Shake-up in genomic Holstein ranking

A tie for the number one position and three new entrants to the top 10 indicate the vibrancy in the Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking for young genomic Holstein sires, which is published today (13 August 2019) by AHDB Dairy.

The Denovo prefix – a joint creation between ABS Global and De-Su Holsteins – starts as it goes on, taking equal first place and featuring five times in the top 10.

Their number one bull is Denovo 8084 Entity, who moves up from sixth position in the April 2019 listing and features a massive Predicted Transmitting Ability for fat of 48.4kg alongside the expected superb daughter health and fertility traits which are characteristic of the high £PLI bulls. Other highlights of this Triplecrown JW Matters son are his transmission of excellent calf survival (+2.7) and maternal calving ease (+2), meaning his daughters are predicted to be easy calving.

Tying in first position is Bomaz AltaCabot, denting Genus’s domination of the top 10. This son of Bomaz AltaTopshot also transmits high fat (44.7kg) and good maternal calving ease (+2.1), while excelling in udder health (-28 SCC and -4 Mastitis) and Lameness Advantage (+2.8).

The PLI of these joint number one bulls is £871.

Holding their places in the top five are De-Su 14673 Appeal (PLI £864) and Denovo 7921 Atrium (PLI £863). With a Type Merit of +2.5, Appeal ranks as the highest type sire in the top 20 and has impressive daughter fertility (+12.8). Atrium also transmits very good fertility (+11.9) and has an outstanding Maintenance score at -12. Both are sons of ABS Achiever.

In equal fifth place is another Achiever son, Denovo Invictus (PLI £860). Born in the UK, Invictus is a new entry in the top 10 and, like his paternal half-brothers, has a good maintenance score, meaning daughters have lower maintenance costs for feed. His Lifespan Index is +0.7, indicating a seven-month, or 213-day longer lifespan than a zero-rated lifespan bull.

Sharing fifth place is the UK-bred Boghill Glamour Persuade, the highest protein transmitter in the top 10 at +34.8kg. He also features the second highest top 10 daughter Fertility Index at +13.3 and has a favourable Lameness Advantage of +2.5.

Denovo 15158 Admiral (PLI £853) is a newcomer in seventh position and is out of a Yoder dam from the well-known Ammon-Peachey Shauna brood cow. Admiral is the highest weight of fat transmitter in the top 20 at 49.1kg (+0.17%).

Also making his debut is eighth-ranking Melarry Frazz Arrowhead (PLI £848), a son of Frazzled, whose solid production transmission is complemented by low daughter maintenance costs (-10), exceptionally low cell counts (-31) and the best daughter fertility in the top 10 (+13.9).

Sharing eighth position is Denovo 14566 Crosby, who retains his top 10 position with the highest weight of milk, at 1,027kg, in this group. His PLI of £848 reflects his daughters’ predicted low cell counts (-28) and the best Lameness Advantage (+3.2) in the top 10.

Rounding off the top 10 is the Danish-bred, VH Bosman Bahrain , whose PLI of £844 reflects low maintenance costs (-16), solid production and health and fitness across the board.

Highlights outside the top 10 include 11th ranking newcomer Bomaz Monument-P (PLI £842), a son of Medley and joint highest lifespan improver at +0.8; UK-bred Glamour Boghill Victor, maternal bother to the number five sire, Boghill Glamour Persuade (PLI £835); and finally the newly released Bryhill H-Noon Laval (PLI £833) who transmits the highest daughter fertility in the top 20 at an impressive +16.

“A good number of new entrants within this list indicates the level of investment being made in the Holstein genetics industry and the remarkable success which can be achieved when breeders and businesses combine their forces and focus their efforts,” says Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy.

“The qualities of these, and other high-ranking bulls, bring untold opportunities to UK breeders, not only by offering PTAs for fat approaching 50kg, but complementing this with unprecedented improvements in health and fertility.

“I would remind producers who were wary of using Holstein genetics before the advent of health and fitness indexes, that the breed today has much to select from, and – with modern breeding tools at our disposal – offers unprecedented scope for genetic improvement in health and fertility as well as production.”