Latest news with #Holstein
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
West Virginia Republican Party elects 23-year-old Holstein as chairman
Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, is shown during a Feb. 20, 2025 meeting of the House of Delegates Energy and Public Works Committee. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Josh Holstein, a 23-year-old state delegate representing Boone County, is the new leader of the state's Republican Party. Holstein was elected chairman during the summer meeting of the state executive committee in Morgantown Saturday. 'It was an honor. It was obviously an honor,' Holstein told West Virginia Watch Monday. 'I'm still humbled, but we worked hard and we had a lot of great discussions. 'Folks, I think they see past age,' he said. 'And they see willingness, drive and somebody that's actually eager to make positive change. I'm very grateful to the members of the state executive committee for placing their trust in me.' Holstein said increasing communication is one of his first priorities as party chair. 'I think as a party, that's where we failed in recent years,' he said. 'Realizing and recognizing that our audience is on several different social media platforms, and people obtain news in many different ways now. Meeting people where they are, essentially, is what we've got to do,' he said. Holstein, of Ashford, is a graduate of Sherman High School and Marshall University, according to his biography from the House of Delegates. He runs an advertising firm and has a license to substitute teach. He was first elected to the House in 2020. He joins the Republican National Committee as the youngest of its 168 members across the country, the GOP said in the news release. Holstein said the party will also reach out to independent voters to let them know about changes to the Republican primary election next year. Beginning in 2026, the GOP primary will be open only to voters who are registered Republicans and will be closed to unaffiliated voters. The executive committee voted last year to close the primary as a way of encouraging voters to register as Republicans. Holstein said the party would also focus on county and municipal races, something that hasn't been a major focus in recent years. Republicans hold the majority in both bodies of the state Legislature, the governor's office, the state's congressional delegation and the presidency. 'We're fairly dominant on the state and legislative level, obviously, but we still lack in municipal level races and on the county level,' he said. 'So we'll be focusing on that and working with our respective county chairs and senatorial district folks to accomplish those goals over the next few months.' Holstein takes the place of former GOP chairman Matt Herridge, who stepped down effective Saturday. Herridge was appointed state commerce secretary in January. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
West Wales dairy farmer breeds his way to better business
Breeding is the cheapest and most effective way to make permanent, long-term improvements to a wide cross-section of traits in dairy cows. Autumn milk producer Marcus Ferraro has historically only utilised milk recording to inform his drying off strategy but is now fully recording to build individual cow data and a herd genetic report. This will help identify 'passenger cows' in his 300-cow herd at Sychpant Farm, near Newcastle Emlyn, and allow him to breed from his best animals. Don't miss our next edition of Pembrokeshire Farmer, available free inside the Western Telegraph on July 30 During a recent AHDB strategic farm event at Sychpant Farm, farmers were told that Marcus was using breeding to transition the herd to a ProCross, a cow with a combination of Holstein, Montbeliarde and VikingRed genetics. Farm business consultant Anna Bowen, of The Andersons Centre, said the business is achieving considerable year-on-year improvements, making a comparable farm profit (CFP) of 14.58 pence per litre (ppl) in the year ending March 2025 - up 15.45ppl on the previous 12 months. This, she explained, had been helped by favourable market conditions but also by other actions, including more output per cow, up by an average of 837 litres/cow/year to 6,714, and an improvement in milk solids from 491kg/cow to 561kg. Milk is supplied to cheesemaker, Leprino. Making greater use of homegrown feed through actions such as measuring grass weekly and a greater focus on cow health, including through mobility scoring, had also reduced the farm's purchased feed and veterinary costs. The Ferraros farm 182ha (450 acres), of which 61ha (150 acres) are owned and form the grazing platform. Cows are wintered in sawdust-bedded cubicles and fed silage in central passageways but have access to pasture as soon as a pregnancy diagnosis confirms they are in calf. 'If it is dry and frosty they will be out in January to loaf and graze from February onwards,'' said Marcus, who farms with his wife, Vicki, and his father, Richard. Going forward, they have invested in weigh scales to regularly monitor heifers to ensure growth rates are on track to breed and calve at 24 months in the 12-week calving block. Despite improvements, Anna said there is further progress the business could make including the volume of milk produced from forage – currently 2,814 litres/cow/year. Steps taken so far to achieve this include mapping out paddocks for grazing, upgrading silage clamps, and increasing feed space at winter housing. Taking the guesswork out of genetics Many milk producers openly admit that genetics is a topic they struggle to get to grips with. AHDB genetics expert Victoria Ashmore said there are several actions farmers like Marcus can take to remove the guesswork from their breeding and management decisions, including genetically evaluating individual animals within the herd. Using milk recording data in combination with the levy-funded AHDB Dairy Herd Genetic Report service will provide a genetic evaluation on individual animals. The report will show where the herd's good genetics, and its weaknesses are, on traits like fertility or mastitis. 'The farm can then start to pinpoint more specifically their existing genetics and what they might need to do to improve these in the next generation,'' said Victoria. Sexed semen can simplify the route to genetic progress. Wider use of sexed semen means that dairy farms need to breed fewer animals to dairy sires to produce the required number of herd replacements. They can then be more specific on which cows they want to breed their next generation of milking cows from. 'This is where we really start to drill down into individual animals and rank the herd based firstly on the overall profit index but also the traits of interest so the next generation is being bred from the superior animals in the herd,'' Victoria explained. Genomics allow a broader genetic identification for each animal. Dairy farmers don't need to wait until a heifer calves and starts milking to establish her genetic merit as taking a DNA sample from her as a young animal will provide that. Using this information, certain heifers can be selected to breed future replacements that match a farm's own strategy. Breeding the best females will increase the genetic value of replacements and, as a consequence, fewer animals with a lower genetic merit will come into the herd.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This deliciously different loaded schnitzel dish rivals the parma. Here's where to try it
If the parma is the king of loaded schnitzels, the seldom-seem Holstein is the queen. The German Holstein schnitzel traditionally stars breaded, fried veal that's crowned with a fried egg and anchovies, often capers and lemon, and a rich brown-butter sauce. 'While [it's] a classic, it's not commonly found on menus these days, even in Germany,' says Philipp Hockenberger, brand manager of Bavarian beer hall Hofbrauhaus, which has previously served the Holstein. But the souped-up schnitzel is gaining traction. When chef Barney Cohen first put it on the menu at Bar Bellamy in 2023, 'the feedback was very positive but the younger crowd still seemed hesitant to order veal', he says, citing some misunderstanding about what it is and how ethically it's reared.
The Age
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This deliciously different loaded schnitzel dish rivals the parma. Here's where to try it
If the parma is the king of loaded schnitzels, the seldom-seem Holstein is the queen. The German Holstein schnitzel traditionally stars breaded, fried veal that's crowned with a fried egg and anchovies, often capers and lemon, and a rich brown-butter sauce. 'While [it's] a classic, it's not commonly found on menus these days, even in Germany,' says Philipp Hockenberger, brand manager of Bavarian beer hall Hofbrauhaus, which has previously served the Holstein. But the souped-up schnitzel is gaining traction. When chef Barney Cohen first put it on the menu at Bar Bellamy in 2023, 'the feedback was very positive but the younger crowd still seemed hesitant to order veal', he says, citing some misunderstanding about what it is and how ethically it's reared.
Otago Daily Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Brief return south brings rewards
Holstein Friesian New Zealand president Owen Copinga visits Fairleigh dairy farm in West Otago, as part of the association's annual conference. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Former Southland dairy farmer Owen Copinga recently returned to the province and left with a top position at Holstein Friesian New Zealand. Mr Copinga and his wife Cathy sold their dairy farm and stud herd Rivendell Holsteins in 2023, ending more than 20 years of dairy farming and breeding Holstein Friesians in Isla Bank. They moved to Te Puke to be closer to family and have since invested in kiwifruit, pine trees, a dairy farm and property. Mr Copinga returned to Southland for the Holstein Friesian New Zealand annual conference in Invercargill last month. At the annual meeting, he was elected president of the association. He was vice-president and treasurer for the three years prior. Now was the right time to take on the top position because he was no longer farming "24/7" and he lived closer to the association's national office, he said. "I've got more time to dedicate to it and there are a lot of industry matters I'm really interested in and I will always have a passion for this breed." The appeal of the breed was it "being dialled-in to converting feed to milk". Holstein Friesian were the best dairy breed to mate a beef sire to, such as Hereford, to produce calves in demand. The 2025 Holstein Friesian New Zealand Awards were part of the conference and Rivendell Sham Beatric-ET 4*ET EX3 SP won cow of the year, which was bred by Mr and Mrs Copinga and was now owned by the Cummings Family Trust, of Wyndham.
