Dairy bull proofs: Captain reclaims top spot with PLI of £950

A profitable lifetime index (PLI) of £950 and outstanding environmental credentials have pushed young sire Genosource Captain back up to number one in AHDB Dairy’s latest genomic rankings.

Captain led the rankings throughout 2020 and most of 2021. He has the highest feed advantage score of the top 20 sires, at 264.

This means his daughters are predicted to eat 264kg less dry matter (DM) in each lactation than those giving comparable production by sired by a bull with an average feed advantage score.

This is the first time feed advantage has been included in the calculation of PLI and reflects the growing importance of feed efficiency in the dairy industry, according to the AHDB.

A digital dermatitis index is also now part of the PLI calculation, in the drive for better animal health and welfare.

Captain’s score of 0.7% means his daughters will have, on average, a 0.7% lower incidence of digital dermatitis than those by an average (0%) digital dermatitis index sire.

Top five

Captain also scores highly for EnviroCow, the index that brings together several efficiency traits into one figure, as well as passing high milk production and good fertility to his daughters.

In second place is Denovo 3709 Charter with a PLI of £928. An early son of Denovo 15953 Chalet, Charter transmits high fat and has a good prediction for calf survival, at +2.5.

A PLI of £916 earns new entrant Progenesis Raptors third spot. A son of AltaPlinko, his maintenance index of -22 contributes to a feed advantage of 222.

Winstar Greycup is in fourth place, with a PLI of £903, and is closely followed by Peak Breaking News, which went straight to number one in last December’s rankings.

Breaking News has the best udder health credentials in the top 20 with a genetic index for somatic cell count of -35 and mastitis of -4. He also has an impressive daughter fertility index of +11.9.

Top 10

New at six is Denovo 17625 Benefit, whose PLI of £901 reflects his all-round genetic credentials, including a high predicted transmitting ability (PTA) for fat at 55.9kg.

In seventh place is Peak AltaAlanzo, with a PLI of £899 and a protein PTA of 38.2kg.

UK-bred newcomer and good all-rounder Cogent Koepon Rocky, a son of Captain, is eighth, with a PLI of £894.

Winstar Graziano’s good milk quality earns him ninth place, while former number 20 sire, Siemers Brave, and newcomer Genosource Capn McGuire share 10th place, both with a PLI of £886.

“Genomic indexes have been calculated in the UK by the AHDB for 10 years this month, so the methodology is truly tried and tested,” says Marco Winters, AHDB’s head of animal genetics.

“Today, some 70% of dairy semen sold in the UK is from young genomic sires. These are sires which, as a group, offer the highest genetic potential and have the scope to generate significant genetic improvement within any herd.

“However, young sires should always be used with an understanding of their risk and reward,” he adds. “This means ideally using them as a team, checking bloodlines for their relationship to cows in your herd, and selecting them for the strengths they will transmit to meet your particular needs.”

Proven Holstein ranking

Denovo 14566 Crosby is the new number one daughter-proven sire in the PLI rankings.

A former top-ranking genomic sire and son of DG Charley, he has a PLI of £777 and an exceptional calf survival index of +6%.

He also has an udder health indexes of -22 for somatic cell count and -2 for mastitis, and good resistance to bovine TB, with a TB advantage score of +4.4.

Former number-one proven sire Westcoast Yamaska moves into second place. His outstanding protein PTAs and good daughter fertility index of +9.1 help earn him a PLI of £761.

In third position is Bomaz Montreal, the highest fat transmitter in the ranking, at 54.7kg and +0.36%, with a PLI of £747. He also has a good lameness advantage (+3.0) and a strong rating for EnviroCow, at +3.6.

Climbing to fourth place is S-S-I PR Renegade, with a PLI of £729, a high daughter fertility index of +11.1 and 32.8kg PTA fat.

And, in fifth, is Pine-Tree-I Pursuit, with a high daughter lifespan of +162 days, a good HealthyCow index of 247 and the highest type merit in the top 20, at +2.06.

Sixth position is shared between ABS Zebedee and Denovo 8084 Entity, each with a PLI of £709. ABS Crimson, with a PLI of £705, is in eighth place, along with UK-bred Stowey Magician.

And in 10th place is another newcomer to have held a high-ranking position within the genomic figures, Melarry Frazz Arrowhead.

Spring calving index

A slightly increased penalty against heavy cows in grazing-based systems in the newly adjusted spring calving index (SCI) has created more changes than usual in the rankings.

The new number one sire is Danish Jersey bull VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet, with an SCI of £537.

His top place reflects his daughters’ predicted milk quality, fertility and lifespan, as well as their smaller size and lower maintenance costs.

Hamlet was in 14th place in the December proofs and pushes Holstein bull Progenesis Unicorn into second place with an SCI of £534. Unicorn’s outstanding feature is his daughter fertility index.

In third place is another Holstein, VH Balisto Brixton, with an SCI of £528, while fourth-placed Westcoast Yamaska (SCI £526) is the top production bull of the leading group.

Another Jersey bull, Danish VJ Zummit, is in fifth position. He transmits high milk quality and his daughters have even lower maintenance costs than Hamlet’s. His SCI is £525.

Sixth-ranking Jersey VJ Skolvad Dau Dandi is a newcomer to the ranking, with an SCI of £509. He also scores well on PLI.

In seventh place is the Holstein bull ABS Sassafras, with an SCI of £507, while another new Jersey, VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster, ranks eighth.

His SCI of £506 comes partly from high milk quality and low maintenance costs for feed.

Jersey sire Danish VJ Raastrup HIHL Gislev moves up 36 places to ninth, with an SCI of £505.

And New Zealand bull Glenui Degree Hoss jumps to 10th place as a result of his daughters’ high-quality milk and low maintenance costs. His SCI is £497.

Autumn calving index

Holsteins dominate the top spots in the autumn calving index (ACI). This index is designed to breed the most profitable daughters in a largely winter milk production system.

High-production sire Westcoast Yamaska takes first place with an ACI of £635 ahead of cell count improvers Progenesis Unicorn (ACI £627) and Melarry Frazz Arrowhead (ACI £626), and daughter fertility improvers Stowey Magician (ACI £610) and De-Su 14118 Reginald (ACI £604).

Sharing sixth place, with ACIs of £600, are newcomers Bomaz Montreal and Denovo 14566 Crosby. They also feature strongly in the proven Holstein PLI rankings.

VH Balisto Brixton, with an ACI of £594, and Pine-Tree Verona (ACI £591), stand ahead of two bulls that complete the top 10, ABS Sassafras and Denovo 8084 Entity, each with an ACI of £589.

Other breeds

Jersey

Jersey bulls River Valley Cece Chrome (PLI £486), Danish VJ Raastrup HIHL Gislev (PLI £444) and VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet (PLI £413) remain in the top three places for their breed.

Chrome scores well for weight of milk, fat and protein and high type; Gislev transmits low somatic cell count, and Hamlet passes on outstanding daughter fertility and good general health.

Fourth-ranking Jersey is newcomer VJ Skolvad Dau Dandi (PLI £393), featuring high-quality milk with butterfat of +0.28%. Dandi is ahead of joint fifth-placed JX Spring Creek Marlo Stoney and VJ Balslev Hitman Nibali.

Stoney has the highest PTA for fat in the breed’s top 10, at +0.3%, with high type, while Nibala transmits good health and fertility.

Ayrshire

Four Ayrshire bulls retain their places in the top five, this time led by VR Alatalon Flame Feton, with a PLI of £470. He transmits excellent daughter fertility and scores highly for HealthyCow.

Second-ranking VR Gobel continues as a good all-rounder, with a PLI of £434. Former number one VR Vilano ranks third with a PLI of £412, ahead of VR Tokyo (PLI £319).

Tokyo is far and away the highest production transmitter of the Ayrshire top 10, with PTAs of 699kg milk, 29.5kg fat and 29.7kg protein.

Rounding off the breed’s top five is VR Fabu, a low-volume, high-milk-quality bull, with a PLI of £314.

Friesian

Friesian bull Catlane Caleb moves back into first place with a PLI of £359, ahead of general health improver Inch Persistent (PLI £344).

Irish-bred Carrickshock GTW, with high production PTAs, is edged into third place with a PLI of £331.

Raheenarran BCG Sochar, also from Ireland, moves into fourth place with a PLI of £307, while Catlane Cromwell completes the Friesian top five with a PLI of £297.

Others

Other dairy breed indexes are published online, where the Montbéliarde, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Shorthorn and Fleckvieh are all represented.

“It’s very important to use the UK equivalent indexes when choosing a bull, regardless of breed, as only then can UK breeders obtain a genuine comparison of their transmitting ability against all other bulls of that breed,” says Marco Winters.

“Without this comparison, it’s impossible to compare a bull from one country against another, and impossible to know which bulls would be most suited to any herd,” he says.

For a complete list of available bulls, visit the AHDB website.