OSLER, Sask. – She doesn’t look different from the other Holsteins in the barn, nor is she pampered for the show ring. Nonetheless, Kawartha Misty Dixie is one super cow.
How does one lactating bovine earn such a description? By winning the national and international titles in the same year for superior milk production.
Owners Dave McMorrow and his wife Melissa of Kawartha Holsteins said while they haven’t received much special attention since winning these awards, nine-year-old Dixie and her genes have.
“We’ve sold embryos worldwide out of her because of it,” Dave said.
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“About 50 have gone to Japan, and then local sales have been pretty good too.”
McMorrow said interest in Dixie’s offspring has been high also.
Kawartha Misty Dixie was born in Ontario on Sept. 18, 1996, but moved with the McMorrows to their farm in Saskatchewan in 1997.
Her sire (Wallaceview Marko) came out of a young sire program in Ontario and her dam (Kawartha Canada Candy) is another cow the McMorrow’s had bred when they lived in Ontario. McMorrow said this super cow comes from a long line of high-achievers.
“It’s very good genetics,” he said.
“She completes five generations of very good or excellent as far as type, and she’s the third generation (of) superior production, so those are pretty good credentials to have.”
Dixie was named the Canadian champion for milk, fat, protein and total performance in February of this year.
At that point-the 305th day in milk of her sixth milking year-she had produced 28,579 kilograms of milk, containing four percent fat and 3.4 percent protein.
Her breed class average (BCA) of 543 for milk earned her the Canadian champion record. The average Canadian BCA is 190.
In May, a dairy magazine in the Netherlands named her world champion for milk production.
Her output for the previous year was 33,753 kgs of milk, with four percent fat and 3.5 percent protein – a world
record.
Dixie produces an average of about 51 kg of milk daily.
When asked if this award-winning cow was fed a special diet or given preferential treatment to reach and maintain such records, McMorrow chuckled.
“No, she’s just part of the herd and just excelled in the environment she’s been put into, I guess.”
Although environment and nutrition play a role in Dixie’s dairy production, McMorrow said her physical make-up – with a conformation score of 86, or very good – was also a large factor in her becoming a milk machine.
“We’re fed by Feed-Rite, and they’ve been really good, helping make sure the ration’s right,” he said.
“But she’s just got so much rib and depth and she just can make milk. That’s what she’s been put here for, I guess. They need the capacity to eat the feed to make the milk, and she’s got all that.”
While his ‘super cow’ has garnered much praise as of late, McMorrow is proud of his whole herd.
Kawartha Holsteins’ production average is quite high, making it the top herd in Saskatchewan.
“They all milk well here.”
