BREEDING

from Dairy Farmer September 2022

MACHINERY

Captain breaks through £1,000 £PLI barrier

Holstein sire Genosource Captain has held the number one position he regained earlier this year in the young genomic sire ranking, published in August by AHDB Dairy.

He a rms his place by smashing the £1,000 barrier for Pro table

Lifetime Index (£PLI), achieving a comfortable lead over two of his sons, which join their sire to take the top three places.

High production Captain improves his £PLI to £1,014, thanks to small improvements across the board, most notably for Calf Survival (CS).

With a CS of 5.8, thanks to the addition of new UK data, he becomes one of the breed leaders for this trait. His index of 4.9 for

EnviroCow also tops the breed for green credentials, aided by excellent transmission of feed conversion e ciency (Feed Advantage 257). e Captain son (out of a

Redrock dam) in second place is the new entry, DG Peace (£PLI £962), whose transmi ing pa ern is similar to that of his sire, with high

Predicted Transmi ing Abilities for milk (1,025kg) and protein (41kg).

Moving up the ranking to third place is Cogent Koepon Rocky (£PLI £959), a UK-bred Captain son from a Kenobi dam. Each of the top three sires score well for resistance to digital dermatitis, helping them achieve above average scores for Lameness Advantage. e next six places are taken by new entrants since the previously published genetic evaluations in April, and leading the pack is Denovo 17835 Lennon-P. is Mendel son transmits high daughter Lifespan Index (+162 days) and strong daughter Fertility Index (FI 13.6), helping to earn him one of the highest indexes for HealthyCow, at 315.

Peak AltaSeverus

In h position, Peak AltaSeverus (by Peak AltaPlinko) is another high fertility bull (FI 15.3) with strong lifespan (LS 156) who is also predicted to transmit shorter than average gestation length at -3 days.

Sixth placed CherryPenCol HighCloud (by Peak AltaZazzle) is a high fat transmi er (54.2kg) with a very favourable Lameness Advantage of 3.7, while seventh and eighth position are taken by two full brothers – Pine-Tree Denovo Aleo (£PLI £946) and Pine-Tree Denovo Avon (£PLI £922).

Both are by Aladdin out of the same Legacy dam and o er very high fat transmission for both

Genosource Captain is the leading young genomic sire, ranked on £PLI.

weight (56.7kg and 59.6kg fat) and percentage (0.34% and 0.37%, respectively). is revised ranking gives Holstein producers plenty of scope to add new sires to their breeding strategy, with the usual caution advised to ensure there is a divergence of bloodlines chosen among so many previously unknown names.

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB, says: “It is particularly important to take steps to ensure genetic diversity as so many previously unknown sires enter the market and it is no longer realistic for most to memorise each of their pedigrees.

“We would strongly recommend the use of a computer breeding program, such as our own Inbreeding Checker included in AHDB’s Herd Genetic Report.

“ is will ensure a proposed mating does not narrow bloodlines unduly but with this proviso – and the need to spread risk by using a team of young sires rather than focusing heavily on individuals – there is a wealth of genetic improvement to be made from these high £PLI sires.

“All of the leading group and many more have exceptional health, environmental and e ciency credentials, all of which will help breeders improve the welfare, sustainability and pro tability of their herds.”

Top 10 Holstein bulls with genomic indexes ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI)

£PLI Bull name Milk Fat Ptn Fat Ptn SCC LS FI Feed TM Sire x mat Supplier kg kg kg % % Adv grandsire GB/NI

1 1014 Genosource Captain 1079 53.2 37.2 0.11 0.02 -13 131 9.8 257 1.04 Charl x Sabre CBL 2 962 DG Peace 1025 49.5 41.0 0.09 0.08 -21 107 6.3 243 0.30 Captain x Redrock CBL 3 959 Cogent Koepon Rocky 860 48.9 37.0 0.16 0.10 -19 98 8.7 235 0.34 Captain x Kenobi CBL 4 957 Denovo 17835 Lennon-P 715 48.7 30.7 0.22 0.08 -18 162 13.6 204 1.49 Mendel x Legacy GEN 5 954 Peak Altaseverus 939 46.6 38.2 0.10 0.08 -23 156 15.3 150 0.00 AltaPlinko x Crimson ALT 6 948 Cherrypencol Highcloud 945 54.2 37.0 0.18 0.06 -23 128 5.2 202 1.44 AltaZazzle x Riveting UKD 7 946 Pine-Tree Denovo Aleo 651 56.7 29.7 0.34 0.09 -20 153 6.8 227 0.39 Aladdin x Legacy GEN 8 922 Pine-Tree Denovo Avon-ET 655 59.6 30.2 0.37 0.10 -15 104 4.1 263 0.38 Aladdin x Legacy GEN 9 915 Cookiecutter Holysmokes 935 48.2 38.7 0.12 0.09 -22 122 6.1 120 1.70 Highjump x Renegade SMX 10 912 Denovo 3709 Charter 768 56.2 32.8 0.28 0.08 -17 131 5.0 171 1.24 Chalet x Medley GEN

New daughter-proven sire brings improved enviro-credentials

Anew frontrunner has emerged in the daughter-proven sire ranking. Bomaz Monument-P takes this position for the rst time, as the in uence of his early daughters milking outside the UK begins to be felt. ese help earn this polled ABS Medley son a Pro table Lifetime Index (£PLI) of £785, along with high Predicted Transmi ing Abilities (PTAs) for fat (43.9kg and +0.22%), daughter Lifespan (LS +134 days) and Calf Survival (CS +3).

Monument-P also has the best EnviroCow index of any proven sire at 3.8. is means that thanks largely to his ability to transmit high milk solids, with strong lifespan and improved feed conversion e ciency, his daughters are predicted to create fewer greenhouse gas emissions in their lifetimes for each kilogram of solids-corrected milk they produce. e next three places are all occupied by sons of the popular mating sire DG Charley, who now has a total of four sons in the top 10. e rst of these is Denovo 14566 Crosby, the former frontrunner from the April run of genetic evaluations. Now in second place with a £PLI of £737, his index features strong udder health (Somatic Cell Count -25 and Mastitis -3), with breed-leading Calf Survival (CS 6.1).

Bomaz Monument-P is the new leading proven sire ranked on both £PLI and £ACI.

Sires in the daughter-proven top 10 ranking come with £PLI reliabilities ranging from 70% to 97%

MARCO WINTERS

Moving up to third position is Hurtgenlea Richard Charl, with a £PLI of £730. This high milk bull (PTA milk, 966kg) also features a very favourable Maintenance Index of -16. New in fourth place is Neal, the best Feed Advantage bull in the rankings with a score of 197. Neal also features a good genetic index for digital dermatitis, at 0.7, which helps earn him the best Lameness Advantage in the top 20 at 3.5. e familiar name of Westcoast Yamaska appears in equal h position, his 1,183 UK daughters milking in 223 herds helping to earn him a £PLI of £723.

He shares this position with Riethil Summerlake, who features the best udder health data in the top 20 (SCC -30, Mastitis -4) and is the top 10’s fourth son of Charley.

Topstone is a new entry in seventh position, with a £PLI of £722. A son of Bomaz AltaTopshot (who incidentally still ranks in the top 20 himself, with 1,757 UK daughters), Topstone transmits long daughter lifespans (LS +165 days) and a short Gestation Length (-4).

Eighth and ninth places are held by bulls which were also high- iers in the previous index run. Both sired by De-Su 13050 Spectre and both o ering outstanding fat transmission, the rst is ABS Zebedee (PTA fat 49.6kg), with a £PLI of £706, ahead of ABS Crimson.

With even higher milk solids, Crimson weighs in with PTAs of 50.9kg fat and 33.2kg protein and a £PLI of £703. e highest daughter fertility bull of the top 20 is UK-bred Stowey Magician. He rounds o the top 10 with a Fertility Index of +16.6 and a £PLI of £700.

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB Dairy, says: “Sires in the daughter-proven top 10 ranking come with £PLI reliabilities ranging from 70% to 97%, o ering the highest level of predictability in their breeding performance. is provides reassurance for producers who prefer to use tried and tested bloodlines, which they may choose to mix with a team of high £PLI young genomic sires to make the greatest genetic gains.”

Top 10 daughter-proven Holstein bulls ranked on Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI)

£PLI Bull name Milk Fat Ptn Fat Ptn SCC LS FI Feed TM Sire Supplier

kg kg kg % %

Adv

1 785 Bomaz Monument-P 604 43.9 26.3 0.22 0.07 -19 134 8.5 140 0.13 Medley 2 737 Denovo 14566 Crosby 702 39.5 27.1 0.13 0.04 -25 67 1.9 105 0.20 Charley 3 730 Hurtgenlea Richard Charl 966 40.7 27.2 0.02 -0.05 -16 92 8.4 174 0.60 Charley 4 728 Neal 851 27.6 26.8 -0.07 -0.01 -28 116 7.4 197 0.96 Charley 5 723 Westcoast Yamaska 503 42.0 32.7 0.25 0.18 -5 49 8.4 20 1.00 Afterburner

GB/NI

GEN GEN CBL CBL SMX

5 723 Riethil Summerlake 728 40.1 29.0 0.12 0.06 -30 67 -0.8 75 0.59 Charley MGN/WFE

7 722 Topstone 851 33.5 30.2 -0.01 0.02 -23 165 6.9 71 0.77 AltaTopshot MGN

8 706 ABS Zebedee 732 49.6 28.1 0.22 0.05 -17 73 4.9 9 1.44 Spectre GEN

9 703 ABS Crimson 942 50.9 33.2 0.14 0.02 -11 67 3.0 53 0.35 Spectre GEN

10 700 Stowey Magician 449 31.2 22.8 0.15 0.09 -10 116 16.6 88 1.18 Mardi Gras GSU/UKD

Stability in non-Holstein rankings

The daughter fertility improver Catlane Caleb maintains his long-held lead in the British Friesian ranking on Pro table Lifetime Index (£PLI), with a slight increase in his £PLI.

Now at £PLI £373, he also o ers high milk components with Predicted Transmi ing Abilities of 0.26% fat and 0.16% protein. His daughter Fertility Index (FI) is 12.1 on the Friesian breed scale.

Retaining his second place is Inch Persistent (£PLI £352), the highest type transmi er of the breed, with a Type Merit (TM) of 2.32. He combines this with a good index for HealthyCow at 255.

Stability at the top of the Jersey rankings sees the high milk volume River Valley Cece Chrome hold on to the top spot with a £PLI of £478. His 493 UK daughters con rm his production, while he also has the highest TM of the top ve bulls at 2.1.

In second place is VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet (£PLI £447). High daughter fertility (FI 11.7) and the transmission of good overall health earns him a HealthyCow index of 213. e Ayshire rankings show no change in the top three places, with VR Alatalon Flame Feton retaining the number one position.

Top five Jersey sires ranked on £PLI

1 River Valley Cece Chrome £478 2 VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet £447 3 Danish VJ Raastrup Hihl Gislev £417 4 VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster £393 5 JX Spring Creek Marlo Stoney £371 Top five Ayrshire sires ranked on £PLI

1 VR Alatalon Flame Feton £480 2 VR Gobel £422 3 VR Vilano £416 4 VR Viljar Vilperi £374 5 VR Fabu £332

A daughter of Rivervalley Cece Chrome, the leading Jersey sire, ranked on £PLI.

Top five Friesian sires ranked on £PLI

1 Catlane Caleb £373 2 Inch Persistent £352 3 Raheenarran BCG Sochar £314 4 Manorpark Google £304 5 Catlane Cromwell £303 rFor other breed indexes, visit ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/ dairy-breeding-and-genetics

New sires for block calvers ready for autumn

JProducers calving in a block this autumn and now turning their attention to sire selection will find the Autumn Calving Index (£ACI) highlights sires most suited to their needs.

At the top of this ranking is Bomaz Monument-P, who makes his debut as a proven sire.

Strong contender

Also leading in the separate Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking for year-round calving herds, he shows what a strong contender he is across a range of UK farming systems. In particular, he offers high milk fat, long daughter lifespans and good calf survival, all of which are requirements of any successful dairy enterprise.

Monument-P’s £ACI of £661 is 15 points ahead of second placed Progenesis Wimbledon (£ACI £646) who is also the leader in this month’s Spring Calving Index (£SCI) ranking.

In third place is the UK-bred Holstein, Boghill Glamour Persuade (£ACI £637).

With 10 milking daughters contributing to his index, he just qualifies for these daughterproven rankings on early data.

Following Progenesis Wimbledon in the £SCI rankings is the previous Jersey frontrunner, VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet (£SCI £548).

Moving up to take third place is another Jersey in the shape

Top five bulls ranked on £SCI

1 Progenesis Wimbledon £557 (Holstein) 2 VJ Ravninggaard Huus Hamlet £548 (Jersey) 3 VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster £542 (Jersey) 4 ABS Sassafras £539 (Holstein) 5 Danish VJ Zummit £523 (Jersey) of VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster. His £SCI of £542 reflects his daughters’ high milk solids and good lifespans.

Top five bulls ranked on £ACI

1 Bomaz Monument-P £661 (Holstein) 2 Progenesis Wimbledon £646 (Holstein) 3 Boghill Glamour Persuade £637 (Holstein) 4 VH River Ramsey £634 (Holstein) 5 ABS Sassafras £626 (Holstein)

Planning Ahead for Autumn and Winter

The sun might s ll be shining, but now is the me to plan your autumn and winter feed regimes. Commodity prices remain unstable, so choosing co-products is a cost-e ec ve way to maximise home-grown feed and ensure ca le have a nutri ous ra on.

Silage in 2022

There was a clear choice this year, infl uenced by fuel and fer lizer prices. You could take fewer but bulkier cuts or opt for a mul -cut system. Whatever your approach, the hot weather has held back grass growth leaving forage stocks lower than normal years.

As the winter of 2021 was mild, the growing period was prolonged, so 2022 silages are higher in fi brous overwintered material. This promotes rumen health but is less readily diges ble for the cow.

As the energy content is lower than previous years (reported by Trouw Nutri on GB), a balance of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates and proteins is needed to support milk produc on.

The benefi ts of adding Sedagold Syrup to dry forages

Hot weather means drier forages, which are less palatable. Adding a liquid feed like Sedagold Syrup to hay or haylage is an easy way to encourage intake, “A er speaking to Duynie, I realized that I could extend my forage stocks by mixing Seda Syrup with available straw to make a nutri ous feed.” (Duynie Customer)

Not only is the syrup high in protein and energy, but it also reduces dust, binds in smaller mineral-rich par cles, and prevents selec ve feeding by coa ng the ra on. As Sedagold counteracts high lignin values, it improves the diges bility of the feed as a whole and makes nutrients more available.

Why plan your winter feeding around co-products?

• High cost of dry feed means enhancing home-grown forage is crucial • Moist products deliver protein and energy while boos ng palatability • More palatable ra ons drive DM intake and maximize milk yields • As secondary produc rom human food produc on, these are cost e ec ve op ons

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To help you make the most of Duynie’s moist products, our expert team will individually formulate a ra on to suit your system and balance feeds in your ra on.