Why ProCROSS Crossbreeding?
Crossbreeding, once stigmatized in the dairy industry, is gaining renewed interest as modern dairymen face economic pressures requiring diversified revenue streams and cost minimization. The Procross system, a three-breed rotation of VikingRed, Montbéliarde by Coopex, and Holstein, optimizes heterosis at 86%, outperforming two-breed systems with superior health, fertility, and production.
Proven through studies in California, Procross enhances profitability with benefits like heavier cull cows, faster-growing bull calves, lower veterinary costs, and surplus heifer production, all while maintaining robust milk yields. As the world's only validated crossbreeding program, Procross continues to deliver unmatched results through ongoing trials and data collection.
The ProCROSS system uses 3 breeds:
Holstein, normally the cow to start with,
VikingRed, breeding programme that combines the three breeds – Finnish Ayrshire, Swedish Red and Danish Red.”
Montbeliarde from Coopex, the breed from the mountain areas in France.
Starting ProCROSS will first give you F1 cows. We call them G1. (G stands for Generation). The combination of the three dairy breeds together with a strict mating plan, guarantees optimal heterosis. The qualities of the three breeds have been demonstrated to complement each other. The increase in production is explained by the heterosis effect – a benefit which increases as the ProCROSS cow matures.
It all starts with a Holstein cow.
She is mated with a Coopex Montbéliarde bull. The heifer resulting from the mating (the first generation, also called G1) will be inseminated with a VikingRed bull. From there, the G2 heifer will be inseminated with a VikingHolstein bull to produce the G3. The rotational system is then almost complete. All that needs to be done then is to continue with this mating plan to maintain the optimal level of heterosis. Applying this plan consistently achieves better results. ProCROSS planning is shown step by step below. After three generations you will have a homogeneous herd.
