More efficient young Holstein sires on offer to UK producers.

The young sire, Wilra SSI Faneca Ebersol, who made his debut on the genomic sires ranking last December, retains his number one position at the top of the new Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking, published today (4 April) by AHDB.

Despite the base change, which now occurs each year with the April genetic evaluations and has pulled young sire figures down this month by £45 PLI, this son of Badger SSI Lucia Faneca still earns an impressive PLI of £945. This is achieved through high Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for fat (50.3kg, +0.26%), as well as superb udder health (-3 Mastitis, -29 Somatic Cell Count) and a high daughter Fertility Index (FI) of +10.6. 

Moving up to second position is DG Peace (PLI £898), a son of Genosource Captain who leads the daughter-proven sire rankings, also published by AHDB today. Peace transmits exceptional protein (38.6kg) and high Feed Advantage, which helps him achieve the Holstein breed’s highest score for EnviroCow. This makes him attractive in today’s economic and environmental climate where producing more milk from less feed becomes ever more important.

A new entrant in third place is Peak AltaKalon, whose high protein percent (+0.14%), solid daughter fertility (FI +10.9) and shorter than average gestation length (-3) are amongst his distinguishing features. They help earn him a PLI of £891.

Denovo 17835 Lennon-P ranks fourth, with very good Calf Survival (+2.5) and high daughter Lifespan, at 159 days longer than average. These figures combine with good Lameness Advantage to earn him a high HealthyCow index of £276 and a PLI of £887.

The next three places are taken by new entrants since the December release in the shape of Peak AltaMorpheus, Denovo 2776 Leeds and Peak Powerhouse. AltaMorpheus (PLI £883) has superb udder health (-3 Mastitis) and the highest lifespan (+177 days ) of the top 20 young bulls, also earning him the highest HealthyCow in the top rankings.

Those looking to inject a flush of milk into their cows will find outstanding production (1278kg) in Leeds (PLI £879), whereas PowerHouse is the highest protein transmitter of the breed, at 42.6kg. His PLI is £877.

Moving up into eighth place is Peak AltaSeverus (PLI £875) with the best daughter fertility (FI +14.3) of the leading bulls.

Ninth ranking DG Space has the highest Calf Survival (+2.8) of the breed and gains a PLI of £872.

Rounding off the top 10 is Winstar Maserati P, whose strong fat transmission (53.5kg and +0.30%) helps earn him a PLI of £871.

Other new entrants in the top 20 are Genosource Illusion (PLI £862) whose breed-leading production traits include a massive 1308kg milk and 96.9kg fat and protein combined, and Bomaz Pristine (£854 PLI) notable for high fat components (+0.35%) and long daughter lifespans, at +156 days.

“Daughter fertility, health and lifespan go from strength to strength among the young genomic sires and producers who choose to use them are increasingly able to benefit from more easily managed cattle as the benefits accumulate over the generations,” says Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB. “It’s worth a reminder that choosing suitable sires is probably the most cost-effective way of improving the performance of a farming business, as genetic gains made in traits such as daughter fertility, health and lifespan are achieved at virtually no extra cost.

“The business benefit is even more compelling as the genetics of feed efficiency come into play as this has the scope to reduce the need for costly feed inputs too,” he says.

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 2023) appears below. Type Merit is supplied by Holstein UK.