Three young sires makes their debut amonst proven top 10

The number one position in the new Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) rankings for daughter-proven Holstein bulls is held by long-term leader Gen-I-Beq Lavaman.

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This bull has almost 100 more UK daughters contributing to his figures since they were published by AHDB Dairy last August, now clocking up more than 1,000 milking in the UK. He earns a PLI of £690, reflecting his balanced breeding profile, with a very high Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) for protein percent (+0.18%) and low daughter maintenance costs (-9).

In second position is a bull which makes his debut in the proven bull rankings in the shape of Mocon. Bred in Germany to a daughter of Snowman, his sire is Morgan, giving him both Bookem and Shottle in his pedigree. With a PLI of £679, Mocon has a PTA which combines high weight of milk (839kg) and protein (28.5kg), alongside low cell counts (-23) and favourable daughter maintenance (-19), reflecting his daughters’ smaller than average stature.

Teemar Shamrock Alphabet edges up to third place with outstanding fitness attributes including daughter fertility (Fertility Index 21.1) and good calving ease (both direct and maternal). Low maintenance costs (-23) and a high Lifespan Index of +0.7 help to earn him a PLI of £668.

Cell count and fertility improver, S-S-I Shamrock Mystic holds on to fourth position (PLI £640), closely followed by VH Cole Clark, another fitness specialist with 21.2 FI, +0.8 Lifespan and a PLI of £634.

Sixth place goes to De-Su 11236 Balisto, now with over 200 UK daughters contributing to his proof and a PLI of £628.

New in seventh position is the former genomic young sire, De-Su Penley 11839, a Seagull-Bay Platinum son with exceptional udder health credentials at -38 SCC and -6 Mastitis. His PLI is £621.

In eighth place is De-Su Rookie 11057 (PLI £616) ahead of high type transmitter, EDG Rubicon, with a TM of 2.92 and a PLI of £612.

Rounding off the top 10 is new entry, View-Home Littlerock (by Cashcoin) whose well-balanced figures are wrapped up in a PLI of £603.

“Proven sires continue to offer high reliability for those breeders who wish to continue to keep a proportion of their herds bred to sires which have daughter records,” says Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy. “However, for others, they will serve as reassurance that genomic indexes are reliable indicators of future performance as many of the bulls entering the daughter-proven ranking today, began life as young genomic sires whose genetic predictions were based on their DNA.

“The reliability those genomic predictions offer is increasingly evident as young bulls move reliably up the rankings and will give confidence to those producers who wish to benefit from the genetic advantage young sires can bring.”

Top milk quality bull continues to lead young Holstein ranking

One of the top milk quality improvers of the Holstein breed, Mr Rubi-Agronaut, leads the way amongst genomic, young sires in the new AHDB Dairy indexes, with a December 2017 Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) of £812. Retaining the position he has held throughout the year, Agronaut transmits fat and protein percentages at +0.22% and +0.09% respectively, and also has the highest Type Merit of the top 20 sires at +3.12. This type score reflects the new emphasis on bulls with smaller stature in Holstein UK’s newly revised Type Merit formula.

Climbing into second place is Claynook Casper (Hang-Time x Bombero). Like all of the top £PLI sires, Casper scores strongly for both daughter fertility (Fertility Index +13.4) and daughter lifespan (LS +0.7 lactations).

VH Balisto Brook holds on to third spot, transmitting a massive weight of fat at +40.5kg and excellent udder health, with -36 for Somatic Cell Count and -6 for Mastitis.

Fourth ranking is Peak AltaDepot, another strong udder health bull, who also has excellent daughter fertility (+17.6) and the highest Lifespan Index in the breed at +0.9. This indicates his daughters last nearly a full lactation longer, on average, than those of a bull with a zero score for LS – a benefit which will accumulate down the generations.

Former number one sire, Westcoast Perseus holds his position in the top five with a PLI of £788 and high protein percentage (+0.11%), and stands ahead of the first brand new bull in the top 10. This new entry, Progenesis Doctor, rates very favourably for reducing maintenance feed cost for his daughters (-6) and has a high milk Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) at 811kg.

UK-bred Prehen Lancaster is another favourable daughter maintenance transmitter at
-3, reaffirming his position amongst the world’s best. With an excellent daughter Fertility Index of +17.4, he can also be expected to improve a herd’s reproductive performance.

In equal eighth place is Progenesis Padawan, a high milk bull (956kg), transmitting particularly high protein (32.2kg). Sharing eight position is Leaninghouse Helix who has good all round PTAs and a PLI of £773.

A newcomer to the rankings rounds off the top 10 in the shape of G-DeRuyter AltaNitro. This son of Bacon-Hill Pety Modesty x Morningview MCC Kingboy offers high production and good health across the board, earning a PLI of £757.

Other new entrants with some stand-out figures amongst the top 20 include the high percentage protein improver (+0.13%), NH Sunview Fantastic (Flattop x Balisto) and Cal-Roy-Al Yoda (Jedi x Yoder), transmitting massive production of 1,082kg milk with 48.7kg fat and 38.8kg protein.

Commenting on the new figures, Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy, says: “Holstein breeders are in a fortunate position to have access to such top quality genetics, giving great opportunities to improve daughter fertility, udder health and longevity alongside production.

“Breeders are reminded, however, to watch out for increased maintenance feed costs for the taller Holstein bulls. AHDB provides the Maintenance Index to indicate which bulls, on average, increase maintenance feed costs for their daughters (positive figures), and which reduce this cost (negative figures).

“Breeders are advised to make their initial selection of bulls based on their £PLIs, but to drill down through the figures to ensure the bulls they choose are suited to the particular needs of their herd.”

OTHER BREEDS

The domination of the British Friesian bull rankings by the Catlane herd continues unabated, as the removal from the market of long-term leader, Catlane Chad, makes way for his herd-mates. Bred in the heart of England close to Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, it is Catlane Caleb who rises to the top of the Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking published today (5 December, 2017) by AHDB Dairy.

Moving up from second position, Caleb is a low volume, high milk quality bull who transmits excellent fat and protein percentages (+0.33% fat and +0.15% protein). He also offers calving ease (his dCE of 1.7% is the best in the top five) and improves the fertility of his daughters (Fertility Index 5.6).

Higher production is on offer from the number two British Friesian, Kirkby Major, who weighs in with a Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) of 255kg milk, 17.9kg fat and 12.1kg protein. Representing the best milk solids transmission in the top five, Major also offers good udder health and positive Type Merit (TM). His PLI is £370.

Remaining at number three is the high Type Merit Kirkby Jupiter with a PLI of £362 and TM of 2.44.

In fourth position is the only new entrant to the top five, Catlane Cromwell. With a PLI of £344, Cromwell is the best improver of udder health and daughter fertility at the top of the ranking.

Unchanged in fifth position is Skyhigh Patrol with a PLI of £323. His PTA shows a good cross-section of milk solids, fitness and Type Merit (TM 1.69).

Jersey

The Jersey breed sees little reranking since the August proof run, with VJ Hilario retaining his number one position with a PLI of £572. Offering high production (PTA milk of 318kg and protein of 15.5kg are the best in the top five), he also transmits good udder health (-17 SCC Index) and outstanding daughter fertility (Fertility Index 15).

New in joint second place is Golden GDK Vivaldi with a PLI of £543. Offering remarkably high weights of fat and protein (31.9kg and 15.3kg respectively), he will also improve milk quality with +0.44% fat and +0.18% protein. Adding good feet, leg and udder traits into the mix, he scores a Type Merit of 1.1.

Moving up from third to share second place is the exceptional fitness bull, Danish VJ Tudvad with a PLI of £543. His udder health transmission is the best in the top five (-27 SCC, -4 Mast) while he is also good for daughter fertility and a solid improver of percent fat (+0.38%).

Fourth and fifth placed Jerseys are both bulls from the top five in the previous proof run in the shape of Sunset Canyon Dazzler (PLI £538) and VJ Link (PLI £522). Both bulls offer a combination of production, fitness and fertility while Dazzler has the best leg, feet and udder traits and the highest overall Type Merit (TM 1.9) in the top five.

Ayrshire

The Ayrshire top five is dominated by red bulls from the Nordic countries which represents little change since the previous proof run. With all transmitting the good daughter health and fertility for which this region of the world is renowned, their scores for mammary conformation do not always reach the level for which the Ayrshire breed has built its reputation.

VR Gunnarstorp Backen Gobel continues to lead the way with a PLI of £564. Offering solid production and exceptional daughter fertility, he holds his lead over Pell Pers, who remains ranked second (PLI £491).

The high type Gunnarstorp remains in third position (PLI £451, TM 2.1) while fourth-ranking VR Oýòja Storegaýôrd Hasl Hat (PLI £447) transmits the highest weight of milk, fat and protein in the top five.

Rounding off the red-and-white top five is VR Dansjo Haslev Hammer with a PLI of £439.

“There is a great deal of variety on offer from the breeds other than Holstein and many of these bulls have genetic attributes which are of value in both pure- and cross-breeding programmes,” says Fern Pearston, animal genetics manager for AHDB Dairy. “However, users are reminded that indexes for each breed are not expressed on the same base as any other, nor on the base of the Holstein breed.

“In other words, for every trait, a figure of zero represents the average for that breed, but bears no relation to the average of any other breed. This means that each of the rankings provided should only be considered as a comparison within that breed and not used as a comparison with any other,” she says.

SPRING CALVING INDEX

The Jersey breed continues to dominate the ranking for Spring Calving Index (£SCI) published today (5 December, 2017) by AHDB Dairy. Designed to identify those bulls whose daughters are suited to spring block calving systems which place a heavy reliance on summer grazing, it is the bulls which excel for milk quality, daughter fertility and have low maintenance costs which stand out from the crowd.

Expressed on an across-breed basis and therefore using a different scale from those used for each individual breed, an impressive nine of the top 10 bulls are Danish Jerseys. It is Denmark’s long-term emphasis on breeding efficient and healthy cows which is reaping rewards for UK grazing systems.

The sole outsider is the breed-leading British Friesian bull, Catlane Caleb, who weighs in with a particularly impressive daughter Fertility Index.

Other notable features of the £SCI ranking include the appearance of the number one daughter-proven Holstein bull, Gen-I-Beq Lavaman, ranked 11th, who offers substantially higher production but also higher maintenance costs than his Jersey counterparts. And three further Holsteins in the top 15 will substantially increase milk volume, while one – the newcomer, Mocon – is also the stand-out improver of Somatic Cell Count.  

“When comparing bulls across the breeds using £SCI, it is vitally important for the user to keep sight of his milk contract and breeding objectives,” says Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy. “As with any across-breed listing, it offers the scope to compare the attributes of one breed against another but there is such a wide range of bull types within the listing that it is perhaps more important that in any other situation to be certain of selecting the right bull to breed cows which will suit the farming system.”

Full details are on the AHDB Dairy website at dairy.ahdb.org.uk