Stability amongst proven Holsteins and new UK entrants

The ranking for daughter-proven Holstein bulls, published today, shows no change at the top with Larcrest Commend maintaining his lead with a Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) of £767. His impressive milk components (+0.21 fat%, +0.16 protein%), as well as high daughter Fertility Index (+10.1) are some this Balisto son’s trademarks.

Commend is followed closely by another Balisto son ranked second, Cookiecutter Harper, with a PLI of £752. Now with 100 UK daughters contributing to his production proof, Harper climbs from fifth place in December, and further improves on his impressive protein transmission (+36.1kg).

View-Home Littlerock climbs up to third position and scores well for Lameness Advantage (+3.0) and daughter fertility (+11.4). His PLI is £719.

Moving into the top 10 is De-Su 12272 Apex with a PLI of £712. This son of Cashcoin transmits very favourable maintenance feed costs (-23), excellent udder health (-29 SCC, -4 Mastitis), superb calf survival (+4.6) and one of the highest lifespan scores in the top (+0.7).

The familiar Hoanster Zanzibar ranks in equal fifth position, now with 235 UK daughters in his production proof. He shows excellent daughter Fertility Index at +16.1 as well as a very good Lameness Advantage (+2.8).

Also equal fifth is the new entrant, ABS Crayon (PLI £708), another son of Balisto with tremendous milk yields and protein (+1023kg and +38.5kg respectively). However, at -0.18% fat, he may transmit less than optimal milk quality for some producers.

Former number one sire, Mocon, holds his position in the top 10 with a PLI of £707 and transmits high daughter lifespans (+0.7).

Co-op Robust Cabriolet ranks eighth (PLI £703), with 556 UK daughters in his production figures which now have a reliability of 99%. Tremendous calf survival (+4.2), modern-sized daughters (-19 Maintenance) and the best Lameness Advantage figures available (+5.0) are all features of his breeding pattern.

UK-bred Cottonabbotts Jester is the highest new entrant, making his debut in the proven list with a PLI of £702. His early UK daughters (39), give him strong milk component figures for both kg and percentages, and good all round fitness characteristics.

Rounding off the top 10 is Larcrest Collude (PLI £693), the fifth son of the prolific Balisto, with good direct calving ease figures (+1.0).

More new daughter-proven graduates

Further down the rankings, another five bulls graduate into the top 20 proven sires, two of which are UK bred. Heavily used and high ranking as genomic young sires, Topcroft Pesky Trix (PLI £670) boasts over 500 UK daughters, whereas his paternal half brother, Bellemont Perks (PLI £655) makes his early entry with 20 UK milking daughters. Both are by Welcome Armitage Pesky.

Recognising the achievement of UK breeders and breeding companies, Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy says: “Three UK-born sires now feature in this international top 20, which highlights how far UK breeding has come in recent years.

“By focussing on the top £PLI sires as part of a well-rounded breeding programme, UK producers are well able to compete with the best in the world.”