Loe Martin DAUGHTER Jolanda 20

The UK's new top Holstein sire ranked on PLI, Loe Martin, has joined the Avoncroft stud. The company now has the UK's top three PLI bulls. Loe Martin, with a PLI of £94, is followed by Delta Canvas with a PLI of £85 and, in third place, by Mr Milkmaster with a PLI of £80 Ganvo Alexander - +168kg milk

An Addison son, Loe Martin has a production proof with 1,055kg of milk, 25.6kg (-0.18%) fat and 35.4kg (+0.02%) protein.

Loe Martin has inherited strength, width and good udder health from his sire. He combines high production with good type figures for udders, legs and feet, and produces daughters that are ideal 'cubicle cows'.

Daughters of Loe Martin retain their body condition and are positive for all management traits, including calving ease (+104), temperament (+102), milking speed (+102), durability (+102), and udder health (+104) with a SCC score of -16.

Loe Martin is available from Avoncroft for £18 per straw

Ganvo Alexander Brings Big Percentages

Another newcomer to the Avoncroft stud this summer is Ganvo Alexander. A son of world leading fat and protein producer Woudhoeve Russel, Alexander has high plus percentages for both fat and protein.

His production proof shows 168kg milk, +15.8kg (+0.12%) fat and +14.3kg (+0.11%) protein to give him a PLI of £57.

His daughters are medium-sized cows that do well on grazing-based systems and are easy to manage, scoring well for both temperament and milking speed.

Daughters also have good figures for udder health, scoring -9 for SCC and, on top of that, Alexander is also an easy calving sire making him suitable for use on maiden heifers.

Ganvo Alexander is available from Avoncroft priced at £16 a straw.