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Every dairy farmer knows the pattern: as soon as the weather turns warmer and more humid, more cases of mastitis start appearing in the barn. “If the milk recording report shows that more than 15% of your cows have elevated somatic cell counts, it’s time to take action,” advises veterinarian Arnout Patyn. “Sound the alarm as well if your bulk tank somatic cell count exceeds 250,000 cells per milliliter.” Dr Sofie Piepers, udder health specialist at Ghent University, adds: “In herds with multiple risk factors, warm and humid conditions can provide just the extra push that turns a subclinical infection into visible mastitis. Those risk factors lie in the milking routine, milking technique, bedding, and the functioning of the milking machine. It’s crucial to address as many of them as possible.”

Delta Fast Lane made a strong impression at last weekend’s Holland Holstein Show. In Leeuwarden (Netherlands), he presented a highly uniform group of young daughters, all showing appropriate stature, strong skeletal strength, broad forequarters and rump, and excellent condition. Both front and rear leg conformation were perfectly parallel, and the animals moved powerfully around the ring. On display, their broad, high-set udders stood out, and from the front, the quality of the udder attachments was equally impressive.

Thanks to bulls like Double W Ranger and Double W Rush Hour, the Double W Ricky family of Willem Booij and Wendie Ottens from Benneveld in the Netherlands has become one of the most influential cow families in the Dutch-Flemish Holstein breeding world in recent years.

“A working cow just the way I like them.” With these words, Koen Nooijen describes Delta Margit. “She is beautifully built, strong, and has a long body, with a broad, well-shaped rump, an excellent functional udder, and great legs,” says the Dutch dairy farmer from Coevorden about the dam of Delta Boulevard, that scored 85 points at classification.

The Boreso son Delta Amsterdam RC passes on over 1,100 kg of milk with +0.19% protein and €369 Inet. The FeedExcel bull combines this with a feed efficiency score of 107. This means his daughters will produce 3.5% more milk per kilogram of dry matter than daughters of an average bull. They also produce persistently (109) and mature later (106). Additionally, Amsterdam RC shows a complete conformation profile with a flawless rump and scores of 106 for udder, 105 for legs, and 107 for overall conformation in the top line. Above all, Amsterdam RC excels in health and fertility, with 107 for udder health, 110 for claw health, and 105 for fertility, resulting in +8% CRV Health. For example, Amsterdam daughters will have 8 percentage points fewer claw problems than daughters of an average bull and about 5 percentage points less subclinical mastitis. His fertility breeding values indicate an eight-day shorter interval between first and last insemination and a 3-percentage-point higher non-return rate.

The famous English biologist Charles Darwin introduced his theory about the ‘survival of the fittest’ in 1859. Loosely translated: the best animal adapted to its environment has the greatest chance of surviving and reproducing. Darwin’s theory still applies in 2025, although progress in 21st-century cattle breeding thankfully moves much faster. The numbers of the new InSire bull Delta Fitter PP speak for themselves. His daughters are expected to live about a year and a half longer than average and achieve an extra lifetime production of over 20,000 kg of milk. They are, in short, excellently adapted to the demands of today.