GOING WITH THE FLO


Few cows are truly great cows, but every so often one comes along that breaks the mould and is a true game changer for the breed as Richard Beard explains


W


ithin the UK Holstein breed one family has stood the test of time ticking most of the


boxes that mark out a great cow family and that is the Flo family, particularly Holmland Storm Flo. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Canadian importations were growing and Tom Jackson of Bolton Manor, Ulverston, and Edwin Bushby of Hilltop, Egremont, purchased a group of in-calf heifers from Western Ontario which included Elgin Lodge Flo R, a 1970-born daughter of the Rosafe Centurion son, Forest Lee Rockette Centurion.


As a second calver Flo R produced a black heifer by Stonetown Randy which was registered as Boltonmanor Rockman Flo. She carried two crosses of the Royal Winter Fair champion Glenvue Nettce Gemima, dam of both Rosafe Centurion and Citation R. Two years later, Rockman Flo was sold as an in- calf heifer to a Cardiganshire couple, Islwyn and Betty Griffi ths, who were later to become well- known breeders of the Cardsland herd, where there are still Flo’s to be found today. Rockman Flo was in-calf to Hilltop’s imported herd sire, Wykeholme Texal Mark and the resulting calf, Cardsland Texal Flo was to give the Griffi ths their fi rst Royal Welsh championship and an All-Britain nominated cow. Texal Flo was AI’d to the intensively ABC bred sire Karnvilla Peration, a Citation R son from an EX daughter of Rosafe Shamrock Perseus. Despite her GP score, Cardsland Peration Flo, was an imposing cow and averaged 8823kg at 3.8%bf 125PI for fi ve lactations. Peration Flo’s fi rst daughter was Cardsland


LEFT & ABOVE Berryholme Posh Flo is an EX94 scored Shottle daughter that bred the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show champion Feizor S Flo.


82 THE JOURNAL AUGUST 2015


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