Delta Canvas remains top in bull rankings

Once again top spot in the MDC breeding+ Holstein PLI ranking remains unchanged with Dutch bull Delta Canvas as top sire, although his PLI has slipped by 6 to 79.


And while Canvas may have negative percentage figures for both fat and protein, his daughters can produce high volumes of these constituents, explains Marco Winters of MDC breeding+.


Joint second in the rankings are another pair of Dutch bulls, Holim Rafael and Loe Martin.


While only available in Northern Ireland, Rafael has an impressive PLI of 76 and an SCC figure of -12.


Martin offers a milk figure of 934kg, the third highest among the top 10.


But breeders looking for yield boosting potential may want to look further down the list, with Watergate Delta offering a milk value of 1118kg – more than 100kg higher than the nearest rival, 1st placed bull Canvas.


Top ranking UK-tested sire is once again Moet Lookout, who ranks eighth with a PLI of 73, a fall of 2 on the August rankings.


Lookout is another good performer on SCC with a value of -11.


“And the continued high ranking of Lookout and other UK-tested sires just outside the top 10 is testament to the strength of the UK proving system,” he says.


New to the top 10 this ranking is Ricecrest Boone, a bull who has been in the rankings for several years but has previously failed to break into the upper echelons.


“Boone’s rapid rise is due to the addition of more foreign daughter information and with a fat value of 28.6kg, he is one of the best performing bulls for this constituent,” explains Mr Winters.


Also published on the MDC breeding+ website www.mdc.org.uk this week are the new genetic rankings for specialist breeds.


jonathan.long@rbi.co.uk

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