The December ranking of genomic sires, published by DairyCo Breeding+ this week, features many young bulls who are starting to become familiar and a smattering of newcomers to liven up the pack.
Retaining his number one position is Robust son, De-Su RB Moonray, a top fat improver at 46.1kg, whose transmission of health, fertility and conformation earn him a sky-high Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) of £292.
Sharing second position are Mr Moviestar Mardi Gras and Hoanster Zanzibar, each with a PLI of £278.
Mardi Gras is a son of genomic sire, Mogul, and out of a Planet daughter from the Rudy Missy family. This line is well-known for breeding AI sires, including the popularSeagul-Bay Supersire, who ranks in joint fifth position. The high type transmission predicted for Mardi Gras is a particular feature, as he weighs in with a Type Merit of 3.66.
Hoanster Zanzibar features a slightly different pedigree as an RMW Armitage x Laeschway Jet Bowser from the Rud Zip family. Zanzibar, like many of the top genomic young sires, specialises in improving daughter health, with a low Somatic Cell Count Index and amongst the best for daughter fertility (Fertility Index 6.4).
For the next of the newcomers we move to equal 12th position where EDG Demanmakes his debut with a PLI of £265. Another son of Mogul and out of an Atwood from the well-known show cow Scientific Debutante Rae, this bull features by far the highest Type Merit of the top 20 at a massive 4.08.
Bomaz AltaJager features for the first time in equal 16th position, and is backed by the slightly unusual pedigree of Hunter x Russel x Lancelot. Hunter is a Man-O-Man son, and still a young sire himself. With high type, outstanding cell counts, good daughter fertility and solid production, this all-rounder has a PLI of £259.
The top 20 is rounded off by the final new entrant to the group in the shape of Seagull-Bay MVP with a PLI of £257. Another Mogul x Planet from the Rudy Missy family, he is a maternal brother to Supersire.
“These young genomic sires continue to represent a big step up from most of the daughter-proven sires and I’d urge dairy producers who are keen to make genetic progress to consider a selection for their herds,” says Marco Winters from DairyCo. “The reliability of their production indexes is around 67 per cent which is sufficiently high for most producers to feel comfortable with their use.
“By using a selection of young sires, rather than focussing heavily on a few, worthwhile progress can be expected while minimising the risk.
“However, as genetic turnover accelerates it is increasingly difficult to keep up with ancestry details, so producers should study pedigrees carefully to maintain a broad range of bloodlines when selecting their genomic sires,” he says.
DairyCo has published a ‘Guide to genomic evaluations’ which is available online and also has a video online explaining how genomic indexes are calculated and how they should be used. For details visit www.dairyco.org.uk
