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Richard Beard looks at the history of Red and White genetics and the sires that have had an impact on the breed as well as some of the UK’s leading herds and highest classified cows
he struggle of the red gene and its acceptance has existed from the first days of the USA herdbook in 1872 and its Canadian equivalent. In the USA where there has always been a greater diversity in Holsteins, a fringe group of breeders formed the Red and White Dairy Cattle Association (RWDCA) in 1964. Today, the Association is active and is now located in Madison, home of World Dairy Expo, where seven breeds have their National Show. The RWDCA’s Madison debut came in 1995 and in two decades it has become one of the strongest on show.
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While mainly focused on red or red carrier Holsteins, RWDCA also accepts other red breeds and ensures that their genes are identified.
This allows individuals access to less travelled avenues of any red breed in the world. This can obviously have both appeal and advantages in an era where genomics has continued to shrink the major bloodlines in pure Holsteins.
Holstein Canada did not accept red and whites for registration until 1969 and this was mainly due to the appearance of an extraordinary sire Rosafe Citation R, conceived 60 years ago in Brampton, Ontario. Once Citation R daughters came in to milk in both Canada and the USA breeders voted for rules to be changed – the tide had turned. Despite this most of Citation R’s best sons did not carry the red gene and neither did his most famous daughter, Glenridge Citation Roxy EX97. She was twice Queen of the Breed in the only two global
contests. However, by line- breeding to both Citation R and his sire ABC Reflection Sovereign, the red recessive gene emerged and the results were both impressive and widespread. Hanoverhill Triple Threat- Red was born in New York 15 years later, realising $60,000 at auction to ABS, where he blazed a brilliant trail in reds, red blacks and black and whites which continues to this day in several different breeds. Triple Threat was a son of Roybrook Telstar who also sired the maternal grand-dam of Glenafton Enhancer, the No 1 production sire of the 70’s that was a red carrier. Enhancer’s dam was by Citation R Maple, probably Citation R’s most influential and respected son in the USA. These above mentioned sires and a few other strains began to move the red and whites forward.
Other influential sires followed suit, both red and red carrier, a handful in Canada were Bridon Astro Jet, Horizon Ranger, Meadowlake Jubilant, Valley River Ruben Redman and Dudoc Mr Burns. In the USA Renown Factor, KHW Kite Advent, Aggravation Lawn Boy, Scientific Destry and Hurtgen Vue Reality all played their part. Three other sires with an international flavour also warrant a mention, the Semex owned and Australian born Ladino Park Talent and two USA bulls owned by Swiss AI company, ABC genetics, Ja- bob Jordan and Sir Ridgedale Rustler EX97. It is worth noting that Destry has emerged with an impressive UK proof, in fact at 97% Rel; only Atwood is ahead
of him for type improvement in the latest active sire list. Destry is +2.1 type, 0.3 lifespan, +11 fertility, -13 somatic cell and £381 PLI. This is just as well because he was used to sire sons for AI long before he himself had a proof. His three most successful sons are Lookout Redburst, Mad Max, 135 type, 96% reliability in Germany and Tigerlily Ladd P, a naturally polled bull whose initial UK Proof on 76% reliability looks promising at +1.96 type, +£391 PLI. He too has been used to sire genomic sons and and a current German Redstar, maternal grandson, EMS Red PP, a 100% polled bull.
Returning to Redman his most famous daughter Blondin Seisme, twice red and white champion at Madison and the Royal Winter Fair, as well as supreme grand champion at the Winter Fair, is the only living EX97 cow in the USA, regardless of colour. While one swallow doesn’t make a summer, such cows do help light the way forward. Having missed out on Advent and Redman in the UK, it would be encouraging to see Reality enter our red dawn.
Red and Whites are becoming more and more popular in the UK, the country’s largest Red and White herd is the Kirk family’s Kirkholt herd in Leicestershire. Their 430 cows average 9000kg at 4.2%bf and 3.4%p. The queen of their herd is the EX94 Kirkholt Sheriff Rosebud 2 Red. Sired by Bolshaw Sheriff Red she is out of two generations of homebred cows.
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