DairyTalk 708: Same Overall Index, Different Strengths: What Separates Red and Black German Holstein Genetics - by Helmut Demmelhuber

DairyTalk by Helmut Demmelhuber · Oct 7, 2026 · 17m

This podcast episode is based on an analysis comparing genomic breeding values from more than 800 German Red and Black Holstein sires. Although both populations achieve almost identical overall merit levels, their individual trait profiles reveal meaningful differences. Black Holsteins show advantages in areas including fat production, daughter fertility, and milking traits, while Red Holsteins stand out for milk volume, calving traits, and particularly the availability of homozygous polled genetics. This makes the overall index alone a poor basis for choosing between the two populations. The…