New Number One Friesian Bull Edges Out Current Leader

Bull proofs published this week by DairyCo breeding+ for breeds other than Holstein remain reasonably stable, despite a new number one bull topping the Friesian rankings.

Friesian

Here, the Dutch-bred and Irish-tested Sem 7 takes over the top spot, thanks to a substantial improvement in his production figures with the addition of early UK daughter information. This moves his Profitable Lifetime Index up 40 points to £162.

This performance pushes the UK-bred Lakemead Rancher into second spot, despite the stability of his overall PLI at £158, and a Friesian Type Merit of +1.7.

Grietman maintains his position at £148 PLI behind second placed Rancher.

Ayrshire

The dominance of Brieryside Golden Sand amongst the bulls with Ayrshire proofs continues, thanks to a large improvement in his Lifespan proof (now +0.1) and a PLI of £256. He is followed by two other Holstein bulls; Morwick Sand Ranger Red and Hunday Major Red. The highest ranking Ayshire bull is B Jurist in fourth place with a PLI of £163.

“If Ayrshire breeders consider it’s important to retain Ayrshire bloodlines within their herd, they should be aware that many of the highest PLI bulls assessed amongst the Ayrshires are in fact red and white Holsteins,” says Marco Winters from DairyCo breeding+. “Since the Ayrshire Cattle Society opened its herdbook to other breeds, breeders have sometimes found it hard to know which breed’s bloodlines dominate a bull’s pedigree.

“For the future, a new coding system should resolve these difficulties, but in the short term, any breeder uncertain of the bloodlines of a bull they are considering using should ask for clarification from the Ayrshire Society.”

Jersey

In the Jersey breed, the top three bulls remain unchanged since the last proof run, with the component specialist Sunset Canyon Maximus leading the group at £208 PLI (up four points) and now with 247 daughters contributing to his UK proof. In second place is DJ Hulk, while Q Impuls continues his strong performance in third place with a good daughter Fertility Index rating at +2.3.

Guernsey

Sniders Option Aaron keeps his number one spot in the Guernsey Merit Index (GMI) ranking at 545, now with 76 UK daughters contributing to his index. Climbing three places into second is Coulee Crest Luxury Spider, with Trotacre Jay Mr Luck rounding off the top three.

Reminding breeders to be cautious when comparing breeds, Mr Winters says: “Don’t forget that each breed is analysed on its own base which means that a bull from one breed cannot be compared using Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) figures with a bull from another.

“This is likely to change in the future when we introduce across breed indexes, but for the time being, extreme caution should be exercised by farmers considering crossbreeding, who may be weighing up the merits of one breed against another.”

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