Number one young sire breaks 50kg fat barrier

The young Holstein sire, Bomaz Fynn, has taken number one position in the new genomic rankings published today.

With a Profitable Lifetime Index of £878, Fynn breaks the 50kg fat barrier for the first time in a top 20 sire, meaning that his daughters are predicted to yield 50kg more fat during their lactations than the national average cow. A Frazzled son from a Rubicon dam, he also features +0.13% fat, great udder health (-30 SCC, -3 Mastitis) and one of the highest Type Merit scores at the top of this £PLI list (+2.43 TM).

Denovo 13566 Crosby moves up to second place, also with solid Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for production and the highest Lameness Advantage of the top 20 bulls. This high-ranking son of DG Charley, again from a Rubicon dam, has a PLI of £871.

Also making gains is Melarry Frazz Arrowhead, now ranking third with a PLI of £870. A Frazzled son with excellent daughter maintenance scores (-10) and good SCC (-33), he is also the best improver of daughter fertility in the top 20 (+14.2). His survival scores are also superb, with a strong +3.3 calf survival (aided by the best calving ease prediction in the top 10) and excellent daughter Lifespan Index (LS). Expressed on a new scale for the first time with this index run, his LS of +219 days means his daughters are predicted to live, on average, 219 days longer than the average cow.

The former number one sire, Bomaz AltaCabot, continues to show excellent PTAs for milk quality at +0.17% fat and +0.06% protein. Low cell counts and excellent mastitis resistance (-4) help earn him a PLI of £867.

Peak AltaLeap climbs to number five with a PLI of £860, also transmitting good mastitis resistance (-4) and the longest daughter lifespans in the top 20 at 237 extra days of life.

A new entry in sixth place is Dutch-bred Velder Starmaker (PLI £852). This son of Adorable transmits one of the best survival ratings in the top 20 (+3.5 calf survival, +222 cow lifespan) and has solid figures for daughter fertility (+12.2).

Joint in seventh place with PLIs of £848 are Progenesis Monet, Denovo Invictus and Denovo 15158 Admiral. Monet transmits by far the highest weight of milk and protein in the top 20 at +1263kg and +37.1kg respectively as well as a favourable Mastitis Index (-4). Invictus stands out for Lifespan Index (+228 days) and daughter fertility (+13.1), while Admiral is a fat production specialist (+49.2kg, +0.19%).

Rounding off the top 10 is Peak AltaZarek (PLI £847), with one of the best scores for Lameness Advantage (+3.6), strong production figures and over two points for type.

Just outside the top 10 are two level-pegging UK-bred half-brothers, Glamour Boghill Victor and Boghill Glamour Persuade. Both are out of the Supershot x Numero Uno dam from the Larcrest Cosmopolitan family and both excel for protein transmission, also offering good daughter fertility and long lifespans. Their PLIs are £841.

Two remaining new entries in the top 20 are 15th ranking Hul-Stein Party Time (PLI £839) and 17th placed Prismagen Grande Rio (PLI £830). Party Time’s strengths are built largely around production while Grande Rio excels for daughter health.

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics with AHDB Dairy says: “It’s no surprise that the leading bulls transmit excellent daughter health and fertility but it’s of particular note that these cows are also predicted to enjoy long lifespans.

“Daughter Lifespan is one of the most important individual indexes producers should consider when choosing their bulls, and the new scale which takes effect this month, helps indicate to benefits of doing so.

“On the new scale, we see figures range from 158 to 237 days amongst the top 10 bulls, which means their daughters are predicted to live from 158 to 237 days longer than the national average cow.

“This is such an important trait from a management, financial and a welfare perspective that I would urge breeders to build it into their breeding objectives,” he says.