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Through United Kingdom, Year and Litre
- In Britain it was used (with "Dutch" as synonym) to indicate the imported cattle ancestral to the shorthorn; a significant proportion of those animals did come from Holstein.
- In modern US English it refers to animals based almost exclusively on stock from the Netherlands. This use goes back to the use of "Holstein" in the title of a very influential article by Winthrop W. Chenery, the Massachusetts resident who purchased the US's first Holland cow from a Dutch sailing master in 1852.
At least in the United Kingdom, whereas the Friesian and Holstein breeds are considered separate, they are also considered so similar that it is not possible to distinguish between them for statistical purposes. Friesian is much the more common term in the UK.
Specifications
An average Holstein cow in the United States produces about 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of milk per annum. This is roughly equivalent to 2650 U.S. gallons (10,000 litres). European Holstein cows tend to average 7,000 - 8,000 litres per year.The difference is due to the American practice of dosing dairy cattle with hormones which is outlawed in Europe. Lifetime yield of Holstein cows tends to average around 30,000 litres regardless of the country or the system of milk production that is being used.
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Genetics
The Holstein breed has one of the biggest gene pools world-wide and thus genetic progress has been faster than in other dairy breeds. For this reason it is the breed of choice for most dairy farmers worldwide. Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation, a Holstein bull born in the United States in 1965, fathered over 70,000 offspring through artificial insemination. His descendants were selected for their conformity to the breed's standards and their ability to produce large quantities of milk. Elevation's genes are representated in a large percentage of the Holstein population worldwide. Cross breeding with other breeds is popular in some countries (New Zealand for example) to avail breeders of the benefits arising from hybrid vigour.
Hanoverhill Starbuck (1979-1998) was a star of the agricultural community. He was proclaimed "Premier Sire" 27 times at North America's largest Holstein shows. Over his lifetime, Starbuck's semen generated almost $25 million in sales. He sired some 200,000 calves in 45 countries. It is said that most of the world's Holstein cows are related to Starbuck. In April 2003, the world's most famous Holstein bull is "reincarnated" via cloning two years after his death. Starbuck II not only looks like his predecessor, he acts like him. The development of Starbuck's clone was a joint effort between the researchers, headed by Dr Lawrence Smith, at the Centre for Research in Animal Reproduction (CRRA) at the Veterinary Faculty in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec and researchers, headed by Dr Daniel Bousquet, at L'Alliance Boviteq inc. Prior to Starbuck's death on September 17, 1998, Dr Bousquet and his laboratory staff collected and preserved samples of his body cells.
Notable Holsteins
- Ubre Blanca, Fidel Castro's cow (1972–1985)
- Pauline Wayne, US president William Howard Taft's cow
- RORA Elevation, a prize-winning bull
- Kian (1997–2013), the first red Holstein bull whose semen has sold more than one million units worldwide
- Toystory (2001–2014), Holstein bull whose semen has sold more than 2.4 million units worldwide and has been estimated to have sired over 500,000 offspring
- Lulubelle III, who is shown on the cover of Atom Heart Mother
Other sources
- Low, David (1845) On the Domesticated Animals of the British Islands: Comprehending the Natural and Economical History of Species and Varieties; the Description of the Properties of External Form; and Observations on the Principles and Practice of Breeding, Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans.