New young sire choices for Holstein breeders

New young sire choices for Holstein breeders

Brand new Holstein sire choices, UK-bred bulls and the continuity of a long-term leader are all features of the young genomic sire ranking, published this week (6 April) by AHDB Dairy.

Ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI), it is Genosource Captain who leads the way, just as he has done for every one of the previous three runs of genetic evaluations. In so doing, this bull provides a resounding endorsement of the genomic testing system, in particular through his sire, Hurtgenlea Richard Charl, who graduates on to the proven sire list as the new number one bull with milking daughters (see separate ranking).

Captain himself rises on PLI to £963, transmitting high milk volume (Predicted Transmitting Ability for milk is 1095kg), good milk solids (+0.14% fat and +0.04% protein) and favourable maintenance costs at -16. He also scores -3 on the newly introduced Gestation Length Index (GL), indicating his calves will, on average, have a shorter gestation than the national average by three days. (The introduction of GL is one of three changes made to evaluations this month, all detailed on the AHDB ‘new index’ press release attached, originally issued on 26 March.)  

The number two genomic sire also remains unchanged in the form of Peak AltaPlinko, a high protein bull (44.6kg and +0.09%), also transmitting shorter than average GL. His PLI is £923. 

He is joined by his stablemate, Peak AltaZazzle (PLI £905), with the same sire and maternal grandsire combination (Marius x AltaTopshot). AltaZazzle transmits high fat (58.2kg, +0.26%) and scores well for Lameness Advantage (2.8).

New in fourth position since the December 2020 release is Progenesis Mahomes (Eldorado x Milktime), with a PLI of £892. Good udder health indexes including -21 SCC, together with solid Lifespan (+159 days more than average) and daughter Fertility Index (10.2) yield him the joint highest HealthyCow score in the top 20, at £283. This rolls all daughter health traits into one figure. (See ‘new index’ press release.) He also has the highest Type Merit in the top 20 at 2.04.

Another newcomer is Denovo 16219 Aladdin, also a fat improver (56.4kg, +0.26%). He has a favourable maintenance at -12 and his PLI is £889.

A high new entrant of UK breeding is Boghill Glamour Applaud (PLI £875). With one of the breed’s highest HealthyCow scores (£274), this bull has outstanding credentials for the important health traits, such as Lifespan (+189 days), Fertility Index (12.1) Fertility, SCC (-19 SCC) and Lameness Advantage (1.5). 

The high milk volume Siemers Brave maintains a top 10 position with a PLI of £873 while eighth ranking Bomaz Platt is another new entrant. An outstanding milk quality transmitter (+0.39% fat, +0.15% protein) with the best daughter fertility in the top 20 (FI 13.3) and a favourable TB Advantage (2.9), he weighs in with a PLI of £865.

At PLI £864 is ninth ranking Gen Pikachu, another son of Charl, and the highest milk volume bull in the ranking, at 1301kg.  

Rounding off the top 10 is the first of a wave of Denovo bulls in the shape of Denovo 15848 Kenmore. With the best udder health (-23 SCC, -3 Mastitis) and 3.4 Calf Survival in the top 20, Kenmore earns a high score for HealthyCow and a PLI of £857.

Kenmore’s stablemates feature in 11th to 13th position, the newcomer amongst them being Denovo 3426 Avery, the highest fat transmitter in the top 20 with massive PTA of 61.7kg. His PLI is £856.

Other newcomers in the top 20 include another high fat bull, Pine-Tree Butch, in 14th position, offering 59.6kg fat and a PLI of £847; milk volume specialist, DGF Adrian (1290kg milk, PLI £836) ranked 18th; and 19th ranking Bomaz Harding, with a PLI of £830. 

Just outside the international top 20 but the number two bull of UK breeding is the milk quality improver, Cogent Zulu (+0.41% fat, +0.24% protein) whose PLI is £819. 

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy says: “The genomic sire ranking has a profound impact on the genetics of the UK cow population, with over 70% of Holstein semen used now originating from this source. This month’s ranking – featuring a balance of continuity and new entrants – should further build producers’ confidence in using the best young sires.

“Many of these bulls offer the outstanding health traits the industry and society demand – a point which is highlighted by the new HealthyCow Index, which pinpoints bulls which can help producers achieve high standards of health and welfare in their herds.”

A table of the top 20 available Holstein genomic young sires ranked on the latest PLI (April 2021) appears below. Type Merit is supplied by Holstein UK.

Rank	£PLI	Bull name	£PLI Rel%	Milk kg	Fat kg	Ptn kg	Fat %	Ptn %	SCC	Mast	LA	CS	LS	FI	dCE %	£HC	GL	Maint	TB  Adv	TM	Sire x maternal  grandsire	Supplier GB/NI
1	963	GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN	63	1095	56.6	39.4	0.14	0.04	-13	-2	2.7	0.9	149	10.3	0.4	247	-3	-16	2.2	1.61	Charl x Sabre	CBL
2	923	PEAK ALTAPLINKO	64	1085	53.3	44.6	0.10	0.09	-17	-1	2.3	1.2	95	5.5	0.7	174	-3	-3	0.3	0.62	Marius x Altatopshot	ALT/AIS
3	905	PEAK ALTAZAZZLE	64	869	58.2	37.3	0.26	0.10	-19	-2	2.8	1.7	134	4.4	-0.3	208	-2	-1	2.0	1.38	Marius x Altatopshot	ALT
4	892	PROGENESIS MAHOMES	63	1002	44.6	36.0	0.05	0.03	-21	-2	2.0	1.9	159	10.2	1.1	283	-1	-6	2.6	2.04	Eldorado x Milktime	SMX
5	889	DENOVO 16219 ALADDIN	63	824	56.4	35.5	0.26	0.09	-8	-1	1.9	1.6	140	6.0	0.6	190	-2	-12	-0.7	1.59	Acura x Lopez	GEN
6	875	BOGHILL GLAMOUR APPLAUD	63	708	48.9	29.8	0.23	0.07	-19	-2	1.5	-0.2	189	12.1	0.1	274	-1	-5	1.9	1.62	Appeal x Medley	GEN
7	873	SIEMERS BRAVE	63	1170	46.1	43.0	-0.01	0.05	-14	-1	1.2	1.1	113	7.8	0.3	190	-1	-8	0.8	1.34	Timberlake x Trajectory	SMX
8	865	BOMAZ PLATT-ET	63	432	51.5	27.3	0.39	0.15	-21	-1	1.2	-0.3	137	13.3	0.3	249	-2	-3	2.9	1.15	Prince x Samuri	GEN
9	864	GEN PIKACHU	64	1301	53.1	43.4	0.01	0.01	-17	-2	0.7	1.2	88	4.4	0.0	170	-2	-3	1.8	1.23	Charl x Gymnast	CBL
10	857	DENOVO 15848 KENMORE	63	938	44.5	36.1	0.07	0.06	-23	-3	1.7	3.4	119	6.5	0.5	249	-1	-3	2.1	1.37	Kenobi x Frazzled	GEN
11	856	DENOVO 3426 AVERY-ET	64	915	61.7	33.4	0.27	0.04	-12	-1	1.8	2.1	143	4.3	-0.1	187	-1	-3	1.1	1.47	Crimson x Yoder	GEN
12	855	DENOVO 15826 KNIGHT	63	760	47.1	32.7	0.18	0.09	-18	-2	1.5	1.6	159	5.3	1.2	223	-3	-13	2.2	1.70	Kenobi x Raiden	GEN
13	848	DENOVO 3303 CITIZEN	64	830	50.2	30.3	0.19	0.03	-22	-2	2.2	2.2	165	11.0	0.5	283	0	2	0.6	1.25	Crosby x Spectre	GEN
14	847	PINE-TREE BUTCH	63	748	59.6	35.7	0.33	0.12	-7	-1	2.7	1.4	79	4.0	0.3	155	-3	-2	0.8	1.84	Heroic x Skywalker	GEN
15	843	FB KENOBI TARGARYEN	64	992	40.4	41.1	0.01	0.09	-20	-1	1.2	3.2	101	7.3	-0.2	203	-2	4	1.6	0.84	Kenobi x Jedi	GEN
16	840	PEAK SMUDGE	64	673	41.6	30.0	0.16	0.09	-25	-2	3.0	2.4	177	5.6	0.3	268	-3	-8	1.3	1.65	Altaexplosion x Altatopshot	UKD
16	837	BOMAZ EPISODE	63	528	54.2	30.6	0.38	0.15	-14	-3	0.9	0.3	125	10.5	0.2	217	-1	9	3.0	0.53	Entity x Altarobson	GEN
18	836	DGF ADRIAN	64	1290	41.2	41.0	-0.11	-0.02	-16	-2	1.7	2.7	110	7.9	0.2	226	-1	-6	2.3	1.24	Aristocrat x Bourbon	CBL
19	830	BOMAZ HARDING	63	879	58.5	32.6	0.25	0.04	-9	0	2.5	-0.7	101	9.2	0.2	170	-3	-17	0.9	1.52	Heroic x Samuri	GEN
20	828	PROGENESIS BANKSY	64	1025	44.7	41.3	0.04	0.08	-19	-1	0.7	1.5	122	4.6	-0.6	174	-1	4	2.4	1.13	Marius x Imax	SMX
20	828	WINSTAR KAHLUA	63	819	39.6	32.3	0.07	0.06	-19	-2	2.7	0.8	162	8.1	1.3	257	-3	-10	3.1	1.99	Kenobi x Medley	GEN