Stacking the cards red at ridle-side

摘要

Greg and Deb Schantz have been aggressively introducing and expanding red and white bloodlines in their herd. They've taken some risks in order to accelerate their plan, but have used a variety of genetics to spread those risks and established a biosecurity plan to protect their investment and add value to their cattle. "I'm trying to kill more than two birds with one stone," says Greg Schantz of Ridle-Side Farms, Lowville, NY. Schantz and his wife, Deb, are basically just trying to do all they canwith what they've got. For example, not only are they operating an 80-cow dairy, but also they're establishing a registered Holstein herd. Not only are they breeding registered Holsteins, but also they're aggressively developing red and white and red factor bloodlines throughout the herd. Not only do they strive for healthy cows through nutrition and preventative medicine, but also they've established a testing and biosecurity program to manage and guard against diseases that could hurt their bottom line. And not only are they raising their own healthy, well-grown replacements, but they raise replacements for five neighboring dairies as well.