For breeds other than Holstein there has been stability within the DairyCo Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) rankings where British Friesians in particular have remained rock solid.
Deangate Tarquin retains his position as the number one bull of the breed thanks to his consistently good production figures and excellent fitness traits which come together in a PLI of £202. The next three bulls are equally familiar as Morcourt Hilton,Lakemead Randolf and Langley Evolution retain their second to fourth positions. New into the top five from sixth position in the previous ranking is Lakemead Pinnacle. A son of Marshside Rocket from a Catlane Camelot dam, Pinnacle has a PLI of £161.
Jersey
The Jersey top five sees a slight reshuffle, with DJ Broiler regaining the lead thanks to an increase in his Lifespan Index to +0.5. He now has a PLI of £223, with solid all-round transmitting ability, and his gain pushes VJ Lure into second position. Lure is followed by the third consecutive Danish bull, DJ Lix. The two North Americans, All-Lynns Maximum Vernon (with the highest milk yield in the top 20) and Sunset Canyon Athams Allstar, complete the top five.
Ayrshire
Finnish bulls keep control of the Ayrshire ranking with V Foske still featuring as the number one sire with a PLI of £198. He is followed by Gunnarstorp (PLI £184) in second, while joint third are Asmo Andrei and Swedish Red, Pell Pers (PLI £168).
Brown Swiss
For the Brown Swiss breed, Huray retains the top position with a PLI of £228. This high milk transmitter also has good figures for lifespan and daughter fertility at 0.6 and 9.5 respectively. Second placed is Vinold and new in third spot is German bred, Hegall, whose early daughter information lifts his PLI to £168.
Other breeds
For the Guernsey breed, Sniders Option Aaron takes the top spot on Guernsey Merit Index, Odislait further strengthens his grip on the Montbeliarde listing and Marleycote Blizzard makes a high entry on to the Shorthorn listings.
Comparison across breeds
“It must be remembered that genetic indexes should not be compared directly between breeds,” says Marco Winters, head of genetics for DairyCo. “The figures for each breed are calculated to relate to that breed average, so comparing figures across breeds would be both meaningless and potentially misleading.
“DairyCo supplies specific conversion formulae for those who want to compare one breed with another for cross-breeding purposes,” he says.
Source: Dairyco
