Witter Center’s herd ranked among best in the nation
The Holstein Association USA announced this month that the dairy herd at the University of Maine’s J.F. Witter Teaching and Research Center will receive the 2020 Progressive Breeders Registry Award and the 2020 Progressive Genetics Herd Award.
The Breeders Registry award is granted to approximately 10% of eligible herds, and the Genetics award is given to the top 500 eligible herds in the nation. The Witter Center is the only farm in Maine to receive both awards this year.
To assess the herd, the Holstein Association USA evaluates each animal in the herd on 18 physical traits relative to their age, milk production history and stage of lactation.
The Witter Center at UMaine is part of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, and includes Witter Farm and Rogers Farm. In addition to housing research that supports Maine’s livestock industries, Witter Farm serves as a training facility for UMaine’s animal and veterinary science students.