New young sire heads up genomic proofs
A handful of new young genomic sires will set pulses racing among the Holstein breeders who want to be at the genetic cutting edge.
The latest genomic proofs – which were launched for the first time in the UK in April – have a new number one bull which blends a mixture of bloodlines that will interest many.
Rosylane-LLC Altabarney is a Freddie cross Planet cross Ramos and consequently brings the prospect of high production together with exceptional daughter health and fertility. His genomic Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) is £254.
Equal second ranking are Lavaman and Cashcoin (both with PLIs of £251) which alter their positions little since the previous index run, while fourth ranking Synergy AltaPilnser is another newcomer with a pedigree offering something different. A Jives son (which himself is a young sire by Jeeves out of a Shottle dam), out of a Planet cross Oman dam, Pilsner traces back to the famous Lou Etta family. His PLI is £249.
The remaining bulls in the young sire top 10 all featured in the top 10 last August, while four further newcomers have made it to the top 20. These bulls are: Currajugle Gonozo (Planet cross Oman; PLI £236); Gen-I-Beq Aikman (Snowman cross Baxter; PLI £234); Leothe Dexterman (Man Oman cross Baxter; PLI £233) and No-Fla AltaEverglade (Massey cross Oman; PLI £230).
UK bulls which continue to feature in the top 50 are Willsbro Gateau (PLI £230); Denmire Merchandise (PLI £225); Refined Mineral (PLI £218) and Relough Generate (PLI £215).
Marco Winters, head of genetics with DairyCo says some of these bloodlines give UK breeders the chance to make rapid genetic progress.
“I would encourage all producers to consider using a cross-section of these new bulls,” he says.
“But they should use them with their eyes wide open, as their indexes have been calculated from their DNA rather than their daughter performance, which gives most of them a reliability score of of between 65 and 70%.
“These bulls can make an important contribution to breeding programmes in UK herds, but it is recommended that each individual is used sparingly and as part of a mix of young and daughter-proven sires.”
Top 25 Holstein bulls with genomic indexes ranked on PLI
R | Bull name | R% | M (kg) | F (%) | P (%) | SCC | LS | FI | dCE | TM | |
1 | 254 | ROSYLANE | 68 | 682 | 0.03 | 0.03 | -19 | 0.5 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 1.36 |
2 | 251 | GEN-I-BEQ LAVAMAN | 68 | 423 | 0.16 | 0.14 | -15 | 0.2 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 1.87 |
2 | 251 | FARNEAR | 65 | 629 | 0.07 | 0.00 | -24 | 0.5 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 2.69 |
4 | 249 | SYNERGY ALTAPILSNER | 65 | 600 | 0.08 | 0.06 | -13 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 1.65 |
5 | 248 | FARNEAR | 65 | 495 | 0.09 | 0.03 | -28 | 0.5 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 3.01 |
6 | 242 | VELTHUIS | 68 | 740 | 0.05 | 0.01 | -18 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.23 |
6 | 242 | BOLDI V LIGHTSNOW | 68 | 883 | 0.07 | 0.00 | -16 | 0.3 | -2.7 | 0.0 | 1.79 |
8 | 238 | DE-SU FREDDIE GALAXY-ET | 68 | 867 | -0.03 | -0.04 | -22 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 2.86 |
9 | 237 | PIROLO SOLEMIO | 68 | 568 | 0.10 | 0.04 | -17 | 0.3 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 2.37 |
9 | 237 | BUTZ-BUTLER SHOTGLASS-ET | 68 | 1094 | -0.07 | -0.06 | -28 | 0.3 | -1.2 | 0.4 | 2.50 |
11 | 236 | CURRAJUGLE GONZO | 69 | 893 | -0.03 | -0.03 | -9 | 0.4 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 1.29 |
11 | 236 | GENERVATIONS LEXOR | 68 | 670 | 0.06 | 0.07 | -12 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 2.20 |
11 | 236 | DE-SU BKM MCCUTCHEN 1174 | 65 | 595 | 0.08 | 0.02 | -19 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 3.21 |
14 | 234 | GEN-I-BEQ AIKMAN | 68 | 884 | 0.06 | -0.01 | -21 | 0.2 | -3.0 | 0.7 | 2.12 |
15 | 233 | LEOTHE DEXTERMAN | 68 | 549 | 0.18 | 0.08 | -14 | 0.2 | -0.6 | 0.9 | 1.39 |
15 | 233 | LADYS-MANOR RD GRAFEETI | 68 | 474 | 0.14 | 0.01 | -23 | 0.4 | 6.6 | 0.4 | 3.04 |
17 | 230 | WILLSBRO GATEAU | 68 | 661 | 0.04 | 0.05 | -13 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 2.22 |
17 | 230 | NO-FLA ALTAEVERGLADE-ET | 68 | 516 | 0.12 | 0.05 | -17 | 0.3 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 1.33 |
17 | 230 | AMIGHETTI NUMERO UNO | 68 | 542 | 0.10 | -0.01 | -27 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 2.68 |
17 | 230 | SEAGULL-BAY SUPERSIRE | 65 | 926 | 0.01 | -0.04 | -12 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 1.66 |
21 | 228 | HOLBRA PAMAN | 71 | 238 | 0.23 | 0.14 | -15 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.04 |
21 | 228 | ELVYS ISY | 69 | 663 | 0.03 | 0.01 | -22 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.04 |
23 | 227 | FUSTEAD ALTASAMOA | 69 | 715 | 0.04 | -0.02 | -22 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.56 |
24 | 226 | WELCOME GLENTON | 68 | 376 | 0.07 | 0.07 | -18 | 0.6 | 4.1 | 0.0 | 2.12 |
24 | 226 | HAMMER-CREEK FRED KRUNCH-ET | 68 | 794 | -0.09 | -0.04 | -20 | 0.5 | 6.4 | 0.9 | 2.69 |
24 | 226 | COOKIECUTTER HEFTY | 68 | 787 | 0.00 | 0.05 | -13 | 0.1 | -0.7 | 0.4 | 2.43 |
Read how bulls ranked in the December 2012 proofs