Bull proofs: Green credentials push Captain’s PLI above £1,000
Photo: Genosource Captain © Frank Robinson
The top sire in the genomic Holstein rankings released by AHDB Dairy may be unchanged, but his profitable lifetime index (PLI) has surpassed the £1,000 barrier, hitting £1,014.
Genosource Captain had regained the number one position in April with a PLI of £950.
He produces high-yielding daughters, with a milk solids predicted transmitting ability (PTA) of 1,079kg. He is one of the breed leaders for calf survival (CS) with a CS index of 5.8.
The young sire also tops the Holstein table for environmental credentials, with an EnviroCow index of 4.9. This means his daughters are predicted to create fewer greenhouse gases in their lifetimes for each kilogram of solids-corrected milk they produce.
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Superior feed conversion efficiency, demonstrated by a feed advantage of 257, undoubtedly contributes to that.
Two of Captain sons take second and third places.
Out of a Redrock dam, DG Peace is in second position with a PLI of £962. Following his sire’s lead, he ranks well for FA (243) and is a high production bull with PTAs of 1,025kg for milk solids and 41kg for protein.
With a PLI of £959, Cogent Koepon Rocky is not far behind in third.
Newcomers in fourth and fifth positions score highly for lifespan and daughter fertility.
Denovo 17835 Lennon-P, with a PLI of £957, is one of the top scorers in the HealthyCow ranking, at 315, which means his progeny should be fertile, healthy cows.
Peak AltaSeverus, a son of AltaPlinko, is in fifth, with a PLI of £954. The high-fertility bull (FI 15.3) is predicted to transmit a shorter-than-average gestation, at -3 days.
Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for the AHDB, says it is particularly important to take steps to ensure genetic diversity as so many previously unknown sires enter the market.
“We’d strongly recommend the use of a computer breeding program, such as our own Inbreeding Checker included in AHDB’s Herd Genetic Report,” he says.
The other top 10 bulls
6th place – CherryPenCol HighCloud
PLI: £948
Other notable indexes: lameness advantage of 3.7
7th place – Pine-Tree Denovo Aleo
PLI: £946
Other notable indexes: maintenance index at -26 and fat transmission at 56.7kg
8th place – Pine-Tree Denovo Avon
PLI: £922
Other notable indexes: feed advantage at 263, fat transmission at 59.6kg
9th place – Cookiecutter Holysmokes
PLI: £915
Other notable indexes: Highest type merit in the top 20 bulls, at 1.7. Type Merit is a conformation PTA.
10th place – Denovo 3709 Charter
PLI: £912
Other notable indexes: Fat-transmitting PTA of 56.2kg
Proven Holstein rankings
The new number one in the daughter-proven rankings is Bomaz Monument-P with a PLI of £785.
The polled ABS Medley son achieves high scores for daughter lifespan (+134) and fat production (43.9kg) as his indexes are influenced by his early daughters.
The PLI leader tops the table on the EnviroCow index, at 3.8.
Photo: Bomaz Monument P © Beth Herges
Down one spot from the April rankings, Denovo 14566 Crosby is in second, with a PLI of £737. His standout index is the breed-leading calf survival index of 6.1. Crosby is a DG Charley son, as are the bulls in third and fourth places.
High-production Hurtgenlea Richard Charl, with a PLI of £730, is in third, with a maintenance index of -16.
He is closely followed by newcomer Neal (PLI £728). Neal is the best feed advantage bull in the rankings with a score of 197, and strong resistance to digital dermatitis contributes to a leading lameness advantage of 3.5.
In joint fifth position are Westcoast Yamaska and Riethil Summerlake. Summerlake is noted for chart-topping udder health indexes (somatic cell count -30, mastitis -4).
Mr Winters says the top 10 sires in this ranking have PLI reliabilities of 70%-97%, offering predictability in their breeding performance.
“This provides reassurance for producers who prefer to use tried-and-tested bloodlines, which they may choose to mix with a team of high PLI young genomic sires to make the greatest genetic gains,” he explains.
Autumn calving index
At £661, Bomaz Monument-P tops the autumn calving index (ACI), showing what a strong choice he is for a range of dairy systems. He also leads the daughter-proven Holstein ranking.
He scores highly for milk production (871kg) and fat transmission (44.2kg), and achieves a good calf survival index of 3.
In second place, with an ACI of £646, is Progenesis Wimbledon, who ranks top in the spring-calving lists too.
With 10 milking daughters contributing to his index, Boghill Glamour Persuade just qualifies for the ranking and takes third place with an ACI of £637.
VH River Ramsey (ACI £634) is in fourth, known for transmitting good udder health. And, with ACIs of £626, ABS Sassafras and VH Bosman Bahrain share fifth place.
Photo: Progenesis Wimbledon © Patty Jones
Spring calving index
Progenesis Wimbledon, the second-ranked bull in the ACI, is the Holstein leader of the spring calving index (SCI). #He has an SCI of £557, boosted by high fat and protein percentage transmission and a good fertility index (12.9).
Knocked off the top spot he held in April, Jersey bull VJ Ravinggaard Huus Hamlet is in second with an SCI of £548.
Another Jersey, VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster, takes third, with strong milk solid transmitting abilities contributing to an SCI of £542.
ABS Sassafras has moved up a few places, sitting in fourth with an SCI of £539. The Holstein sire transmits a higher milk volume than all the bulls placed before him.
There is no change in fifth position. Danish Jersey VJ Zummit earns an SCI of £523.
Stability at the top of the non-Holstein breed rankings
Frontrunners in the British Friesian, Jersey and Ayrshire rankings all remain unchanged, with the top three Ayrshire bulls maintaining their positions since April.
However, there are two newcomers in the lists.
Jersey
With the highest type merit of the top five Jersey bulls, at 2.1, River Valley Cece Chrome maintains his lead. #His 493 UK daughters confirm his milk production PTAs of 765kg milk solids and 57.5kg combined fat plus protein.
Photo: River Valley Cece Chrome daughter Unique Chrome Jakarta © Patty Jones
In second, VJ Ravinggaard Huus Hamlet has a PLI of £447. A strong HealthyCow index of 213 is, in part, due to high daughter fertility (FI 11.7).
Danish VJ Raastrup Hihl Gislev remains in the top three with a PLI of £417, followed by new entrant VJ Goenbjerg Lobo Lobster (PLI £393).
Lobster transmits high fat and protein (0.39% and 0.23%, respectively) with favourable udder health (-23 SCC).
Maintaining fifth position is JX Spring Creek Marlo Stoney (PLI £371) who has the breed’s highest EnviroCow score of 2.8.
Ayrshire
The top three in the Ayrshire rankings are VR Alatalon Flame Feton (PLI £480), VR Gobel (PLI £422) and VR Vilano (PLI £416).
Feton features a strong daughter Fertility Index (17) and the runners up both score well for green credentials.
Fourth place goes to a new bull, VR Viljar Vilperi, with a PLI £374. He transmits good milk components (fat +0.18% and protein +0.15%), and good daughter fertility (FI 14).
Holding on to fifth is VR Fabu with a PLI of £332.
British Friesian
Catlane Caleb stays top of the charts in the British Friesian rankings with a slightly improved PLI of £373. He offers high milk components with PTAs of 0.26% fat and 0.16% protein.
Inch Persistent (PLI £352) is in second. He is the breed leader for type transmission (TM 2.32). And Irish-bred Raheenarran BCG Sochar has climbed one place into third with a PLI of £314.
He demonstrates the best genetics for somatic cell count in the breed’s top 10, at -13.
High production bull Manorpark Google (PLI £304) is in fourth, closely followed by Catlane Cromwell (PLI £303) who indexes highly for calf survival at 6.2.
Mr Winters reminds farmers that the indexes of one breed cannot be compared with another in the PLI rankings, as each animal’s index is expressed against its own breed average.
For crossbreeding herds, the autumn and spring calving index rankings can be used to compare between breeds.