British breeds push to top of DairyCo bull proofs
The last DairyCo bull proofs to be released for 2013 show more British bred bulls coming to the fore.
UK breeding of dairy bulls is heading in the right direction, with the December bull proofs revealing three of the top 10 daughter-proven bulls to be home-bred.
Of the three bulls – Ballycairn Oman Pello, Sherdon Irresistable and Cogent Twist – Irresistable will attract the most interest amongst producers, as he is a newcomer to the top 10 Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) ranking (he rises to third from 15th position) and has an outcross pedigree.
Bred by Jerry Palmer in Devon, he has no Oman, Shottle, Goldwyn or Planet in his pedigree. A son of Cogent Maestro, Irresistable has plenty of health and fitness in his pedigree and is predicted to transmit good fertility, low cell counts and long lifespans on to his daughters. His PLI is an impressive £255, while other highlights include nearly 40kg fat and positive components.
Ahead of Irresistable, the German-bred Guarini retains his number one position for PLI, rising to £268 and maintains his good Type Merit at 2.29, while Pello, ranked second, adds even more production to his high-performance index. Now with 1,104kg milk, 43.7kg fat and 35.8kg protein, he combines this phenomenal production with one of the lowest cell count indexes in the top 20 and ease of calving.
Beneath third-ranking Irresistable, a top-20 newcomer makes his debut, in the shape of the Danish-bred, VH Tirvad Goldwyn Grafit. Like Guarini, he is a Goldwyn son, and is predicted to transmit plenty of quality milk along with good health and fertility across the board, as well as a Type Merit of 1.88. On the strength of his original genomic figures he has already been used as a sire of sons in Denmark.
Genomic sire rankings
The December ranking of genomic sires features many young bulls who are starting to become familiar and a smattering of newcomers to liven up the pack.
Retaining his number one position is the Robust son, De-Su RB Moonray, a top fat improver at 46.1kg, whose transmission of health, fertility and conformation earn him a PLI of £292.
Sharing second position are Mr Moviestar Mardi Gras and Hoanster Zanzibar, each with a PLI of £278.
Mardi Gras is a son of genomic sire, Mogul, and out of a Planet daughter from the Rudy Missy family. The high type transmission predicted for Mardi Gras is a particular feature, as he weighs in with a Type Merit of 3.66.
Hoanster Zanzibar features a slightly different pedigree as an RMW Armitage x Laeschway Jet Bowser from the Rud Zip family. Zanzibar, like many of the top genomic young sires, specialises in improving daughter health, with a low Somatic Cell Count Index and among the best for daughter fertility (Fertility Index 6.4).
Commenting on the genomic sires DairyCo’s Marco Winters says: “These young genomic sires continue to represent a big step up from most of the daughter-proven sires and I’d urge dairy producers who are keen to make genetic progress to consider a selection for their herds. The reliability of their production indexes is about 67% which is sufficiently high for most producers to feel comfortable with their use.
“By using a selection of young sires, rather than focussing heavily on a few, worthwhile progress can be expected while minimising the risk.”
Other breeds:
For breeds other than Holstein there has been stability within the Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) rankings where British Friesians in particular have remained rock solid.
Deangate Tarquin retains his position as the number one bull of the breed thanks to his consistently good production figures and excellent fitness traits which come together in a PLI of £202.
Jersey
The Jersey top five sees a slight reshuffle, with DJ Broiler regaining the lead thanks to an increase in his Lifespan Index to +0.5. He now has a PLI of £223, with solid all-round transmitting ability, and his gain pushes VJ Lure into second position.
Ayrshire
Finnish bulls keep control of the Ayrshire ranking with V Foske still featuring as the number one sire with a PLI of £198. He is followed by Gunnarstorp (PLI £184) in second, while joint third are Asmo Andrei and Swedish Red, Pell Pers (PLI £168).
Brown Swiss
For the Brown Swiss breed, Huray retains the top position with a PLI of £228. This high milk transmitter also has good figures for lifespan and daughter fertility, at 0.6 and 9.5 respectively.
Second place is Vinold and new in third spot is German bred, Hegall, whose early daughter information lifts his PLI to £168.
Download the pdf of the 2013 DairyCo bull proofs