Spring bull proof sees several new sires in top positions

The long-term leader in the proven Holstein rankings has been knocked off the top slot by a new bull, Mocon, earning a profitable lifetime index of £689.

This round of bull proofs sees the inclusion of three new genetic evaluations – lameness advantage, calf survival and the dairy carcass Index.

The Danish Jersey breed continues to dominate the spring calving index, taking nine out of 10 top slots, with the other going to British Friesian Catlane Caleb, the number-one bull of the British Friesian breed.

Holstein Bulls with genomic indexes ranked on profitable lifetime index (PDF)

Top 20 daughter-proven Holstein bulls ranked on profitable lifetime index (PDF)

Top five bulls for non-Holstein breeds ranked on profitable lifetime index (PDF)

Top 20 daughter-proven bulls ranked on spring-calving index (PDF)

Proven Holstein list

The German-bred top bull Mocon is a Morgan son and maternal grandson of Snowman. His predicted transmitting ability (PTA) features a very favourable maintenance index of -22, indicating his daughters have relatively low maintenance costs for feed, as well as high milk production (826kg) and low somatic cell counts (SCC), scoring -23.

See also: More dairy farming news and information

He knocked Lavaman (PLI £684) intro second position. Lavaman scored highly on the new evaluation of lameness advantage – his score of +6.7 indicates that 6.7% fewer Lavaman daughters are predicted to have lameness incidents than a bull with a score of 0.

Next in the rankings at number three, is S-S-I Shamrock Mystic (£654 PLI) with a very high daughter fertility index (+19.8).

He is closely followed by De-Su 11236 Balisto (£652 PLI) in fourth place, who now has 473 UK daughters contributing to his production figures.

Of all the top 20 bulls, Balisto scores the highest in the TB advantage evaluation (+3.3), meaning his progeny display greater TB resistance than their cohorts. Also of note is high protein score (30.6kg).

In fifth position is View-Home Littlerock (PLI £646).

Genomic young sires

The genomic young sire rankings sees Mr Rubi-Agronaut still in top position, but now sharing this with ABS Outback, both bulls earning a PLI of £814.

Agronaut’s index features high milk quality (predicted transmitting ability (PTA)) +0.24% fat and +0.10% protein and the highest type merit, at +3.12, amongst the top £PLI bulls.

The joint leader, De-Su 13050 Spectre son Outback ranked particularly well for low feed costs for maintenance (-2) as well as a strong rating for the newly released lameness advantage at +2.3.

In third position is another De-Su 13050 Spectre son, ABS Crimson (£784 PLI), whose milk production PTS scores feature 952kg milk with an incredible 49.7kg fat and 32.5kg protein.

In fourth and fifth place respectively, are the familiar names of VH Balisto Brook (PLI £783) and Peak AltaDepot (PLI £781).

Spring calving index

As was the case in the December bull proofs, the Jersey breed continues to dominate the ranking for spring calving index (£SCI), which places a strong emphasis on fertility, longevity, reduced maintenance costs and milk quality rather than volume.

AHDB Dairy is advising grazing-based spring calvers to select bulls for breeding based on £SCI.

In first and second position there were two new bulls. Leading the rankings is Jersey sire, Danish VJ Tester (SCI £510) who transmits high daughter fertility (+12.4) and high fat and protein milk components (+0.67% and +0.24%, respectively).

He also stands out for favourable somatic cell counts (SCC -11) and lower maintenance daughters (maintenance index -62).

Ranking second is Danish VJ Blanke Jason Janko (SCI £492) who also transmits high fat and protein percent (0.55% fat, 0.25% protein) and good daughter lifespans (LS +0.6).

British Friesian, Catlane Caleb (SCI £459) who stands out for his high daughter fertility index (+16.5) is the only non-jersey sire in the top 10.

Other breeds

Jersey

The Jersey ranking sees a new leader in Danish VJ Blanke Jason Janko (PLI £572). This bull has a high fertility index (+4.8), strong lifespan index (+0.4) and high type merit score at +1.6, combined with favourable indexes in SCC (-20) and mastitis (-3).

 With a PLI of £546, Danish VJ Tudvad ranks second, noted for his production with PTAs including 20.9kg fat, 9.4kg protein, +0.36% fat and +0.16% protein.

In third to fifth positions, are:

• Third Golden GDK Vivaldi (PLI £541)
• Fourth Sunset Canyon Dazzler (PLI £538)
• Fifth VJ Link (PLI £508)

British Friesian

The British Friesian leader remains unchanged with Catlane Caleb (PLI £457) keeping his number-one position. Moving up from fourth to second place though, is Catlane Cromwell (PLI £374) who has the best fitness in the top five at SCC -11, mastitis -4, lifespan +0.5 and fertility index +7.0.

In third to fifth positions are:

• Third Raheenarran BCG Sochar (PLI £349)
• Fouth Skyhigh Patrol (PLI £339)
• Fifth Inch Number One (PLI £319)

Ayrshire

Also with an unchanged leader is the Ayrshire ranking, led by VR Gunnarstorp Back Gobel (PLI £527). Back Gobel has the best daughter fertility (FI +15) and lifespan scores (LS +0.5) in the top five and also cuts mastitis (Mast -3).

Climbing from fourth position to second is, VR Oýòja Storegaýôrd Hasl Hat (PLI £450). This bull transmits the highest production in the top five (682kg milk, 24.4kg fat, 26.0kg protein).

In third to fifth positions, are:

• Third Pell Pers (PLI £443)
• Fourth Gunnarstorp (PLI £442)
• Fifth VR Dansjo Haslev Hammer (PLI £438)