Oman and sons still dominate Holstein proofs
O-Bee Manfred Justice (Oman) bloodlines have continued to dominate the recent Holstein bull proofs from DairyCo.
Oman himself retains his number-one position, leaving a trail of his sons behind him.
Low cell counts, good fertility, ease of calving, reduced lameness and long lifespan are characteristics of the Oman bloodlines and are reflected in the £PLI formula, says DairyCo.
But farmers looking for an alternative to Oman will have to dig deep. In second spot is his son, Man-O-Man, and in third position is the relative newcomer, UFM-Dubs AltaEsquire – another Oman son. Close behind him is long-term all-rounder Braedale Goldwyn.
But DairyCo’s Marco Winters is unperturbed by the continued dominance of Oman. “These bloodines provide a means to improve health, welfare and fitness in the UK.
“Farmers who have already heavily invested in these bloodlines will need to look elsewhere, but already there are sons of bulls such as Shottle, Goldwyn, Ramos and Lauden coming through.
“These will help maintain genetic variation and meet a range of breeding objectives,” he says.
But whatever a farmer’s aspirations, breeders should aim to shortlist on £PLI in the first instance, he says.
New highest-ranked British bull
A new highest-ranked British bull should provide some relief from Oman dominance.
Cogent Elvina has a £PLI of £158 and a PTA strong for milk solids and daughter fertility. He also has the further attraction of being an outcross pedigree as the first son of Cogent Mastro, while his maternal line descends from the well-known Lou Etta family.
Top 10 Holstein bulls ranked by £PLI
£PLI | Bull Name | Rel% | Milk(kg) | Fat(%) | Prot(%) | SCC | LS | FI | dCE% | Supplier |
246 | O-Bee Manfred Justice | 99 | 601 | 0.06 | 0.07 | -21 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 3.4 | Dairy Daughters |
220 | Long-Langs Oman Oman | 72 | 665 | 0.04 | 0.09 | -8 | 0.1 | -1.3 | 2.5 | World Wide Sires |
216 | Ufm-Dubs Altaesquire | 71 | 443 | 0.21 | 0.09 | -6 | 0.1 | 2.9 | 1.9 | Alta |
215 | Braedale Goldwyn | 99 | 307 | 0.12 | 0.06 | -27 | 0.4 | 3.6 | -0.1 | Semex |
207 | Timmer Tyson | 78 | 35 | 0.33 | 0.17 | -19 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 3.5 | Avoncroft |
206 | Crockett-Acres Eight | 73 | 443 | 0.04 | 0.08 | -25 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 2.6 | Semex |
205 | Morningview Legend | 73 | 393 | 0.07 | 0.11 | -8 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | Genus |
200 | Co-Op Oman Logan | 71 | 731 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -18 | 0.3 | -0.7 | 1.8 | Bullsemen.com |
199 | Mainstream Manifold | 72 | 665 | 0.03 | 0.01 | -6 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.4 | Semex |
192 | Wizzard | 81 | 441 | 0.21 | 0.03 | 2 | 0.2 | 3.3 |
| Alta |
• Take a look at our step-by-step guide to using bull proofs to see what it all means
• For the full Holstein bull proof list, visit the DairyCo breeding+ site