Captain sons dominate the PLI rankings

Sons of Genosource Captain now dominate amongst young genomic Holstein bulls, securing the first four positions in the ranking for Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI), published today (2 April, 2024) by AHDB.

DG Peace is the new number one, his outstanding efficiency – including Feed Advantage at 281 and Maintenance feed index of -25 – helping to secure this top spot. With a PLI of £908, he moves up from sixth place thanks to gains in already high production credentials. His Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) for protein of 41.3kg is breed-leading, which he combines with 1080kg milk and 46.9kg fat.

In second place, with a PLI of £873, is DG Space, one of the highest HealthyCow (HC) index bulls amongst the top 20 sires. His HC of £259 means the better health he’ll transmit is worth, on average, £259 to each of his daughters over their lifetimes, compared with a bull whose HC is zero. He earns this through excellent udder health (-22 SCC, -2 Mastitis), high daughter Fertility Index (9.3) and strong Calf Survival (2.9).

DG Dillion moves up to third position from just outside the top 20 in the last index run, earning a PLI of £868. He too transmits good Calf Survival (3), and has a high Lameness Advantage (2.7).

With a PLI of £865, Cogent Koepon Rocky is the final of the leading four Captain sons, also demonstrating the outstanding efficiency traits for which his sire is renowned. His PLI is £865, Maintenance is an impressive -24, and he has an EnviroCow index of 4.5.

Peak AltaMorpheus, a son of Winstar Curfew, now ranks fifth, with a PLI of £863 and featuring a PTA fat of +0.21% and a very high daughter Lifespan Index of 159 extra days. He also excels in Fertility Index (FI 10.1), helping to earn him a HealthyCow of £255.

In sixth place is Denovo 2776 Leeds (PLI £862), the breed-leader for milk yield at a tremendous 1256kg, and with a combined fat and protein of 89.2kg.

One of the best udder health improvers of the top 20 bulls is seventh-ranking Wilra SSI Faneca Ebersol (PLI £857), whose SCC of -26 and excellent Lameness Advantage of 2.8 stand out amongst his peers.

Progenesis Pineapple ranks eighth, with a PLI of £848 and with high protein PTAs of 40.4kg and +0.16%.

The best daughter fertility bull in the top 20 is ninth-ranking Peak AltaOrvar, whose FI of 12.0 helps earn him a PLI of £840.

Rounding off the top 10 are three bulls, all ranking equally at PLI £839. The first of these is another Captain son in the shape of Pine-Tree GS Cruzer, who also offers the best Feed Advantage of the breed at £294.

Then, two new entrants since the December release are Progenesis Disruptor, transmitting the highest weight of fat in the top 10 at 53.4kg, and Genosource Security, with the best fat percentage (+0.26) alongside a high Fertility Index (10.6).

Places 13 to 15 are occupied by three newcomers to the top 20: Cogent Cartell (PLI £838) who excels in milk yield (1104kg); Hul-Stein Nail (PLI £838) with high Lifespan Index (+128 days) and Denovo 20376 Absolute (PLI £826), with extreme fat yields at 55.5kg and +0.31%.

The final new bull to make the top 20 is Peak AltaBemine (PLI £816), with exceptional udder health (-31 SCC, -3 Mastitis).

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB, says: “Genosource Captain has proven himself as a transmitter of high and efficient milk production, so it is no surprise to see his sons now dominating the young sire ranking. With a range of maternal bloodlines also influencing their genetic potential, these young bulls have much to offer UK producers.

“Other sire lines in the top 10 offer excellence across a range of traits, giving producers selection options to address a variety of needs, whether lifting butterfats, improving daughter fertility or cutting rates of mastitis.”

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

A table of the top 20 available Holstein genomic young sires ranked on the latest PLI (April 2024) appears below.

TABLE 1: TOP 20 HOLSTEIN BULLS WITH GENOMIC INDEXES RANKED ON PROFITABLE LIFETIME INDEX (£PLI) APRIL 2024

Rank	£PLI	Bull name			£PLI Rel%		Milk kg		Fat kg		Ptn kg	Fat %	Ptn %		SCC	Mast		LAdv		CS	LS			FI		GL	TB Adv			£HC		Feed Adv		Env Cow		TM		Sire x maternal grandsire		Supplier GB/NI
1	908	DG PEACE			68		1080		46.9		41.3	0.04	0.06		-14	-2		1.9		1.4	95			3.8		-2	2.3			161		281		4.8		0.67		Captain x Klutch		CBL
2	873	DG SPACE			68		691		41.6		32.9	0.15	0.11		-22	-2		1.9		2.9	98			9.3		-2	0.7			259		150		3.9		1.31		Captain x Charl		CBL
3	868	DG DILLON			68		761		45.3		32.6	0.16	0.08		-19	-2		2.7		3	131			3.4		-3	1.7			230		200		4.3		1.46		Captain x Crimson		CBL
4	865	COGENT KOEPON ROCKY			68		914		44.3		37.4	0.08	0.08		-14	-1		2.4		2.1	95			3.8		-2	2.6			163		259		4.5		0.6		Captain x Kenobi		CBL
5	863	PEAK ALTAMORPHEUS			66		688		46.6		28.5	0.21	0.07		-20	-2		1.8		2.6	159			10.1		-1	2.2			255		167		4.2		-0.36		Curfew x Crimson		ALT
6	862	DENOVO 2776 LEEDS			66		1256		50.5		38.7	0	-0.03		-16	-1		1.2		2.1	131			3.5		-1	0.9			170		240		4.6		0.48		Laker x Free Billy		GEN
7	857	WILRA SSI FANECA EBERSOL			66		679		47.9		27.8	0.23	0.06		-26	-2		2.8		1.1	113			8.3		0	1.9			237		208		4.1		0.56		Faneca x Legacy		WWS
8	848	PROGENESIS PINEAPPLE			66		780		48.5		40.4	0.19	0.16		-14	-1		1.7		1.5	88			-0.1		-2	2.4			121		117		4.2		1.15		Holysmokes x AltaSohot		SMX
9	840	PEAK ALTAORVAR			66		725		42.7		33.7	0.15	0.11		-15	0		1.3		-0.7	113			12		-3	1.6			187		190		4.2		-0.14		AltaZeolite x AltaPlinko		ALT/AIS
10	839	PINE-TREE GS CRUZER			68		1079		41.1		37.7	-0.02	0.02		7	1		2.6		2.6	107			5.9		-2	1			165		294		4.6		1.64		Captain x Skywalker		CBL
10	839	PROGENESIS DISRUPTOR			66		984		53.4		39.4	0.15	0.08		-18	-2		1.3		1.9	107			-1.2		-1	1.8			132		141		4.3		0.77		Holysmokes x AltaZazzle		SMX
10	839	GENOSOURCE SECURITY-ET			67		652		49.4		28.5	0.26	0.08		-16	-1		3		2.7	122			10.6		-2	2.4			254		102		3.8		0.89		Upside x Renegade		CBL
13	838	COGENT CARTELL			66		1104		45.9		39.4	0.02	0.03		-7	0		1.7		2.5	88			6.1		0	1			165		217		4.3		1.1		AltaAlanzo x Captain		CBL
14	827	HUL-STEIN NAIL			66		977		52.5		36.3	0.14	0.05		-11	-1		2.6		1.3	128			0.7		-1	1.5			147		146		4.3		0.74		Benefit x Endeavor		GEN
15	826	DENOVO 20376 ABSOLUTE-ET			66		682		55.5		31.4	0.31	0.1		-15	-2		1.3		1.9	110			1		-1	0.6			152		159		4.2		1.02		Allied x Verdi		GEN
16	824	PEAK ALTACALABRIA			66		780		50.3		38.3	0.21	0.14		-14	-1		2		0.3	61			4		-3	2.8			119		125		4		0.08		All Access x AltaZazzle		ALT
17	819	PROGENESIS ALTAVANDYKE			66		854		53.5		34.8	0.21	0.07		-25	-2		2.6		0.7	95			1		-1	1.1			138		155		4.2		0.01		AltaZemini x AltaPlinko		ALT
17	819	PINE-TREE SHADOW			66		841		48.4		38.9	0.16	0.12		-9	-1		3		0.8	67			0		-1	2.9			78		225		4.4		-0.35		AltaParcheesi x Free Billy		GEN
17	819	DENOVO 19495 HARGROVE P			66		686		46.5		35.9	0.21	0.15		3	1		1.6		2.5	70			2.6		0	1.5			80		285		4.6		0.23		Memorial x Acura		GEN
20	816	PEAK ALTABEMINE			66		773		48.1		36.3	0.19	0.12		-31	-3		1.2		0	64			5.8		-1	1.1			153		128		3.9		-0.74		AltaZemini x AltaPlinko		ALT

 

Source: AHDB Dairy. AIS = AI Services; ALT = Alta; CBL = Cogent Breeding; GEN = Genus ABS; SMX = Semex; UKD = UK Sires Direct; WWS = World Wide Sires UK. £PLI = Profitable Lifetime Index; Rel = Reliability; SCC = Somatic Cell Count; Mast = Mastitis; LAdv = Lameness Advantage; CS = Calf Survival; LS = Lifespan; FI = Fertility Index;  GL = Gestation Length; TB Adv = TB Advantage; £HC = HealthyCow; Feed Adv = Feed Advantage; Env Cow = EnviroCow; TM = Type Merit.