Solutions for sustainable

dairy and beef production

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 Our philosophy
As a farmer-owned cooperative, Swissgenetics’ philosophy is
based on using available resources in a sustainable way.
Animal production using roughage-based feed is not only
more ecological, but better for animal and human health and
also more economical. Robust, healthy and resilient animals
and genetics reduce production costs.
Our cattle breeds are part of a pasture-based environment
which has developed unique, robust and adapted genetics.
As a consequence, livestock keepers have herds that are better
adapted to climate conditions and environmental challenges.
Since 1960 Swissgenetics has been offering you the ideal
breeds for your production system to ensure the most
cost-effective solution. The quality of the animals
is renowned in the world.

Dr. Christoph Böbner, CEO of Swissgenetics

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 The key to long-term success
“Sustainable cattle production and intensification begin
with the right choice of bovine semen.”

Alizée Sauron, International Project Manager

Herd People Society Environment Country Planet

Choice of Essential Economic Respect and Economic Responsible

breed adapted nutrient intakes development improvement independence production in
to environmental for human and poverty of the environ- in the import of keeping with
and climatic health reduction ment and milk, fodder and environmental
conditions animal health supplements and climate
change
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 Global Agenda for
Sustainable Livestock
The Global Agenda is a multi-stakeholder partnership
emphasizing the contribution of livestock production
to achieving the sustainable development goals of
the United Nations Agenda 2030.
Swissgenetics has been a member of the Global
Agenda for Sustainable Livestock since 2017.
“The right breed in the right production system is key
to sustainable dairy and beef production.”

Fritz Schneider, Chair of the Global Agenda for

Sustainable Livestock

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 We believe in sustainable development
Economic Growth
Long-lasting income over the
lifetime of the cow
Productive, heat-resistant and robust
cows adapted to grassland
Breed improvement to sustain value
creation

Animal & Human Health and Nutrition

Swiss breeds are selected to achieve
good production on pasture
Cows’ health and functionality are
essential to improve their longevity
Pasture-raised animals are healthier
for humans (feed no food)

Responsible production
The right breed adapted to the envi-
ronmental conditions builds resilience
Grassland cattle breeds contribute to
agro-biodiversity
Cows on pasture promote sustaina-
ble use of the terrestrial ecosystem

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 Genetic Diversity
Genetic diversity is required to meet current
production needs in various environments.
Swissgenetics is driving this forward through a more
comprehensive sire selection to meet the diverse
demands of breeders.
“Through our wide range of bulls from 14 breeds
we have created a unique and comprehensive
offering for breeders worldwide.”

Thomas Feitknecht,
Board Member and
Head of International Sales

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 Characteristics of Swiss Genetics
Altitude Robust Quiet
Adapted Genetics Tempe-
rament

Genetic Living Climatic

Diversity Tradition Resistancy

Deep Cow 91%

Beautiful Pasture-
Show-type Families
based

Highest Top Cross-

Fat and Mobility breeding
Protein
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 Our main breeds
Breed diversity offers a perfect solution for every breeding strategy. Swiss cattle have been used for centuries all
over the world.

We offer exclusive, robust breeds including Simmental (the original), Swiss Fleck vieh, Original Braunvieh in addition
to the common international breeds such as Holstein, Red Holstein and Brown Swiss.

We selected our dual-purpose, dairy and beef breeds to highlight their characteristics.

Please scan this QR-Code

for more information on
BreedOptimizer

Holstein Brown Swiss Red Holstein Original Braunvieh Swiss Fleckvieh Simmental
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 Which breed fits your needs? [Link]

Swiss Original Red Brown Original Simmental

Fleckvieh Braunvieh Simmental Holstein Swiss Holstein Limousin Angus Braunvieh Beef Beef

Milk & Meat Milk Meat

Fertility ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Fertility ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Protein ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Maturity ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Milk Production ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Calving Ease ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Udder Health ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Stature ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Meat Production ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Meat Production ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Lifetime ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Suckling ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Heat-resistance ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Heat-resistance ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Conformation ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Conformation ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Robustness ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Robustness ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Pasture/Grass ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• Pasture/Grass ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••
Feed types Feed types

Climate Climate

Altitude Altitude
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 Dual-purpose breed

Simmental
•• Swiss
Swiss origin
origin
•• Good
Good milk
milk and
and beef
beef performances
performances
•• Robust
Robust cows
cows with
with excellent
excellent fitness
fitness traits
traits

Simmental
Simmental is is an unproblematic long-living
an unproblematic long-living
dual-purpose
dual-purpose breed
breed with
with excellent
excellent fitness
fitness
traits. Simmental
traits. Simmental cattle
cattle are
are known
known forfor their
their
excellent metabolic
excellent metabolic stability.
stability. The
The breed
breed isis
particularly
particularly suitable for
suitable for extensive
extensive farming:
farming:
good
good adaptability to
adaptability to pasture and
pasture and ability
ability to
to
perform even
perform even under
under difficult production
difficult production
and management
and management conditions (originating
conditions (originating
from
from mountainous
mountainous regions)
regions) achieving
achieving aa
really
really high protein
high protein yield.
yield.

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 Peter Wyssmüller of Oberwil has won several shows. For him, this breed is
A SASCHA daughter won the price of Intermediate Champion at the
particularly suitable for extensive farming. They have a very good adaptability to
“Feria Regional Lambayeque” in 2017.
pasture and they are known for their excellent metabolic stability.

In England, Richard Harrison fell in love with these medium-sized cows, with
The Grand Champion Frédo CLAUDIA won the European Simmental Show
their good width, good muscularity and good udders. His herd is much healthier
in France ahead of other countries in 2018.
and he values the calm temperament of his cows.
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 Dual-purpose breed

Original Braunvieh
• Swiss origin
• Dual-purpose: milk and beef
• Robust cows with high longevity
• Heat-resistant

Original Braunvieh is a typical dual-

purpose dairy and beef breed. Swiss Original
Braunvieh cattle can be bred everywhere
thanks to their resilience, adaptability, fertility
and outstanding longevity. Another strength
are their healthy limbs and strong feet,
which are helpful in topographically
difficult regions.

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 Farmers choose Original Braunvieh when they want a robust cow, mostly for Modeste Ouadraogo, breeder and inseminator from Burkina Faso, finds the
extensive areas. This cow can go everywhere. It is able to cope with unfavorable cross-bred cows very resistant to the environment. They use the roughage fodder
climate, topographically difficult regions and poor fodder supply. better than others. This breed is more efficient in tropical conditions. They
produce milk and their beef capacity is incredible.

Original Braunvieh in Mexico has a good reputation thanks to the import of live Original Braunvieh in South Africa are particularly drought-resistant. Their
animals from Switzerland. Mexican breeders work extensively with semen doses production is good and the animals are more resistant. This cow is the progeny of
from Original Braunvieh bulls for beef production. a Swiss bull and is well adapted in the Bush Veldt.
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 Dual-purpose breed

Swiss Fleckvieh
• Swiss origin
• Long-living, milk focused cows
• Ideal for pasture and organic farming
• Excellent functional traits

Swiss Fleckvieh is a mid-sized, well-balanced,

high-yielding dairy cow, ideal for durable and
efficient production in a large variety of
settings. Swiss Fleckvieh breeding relies on
long-living cow families with good fitness traits
and udders. The cows are ideally suited to
pasturing and organic farming. They are
distinctive thanks to their strong
functional traits.

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 Adrian Stotzer loves the Swiss Fleckvieh because of its efficiency to produce meat In Kosovo Dr. Fitim Ahmeti appreciates the metabolic stability and the strong
and milk. His cows produce 7500 kg milk with his own grown fodder. health of his Swiss Fleckvieh cows.

The farm of Derfeser in Tirol began 30 years ago with the Swiss Fleckvieh. Their
These young cattle are growing on a grazing farm in Romania.
excellent udders, feet and legs allow him to sell them for a good price at auctions.
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 Dairy breed

Red & Black

Holstein
• High milk production
• High quality udders and feet and legs
• Top international ranking for performance
and type

Swiss Holstein is the right dairy cow to reach

top economic performance under favorable,
cost-effective production and top management
conditions. The combination of tightly attached
udders, top feet and legs makes the Swiss
Holstein a popular breed worldwide.

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 At the World Dairy Expo, Swiss Holstein breed shows strong characteristics. The Red Holstein from Switzerland are especially appreciated in Colombia because of
O’Kaliber daughter Erbacres Snapple SHAKIRA becomes Intermediate Champion. their deep family background.

Here in Estonia, the farm Tartu Agro has a highly efficient herd. His 160 cows are
Switzerland wins not only the individual contests but also the national team
producing 12 000 kg a year. The fitness criteria are very important which is why
competition at the last European Championship in Libramont, Belgium.
they choose Swiss bulls.
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 Dairy breed

Brown Swiss
• Longevity, healthy udders, heat resistance
• Ideal milk for cheese production
• Functional conformation

Brown Swiss cattle consistently stand out

thanks to their milk performance in different
production settings. Swiss animals are
renowned for their excellent morphology.
Thanks to their longevity, adaptability, fertility,
suitability for pasturing, favorable calving traits
and frugality, they are very popular with
customers all over the world.

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 The farm El Barroso from San Juan de los Lagos love the Brown Swiss for their
Eloc Biver RENNIE wins twice at World Dairy Expo.
beautiful conformation.

On the Australian farm of Andrew Burgoine, the cows have to walk 3 km in the Brown Swiss is the ideal breed for crossbreeding. Here in the Philippines, they
morning and in the evening in a particularly severe heat. cross Zebu with Brown Swiss for the robustness and strong feet and legs.
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 Beef breed

Angus
• High meat yield
• Excellent roughage feed conversion
• Extensive production systems

The typical beef-cattle breed Angus is naturally

polled and is unicoloured black or red. The
cattle have an early maturity, are medium-sized,
show a good muscularity and deep rounds.
Angus cows have good maternal
characteristics, are easy calving and have a
good milk yield. The quality of the meat is very
high as is the quality of the carcass. The cattle
have a very good roughage feed conversion
and are very well suited to extensive
production systems.

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 In Switzerland, Angus is used because it is known as the best
for semi-intensive beef production.

In Latvia, the good performance of Swiss Angus on large

grassland areas are highly valued.
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 Beef breed

Limousin
• Slim bone structure
• High meat yield
• Semi-intensive production systems

Limousin is unicoloured red to red-brown,

has a medium to early maturity and is medium
built. Typical for the breed is its slim bone
structure. The cows have good maternal
characteristics and good ease of calving. The
breed generates a high meat yield and is suited
to different production systems – mainly for
semi-intensive systems.

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 Limousin is the most popular beef breed in Switzerland.

Limousin in Hungary is highly valued for their beef quality.

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 Beef breed

Simmental Beef
• High meat yield
• High dairy gain
• Excellent roughage feed conversion

Simmental beef is a persistent dual-purpose

breed. With an early to medium maturity, the
breed is medium to large framed with a good
muscularity providing a good meat yield and a
good carcass quality. It shows a good milk yield
which is important for the calf. Thanks to its
good roughage ingestion capacity and good
ability to perform even under difficult
production and management conditions, the
breed has a good adaptability to pasture.

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 Simmental Beef is one of the most popular beef breeds used
around the world and is originally from Switzerland.

Our Partner in Pakistan, Mr. Salman Adil Khan, with a Simmental

bull, son of a Swissgenetics bull.
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 Beef breed

Original
Braunvieh Beef
• Suited to fattening at any age
• 100 % full-blooded pedigree
• In extremely wet or dry areas

Due to harsh environmental conditions and

Alpine farming, the Original Braunvieh beef is a
very versatile animal: robust, resilient, fertile,
long-living, efficient, adaptable and very well
balanced in its body shape and color. Its strong
feet and legs enable it to search for fodder
even in difficult areas with sparse grass and
few water sources. Its robust skin with thick
brown hair and its blue-black eye pigentation
can better tolerate extreme sunlight.

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 The Swiss Original Braunvieh Beef is renowned for use in
extensive areas. Its robustness and longevity are particularly
highly valued.

In Mexico ADONIS is used for its excellent beef quality.

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 Profitable Breeding Strategy
The use of beef on dairy is becoming increasingly popular.
Swissgenetics provides Proven Swiss Beef genetics.
This means that 500 first inseminations were made in
order to first obtain a reliable result for semen fertility
(non-return rate), calving ease and beef performance
(daily gain, muscular development and fat coverage).
The combination of sexed semen on the best cows and
beef on the rest guarantees faster genetics progress and
better financial returns.

SImmental LImousin ANgus

SILIAN offers higher fertility due to its composition of

the three individual breeds Simmental, Limousin and
Angus and is particularly suitable for use on cows with
reduced fertility. 26 27

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 Crossbreeding Options
The variety of production systems and selection schemes provides different options for
crossbreeding. Here two examples:

On high quality pasture For rougher conditions

Local Local
Brown Swiss Brown Swiss

F1 F1

Swiss Fleckvieh Simmental

F2 F2

✔ Higher fertility ✔ Top locomotion ✔ Highly adaptable ✔ Higher income with meat
✔ Pasture efficiency ✔ Increased robustness ✔ Higher fertility ✔ Pasture efficiency
26 27 ✔ Increased income ✔ Increased robustness

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 Swiss Quality

Swiss Quality
• Registered in Swiss Herd book
• Officially valued and respected
• The quality of Swissgenetics semen is certified
• Proven in Switzerland

100 % Swiss Origin

• Breed of pure origin
• Proven in Switzerland
• Registered in Swiss Herd Book
• Officially valued and respected
• The quality of Swissgenetics semen is certified
• Part of the Swiss testing system 28 29

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 Our Company

We offer our customers the best bovine genetics for their production
conditions and therefore make a sustainable contribution to their
economic success.

We guarantee the high quality of our products and services through

our comprehensive quality management.

Our strict internal standards exceed international standards and thus

make each semen straw a safe and effective product.

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 60 years of Success

1960 Foundation of the 1966 1995 New Animal 2004 The export business
Swiss Association for The freezing process Breeding Regulation opens is integrated and
Artificial Insemination is introduced the market for AI cooperation with SEMEX

2009 Bull SAVARD is the 2014 2015 2019

most widely used Red First Sexed Semen New Building of the Expansion of the 
Holstein bull worldwide in our own laboratory Rearing Station Production center
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 Swissgenetics
Worldwide
Swissgenetics
Swissgenetics assists
assists and
and develops
develops sustainable
sustainable
partnerships
partnerships and
and supports
supports projects
projects promoting
promoting
intelligent
intelligent breeding
breeding programs.
programs.
•• Consulting
Consulting
•• Reliable
Reliable Service
Service
•• Long-term
Long-term Success
Success
Swissgenetics
Swissgenetics exports
exports to to all
all continents
continents with
with Semex.
Semex.
Therefore,
Therefore, its
its products
products are are already
already present
present
in
in over
over 69
69 countries
countries worldwide
worldwide and and ensure
ensure
the
the best
best adapted
adapted genetics
genetics forfor breeders.
breeders.
Switzerland
Switzerland isis among
among the the 10
10 biggest
biggest
exporters
exporters ofof bovine
bovine semen!
semen!

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 International Consulting and Services
Swissgenetics leads and promotes know-how in artificial insemination in Switzerland and
in the world, both with theoretical and practical capacity building activities.

Cow Scoring in a Competition in Peru Farm visit in Switzerland AI-Training in Mongolia

Palpation excercise in Switzerland Organ theory course in Switzerland Selection of bulls in the headquarters 32

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 Our Solutions
Semen doses with
Sexed semen Young bulls with genomic
twice the lifespan of
produced at the stud breeding values
the conventional

Progeny tested For robotic application

Polled
beef bulls (Robot ready)

Appropriate
Dual-purpose Embryos
for pasture

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 Team International: Alizée Sauron, Ingmar Kummrow, Thomas Feitknecht, Angelo Pozzatti, Urs Spescha and Christina Meier Grossrieder

We share life
For more information: info@[Link] | +41 31 910 62 62
Swissgenetics | Meielenfeldweg 12 | 3052 Zollikofen | Switzerland
[Link]

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