not expect an improvement 

of the milkproduction. 

So we where completely surprised 

when the milkproduction was 

increasing and increasing during 

the last years. And since we started 

with Compact-TMR it is really 

going top. The milkproduction increased 

with 3.000 kg of milk per 

cow. The average milkproduction 

is currently 36.5 kg milk/cow/day 

with urea of 17. And the feed efficiency 

climbed up to 1.58!“ Another 

thing that Koen was amazed 

by is the continuous good fertility. 

„The calving interval stayed on 

370 days and we only need 1.73 

inseminations per pregnacy.“ 

SUCCESS WITH COMPACT TMR 

Hard figures show that Fleckvieh 

is doing extremely well on Compact 

TMR. Koen has his own vision 

and opinion on this. „I have learned 

that feeding structure is nonsense. 

Much more important is 

the tastiness of the feed and that 

every bite is the same. The cows 

must not have the possibility to 

select, then nothing will go wrong. 

The proof for that is delivered in 

the stable; we are feeding allready 

the same for several months and 

the production is still increasing. 

And the costs for concentrate 

have decreased to 8 eurocent/liter. 

I have not dreamed of having these 

results with Fleckvieh!“ 

BREEDING VALUE SAYS JUST 

A LITTLE BIT 

A lot of farmers are completely focused 

on breeding values when 

they select their bulls. Not Koen van 

Rooijen. Koen thinks, that the most 

important thing is the construction 

of a cow. „We select the bulls on 

the basis of the Triple A-code. We 

choose the strength of the combination. 

Of course he knows that 

genetics are important. But the 

genetics for milkproduction come 

on its own when the construction 

of the cow is correct. Most of the 

cows can do much better than they 

actually do, because they are not 

strong enough. In combination with 

Fleckvieh you can correct the pelvis 

in one cross and also bring back the 

Koen and Marjolein van Rooijen: „We get 

more and more grip on the results. That 

brings us a lot of pleasure at work.” 

power in the hindquarters. As a result, 

the animals move well again, 

they really step forward. That is 

important. Where do I get that wisdom 

from? From horse breeding, 

which we are also involved in.” 

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT 

Marjolein and Koen made some 

real steps forward during the last 

years; a new barn, the switch to 

Fleckvieh and Compact-TRM. But 

they have more wishes. „On every 

farm there are things to improve. 

We want to install 3.300 suncollectors 

on the roof. They belong to our 

dairy plant FrieslandCampina and 

they pay us the rent. Furthermore 

we want to improve the beds of 

NR. 255, 2 nd calf, Round Up daughter with 9.291 kg milk, 4.50 % fat and 

3.94 % protein. „This is how we like them. The cow is not too big, has good 

muscling and has a good construction. On our farm this is a good cow, 

since we do no not know her.“ 

Nr. 103, daughter of the sire Eichelberg. Heifer with 42 liters per day. Koen 

van Rooijen: „Never expected that Fleckvieh heifers would give more than 

40 liters per day. And she is doing it quite easily.“ 

13

Nr. 232, 3 rd calf Rurex daughter with 50 liters per day. She is projected to 

produce 12.800 kg milk with 4.17 % fat and 4.04 % protein. 

MARJOLEIN with nr. 68. A 2 nd calf daughter of Rurex with 9.382 kgs of 

milk and 4.11% protein. A tough and self-reliant cow. That is how the Van 

Rooijen family likes them. 

the cows. First we had bio bedding 

(dried manure). But that does not 

work in combination with Compact-TMR. 

Because of the efficient 

transformation of the feed we have 

too less fiber in the manure. So the 

boxes are not filled enough, which 

makes them too wet and causes 

Mortellaro. This summer we started 

filling sand into the boxes. Hopefully 

that is the final solution.” 

Koen van Rooijen tells everybody 

about his appreciation for Fleckvieh. 

„We see a reduction of the 

costs and an improvement of the 

income. The demand for our Fleckvieh 

bullcalves is increasing. Since 

we sell them to another organization 

we become 50 euro per calf extra. 

That is a lot of money on yearly 

base. Just another reason why we 

are so happy with Fleckvieh. If we 

had known this before…“ 

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION 

Koen van Rooijen gives high priority 

to sustainability. In the combination 

of Fleckvieh and sustainability 

he often thinks of the presentation 

of Thomas Grupp, the general 

manager of Bayern-Genetik. „He 

told us that when all the cows in 

the world would be dual purpose 

cows, we would need 30 % less 

cows. Because Fleckvieh produces 

milk and beef in one cow. That is 

super efficient and environmental 

friendly.“ Van Rooijen confirms the 

reading of Grupp. „The rolling average 

of our herd is 10.745 kg milk 

with 4.12 % fat and 3.62 % protein. 

And meanwhile the urea is just 

17. These figures are the proof for 

us that milk and beef out of one 

cow is possible and it is even more 

efficient.“ 

SURVEY 

OF THE MILKPRODUCTION 

200 dairy cows, most of them are 

Fleckvieh crossbreds. 

Milkproduction in 305 days: 

59 heifers, average 8.877 kg milk 

with 3.96 % fat and 3.59 % protein. 

102 LW. 

39 cows with 2 nd calf, average 

10.741 kg milk with 4.13 % fat and 

3.62 % protein. 102 LW. 

102 older cows, average 11.938 kg 

milk with 3.94 % fat and 3.55 % 

protein. 98 LW. 

STEF BEUNK 

Nr. 180, 3 rd calf, Rurex daughter. Projected to produce 12.700 kgs of milk. „A 

perfect cow for our automated situation. No extra work with her.“ 

This heavily pregnant Westkreuz daughter was just before calving. Koen 

van Rooijen: „This is an average heifer on our farm. Nothing special, but 

easily milks 36 kg milk per day.” 

14


Feeding time at the Primrose Farm. 

Photo: Primrose 

From a grass roots Holstein tie stall farm to Bavarian Fleckvieh 

and a value added production system 

Primrose 

Dairy Farm 

Fifteen years ago Cornel and Cremona were milking Holsteins in a tie stall barn. With their two 

daughters Careese and Ceaxna helping them, today the farm is fully transformed – virtually like 

seeing a barn full of Fleckvieh cows in Bavaria. Two Lely robots are used in their bed pack compost 

barn to milk the cows. For as long as I have known these two, they don’t sit still. 

A few years ago Cornel and Cremona 

asked me what my thoughts 

were on value added marketing of 

their farm products. I remember 

telling Cornel that it will require learning 

a lot of regulations, passing 

a lot of inspections and learning a 

completely different way of doing 

things. Not just that, but marketing 

and getting customer „buy 

in“ is a whole other chapter. „Well 

we just want to make Fleckvieh 

strawberry ice cream“ Cremona 

said to me. „It will be good. I am 

sure people would want to buy it! 

We love a challenge.“ 

So they began their research into 

what it takes to come a processor. 

What courses are needed, what 

learning needs to be done, what 

regulations need to be met? They 

found the majority of their processing 

equipment through various 

retailers in the United States. They 

remodeled a building to become 

their on-farm plant. And low and 

behold – they started processing 

15

Happy Fleckvieh cow and calf at the Primrose farm. 

their own milk. And when the opportunity 

presented itself I would 

do a little taste testing when I was 

able to be at their farm to see 

them. 

That was the first step. Wow it’s 

neat all the things you can make 

with milk processing equipment… 

Now the tough part. We 

know what we have is good. How 

do we get people to buy into it? 

Where is our market? How do we 

convince people to buy from us? 

How do we get shelf space at a 

grocer? 

The Primrose dairy farm is located 

a two-hour drive to Calgary and 

a three-hour drive to Edmonton. 

These are the two largest population 

centers for the province of 

Alberta. Getting access to a fraction 

of that market appeared to be 

the next most logical step. Cremona 

found ways to utilize social 

media and word of mouth in order 

to gain access to these markets. 


They started with some local markets, 

made contact with the Italian 

Centre in Calgary and started 

selling directly to customers and 

then worked their way to set up 

„pop up“ locations in the city. 

Customers meet Cremona at various 

locations in the larger cities 

to purchase products from Primrose 

Farms. Meanwhile Cornel, 

who became a licensed processor 

started with fluid milk first and 

then moved into kefir, yogurt, ice 

cream and chocolate milk. 

WHY IS THE PRODUCT 

UNIQUE? 

Full-fat milk. Not 3.25 %. But really 

- whole FULL FAT! Much of the 

public does not know dairy cows 

produce milk at 4 % fat or more. 

Primrose Farms milk has not had 

any cream separated from the 

milk. Traditional processing separates 

all the fat from the milk 

and adds it back to give the milk 

a targeted butterfat percentage. 

Milk is homogenized to disperse 

fat globules within the fluid so the 

cream does not sit on top. Primrose 

milk has minimal processing. 

It is just pasteurized (heated to a 

high temperature to preserve it 

and kill bacteria) and not homogenized. 

Cream-Top Milk. More health conscious 

customers want to see milk 

with cream at the surface. They 

feel the human body does better 

with the large sized fat molecules, 

and believe they are easier to 

digest. Non-homogenized milk is 

next to impossible find in Alberta. 

There are only two other small processors 

offering cream-top milk like 

Primrose Farms. Cornel and Cremona’s 

customer base wants to 

see the milk be as whole and real 

as possible like nature intended. 

Consumers are asking for traceability 

and transparency beyond 

an organic label. Many young and 

health-conscious families feel it is 

important to feed their children a 

healthy diet. These families do not 

trust processed boxed food. 

How was it grown? How are the 

cows treated? What do the cows 

eat? Who produced the milk? The 

Primrose’s believe the customer 

deserves to know answers to all 

these questions about the food 

they purchase from them. Large 

corporate organic processors cannot 

provide that kind of detail like a 

smaller family farm that offers their 

produce to the public directly. 

Customers are finding Primrose 

milk easier to digest and are able 

to start drinking milk or consuming 

dairy products again. Why is this? 

Is it because the cows consume a 

GMO free diet? Is it because the 

Fleckvieh breed carries an inhe- 

16


rently higher amount of the A2 milk 

genome? Primroses practice natural 

farming methods and believe 

their herd is healthier because of it. 

The milk from their animals has no 

antibiotics and no hormones. Cows 

are fed no corn, no soy, no steroids 

and no feeds that have come from 

fields that have had application of 

glyphosate (Round-Up). This is similar 

to European production models 

where much of these technologies 

are banned from agricultural 

operations. 

Large processors who make the 

dairy products are adding stabilizers 

and preservatives to certain 

food products to extend shelf life. 

The Primrose clientele questions, 

if that is the healthiest food choice 

for them? For example: Whipping 

cream, chocolate milk and ice 

cream have carrageenan added as 

an ingredient. Health conscious 

Primrose Farms’ customers indicate 

that they do not want these intestinal 

irritants added to their dairy 

products. They just want „real deal 

dairy“ right from the farm gate. 

Cornel adds: 

„One of the reasons we started 

processing milk was because of 

the uniqueness of Bavarian Fleckvieh 

and what they offer for health 

traits. We had many bus tours of 

school children and agriculture industry 

leaders come see what the 

cows looked like. Visitors of Primrose 

Farms were people from all 

walks of life outside of the dairy 

industry. 

We are frustrated that milk is under 

the umbrella of a „pooled“ supply 

management policy; that all milk is 

white and all milk is equal regardless 

of breed of cattle or individual 

farm management. This system 

makes it hard to meet niches of 

consumer demands. We want to 

market what we have – We are 

proud of what we do, how we farm 

and the Fleckvieh cows we milk. 

Our desire is to work more with 

nature using farming methods that 

are organic and sustainable rather 

than just maximize yields with high 

inputs. We want to offer a healthy 

product to the consumer.“ 

The common feed back from all 

visitors to Primrose Farms: „The 

Fleckvieh cattle here look so healthy, 

fit, calm and unlike traditional 

dairy cattle we have seen in the 

past. We love what you do at your 

farm. How can we support you? 

And where can we buy your milk?“ 

Cornel and Cremona have been 

able to connect with many people 

through this venture. They have 

found that there is a definite need 

for the type of product they produce. 

It is a long hard road to build 

the clientele and to connect with 

them. Dreams can become reality 

– just takes some hard work and 

determination. 

Have a look at www.primrosefarms.co! 

JOHN POPP 

Ph.D. 

Big Bear Genetics 

Bayern-Genetik North America 

Cornel Primrose checking on a newborn calf. 


17

Black & white changes to brown & white - Fleckvieh is mixing in colour. 

Photo: Donaldson 

Fleckvieh Breed thicks all the boxes 

for family dairy farm 

Black and White dairy cattle have traditionally been the backbone of the dairy industry in 

Northern Ireland for many years but a strong challenge is coming from another breed with European 

origins – Fleckvieh, now the second most numerical breed in the world. 

The Fleckvieh breed is increasing 

in numbers across the British Isles 

including Northern Ireland and the 

Republic of Ireland as farmers see 

the benefits from some of their 

characteristics. Often described as 

a dairy version of the Simmental 

for its good milking ability, their 

high fertility and low maintenance 

and the high prices commanded 

by young male progeny, which are 

taken through to beef production, 

are appealing to farmers. 

However, the increase in popularity 

is also due to the drive of David 

Hazelton, sole agent for Bayern-Genetik 

in the British Isles, who is 

convincing many dairy farmers of 

these qualities but also reward for 

farmers – lower costs of milk production 

and more money in their 

pockets. 

One family who has switched to 

Fleckvieh are the Moore family 

from Pomeroy Road, Dungannon. 

Dessie Moore and sons, Sam 

and Randal, run a 16-cow herd at 

Skea, Donaghmore, on a high forage 

diet and is totally convinced 

of potential to make more money 

by using the breed. 

Sam explained how they have divided 

their cows into high input and 

low input herds. 

The low herd go to grass in April, 

followed a number of weeks later 

by the high input herd. They endeavor 

to have cows out on grass 

until the end of October but with 

18


the weather conditions this autumn, 

have begun to cut grass on 

some of the drier fields to bring 

indoors to the herd. 

„We had Holsteins but started 

using Dairy Shorthorns and then 

introduced the Fleckvieh which 

are now in the third and fourth generation 

in the herd,“ he explained. 

„Only for the Fleckvieh we would 

not have built this new shed,“ 

explained Sam, pointing to the 

one-house accommodation for 

the herd where they all have access 

to feed. 

„They will start off with a modest 

5.000 - 6.000 liters but this rises 

and often only reach peak yields 

in their fourth or fifth generation,“ 

he said. There are cows producing 

9.000 and 10.000 liters in the herd. 

„I think there will be more milk 

over their lifetime but this will not 

come as quick in the first few lactations 

as in other breeds,“ he said. 

The longevity of the cows is also 

something the Moores like about 

the breed as replacement rates 

are often as low as 15 per cent, 

down from around 30 per cent 

with Holstein in the past. „Fertility 

is good with the Fleckvieh. Our 

Fleckvieh is doing well on pastures in Northern Ireland. 

Desmond Moore and his son Samuel. 

calving index is down to 383 now 

from around 430 in the past. Cell 

count is also well down.“ 

Conception rates overall are good 

for AI, with first service holds of 

65 per cent and with an average of 

1.6 - 1.8 straws per cow required. 

When indoors, cows are fed up to 

six kilos through the feeder wagon 

but also have feed to yield in the 

Pearson 20-point parlor with ACRs. 

One benefit by using the Fleckvieh 

is the value of the progeny 

and the cull cows. 


Sam says they have plenty of buyers 

for the male calves at home 

with average prices of around £ 275 

at two weeks old. Cull cows often 

make up to £ 1.000. 

Overall, Sam said they were running 

a low input dairy system with 

the Fleckvieh cows big forage eaters. 

„Their temperament is good and 

they fit our system well,“ he added. 

AI is used for breeding as it gives 

the Moores a wider choice of bulls, 

selected to produce a good solid 

cow for milking. Bulls with high reliability 

daughter proofs are used in 

preference to genomic tested sires. 

David said he bought an initial batch 

of 200 straws from a bull called Samurai 

in 2003. These were sold to 

dairy farmers already crossbreeding 

and he has seen significant increases 

in the in sales year on year to 

a peak of well in excess of 10.000 

straws per year in recent season. 

Sam Moore enthused that he was 

glad to get into the yard each morning 

to work with profitable, healthy 

cows rather than expecting problems. 

BRIAN DONALDSON 


19

Calves are housed outside in boxes up to the age of 3 weeks. Feeding is provided by „milk taxi.“ 

Photo: Varchola 

East Slovakian leader in Fleckvieh breeding 

AGRO-LENT s.r.o 

Eastern Slovakia is known not only for the famous Šariš beer, but also for stable and well developed 

Fleckvieh breeding. In the village of Maly Šariš, just a few kilometers from the village of Vel‘ký 

Šariš, where the mentioned brewery is located, the company AGRO-LENT, s.r.o, is running the farm 

which is known as the one of the leading breeders of Fleckvieh farms throughout Slovakia. 

The company originated from the 

former state property Agroanim 

š.p., which used to operate 2 farms 

in Vel‘ký Šariš and Malý Šariš. After 

the privatization of the state enterprise 

in the years 2000 and 2010 the 

new owners decided, that operating 

two farms not far from each other is 

economically disadvantageous and 

moved the milk production completely 

to the farm in Maly Šariš, where 

they also heavily invested in the reconstruction 

of the barn for productive 

dairy cows with a capacity of 

200 heads. The silage bunkers have 

also undergone major reconstruction, 

which led to significant improvement 

of the silage quality. 

After several years of optimizing 

and effective improvement of the 

operations, the cattle population 

was stabilized at 500 heads, of 

which 260 are milking cows. In 

addition to cattle breeding, AG- 

RO-LENT s.r.o also runs a sheep 

farm, owning a herd of 320 Cigája 

sheep, with an annual cheese production 

of 7.5 tons. 

The company is operating on a total 

of 1.276 ha of agricultural land, 

of which arable land is 966 ha and 

meadows and pastures are 310 

ha. The main crops are: 

Corn silage 

Spring Wheat 

Canola/Raps 

Alfalfa 

Winter Wheat 

Barley 

Grass on arable soil 

Sunflower 

125 ha 

11 ha 

174 ha 

166 ha 

270 ha 

50 ha 

60 ha 

75 Ha 

20


Deep litter based on straw supplies - „cow comfort“ in calving pens, but 

also in the barn with milking cows. 


REUMUT-daughter, 1 st lactation, 100 days, 3.888 kg Milk, 4,46 %Fat, 3,27 % 

Protein. 


Animal production, particulary, 

milk production from dairy cows 

is creating 47 percent of total income 

of the company. 

In the first half of this year, the 

company delivered 1.073.000 liters 

of milk to the milk processing 

company. The Fleckvieh breeding 

has a long tradition here, and the 

management of the company has 

never before considered the idea 

of crossbreeding. Thanks to this 

strategy, it was a good base for 

the creation of a homogeneous 

herd with excellent results in production 

and even better in reproduction 

parameters. The following 

data clearly indicates the quality 

of this herd, which was awarded 

the status of „gene pool herd“ 

(special status given to the herds 

producing animals for breeding in 

Slovakia) in 1999. 

Total annual milk supply 2017 was 

2.033.690 liters of milk. 

Year 

Lactations 

Milk 

(kg) 

Fat 

(kg) 

The following table shows the 

milk performance development 

in the last 9 years. (in 2009, only 

about 80 cows were in production 

before the completion of the new 

barn): 

Fat 

(%) 

Protein 

(kg) 

Protein 

(%) 

2009 77 6855 285 4,16 216 3,15 

2012 158 7.128 283 3,98 240 3,36 

2015 207 7.472 301 4,02 255 3,41 

2016 199 8.119 331 4,08 276 3,40 

Máj 2018 198 7928 322 4,06 265 3,34 

Total number of bacteria: 20-50 thousand 

Average number of somatic cells: 170 thousand 

Intercalving Period: 382 days 

Number of bulls for natural mating sold in last 3 years: 21 

ZAUBER-daughter, 1 st lactation, 200 days, 5.164 kg Milk, 4,67% Fat, 3,47 % 

Protein. 


SAMLAND, daughter 2 nd lactation, 9.102 kg Milk, 4,50 % Fat, 3,24 % Protein. 

3 rd lactation, 43 days, 1.995 kg Milk. 


21

The best cow of the AGRO-LENT s.r.o. herd, RAU daughter, lifetime production: 

7/7 lactations, 72.234 kg Milk, 2.939 kg Fat, 2.470 kg Protein. 

 


ZAUBER-daughter, 1 st lactation 8.270 kg Milk, 3,91% Fat, 3,28 % Protein. 

2 nd lactation, 100 days 4.154 kg Milk, 4,42 % Fat, 3,12 % Protein. 

Photo:Varchola 

The specialty of this company is the 

housing of cows on deep litter, on 

straw, which gives the cows sufficient 

comfort not only in the calving 

pens, but also in the productive part 

of the barn. The dairy farm is therefore 

also a major producer of cow 

dung that is more and more scarce. 

After long-term observation they 

realized, that calving of heifers at 

the age of 26-27 months is the best 

in order to reach the optimal weight 

and the best performance on 1 st lactation. 

As the herd is permanently reaching 

excellent reproduction parameters 

(for the second time it has 

been declared as the company 

with the best reproduction results 

in East Slovakia), they can afford 

to sell part of the pregnant heifers. 

Recently they sold 78 pregnant 

heifers, that have been exported 

to Russia and Turkey. 

The farm has a closed turnover of 

the herd and average culling rate 

is under the conrolled level of 26 

percent. 

The calves are drinking whole native 

milk from the mothers through a 

milk taxi until 14 days of age and are 

housed in the outer boxes. After 14 

days, they are fed with milk replacer, 

the weaning ends at the age of 

3 months. 

In long term plans AGRO-LENT 

s.r.o. management does not consider 

to extend the number of cows, 

rather they intend to improve the 

quality and make the production 

more efficient. They want to change 

the old fish bone milking parlor to a 

new one and the investment for a 

modern mixing wagon is already included 

in their financial plan. 

What is mostly troubling the management, 

is too much state administrative 

bureaucracy from municipal 

and state officials and volatile 

prices of the milk. A big challenge 

for the coming years is the lack of 

quality labour. To find people, who 

want to work in the barn close to the 

Thanks to new silage bunkers the quality of silage has significantly increased. 

large city is a „heroic task“. Despite 

above-average conditions offered by 

the company, they are permanently 

looking for good employees. 

The AGRO-LENT s.r.o. has a clear 

picture and vision about the future 

direction and is trying to follow this 

vision on day-to-day basis. Therefore, 

there is no doubt, that this company 

today and in the future is one 

of the biggest producers of milk in 

Eastern Slovakia. 

ING. PETER PARTL 

AGRO-LENT, s.r.o. executive director 

ING. KVETOSLAV KANCÍR 

AGRO-LENT, s.r.o, farm manager 

ING. VLADIMÍR VARCHOLA 

Bayern-Genetik GmbH 


22


LANSLIDE - progeny tested bull from CHD Impuls which made its way into the breeding 

estimation. 

Photo: Impuls 

Fleckvieh breeding in the 

Czech Republic 

Since December 2017 Czech Fleckvieh is a member of a prestigious club, we are a member of one 

European Fleckvieh population. Anyone from that one big population can benefit out of it now, 

regardless of the country of origin. 

CATTLE POPULATION 

Czech Republic with a production 

of 3 billion litre of milk per year 

and 587.000 cows definitely does 

not belong to the biggest cattle 

countries in the world. On the other 

hand the average milk production 

per 305 days 8.700 kg of milk, 

96 % of cow’s milk recorded and 

average dairy herd size 270 cows 

make Czech cattle industry at least 

very interesting. 

MILK RECORDING 2017 

The number of dairy cows dropped 

from 1,2 millions in 1989 to 

365.000 in 2017 and it is still going 

slightly down as the milk production 

goes up. In regard of subsidy 

the population of beef cattle goes 

up. 

There is a huge variability between 

farms in the Czech Republic. You 

can find a lot of small family farms 

as well as a very big corporations 

with thousands of hectares. Despite 

a high number of small family 

farms most of the food is produced 

by big farmers. 

Breed Lactations Milk Fat Protein Intercalving 

Fleckvieh 103.268 7.297 4,05 3,55 392 

Holstein 166.911 9.740 3,85 3,36 407 

23

FLECKVIEH 

The Czech Fleckvieh breeders association 

was established in 1990. 

There are 130 thousand cows in 

the herdbook. This makes Fleckvieh 

the second biggest dairy 

breed in the Czech Republic. There 

was a period in 90’s of crossing 

Fleckvieh with Holstein. A few 

quite aggressive companies importing 

semen from Holstein bulls 

were telling Fleckvieh famers that 

Holstein is the only way to increase 

the milk production. Now, the 

same „specialists“ recommend 

Holstein farmers a cross with 

Belgian Blue to increase income 

from beef production they lost 

by crossing Fleckvieh with Holstein. 

Farmers crossed Fleckvieh 

with Holstein even in regions with 

very pure crop conditions. Some 

of these farmers do not have dairy 

cows anymore, because Holstein 

cows did not make it. The 

period of crossing Fleckvieh with 

Holstein is over now. There are 

few farmers who are going backwards, 

from Holstein to Fleckvieh. 

BERTA, the famous Fleckvieh cow. Breeder: Proagro Radesinska Svratka, 5 th lactation: 

277 days - 11.364 kg of milk, 4,48 % of fat, 3,72 of protein, Ilion x Ruap. Photo: Impuls 

Table 1: 

Progeny tested bulls by companies 2015 - 2017 

FLECKVIEH BREEDING 

Fleckvieh breeding in the Czech 

Republic is provided by a few private 

companies and one coop. The 

biggest company is CRV Czech 

Republic but since CRV bought 

two companies in the Czech Republic 

the breeding program is going 

down. The biggest real breeding 

company is now Breeding Cooperative 

Impuls, only one coop, 

only one company breeding just 

Fleckvieh and only one company 

with long term breeding goals in 

the Czech Republic. The coop was 

established in 2001 by 6 Fleckvieh 

farmers. There are 107 members 

with 45 000 Fleckvieh cows now 

in the coop. One of the members 

is Bayern-Genetik. The breeding 

Source: Czech Fleckvieh Association 

program of Breeding Cooperative 

Impuls is based on farmer’s needs 

with a vision. 

The best example of a long term 

prediction is the breed Montbéliarde 

which was widely used by all 

breeding companies except Breeding 

Cooperative Impuls. Most of 

the companies made a profit of 

heterosis crossing Fleckvieh with 

Montbéliarde. No one took care of 

the risk, that using Montbéliarde 

can be defined in the future as a 

cross that will have a negative impact 

on export. Breeding Cooperative 

Impuls was the only company 

not using Montbéliarde to produce 

a next generation of bulls. As the 

Montbéliarde blood in the Fleckvieh 

population became an issue, 

all companies were suddenly searching 

for pure Fleckvieh cows 

especially at Impuls members to 

be able to produce pure Fleckvieh 

bulls. Most of them are buying 

bulls also in Germany or Austria. 

And farmers with Montbéliarde 

blood in the herds? Who cares? 

COMMON BREEDING VALUES 

ESTIMATION 

The decision to join the breeding 

values estimation with Austria 

and Germany was the best de- 

24


cision made by Czech Fleckvieh 

breeders association ever. The 

idea was brought up by Breeding 

Cooperative Impuls. Breeding values 

estimation in the Czech Republic 

was far behind Austria and 

Germany and credibility was low. 

Even so it was very difficult to 

bring the idea to the reality. No other 

breeding company supported 

that. Without Breeding Cooperative 

Impuls it would never happen. 

Most of the breeding companies 

were afraid of the competition. 

The process of joining breeding 

values estimation was very long 

and very painful for all breeding 

companies. The selection indexes 

were changing a lot with every 

new trait added to the system of 

common breeding values estimation. 

Well, it is over now. Since 

December 2017 Czech Fleckvieh 

is a member of a prestigious club, 

member of one European Fleckvieh 

population. Anyone from that 

one big population can benefit out 

of it now, regardless of the country 

of origin. 

Table 2: 

Genomic tests by companies in 2017 

GENOMIC 

Genomic selection is a very useful 

and very popular tool. Just the timing 

was not the best for Czech. 

It comes just in the middle of the 

common breeding values estimation 

process. I believe it was a 

hard time for all Fleckvieh AI centres, 

but it was twice hard for the 

Czech ones. Anyway, we all made 

it. Genomic brought a lot of advantages 

as well as problems.The 

problems are not really problems 

of genomic itself. The problems 

are people, like always. Most of 

the breeding companies made 

from genomic only selection tool. 

That is a big problem and it will be 

even bigger very soon, if the farmers 

do not wake up. 

bulls cows total 

Farmers should realize, that they 

do not need any breeding company, 

if the company is not able 

to provide them with high reliability 

bulls. Using bulls based on 

only genomic breeding values is 

the same as to flip a coin. To flip 

a coin, we really do not need any 

specialist. The number of genomic 

tests done in 2017 describes the 

situation in the Czech Republic 

the best. For some companies it 

is enough to find one or two bulls 

per year with GZW high enough 

and a reason to stop even with 

genomic tests. 

PROGENY, PROGENY, PROGENY 

The only way how to get a high reliability 

bulls with all the knowledge 

we have so far is through the 

progeny. I would like to invite those, 

who want to get a real picture 

of Czech Fleckvieh breeding to 

Radesinska Svratka for the biggest 

Fleckvieh show in the Czech Republic. 

I believe that Czech Fleckvieh 

is not going to be only thing you 

will enjoy in the heart of Europe! 

MICHAL BASOVNIK 

Breeding Cooperative Impuls 

Invitation RS AJ 

25

tested by 

A2A2 

Bayern-Genetik 

192922 

HERZOGSTAND *TA 

DE 09 43247802 | *2009/04/22 | Breeder: Hartl, Seeon 

aAa-Code 423651 | A2A2 

TOTAL MERIT INDEX 

113 95% 

PEDIGREE 

TYP: 

MILK INDEX 

118 99% 

CARC. GRADE 

98 99% 

FITNESS 

91 92% 

S A R 

TOP MILK PRODUCTION 

LINE: HOREX 

HADES HIPPO HODACH 

10/605399 Genua REPULS 

Genua 

ALINA 103/106 WINZER HORWEIN 

DE 09 32723449 

+9/9,3 10.403 4,13 3,57 Albana BOIS 

Albine 

HIGH BIO-INDEX 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 118 99% 

Milk kg Butterfat % Butterfat kg Protein % Protein kg 

+697 +0,03 +31 -0,01 +23 

138 D. (HA 7596 kg) 6974 4,21 294 3,45 241 

BEEF 109 99% 

Net Gain 106 99% Dressing Percentage 116 97% Carc. Grade 98 99% 

FITNESS 91 92% 

Productive Life 91 88% Persistence 104 99% Fertility 93 84% 

Udderhealth 94 95% Somatic Cell Count 95 98% Milking Speed 95 98% 

Calving ease pat. 94 99% Perf. Improvement 103 99% Vitality 96 99% 

Calving ease mat. 102 97% Bio Index 105 96% 

PIGMENTATION BODY 

54% darkred 42% red 59% spotted 24% covered 

PIGMENTATION EYES 

20% both eyes 9% one eye 

EXTERIOR Daughters: 118 (90%) 64 76 88 100 112 124 136 

Body 100 

Muscularity 90 

Feet & Legs 92 

Udder 97 

Cross Height 101 Small Big 

Body Length 98 Short Long 

Hip Width 100 Narrow Wide 

Body Depth 98 Flat Deep 

Pelvic Angle 98 Flat Sloped 

Hock Angularity 105 Posty Sickled 

Hock Development 94 Well-developed Dry 

Pasterns 96 Weak Posty 

Hoof Height 90 Low High 

Fore Udder Length 115 Short Long 

Rear Udder Length 107 Short Long 

Att. of Fore Udder 75 Loose Firm 

Suspensory Ligament 108 Not marked Clear marked 

Udder Height 92 Low High 

Teat Length 96 Short Long 

Teat Thickness 105 Thin Thick 

Teat Placement 100 Outwards Inwards 

Rear Teat Placement 119 Outwards Inwards 

Udder Purity 104 Added teats Pure Udder 

MEROWINGER 

DE 09 47443285 | *2012/12/16 | Breeder: Esterer, Teisendorf 

A1A2 


107 83% 

PEDIGREE 

TYP: 

MILK INDEX 

102 91% 

CARC. GRADE 

96 93% 

FITNESS 

111 81% 

S A R 

TOP EXTERIOR 

PRODUCTIVE CAREER 

193405 

LINE: METZ 

MERU MANITOBA MALEFIZ 

10/172690 Nandl MANDL 

Nandy 

Ronda 105/102 HUASCARAN HUMID 

DE 09 43581138 

7/5,7 10.062 4,28 3,47 Rowe RUAP 

Rolli 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 102 91% 


+183 -0,05 +3 -0,04 +3 

25 D. (HA 7954 kg) 6758 4,02 272 3,5 236 

BEEF 92 87% 








57% red 23% darkred 64% spotted 16% spotted 




Body 100 



Udder 110 




















26


tested by 

A2A2 


PASSAU *TA 

DE 09 48484238 | *2013/04/25 | Breeder: Wanninger, Kollnburg 

Gen. Anomaly FH4 | A2A2 


117 76% 

PEDIGREE 

TYP: 

MILK INDEX 

109 82% 

S A R 

TOP EXTERIOR 

CARC. GRADE 

105 93% 

DURABLE COW FAMILY 

177438 

FITNESS 

110 75% 

LINE: PLANET II 

PASSION PLANNER PLAN 

10/179352 Banane SAFIR 

Bavaria 

Tatjana 102/94 RONN ROMEN 

DE 09 36195671 

15/13,5 7.734 4,05 3,66 Tocki RAD 

Trixi 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 109 82% 


+249 +0,05 +14 +0,02 +10 

9 D. (HA 7732 kg) 2441 3,94 96 3,38 83 

BEEF 105 87% 








36% red 32% darkred 45% spotted 29% spotted 




Body 109 



Udder 109 




















tested by 

A2A2 


WILDBAD *TA 

DE 09 46508540 | *2012/04/07 | Breeder: Bauer, Zwiesel 

aAa-Code 513642 | A2A2 


119 80% 

PEDIGREE 

TYP: 

MILK INDEX 

108 87% 

CARC. GRADE 

116 93% 

FITNESS 

109 78% 

S A R 

PERFECT DUAL PURPOSE 

177363 

LINE: HOREX 

WILDWEST WINNIPEG WESPE 

10/188878 Silbe HIPPO 

Selina 

Hufe 114/95 GEBALOT GEBAL 

DE 09 41637963 

9/7,5 10.819 4,00 3,37 Hamel MANDL 

Hefe 

SUPER FITNESS 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 108 87% 


+14 +0,28 +21 +0,05 +4 

26 D. (HA 7120 kg) 6057 4,5 273 3,45 209 

BEEF 119 86% 








36% red 28% darkred 47% covered 39% spotted 




Body 101 



Udder 109 




















27

ZECHBRUDER *TA 

DE 09 47487757 | *2012/07/11 | Breeder: Deutinger, Bockhorn 

A1-B 


120 86% 

PEDIGREE 

TYP: 

MILK INDEX 

112 93% 

CARC. GRADE 

95 95% 

FITNESS 

113 83% 

S A R 


FERTILITY 

186720 

LINE: ZANDER 

ZAUBER ZAHNER ZAHN 

10/170014 Gracia RANDY 

Gitte 

Rinne 106/101 RUAP ROMEN 

DE 09 40237234 

9/9,5 8.546 4,17 3,53 Rinde REITER 

Rimse 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 112 93% 


-75 +0,53 +35 +0,09 +4 

77 D. (HA 7388 kg) 6354 4,58 291 3,52 223 

BEEF 99 92% 








48% red 39% darkred 42% spotted 27% covered 




Body 107 



Udder 111 




















DRESDEN 

DE 09 49144132 | *2014/03/16 | Breeder: Lechner, Sauerlach 

A1A2 


114 71% 

PEDIGREE 

MILK INDEX 

117 74% 

GOOD MILKING SPEED 

CARC. GRADE 

90 81% 

852192 

FITNESS 

102 73% 

LINE: DIOR 

DRYLAND DIDIMUS DIONIS 

10/198988 Irma MALIBU 

Elfi 

Bea 107/111 ROUND UP RAUBLING 

DE 09 44127148 

+5/4,9 10.750 3,99 3,59 N 454 VANSTEIN 

Bea 

GOOD FEET AND LEGS 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 117 74% 


+1008 -0,22 +23 -0,12 +24 

– – – – – 

BEEF 93 82% 








– 



Body 100 



Udder 108 




















– 

28


tested by 

A2A2 


ISKARA 

DE 09 50218967 | *2015/07/20 | Breeder: Aigner, Pleiskirchen 

A2A2 


117 65% 

PEDIGREE 

MILK INDEX 

114 70% 

INTERESTING MOTHERLINE 

CARC. GRADE 

105 66% 

186965 

FITNESS 

112 68% 

LINE: REDAD 

ILJA ILION REGIO 

10/186279 Eleisa ROGEN 

Elsa 

Irmgard 107/111 ZASPORT ZASTER 

DE 09 46084467 

5/4,4 9.925 4,20 3,53 Jnes BOSSI 

Jngried 

UDDER HEALTH 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 114 70% 


+413 +0,12 +26 -0,01 +13 

– – – – – 

BEEF 100 64% 








– 



Body 92 



Udder 119 




















– 

tested by 

A2A2 


MAINSTREAM Pp* 

DE 09 50964480 | *2015/12/22 | Breeder: Zierer, Pfeffenhausen 

A2A2 


124 69% 

PEDIGREE 

MILK INDEX 

114 73% 

SUITABLE FOR HEIFERS 

CARC. GRADE 

103 68% 

173334 

FITNESS 

119 73% 

LINE: METZ 

MANIGO MANDELA MALEFIZ 

10/162572 Nitti GEBER 

Nopsi 

Sulfur 109/98 IROLA ROTAX 

DE 09.48869578 

3/1/305 6.976 4,45 3,97 Sula WOLKENTANZ 

Su 

GOOD FEET AND LEGS 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 114 73% 


+377 +0,07 +20 +0,08 +19 

– – – – – 

BEEF 101 67% 








– 



Body 105 



Udder 111 




















– 

29

tested by 

A2A2 


MOREMI PP* 

175933 

DE 09 50785125 | *2016/08/05 | Breeder: Knon, Untergriesbach 

A2A2 

Photo: Pfaller 

MILK 123 70% 


+1010 -0,05 +38 -0,09 +27 

– – – – – 

BEEF 116 65% 








– 


– 


135 64% 

PEDIGREE 

MILK INDEX 

123 70% 

NATURALLY POLLED 

CARC. GRADE 

115 67% 

FITNESS 

118 66% 

LINE: METZ 

MAHANGO Pp MUNGO Pp MANITOBA 

10/173075 Falter ROUND UP 

Falter 

Tamaris 105/99 MARMOR MALHAXL 

DE 09 48483520 

3/2,0 9.112 3,49 3,46 Tamara RUM 

Tabea 



Body 95 



Udder 103 




















tested by 

A2A2 


852193 

VANUATU 

DE 09 48744360 | *2014/02/02 | Breeder: Dold, Valley 

A2A2 

Photo: Gruber 

MILK 118 74% 


+667 -0,05 +23 +0,03 +26 

– – – – – 

BEEF 107 77% 








– 


– 


119 70% 

PEDIGREE 

MILK INDEX 

118 74% 

CARC. GRADE 

106 78% 

FITNESS 

105 73% 

LINE: REDAD 

REUMUT RAUFBOLD RAUBLING 

10/850712 Fiona RUAP 

Fiola 

438 112/122 SANDDORN SAFIR 

DE 09 46673983 

5/3,7 11.440 4,20 3,83 Kia WATERBERG 

Kira 

PERFECT DUAL PURPOSE TOP UDDER QUALITY 


Body 96 



Udder 116 




















30


FLECKVIEH 

for Beef-Production

Tennysonvale Myma Canberra. 

Photo: Cassar 

Fleckvieh news 

from Down Under! 

The past 12 months has been an exciting time for the Fleckvieh Society of Australia with several 

events showcasing Fleckvieh in Australia. It started off with the publication of our first Fleckvieh Australia 

magazine, which was well received by stud and commercial producers with many interesting 

articles highlighting the benefits of using Fleckvieh genetics in both beef and dairy herds in Australia. 

ROYAL CANBERRA SHOW 

The show is held in February each 

year. This year Fleckvieh was the 

Feature Breed and Dr Thomas 

Grupp of Bayern-Genetik was invited 

to judge the event and it was 

indeed an honor to have him 

„Down Under“ to officiate as judge. 

We had 78 Fleckvieh animals 

entered and the quality was excellent. 

Our invited judge Dr Thomas 

Grupp did an outstanding job and 

his comments were extremely informative. 

Junior and Grand Champion 

female went to Tennysonvale 

Myma, a stylish feminine heifer 

with a big future, exhibited by the 

Baldry family. Junior and Grand 

champion bull was Daraabah Mr. 

McCool, a well put together blonde 

bull who was 18-month-old and 

weighed 778 kilograms Mr. McCool 

went on to be the top priced bull of 

the post show sale, selling for $ 

9.000. Supreme exhibit of the 

show went to Tennysonvale Myma, 

well done to the Baldry Family! 

SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW 

After several years of negotiation 

between the FSA and the RAS 

Committee of the Royal Easter 

show, FSA registered Fleckvieh 

cattle breeders were accepted to 

exhibit cattle at the show in conjunction 

with Simmental Australia. 

This is the first time that both societies 

have exhibited cattle under the 

one group classes and whilst there 

was an apprehensiveness amongst 

some exhibitors, the day went 

smoothly with positive comments 

from members of both societies. 

BEEF 2018 

Beef at Rockhampton, an once every 

3 year event, is Australia’s premier 

Beef cattle expo and possibly 

the largest Beef cattle event in the 

Southern Hemisphere. Approximately 

90.000 visitors with 1.100 overseas 

delegates attended the event. 

The FSA took the initiative as first 

time Breed exhibitors and booked a 

32


MANTA Grand Champion bull at Beef 2018. Photo: Cassar TRINITY vale Mia Jaxon Grand Champ Female at Beef 2018. Photo: Cassar 

Trade site for the 6 day event. Members 

of the FSA also took cattle to 

the exhibition with 16 entries. Fleckvieh, 

while small in number, the 

quality of the cattle was excellent. 

Judge Peter Cook, Barana Simmentals, 

Coolah was positive in his comments 

and commended the breeders 

on the quality of the cattle. 

He selected Trinity Vale Mia Jaxon 

as the Grand Champion Female and 

Brenair Park Manta as the Grand 

Champion bull. The well uddered 

Mia Jaxon had an excellent heifer 

calf at foot and looked very impressive 

in the ring, congratulations to 

Trevor Anderson and Barb Evans of 

Trinity Vale for all their effort and on 

an excellent showing at Beef. 

Brenair Park Manta (P), an impressive 

bull weighing 1030 kg with 

13mm Fat on the Rump and 11mm 

on the Rib with a 134 EMA at 

24mths was well placed in interbreed 

making it to the top 5 of all 

30 breeds out of a total of over 

1600 exhibits. Well done to Deter 

Sullivan and Denise Phillips on preparing 

Manta for Beef and to the 

breeder Don Mathieson, Brenair 

Park. 

Once again well done to all exhibitors 

and a great stepping stone for 

the next BEEF in 2021! 

The year ahead promises to be just 

as busy for the members for the 

FSA. We would like to thank all involved 

in any way whatsoever with 

the advancement of the FSA and 

the Fleckvieh breed, whether that 

be through trade sites, shows, 

Steer competitions, Junior heifer 

shows, or just plain spreading the 

word. Together we make a bigger 

Dr. Thomas Grupp judging at Canberra. 

 

Photo: Cassar 

voice, thank you. We would like to 

thank Bayern-Genetik for the opportunity 

to include an article in 

their wonderful magazine Fleckvieh 

World and we thank them for 

the ongoing help and support offered 

to the FSA. 

GEORGE CASSAR 

DARAABAH MCCOOL, Junior and Grand Champion bull. 

Photo: Cassar 

Koorinook Lightning. 

Photo: Cassar 

33

Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics worldwide 

Bayern-Genetik GmbH 

BAYERN-GENETIK GMBH 


85586 Grub / Poing 

phone: ++49 (0) 89 / 99 15 20 - 0 

fax: ++49 (0) 89 / 99 15 20 - 66 


web: www.bayern-genetik.de 

AUSTRIA 

Rinderzuchtverband Vöcklabruck 

Römerweg 11 

4844 Regau 

phone: ++43 (0) 50 6902-4710 

fax: ++43 (0) 50 6902-94710 

eMail: mail@rzv.at 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

Impuls 

Chovatelské Družstvo 

Bohdalec 122, 59255 Bobrová 

phone: ++42 06 04 21 64 57 

eMail: info@chdimpuls.cz 

SOUTH TIROL 

Südtiroler Rinderzuchtverband 

Galvanistraße 38 

39100 Bozen 

phone: ++39 04 71 06 38 30 

fax: ++39 04 71 06 38 21 

eMail: info@rinderzuchtverband.it 

BENELUX / DENMARK 

Stef Beunk 

Nelissenstraat 6, 7156 MC Beltrum 

phone/fax: ++31 (0) 5 44 48 23 06 

mobile: ++31 (0) 6 51 49 00 52 

eMail: stef.beunk@bayern-genetik.de 

web: www.bayerngenetik.nl 

CHINA 


85586 Grub / Poing 

phone: ++49 (0) 89 / 99 15 20 - 0 

fax: ++49 (0) 89 / 99 15 20 - 66 


ying-taubner@t-online.de 

web: www.bayern-genetik.de 

ITALY 

Dr. Martino Ermacora 

Via San Pietro 15 

33013 Gemona del Friuli (UD) 

mobile: ++39 32 76 30 97 06 

web fax: ++39 17 82 74 09 46 

eMail: martino.ermacora@bayern-genetik.de 

web: www.fleckvieh.it 

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 

Dr. Martin Mayer 

phone: ++43 664 224 7937 

eMail: martin.mayer@bayern-genetik.de 

EASTERN EUROPE / RUSSIA 

Vladimir Varchola 

Lesnicka 22 

08005 Prešov 

phone: ++42 19 05 30 37 05 

eMail: vladimir.varchola@bayern-genetik.de 

BALKAN STATES 

Dr. Antonio Orak 

Demetra 20 

43000 Bjelovar 

mobile: ++3 85 98 73 33 73 

eMail: tony.orak@bayern-genetik.de 

34

FLECKVIEHWORLD 2018 / 2019 

SERBIA 

Maxi Bulls d.o.o. 

phone: +381 25 872 234 

eMail: info@maxibulls.net 

CROATIA 

Veterinarska stanica Krizevci d.o.o. 

phone: +385 48 718 692 

eMail: info@vskrizevci.hr 

IRELAND / SCOTLAND / NOTHERN / ENGLAND 

David Hazelton Cohannon House 

25 Bovean Road, Dungannon Co. Tyrone 

BT71 6HR 

Northern Ireland 

fax: ++44 (0) 28 87 72 79 57 

mobile: ++44 (0) 78 41 74 87 64 

eMail: RanfurlySimmentals@hotmail.co.uk 

SWEDEN 

Georg Brunner 

L. Stâltorp, Ugglum, 521 94 Falköping 

phone: ++46 (0) 5 15 72 04 20 

fax: ++46 (0) 5 15 72 04 21 

mobile: ++46 (0) 7 03 08 69 72 

eMail: brunner@bayerngenetic.nu 

MEXICO 

Reproducción Animal, S.A. de C.V. 

Apartado Postal 142 

Ciudad Satelite C.P. 53102 

phone: ++52 53 62 09 96 

fax: ++52 53 62 11 51 

eMail: servicio@reproduccionanimal.com.mx 

EAST AFRICA (KENIA) 

Fleckvieh Genetics East Africa Ltd. 

Gerard Besseling 

P.O Box 19055 – 00501 

Nairobi, Kenia 

Oil Libya Plaza Muthaiga Road 

phone: ++254 712 095 555 

eMail: info@fleckviehgeneticsea.com 

web: www.fleckviehgeneticsea.com 

UGANDA 

Tephy Mujurizi - TEMUPE Farm (U) Ltd. 

Plot 166A, Katabi Stage 

P.O.Box 926 Entebbe, Uganda 

phone: +256 414 234643 

eMail: temupefarm@gmail.com 

CANADA / USA 

Big Bear Genetics 

Dr. John Popp 

P.O. Box 94, Erickson, Manitoba 

R0J 0P0 

phone: ++1– 2 04 – 6 36 – 23 87 

fax: ++1– 2 04 – 6 36 – 77 05 

eMail: bigbeargenetics@inetlink.ca 

NEW ZEALAND 

Willy & Jeanet Leferink 2 

Torbay Ave 

RD 4 Ashburton 

New Zealand 7774 

phone: ++64 3 3026891 

fax: ++64 21796037 

eMail: legro@orcon.net.nz 

leferinks@gmail.com 

AUSTRALIA 

George Cassar 

Karova Simmentals 

20 Riverview Rd, Caffreys Flat NSW 2424 

phone: ++ 61- 2 - 65 50 76 61 

eMail: ozfleckvieh@yahoo.com.au 

SOUTH AFRICA 

Thys Swart 

Kykso Simmentalers 

Posbus 131, Suurbraak 6743 

phone: ++27 (0) 2 85 14 15 27 

mobile: ++27 (0) 8 24 98 87 88 

eMail: mjswart@worldonline.co.za 

NAMIBIA 

Hauk Simmentaler Horst and Renate Riedel 

phone: ++26 4 62 56 88 53 

eMail: riedelhw@iway.na 

35

Visit us at 

EuroTier in Hannover 

13 th - 16 th November 2018 

Hall 11 booth G20 next to the TopTierTreff 

At the Bayern-Genetik booth you get: 

• TOP progeny group 

• Crossbreeding cows and strong cows in type 

• Best genetics in the polled segment 

• Bavarian delicacy 

See you in Hannover! 

Photo: Menop 

bayern-genetik.de

Fleckvieh World USA 2018-2019

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