The Holstein Association USA is the world's largest

dairy breed Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ma ...

association. With over 22 million registered

Holstein Friesian Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Hols ...

cattle, the association was established in 1885 as the Holstein–Friesian Association of America, a merger of several Friesian breeder associations. It was given its current name in 1994. The association, which is headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, provides programs, products and services to dairy producers, with the aim being to enhance genetics and improve profitability. As part of the process, animal identification and

ear tags An ear tag is a plastic or metal object used for identification of domestic livestock and other animals. If the ear tag uses Radio Frequency Identification Device ( RFID) technology it is referred to as an electronic ear tag. Electronic ear ta ...

are provided, along with

genomic Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, three-dim ...

testing, mating programs, processing of dairy records, classification and Holstein semen. It processes almost 400,000 registrations per year, plus around 70,000 transfers. In 1999, the association established the

National Farm Animal Identification and Records National Farm Animal Identification and Records (FAIR) is a pilot animal identification program established in 1999 by Holstein Association USA, Inc. of Brattleboro, Vermont; it has received funding through USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection ...

(FAIR) animal identification program. The association's motto is ''To provide leadership, information and services to help members and dairy producers worldwide be successful''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holstein Association USA Brattleboro, Vermont American dairy organizations 1885 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1885 Cattle companies of the United States Companies based in Vermont