Archive for Genetic Evaluation Review

One Cow, Seven Bulls, Six Countries: What August 2026’s Proof Run Really Tells You About Your Semen Tank

One sire owns 7 of 10 U.S. GTPI. One cow backs 7 bulls across two lists. Six countries, one 72-hour window, one honest question: how related is your tank, actually?

Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ET sired 7 of the U.S. GTPI Top 10 and 8 of Net Merit’s. One cow — T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET — sits behind seven bulls across those two lists. In Canada, one full-sibling pair jumped from ranks 31 and 44 to #1 and #3. In Italy, five of ten domestic genomic slots turned over in four months. The world’s Holstein A-list came out August 11–13 across six countries — and if you order semen off it without pulling pedigrees three generations deep, you’re not diversifying. You’re buying one flush three different ways.

Every four months the numbers reset, and every four months most pedigree breeders make the same mistake: they treat a new list of names as a new set of choices. This August 2026 Holstein sire run — released inside a 72-hour window by Holstein Association USA/CDCB, Lactanet Canada, ANAFIBJ Italy, CRV Netherlands, Qualitas AG Switzerland, and vit/BRS Germany — is the cleanest case study we’ve seen for why that framing is broken. Six independent evaluation systems. Six different indexes. Six different bull populations. And underneath, one pattern the numbers can’t hide: modern Holstein genetics run through a shockingly narrow pipeline of sires, dams, and — most invisibly — single cow families.

Honestly, the awkward part is how much of this is happening at generations three and four, exactly where most producers stop reading the sire card.

A note before we dig in: almost every genomic bull named below is a first-crop sire with 0 daughters milking. Reliabilities cluster at 65–82% on the genomic side and 84–99% on the proven side. Every “Top 10” ranking mentioned here that’s genomic-based can and will re-rank at the next run. That’s not a caveat — it’s the whole reason the concentration story matters. And one internal note we use throughout: volatility score is our descriptive metric for how much a top 10 turned over run-over-run (new entrants + drop-outs + rank changes of ≥2 places). A “loud” list is roughly 15+; a “quiet” list is under 10. Not a Lactanet or CRV-published figure — just a way to compare movement between lists in this piece.

The August 2026 Concentration Snapshot

CountryTop 10 concentration this runTurnover vs. April
USA (GTPI)7 of 10 by Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ET6 new entrants
USA (NM$)8 of 10 by Ripcord; 5 trace to Sdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET as MGS6 new entrants
USA (Red & White GTPI)3 of 10 are full siblings out of Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RCNew #1 (+94 clear)
Canada (GPA LPI)5 of 10 trace to Stantons Revamp P or Remover PP9 of 10 new to top 10
Canada (Domestic LPI)5 of 10 marketed by Select Sires; 6 of 10 by Select + Alta4 new entrants
Italy (Domestic Genomic gPFT)5 of 10 marketed by Intermizoo; 3 of top 8 are Vivify sons5 new entrants
Netherlands (Zwartbont Interbull)4 of 10 sired by Genosource Captain9 of 10 new to top 10
Netherlands (Roodbont Interbull)6 of 10 owned by GGI; 3 of 10 by Sputnik Rf4 new entrants
Switzerland (ISET Genomic)3 of 10 share Gameday-ET as MGS3 new entrants; 3 out of top 100
Germany (Schwarzbunt Genomic)6 of 10 are 2025-born new entrants; Argentum sires 2 of 106 of 10 new to top 10
Germany (Rotbunt Genomic)7 of 10 marketed by Phönix1 new entrant

Indexes are not numerically comparable across borders. Sources cited country-by-country below.

Here’s the full rundown, country by country, and what a working breeder should actually do with it before Monday.

The Ripcord Effect: Why the U.S. Top 10 Isn’t 10 Choices

Start with what will drive North American mating decisions this fall. In the August 2026 CDCB/Holstein Association USA run, Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ET sired 7 of the top 10 GTPI bulls and 8 of the top 10 for Net Merit $. On a list of ten bulls at the very top of the world’s largest Holstein population, one sire owns seventy to eighty percent of the slots.

Sire concentration is the easy story — but pull one generation further and it gets tighter, not looser. Genosource Judson-ET, Genosource Jacoby-ET, and Genosource Jrue-ET — three separate names on the top of GTPI and Net Merit $ — are full brothers out of Genosource Hobbs 81451-ET from the same embryo flush. Judson and Jacoby were born the same day, July 31, 2025. Jrue was born two days earlier. Same sire, same dam, same flush. Three catalog listings, one biological choice.

And there’s one cow underneath most of it: T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET. She sits as granddam or great-granddam behind seven bulls split across the GTPI and Net Merit $ Top 10s — Jitters, Judson, Jacoby, Jethro, Jrue, Jaco, and Patriot 76 — through four different maternal branches. That’s a cow family concentration deeper than the “Ripcord” story alone tells you, and it only shows up if you pull the sire card two generations past what most catalog spreads print.

A second cow family sits under the Delux Dominance cluster. Genosource Detox-ET, Genosource Domination-ET, and Genosource Decipher-ET share identical dam, MGD, and MGGD (Genosource Devi 77158-ET → Genosource Devoid 70904-ET → Genosource Deviate 46921-ET). One female line, three sons in the Top 10.

THE FUNCTIONAL WARNING ON THE RIPCORD LINES

Every Ripcord son in the GTPI Top 10 posts positive UDC and negative FLC — udders up, feet-and-legs down. The verified spread across the seven Ripcord sons: UDC +0.25 to +1.07 (Riptide is the strongest udder in the group), FLC −0.16 to −0.78 (Judson is the weakest leg composite). On the Net Merit $ side, the split gets sharper — Genosource Valkyrie-ET posts the worst functional-leg composite in either merit Top 10 at FLC −1.41 with UDC −0.81.

Components and productive life hold up on paper — no Ripcord son in the GTPI Top 10 sits under +176 CFP or under +3.3 PL. But the linear pattern is real, and the commercial consequence isn’t in the printed proof: stacking these sires across generations, especially onto shallow-heeled or hock-in cows, will compound mobility risk in freestall herds two lactations forward. Protected mating on foot angle and rear-leg-rear is not optional for a Ripcord-heavy tank.

The structural corrections in the matrix. Look for outcrosses whose own sire cards carry positive FLC — that’s the real fix. In this run’s outcross set, Bomaz Royalist-P-ET (UDC +1.07, FLC +0.93) on the Red Carrier list and Farnear Aircraft-ET (91–92%R, daughter-proven) on the Red/RC PTAT list are the cleanest structural pairings for a Ripcord-heavy cow group; Progenesis Espressivo-P clears the pedigree side outright. Ask for FLC on the sire card of any Jaela-line straw before you order.

Two genuine outcrosses exist in the entire U.S. run:

  • Progenesis Espressivo-P (Red Carrier GTPI #4, +3382, 77%R, 0 dtrs) — Beyond Hi-Level-ET × Trifecta Hike-ET × 3star Oh Ranger Red-ET on top; Progenesis Hike Escape RC × Progenesis Ranger Eskimo P RC × Progenesis Einstein Even P RC on the bottom. No traceable tie to Ripcord, Delux Dominance, Woodcrest King Doc, or T-Spruce Jaela on either side. The cleanest true outcross in the whole run.
  • Genosource Jaco-ET (GTPI #8, +3608, 82%R, 0 dtrs) — the closest mainstream alternative, and the biggest jumper in the Top 10 at +128 with the group’s best reliability. Still traces to the Jaela family — just not through Ripcord.

For herds prioritizing fertility and feed economics under CDCB’s rebuilt evaluation, the bulls actually worth chasing sit lower on the list. Genosource Domination-ET (NM$ #2, $1,324, ~77–79%R, 0 dtrs) posts DPR +2.8, CCR +4.9, FSC +143.0 with Feed Saved +402 — the fertility/feed anchor of this run. His linear split (UDC +0.21, FLC −0.95) is less extreme than Valkyrie’s but still Ripcord-typical. S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET (GTPI #9, ~77–79%R, 0 dtrs) carries the best fertility in the GTPI Top 10 — DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2, FSC +154.0 — and still lost two ranks, which tells you everything about how fast the list moved.

On the Red & White side, Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC just placed three full-sibling sons in the same Top 10: Aprilday Orphs Aesop-Red-ET (#3), Aprilday Ancho Peppr-Red-ET (#6), Aprilday Hrok Athens-Red-ET (#7). One cow, three different sires, three Top 10 sons. Pick one deliberately, or don’t pick any.

The daughter-proven anchor in this Red-list section: Farnear Aircraft-ET (Red/RC PTAT #9, +3.02, 91–92%R) is the one genuinely daughter-proven bull in the entire U.S. lookup — a real daughter file with production and udder-linear depth behind him. If you want a lower-risk anchor for a Red mating plan while genomic-only names above him swing, that’s him.

Barn-math the $47 gap. Between Net Merit $ #1 (Jentry, $1,326) and #10 (Decipher, $1,279) sits $47 per animal — roughly $4,700 in projected lifetime profitability across a 100-cow group of daughters. Real money on a first-crop genomic proof.

Read more: August 2026 USA Proofs: Four Sires Are Driving the Entire Top 10 – Is Your Semen Tank Truly Diversified?

Canada: One Bull Jumped 30 Places, His Full Brother Jumped 41

Canada’s August 2026 GPA LPI run handed the #1 spot to Stantons Overhaul-P (GPA LPI +4140, genomic, 0 dtrs) — up 159 points from +3981 (rank 31) in April. Nine of the ten August names are new to the top 10; five never appeared in April’s Top 100 at all. His full brother, Stantons Blast Off P (GPA LPI +4124, same sire Stantons Revamp P, same dam Stantons Lambda Margaret, 0 dtrs), moved from rank 44 to rank 3 in the same run.

Five of the ten August GPA LPI slots — Overhaul-P, Blast Off P, Stantons Target PP, Stantons Raise the Bar P, Stantons Agent PP — trace to sires Stantons Revamp P or Stantons Remover PP. That’s half the top of Canada’s genomic young-sire list running through one family’s breeding program. Target PP and Agent PP share dam Stantons What It Takes P. Overhaul-P and Blast Off P share dam Stantons Lambda Margaret.

A formula note worth flagging. Lactanet’s April 2026 LPI update shifted the Holstein Production subindex’s Fat:Protein weighting from 60:40 to 40:60 (higher-protein bulls now favoured) and added Calf Health to the Health & Welfare subindex. Both the April and August 2026 runs already reflect the same post-change formula, so the movements above are on a consistent scale — but any comparison you’re carrying forward from a pre-April printout is not.

What that’s worth in dollars: the gap between the Top 10’s highest Pro$ (Adaway Reaper Myboyblue-ET at $3,871) and lowest (Stantons Agent PP at $2,709) is $1,162 per animal. Applied across a 50-daughter sample, that’s roughly $58,100 in projected lifetime-profit difference — before a single daughter classifies or milks a day.

The proven side barely moved. Stantons Remover PP (LPI +3945, 98%R) took #1 domestic LPI, up 72 points from +3873 (rank 2) in April, swapping places with Siemers Rengd Parfect-ET (LPI +3932, 99%R, which gained 18 points itself and still slipped from #1 to #2). Six of April’s proven Top 10 are still there. And the stud story: Select Sires alone markets 5 of the August 2026 domestic Top LPI Top 10, with Alta Genetics adding a sixth. On the April run, Select Sires and Alta accounted for 9 of the 10.

MACE LPI — Canada’s ranking for foreign daughter-proven bulls — is the calmest list of all. RMD-Dotterer Bolt Action-ET has held #1 in both runs (+3927 April → +3950 August, 93%R). Has Giroud jumped from rank 33 to rank 4 (+124 points, 93%R), the standout mover.

The show-ring inheritance story. Jacobs Spear P debuts at #1 with +20 Conformation (+3900 LPI, genomic). Read his dam line and it becomes something else. His sire, Fraholme Vec Triton PP, sits at #43 on the same Conformation list at +16. His dam is a VG-86 (1-yr) by Allgaud out of a VG-87 (3-yr) by Ranger-Red, out of an EX-93 by Lautrust, out of Erbacres Snapple Shakira-ET EX-97 — the two-time Grand Champion and Supreme Champion of the World Dairy Expo International Holstein Show (2021 and 2023). Shakira is owned by Ferme Jacobs and partners of Cap-Santé, Quebec — the same Jacobs name behind the new #1 genomic Conformation bull. That is what a female line looks like when show-ring wins compound long enough to hand you a genomic proof. It’s also a reminder that Canadian type genetics still live in specific barns, not just spreadsheets. Character Andres holds #2 at +19 Conformation, tied with six other bulls at the identical value — a jam at the top the kind of pedigree work above tends to break through.

Read more: Stantons Overhaul-P Tops Canada’s August 2026 Genomic Rankings

Italy: Five Bulls Just Fell Out of the Top 10 in One Run

Italy’s August 2026 ANAFIBJ gPFT run is the most volatile of the six analyzed. (gPFT is Italy’s total-merit index for Holstein; IES € is the domestic economic sub-index; ICS-PR € is a production-focused economic composite. All three come from ANAFIBJ; all three move together but at different rates.) Five of ten domestic genomic top 10 bulls are new. The previous #1, ECBERT, slipped to #3. The new #1: QHR Inseme Santry ET (Rome × Cronk, Inseme) at +5487 gPFT / +1386 IES € / +1440 ICS-PR € (Rk 99, ANAFIBJ’s max genomic reliability, no daughters).

Five bulls need same-week replacement if they’re on your Italian mating list: Go-Farm Mirosh ET (was #4), DM Saxony (was #5), Isolabella Liverpool (was #6), Wil Sonador RF (was #9), GGA Jegolo (was #10 despite gaining 7 gPFT points — the list moved underneath him).

The trait swaps are cleaner than the ranking shuffle suggests:

  • Kg Fat / component power (Mirosh, Sonador): swap in Passini Odino (+0.28% fat) or GPlus Oakland(+0.60% fat, 107 Kg Fat).
  • Raw milk volume (Jegolo): swap in QHR Santry (+1,903 Kg Milk, now #1 overall).
  • Udder quality (Liverpool): swap in Passini Odino (Udder cmp 117, F&L 1.90 — best udder in the top 10).
  • Balanced type + longevity (Saxony): swap in SH Jalnus ET — AA κ-casein, Longevity 116, balanced fat/protein.

The Vivify concentration problem is real. Vivify sons hold 3 of the top 8 domestic genomic slots (Rascasse #4, Odino #6, Stormur #8). If your Italian herd is already Vivify-heavy, the outcross plays that don’t cost index are QHR Santry(Rome × Cronk), GPlus Oakland (Owen × Captain), and Gill Impeto (GTA × Beerbum).

On the daughter-proven side, Go-Farm Boero ET RF took #1 at +5241 (+79 in one run, Crisalis RF × Pursuit), unseating stablemate ZFZ Crisalis RF (–86). Boero is Italy’s highest reliability-plus-gPFT combination if you won’t bet contract heifers on genomic-only bulls.

The ceiling story worth pausing on. Denovo Locust-ET widened his Interbull-converted lead to +5613 gPFT — +126 clear of Santry, +372 clear of Boero. That’s the difference between what the Italian scale actually rewards and what an Italian breeder can safely mate to this month. If you can source him through the foreign-genomic pathway, he’s the real Italian ceiling.

And Progenesis Vivify himself graduated to foreign-proven #1 at +5491, putting Vivify and Santry inside noise of each other at the second tier. Intermizoo houses 5 of 10 domestic genomic slots (Huller, Rascasse, Impeto, Jalnus, Bangles) — the strongest single-stud grip on the Italian genomic list in the two runs directly comparable. Inseme (Santry, Stormur) and Chiacche./ABS Italia (Ecbert, Odino) are actively contesting it with the biggest movers.

Read more: ANAFIBJ August 2026 gPFT: QHR Santry Debuts at #1 (+5487) as Five Bulls Fall Out of Italy’s Top 10

The Netherlands: The Same Bull, Two Different Numbers, Same Publication

Take one thing from the Dutch August 2026 NVI run: Peak Powerstar is carrying two published values this cycle — +303 NVI on April’s Interbull-converted list, +338 NVI (78%R, 57 dtrs) on August’s national daughter-proven list. Same bull. Same genetics. Same barn. Different daughter-eligibility pool. A 35-point gap.

That’s not a re-evaluation. That’s a category migration — a bull whose Dutch daughter file grew large enough to move him from foreign-converted MACE data to the domestic proven list. Same animal, different math. If you selected off April’s Interbull number, the number on his current national-proven card is 35 points higher not because he improved, but because his daughter file crossed a category threshold.

The Zwartbont Interbull-converted list posted the loudest movement (volatility score 19 — see intro note): nine of ten April slots gone. Dg Dr. No (Captain × Crimson, Tot) now leads at +349 NVI on 273 daughters, 84%R — though his own number actually fell 11 points from a previously reported +360. The rank looks like a rise; the bull went down. Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (Rix × Denovo 2981 Sheldon, WWS) jumped 66 points from +249 to +315 NVI on 435 daughters, 70%R — the single biggest gainer in either Dutch daughter-proven list.

Captain-sired bulls occupy four of ten slots in the Zwartbont Interbull-converted top 10 (Dg Dr. No, Dg Just In Time, Dg Peace, Sdg Gs Gotti). For breeders wanting to avoid stacking Captain, Progenesis Vivify (Royalflush × Altaplinko, +323 NVI, 284 dtrs, 79%R) and Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (+315 NVI, 435 dtrs, 70%R) are the ones outside that sire line entirely.

On the Roodbont side, Ceh Spotlight (Sputnik Rf × Gywer Rdc) held #1 in both runs at +321 NVI (346 dtrs, 72%R). GGI owns six of the ten slots. Sputnik Rf alone sires three of the ten (Ceh Spotlight, Stb Spot-Red P, Shake Red). Breeders wanting to break from both need 3star Keane PP Red (Mars P-Red × Solitair P — still GGI, +290 NVI, 104 dtrs, 72%R) or Global Red (Gnabry × Solitair P — outside GGI and outside the Sputnik Rf line, +278 NVI, 50 dtrs, 71%R).

The deepest daughter file in the whole Dutch dataset — and it’s not on the loudest list. Bomaz Magnific-Et(Zwartbont Interbull-converted #8, +314 NVI, 876 daughters, 74%R) carries more than three times the daughter count of anything else in that top 10. Dg Dv Rammstein Red (Roodbont National-proven #4, +318 NVI, 595 daughters, 89%R) is the deepest daughter file among the Roodbont bulls. If proof stability outranks peak NVI on your list, those two are the anchors in the whole Dutch run.

Read more: The Peak Powerstar Effect: Navigating Netherlands August 2026 NVI Rankings

Switzerland: Three Former Top-10 Bulls Just Vanished

Switzerland’s August 2026 ISET Genomic run held Progenesis Torchlight at #1 (+2 to 1521 ISET, 70–72%R, 0 dtrs). (ISET is Holstein Switzerland/swissherdbook’s total-merit index, published by Qualitas AG; it weights milk yield, components, functional traits and type on a nationally-calibrated scale — a top ISET score is not directly comparable to a top GTPI or LPI.) The real story is who’s gone. Progenesis Timeout, April’s #7 at 1476, dropped out of the top 100 entirely in one run. Les Verdaux Egan (April #9) and Sous-Moron Boston (April #8) also vanished from the top 100.

Behind Torchlight, DG Eliandro debuted at #2 (1520 ISET, 70%R, no prior top-100 ranking) on a volume-first profile — 2,063 kg milk (roughly 4,550 lb), modest components. Opposite profile at #10: Eichhof Dover (1468 ISET, 70–72%R) with just 1,416 kg milk but +0.56% fat and +0.30% protein. Same index, opposite paths.

Gameday-ET sits as maternal grandsire behind three of the current top 10 — Torchlight, Cookiecutter Hadley (1509 ISET), and TGD-Holstein Monset (1504 ISET, ITP 129 / udder 129 — the strongest type stack in the group). Herds diversifying away from that MGS line should look at DG Eliandro (MGS Altaalanzo-E) or Lars-Acres Caruthers-S (1502 ISET, MGS Van Gogh-ET, 70%R).

The domestic daughter-proven ISET list sits over 100 points below the genomic ceiling — Progenesis Topstory leads at just 1416 ISET (~94–96%R). That gap isn’t because Torchlight is a verified better animal. It’s because a 70–72% reliability genomic proof carries less statistical caution than a 90%+ reliability daughter-proven one. Three bulls vanishing from the top 100 in one run is what that caution looks like in practice.

The proven mover: Peak Leeder jumped from rank 4 to rank 3 (+26 points, 1383 → 1409 ISET, reliability climbing 94% → 96% alongside) — a genuine daughter-driven gain, not a re-rank artifact. The other one worth naming: 3Star Oh Ranger (1397 ISET, 99%R) — the highest-reliability proven sire on the entire Swiss list. If you want minimum re-rank risk into December in the Swiss population, that’s your name.

Read more: Switzerland’s August 2026 Proof Run: DG Eliandro Debuts at #2 as Progenesis Timeout Vanishes From the Top 100

Germany: Six New Bulls Just Rewrote the Schwarzbunt Genomic List

Germany’s 11 August 2026 RZG run posted the most dramatic reshuffle of any list in this global set. Six of ten Schwarzbunt genomic top 10 bulls are 2025-born new entrants that don’t appear anywhere in April’s top 100: Harmony, Rovis, Artistic, Agent, Almonty, Smetana — every one of them at 77%R with 0 daughters.

Connect (Comet-sired, SYNETICS) held #1 at +166 RZG (77%R, RZM 150 / RZN 136 — a rare high-milk / high-fitness combination). Behind him, six former April top-10 bulls fell clear out of the top 10:

  • Remco (April #2 at +162) → #24 at +157
  • Realpower (April #3 at +161) → #13 at +158
  • Realside (April #4 at +161) → #19 at +157
  • Evenstar (April #7 at +161) → #23 at +157
  • Romantiker (April #8 at +161) → #16 at +158
  • Highmilk (April #9 at +161) → #32 at +156

If Remco or Realpower is queued in a German mating plan built off April data, that plan is running on numbers four months stale.

On the Schwarzbunt proven side, Zivet (SYNETICS, +148 RZG, 97%R, RZM 150) took #1 with a +4 gain from +144 — the largest RZG gain of any bull tracked in this global report. Former #1 Picard (91%R) fell –6 (+148 → +142) to #3.

Watch this move. Comeback jumped from rank #22 to rank #6 on a +2 RZG gain (+139 → +141, 92%R). That’s a 16-place rank climb — the sharpest rank movement on any proven list in this global run, and it happened on essentially unchanged raw genetics. That’s what a list looks like when everyone above a bull loses ground while he holds his.

Rotbunt — Germany’s Red Holsteins — is quieter. Skype Red holds #1 at +163 RZG (77%R, unchanged from April), but only because Harmonic P (April’s leader) dropped 2 points. Nine of ten anchors carried over. On the proven side, three brand-new entrants — Spooky Red (+143 RZG, 87%R), Master P (+139, 87%R), Mat Red P (+137, 85%R) — cracked the top 10 on their first appearance in the daughter-proven population as they crossed from genomic-only into proven status.

Phönix places 7 of 10 Rotbunt genomic slots, 6 of 10 Rotbunt proven slots, and 5 of 10 Schwarzbunt genomic slots. Structural, not accidental.

Reliability anchors on the German proven lists: Mirco (+140 RZG, 98%R) on Schwarzbunt, Ginger (+138 RZG, 97%R, 1,204 daughters) on Rotbunt. If you want minimal re-rank risk into December in the German population, those two are the closest to guarantees in the whole dataset.

Read more: Germany’s August 2026 RZG Run: Zivet Retakes the Schwarzbunt Proven Crown

What Actually Unites Six Countries This Run

Read the six reports side by side and the same forces keep showing up.

Sire concentration is real and getting worse. Ripcord owns 70–80% of the U.S. GTPI/NM$ top 10s. The Stantons cohort owns 50% of Canada’s GPA LPI top 10. Captain owns 40% of the Dutch Zwartbont Interbull-converted top 10. Vivify sons hold 3 of Italy’s top 8. Phönix places 7 of 10 slots in Germany’s Rotbunt genomic list. Different indexes, different countries, same problem: fewer sires and studs are producing more of the top of every list.

Cow families are the deeper concentration, and almost nobody’s counting them. T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET backs seven bulls across the U.S. GTPI and NM$ Top 10s through four different maternal branches. Genosource Deviate 46921-ET stacks three sons in one U.S. NM$ family. Stantons Lambda Margaret produced both Overhaul-P and Blast Off P — the #1 and #3 of Canadian GPA LPI. Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC placed three full-sibling Red & White sons in the same U.S. Top 10. When you cross-check sire, then MGS, then MGD/MGGD, most “diversified” tanks turn out to be one or two cow families in disguise.

The volatility gap between genomic and daughter-proven lists is now the story, not a footnote. Italy turned over 5 of 10 domestic genomic slots in four months. Germany’s Schwarzbunt genomic list turned over 6 of 10. Switzerland lost three former top-10 bulls out of the top 100 entirely. The Netherlands’ Interbull-converted lists posted volatility scores of 19 (Zwartbont) and 12 (Roodbont); their National daughter-proven Roodbont list scored just 4. Canada’s proven MACE LPI list barely moved. The genomic side of every index in this run rearranged itself. The deep-daughter proven lists barely blinked. That’s not a temporary quirk — it’s the structural cost of ranking bulls on parent-average and genomic markers before daughters classify.

And the Peak Powerstar case in the Netherlands shows the fourth force nobody wants to talk about: the same bull can carry two different official numbers on the same publication cycle depending on which daughter-eligibility pool he falls into. +303 NVI on the Interbull list. +338 NVI on the national proven list. Same barn, same daughters, different math.

The December Watch List

Every four months you look at a top 10 you didn’t expect. Here’s who to actually track between now and December’s runs, drawn from this cycle’s movement patterns:

  • Genosource Jaco-ET (USA GTPI #8) — biggest jumper in the U.S. Top 10 (+128), best reliability of the group at 82%R. If he holds through daughter arrival, the Jaela-line challenger everyone will chase in December.
  • Stantons Overhaul-P / Stantons Blast Off P (Canada GPA LPI #1 and #3) — one full-sibling pair, both zero daughters, both first-run entrants at these levels. First-daughter data lands and this pair either confirms the flush or gives back all 159 points.
  • Peak Altasamson (Netherlands Zwartbont Interbull #2) — 65%R on just 85 daughters at +348 NVI. Lowest-reliability high-index bull in the whole Dutch dataset. He either stabilises or corrects hard.
  • Peak Powerstar (Netherlands National-proven #4) — the category-migration case. His number moved 35 points in one publication cycle; watch which daughter pool his December number lives in.
  • QHR Inseme Santry ET (Italy Domestic Genomic gPFT #1) and 3STAR Huller (Italy #2) — first-run debuts at the top of the pyramid, both Rk 99 but both first-cycle on the Italian scale. Two candidates to move meaningfully next run.
  • Peak Altasafezone-ET (Italy Foreign Genomic gPFT #7) — biggest single-run rank jump on Italy’s foreign list, from #20 to #7 (+87 gPFT). The bull to watch next run on the Interbull-converted side.
  • Harmony, Rovis, Artistic, Agent, Almonty, Smetana (Germany Schwarzbunt Genomic #2–#8) — six 2025-born bulls now sitting in Germany’s genomic top 10 with 0 daughters and 77%R. At least two of these will re-rank meaningfully.
  • Krispy / Milo (Germany Schwarzbunt Proven #2 and #4) — first-appearance proven bulls at 88%R. The volatility plays on the proven side.
  • Comeback (Germany Schwarzbunt Proven #6) — the +2 gain that jumped 16 ranks. If everyone above him keeps giving ground, he’s the December #3 or #4 candidate.

The Global Outcross & Specialist Matrix

Six countries, one 72-hour publication window, one honest answer to the question “which sire should I use?”: check the pedigree, not just the ranking. Sire tells you 25% of the pedigree story. Add maternal grandsire and you’re at 50%. Add MGD and MGGD — the fields most catalogs bury — and you’ll find the T-Spruce Jaela cases and the Stantons Lambda Margaret cases before you buy the same genetics three different ways.

One table. Every named outcross, fertility/feed anchor, and reliability anchor from all six countries. Reliability and daughter counts drawn from the source articles; watch-outs are the specific trade-off the source names for that bull.

SireCountry / listKey indexRel / DtrsBreeding role & pedigree cleanlinessWatch-out trait
Progenesis Espressivo-PUSA Red Carrier GTPI #4+3382 GTPI77%R / 0 dtrsTrue U.S. outcross — clean of Ripcord, Delux Dominance, Woodcrest King Doc, and Jaela on both sire and dam sidesRed Carrier only (not black-and-white); modest +12 GTPI gain this run
Genosource Jaco-ETUSA GTPI #8+3608 GTPI82%R / 0 dtrsClosest mainstream U.S. outcross; +128 biggest riser in Top 10Still traces to T-Spruce Jaela family — don’t stack with other Jaela bulls
Bomaz Royalist-P-ETUSA Red Carrier GTPI #2+3425 GTPIGenomic / 0 dtrsPolled/Red package (PC PO RC); elite udder + leg linears — UDC +1.07, FLC +0.93 — the rare positive-FLC option in this datasetBomaz Legacy cow family — check against existing Bomaz genetics
Genosource Domination-ETUSA NM$ #2~77–79%R / 0 dtrsFertility/feed anchor: DPR +2.8, CCR +4.9, FSC +143.0, Feed Saved +402UDC +0.21, FLC −0.95 — Ripcord-typical leg trade
S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ETUSA GTPI #9+3606 GTPI~77–79%R / 0 dtrsBest fertility in GTPI Top 10: DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2, FSC +154.0Lost 2 ranks despite gaining 59 points — list moving underneath him
Farnear Aircraft-ETUSA Red/RC PTAT #9+3.02 PTAT91–92%R / provenOnly genuinely daughter-proven bull in U.S. lookup; full production + udder-linear fileBelow the raw genomic ceiling on the Red list
Peak Altadestino-ETCanada GPA LPI #7+4087 GPA LPI77%R / 0 dtrsCanadian outcross: Peak Lorax-ET line; clears Stantons Revamp/RemoverFirst-run entrant to Top 10 — no prior LPI history at this level
Cristella Vertigo ETCanada GPA LPI #9+4051 GPA LPI77%R / 0 dtrsCanadian outcross: Cookiecutter Hadley-ET line; clears Stantons Revamp/RemoverNew to the Top 10 this run
Stantons Remover PPCanada Domestic LPI #1+3945 LPI98%R / provenProven-side anchor: gained +72 pts April→August; Canada’s flagship proven bull this runSame Stantons Revamp/Remover MGS pool driving the genomic list concentration
Siemers Rengd Parfect-ETCanada Domestic LPI #2+3932 LPI99%R / provenHighest reliability on Canada’s domestic proven list; gained 18 pts and still slipped from #1Select Sires marketing — same stud running 5 of Top 10
RMD-Dotterer Bolt Action-ETCanada MACE LPI #1+3950 MACE LPI93%R / provenSteadiest bull across either Canadian index this cycle — held #1 both runsForeign-daughter file — figure moves with each MACE update
Peak Altahothand-ETCanada Domestic LPI #7+3835 LPI99%R / proven99%R proven anchor from a non-Stantons sire lineSlipped 18 pts (April #5 → August #7); Alta Genetics marketing
QHR Inseme Santry ETItaly Domestic Genomic gPFT #1+5487 gPFTRk 99 / 0 dtrsItalian Vivify-free anchor (Rome × Cronk); +1,903 Kg Milk — highest raw yield in Top 10First-run debut at #1 — full recalibration risk next cycle
GPlus GP-OaklandItaly Domestic Genomic gPFT #9+5302 gPFTRk 99 / 0 dtrsVivify-free component specialist: +0.60% fat, 107 Kg Fat, 80 Kg PrFert 87 is the persistent brake on this profile
Gill ImpetoItaly Domestic Genomic gPFT #5+5317 gPFTRk 99 / 0 dtrsVivify-free volume-plus-quality: +1,507 Kg Milk, 80 Kg Fat, IQC 115First-run entrant at #5 — no prior top-10 track record
Go-Farm Boero ET RFItaly Domestic Proven gPFT #1+5241 gPFTProvenItaly’s highest reliability-plus-gPFT combination on the proven sideSits well below Denovo Locust’s +5613 Interbull ceiling
Denovo 23392 Locust-ETItaly Foreign Genomic gPFT #1+5613 gPFTGenomicThe real Italian ceiling — +126 clear of Santry, +372 clear of BoeroForeign-sourcing pathway; not on domestic list
Progenesis VivifyNetherlands Zwartbont Interbull #3+323 NVI79%R / 284 dtrsNon-Captain outcross on Dutch Zwartbont; established daughter fileSame Vivify concentration playing out on the Italian genomic list
Clear-Echo Rix RimbotNetherlands Zwartbont Interbull #6+315 NVI70%R / 435 dtrsBiggest gainer on the list (+66 NVI); Rix × Denovo 2981 Sheldon70%R is the lowest in the Zwartbont Interbull Top 10
3star Keane PP RedNetherlands Roodbont Interbull #4+290 NVI72%R / 104 dtrsHomozygous polled; Mars P-Red × Solitair P outside Sputnik Rf lineStill owned by GGI — doesn’t solve the stud-concentration problem
Global RedNetherlands Roodbont Interbull #7+278 NVI71%R / 50 dtrsOnly Roodbont Interbull Top 10 name outside both GGI and Sputnik RfJust 50 daughters — thinnest proof of the Roodbont group
Bomaz Magnific-EtNetherlands Zwartbont Interbull #8+314 NVI74%R / 876 dtrsDeepest daughter file in any Dutch Top 10 this run74%R still below top-tier proven bands
Dg Dv Rammstein RedNetherlands Roodbont National-proven #4+318 NVI89%R / 595 dtrsDeepest reliability-plus-daughter combination on the Dutch Red sideSlipped 8 points (+326 → +318) from April
DG EliandroSwitzerland ISET Genomic #21520 ISET70%R / 0 dtrsClears the Gameday-ET MGS cluster (MGS Altaalanzo-E); 2,063 kg milkModest components (+0.28% fat, +0.09% protein) vs. yield
Lars-Acres Caruthers-SSwitzerland ISET Genomic #51502 ISET70%R / 0 dtrsClears Gameday-ET MGS (MGS Van Gogh-ET); highest volume in ISET Top 10 (2,180 kg milk)Lower ITP (110) — trades type for output
3Star Oh RangerSwitzerland ISET Domestic Proven #41397 ISET99%R / provenHighest reliability of any sire named in this piecePeak ISET well below Torchlight’s 1521 genomic ceiling
Duett PPGermany Rotbunt Genomic #2+162 RZG77%R / 0 dtrsClears Handout P/Shield (sire Dressman P); RZM 143 — highest milk in Rotbunt Top 10Not in April’s Top 100 — brand-new entry, no track record
Bueno RedGermany Rotbunt Genomic #10+155 RZG78%R / 0 dtrsClears Handout P/Shield (sire Borax Red)Fell hardest inside the Top 10 (−5 from +160 April rank #3)
ConnectGermany Schwarzbunt Genomic #1+166 RZG77%R / 0 dtrsFitness + milk outcross: RZM 150 + RZN 136 — rare pairing; sire Comet clears ArgentumFirst-crop, 0 daughters — full re-rank risk stands
CarlitoGermany Schwarzbunt Genomic #10+159 RZG77%R / 0 dtrsSire Callum clears the Argentum stackLost −2 RZG from April to August (+161 → +159)
ZivetGermany Schwarzbunt Proven #1+148 RZG97%R / provenLargest RZG gain of any bull in this global report (+4); RZM 150Milk-first — type takes the back seat (RZE 116)
GingerGermany Rotbunt Proven #6+138 RZG97%R / 1,204 dtrsDeepest daughter file on any German list this runLower peak RZG than Rotbunt genomic ceiling
MircoGermany Schwarzbunt Proven #10+140 RZG98%R / provenHighest reliability on the German Schwarzbunt proven listOnly #10 on RZG — reliability, not peak index

Treat genomic proofs like the weather forecast they are. Three former Swiss top-10 bulls just fell out of the top 100 entirely. Six German Schwarzbunt genomic bulls just vanished from the top 10. Peak Altasamson entered the Dutch Interbull list at 65%R on 85 daughters. Peak Powerstar’s number moved 35 points on the same publication cycle. If you’re building a contract-heifer mating plan on a first-appearance genomic bull, wait a run. The proven side is where the certainty lives — for a reason.

Within 30 days: pull your active semen inventory. For every straw, look up sire, MGS, and — for anything Genosource-branded — MGD/MGGD. Cross-check against T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET, Genosource Deviate 46921-ET, Stantons Lambda Margaret, Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC, and the Gameday-ET MGS line.

When the cross-check comes back positive. Three straws tracing to the same cow family isn’t a crisis — it’s a signal. Rank the traced straws by index and reliability, keep the strongest one (or the highest-reliability one if the index gap is under 20 GTPI points), and replace the others with matrix outcrosses that either clear the sire line (Espressivo-P, Jaco, Altadestino, Vertigo, Santry, Oakland, Impeto, Vivify, Rix Rimbot, Keane PP Red, Global Red, Eliandro, Caruthers-S, Duett PP, Bueno Red, Connect, Carlito) or carry proven daughter depth from outside the concentration cluster (Farnear Aircraft, Remover PP, Rengd Parfect, Bolt Action, Boero, Rammstein Red, 3Star Oh Ranger, Ginger, Mirco). The point isn’t to stop using the strongest genetics you own — it’s to stop paying for the same genetics three times.

The August 2026 run wasn’t a random reshuffle. It was six independent evaluation systems, on the same 72-hour window, quietly telling the same story: the modern Holstein A-list is narrower than it looks. Diversifying takes work most breeders aren’t doing. The good news is it’s Friday morning. You’ve got the weekend to pull sire cards, cross-check MGD and MGGD against those five cow families, and walk into Monday with a mating plan that’s actually diversified — not just diversified-looking.

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Editor’s technical note. Data synthesised from official August 2026 releases by CDCB / Holstein Association USA, Lactanet Canada, ANAFIBJ, Coöperatie CRV, Qualitas AG (Holstein Switzerland / swissherdbook), and vit/BRS — scope limited to Holstein and Red Holstein sires. National indexes (GTPI, LPI, gPFT, NVI, ISET, RZG) are calibrated to different national economics and populations and are not numerically equivalent across borders; no cross-country index comparison is made here. Genomic proofs at 65–77% reliability carry meaningfully higher re-rank risk than 84–99%-reliability daughter-proven values; “volatility score” is our internal descriptive metric (new entrants + drop-outs + rank changes of ≥2 places within a top 10), not a CRV-published figure. Sources: USA — CDCB/HAUSA · Canada — Lactanet · Italy — ANAFIBJ · Netherlands — CRV · Switzerland — Qualitas AG · Germany — vit/BRS. Spot a data point that looks off? Reach out to editorial and we’ll verify against the source country’s official bulletin.

ANAFIBJ August 2026 gPFT: QHR Santry Debuts at #1 (+5487) as Five Bulls Fall Out of Italy’s Top 10

Five bulls just fell out of Italy’s August 2026 gPFT top 10. QHR Santry debuts at +5487. If Mirosh, Saxony, Liverpool, Sonador, or Jegolo are on your mating list, read this before Monday.

Executive Summary: Five bulls just fell out of Italy’s domestic genomic gPFT top 10 in a single ANAFIBJ run — the biggest one-cycle turnover this list has seen. QHR Inseme Santry ET (Rome × Cronk, Inseme) debuts at #1 at +5487 gPFT / +1386 IES € / +1440 ICS-PR €, dropping Ecbert to #3; Go-Farm Mirosh, DM Saxony, Isolabella Liverpool, Wil Sonador RF, and GGA Jegolo need same-week replacement — Passini Odino, GPlus Oakland, SH Jalnus, and Santry himself pick up the fat, udder, type, and milk-volume roles those five were carrying. Vivify sons now hold 3 of the top 8 domestic genomic slots, so herds already Vivify-heavy have a real concentration problem, and Santry, Oakland, and Gill Impeto are the cleanest outcross plays that don’t cost index. On the daughter-proven side, Go-Farm Boero ET RF took #1 at +5241 (+79 in one run), unseating stablemate ZFZ Crisalis RF (−86) — Italy’s highest reliability-plus-gPFT combination if you won’t bet contract heifers on genomic-only sires. The real ceiling still isn’t domestic: Denovo Locust-ET widened his Interbull-converted lead to +5613, +126 clear of Santry, while Progenesis Vivify himself graduated to foreign-proven #1 at +5491 — putting Vivify and Santry inside noise of each other at the second tier. Read the full piece if you buy semen in Italy or on the Italian scale and your Q4 mating plan isn’t locked; skip it if your last mating decision was signed off more than a week ago and you’re not planning to reopen it.

Italy’s August 2026 ANAFIBJ proof run resets the domestic genomic gPFT board — five new bulls in the top 10 in four months, a brand-new #1 in QHR INSEME SANTRY ET (DE001604948960) at +5487 gPFT / +1386 IES € / +1440 ICS-PR € (Rome × Cronk, Inseme), and the previous #1 ECBERT slipping to #3 at +5360 (from +5371 in April). Behind Santry, Dutch import 3STAR HULLER debuts at #2 (+5363, Magello × Picard, Intermizoo), and GILL IMPETO (GTA × Beerbum, Intermizoo) crashes in at #5 (+5317).

Casualties are just as loud: GO-FARM MIROSH ET (Reunion × Mookie) fell from #4 (+5296) to #11 (+5278), and DM SAXONY slid from #5 to #15. On the daughter-proven side, GO-FARM BOERO ET RF (+5241) flipped positions with ZFZ Crisalis RF to take the domestic proven throne — a Crisalis RF son leapfrogging a Gywer son whose MGS is Crisalis’s own stablemate. And here’s the thing: the real Italian gPFT ceiling still isn’t domestic. DENOVO LOCUST-ET widened his Interbull-converted lead to +5613, now +126 gPFT clear of Santry.

Table 1 · August 2026 Italian Genomic gPFT — Top 10

RankBullgPFT Aug 2026 (Rk %)gPFT Apr 2026Δ gPFTSire × MGSStud
1QHR INSEME SANTRY ET+5487 (99)new in top 10newRome × CronkInseme
23STAR HULLER+5363 (99)new in top 10newMagello × PicardIntermizoo – PD
3ECBERT+5360 (99)+5371 (99)−11Gladius × DatelineChiacche./ABS IT
4PINETA IRONGEN RASCASSE ET+5346 (99)+5342 (99)+4Vivify × Geyser PIntermizoo – PD
5GILL IMPETO+5317 (99)new in top 10newGTA × BeerbumIntermizoo – PD
6PASSINI ODINO+5311 (99)+5252 (99)+59Vivify × PellegrinoChiacche./ABS IT
7SH JALNUS ET+5310 (99)new in top 10newReal Syn × GladiusIntermizoo – PD
8GO-FARM STORMUR ET+5305 (99)new in top 10newVivify × SentimentInseme
9GPLUS HFP GP-OAKLAND+5302 (99)+5259 (99)+43Owen × CaptainGPLUS – BG
10ISOLABELLA BANGLES+5298 (99)+5310 (99)−12Pacific × RoyalflushIntermizoo – PD

Rank derived by sorting gPFT descending within the August ANAFIBJ file — no explicit rank column in the source (ANAFIBJ August 2026 domestic genomic list).

  • New #1 vs. old #1: Santry (+5487) is +127 gPFT clear of Ecbert (+5360). April’s #1-to-#3 spread was just +29 (Ecbert +5371 → Bangles +5310), so the top of the list has physically decompressed in one run.
  • Turnover: 5 of 10 bulls (Santry, Huller, Impeto, Jalnus, Stormur) are new to the top 10 in four months — the highest single-run churn on this list versus April.
  • Band shift: April’s top 10 spanned +5371 → +5227 (144-point / roughly +216 IES € spread); August spans +5487 → +5298 (189-point / roughly +332 IES € spread). Both ceiling and floor lifted — Santry lifts the ceiling, but the #10 threshold also rose by +71 gPFT.

Table 2 · The 30-Day Swap Map — Replace the 5 Dropped Bulls in the Role They Were Filling

If any of these five bulls are in your active mating list, this is your rebuild:

Dropped bull (April rank → August rank)Trait role they were fillingNew top-10 replacementWhy the swap works
GO-FARM MIROSH / WIL SONADOR RF (4→11, 9→14)Kg Fat / component powerPASSINI ODINO or GPLUS OAKLANDOdino +0.28% fat, Oakland +0.60% fat / 107 Kg Fat — both in top 10, both delivering the fat trait Mirosh & Sonador were used for
GGA JEGOLO (10→16)Raw milk volumeQHR SANTRY+1903 Kg Milk in the top 10, and he’s now #1 overall — no reason to keep Jegolo in a milk-first slot
ISOLABELLA LIVERPOOL (6→13)Udder qualityPASSINI ODINOUdder cmp 117, F&L 1.90 — the strongest udder in the current top 10
DM SAXONY (5→15)Balanced typeSH JALNUS ETAA κ-casein, Longevity 116, balanced kg fat/protein — the closest profile match to Saxony inside the new top 10

Honestly, the awkward part is that most of these five dropped bulls still work — just not at the rank the mating sheet was built around. If you’re using them for rank-based positioning, that argument has expired for this run.

Biggest risers

  • PASSINI ODINO (Vivify × Pellegrino): +5252 → +5311 (+59), rank 8 → 6. Best udder in the top 10 (Udder cmp 117, F&L 1.90) with Kg Fat 66 and +0.28% fat.
  • GPLUS GP-OAKLAND (Owen × Captain): +5259 → +5302 (+43), rank 7 → 9. Elite components (Kg Fat 107 on +0.60% fat, Kg Pr 80), but Fert 87 remains the persistent brake.
  • PINETA RASCASSE ET (Vivify × Geyser P): +5342 → +5346 (+4), rank 2 → 4. Marginal gPFT drift, but the type stack (F&L 2.75, Udder 2.35) held.

Biggest fallers and drop-outs

  • ISOLABELLA BANGLES (Pacific × Royalflush): +5310 → +5298 (−12), rank 3 → 10. Still the strongest functional-type sire on the list (Longevity 119, Type 1.55) — just overtaken.
  • GO-FARM MIROSH ET (Reunion × Mookie): +5296 → +5278 (−18), rank 4 → 11 — dropped out. Still elite for fat (109 Kg Fat on +0.51% fat) and stays useful as a component pick.
  • DM SAXONY ET (Enclave × Monteverdi): +5274 → +5257 (−17), rank 5 → 15 — dropped out. Balanced, but no extreme trait to defend the slot.
  • GGA INSEME JEGOLO (Rome × Ridercup): +5227 → +5234 (+7 gPFT but rank 10 → 16) — dropped out despite gaining points. Highest Kg Milk in the surrounding pack (+1950) if raw yield leads.

What this list is rewarding now

The August top 10 leans harder on component-percent Vivify sons on functional bodies than April’s did. Three Vivify sons (Rascasse #4, Odino #6, Stormur #8) each carry ≥+0.28% fat and Longevity ≥110. The trade-off is explicit at the extremes: Santry brings the top raw milk in the top 10 (+1903) on modest fat % (+0.16); Odino flips that with +972 milk but +0.28% fat, +0.19% protein, and the elite udder.

Stud and family concentration — the market-power story

  • Intermizoo – PD houses 5 of 10 (Huller, Rascasse, Impeto, Jalnus, Bangles). That 5-of-10 grip is the strongest single-stud concentration this list has held in the two runs we can directly compare — and something Inseme(Santry, Stormur) and Chiacche./ABS Italia (Ecbert, Odino) are both actively contesting with the biggest movers in the run.
  • Vivify sons hold 3 slots; no other sire has more than one son in the top 10.
  • Cleanest Vivify-free anchors for outcross: QHR SANTRY (Rome × Cronk) and GPLUS OAKLAND (Owen × Captain).

Reliability and volatility

  • All 10 carry Rk 99 — max Italian genomic reliability. When Rk 99 bulls move this much, it’s the reference population re-anchoring, not the bull changing.
  • Newest debuts most exposed to further re-ranking: QHR SANTRY and 3STAR HULLER, both first-run entrants at the top of the pyramid.
  • Longest-standing anchors: ECBERT and PINETA RASCASSE have now held top-4 across two consecutive runs.

Table 3 · Italian Daughter-Proven gPFT — Top 5

RankBullgPFT Aug 2026gPFT Apr 2026 (Apr rank)Δ gPFT
1GO-FARM BOERO ET RF+5241+5162 (#2)+79
2ZFZ CRISALIS RF+5161+5247 (#1)−86
3SMILODON ET+5159+5061 (#5)+98
4G-PLUS GEWISS ET+5154+5120 (#4)+34
5GPLUS FIS GP-GLORYDAYS+5130+5056 (#6)+74
  • New #1: GO-FARM BOERO (Crisalis RF × Pursuit) unseats his stablemate ZFZ Crisalis RF — Boero’s daughter data hardened (+79) while ZFZ softened (−86) in one run.
  • SMILODON’s +98 gPFT jump is the biggest positive move on the proven list — Kg Fat 65, Kg Pr 90, Longevity 102, though Type 0.47 and IMA 94 keep him a functional rather than type sire.
  • The domestic proven list rewards milk-first, functional bodies: Boero +1567 Kg Milk, Smilodon +1914, G-Plus Gewiss +1549 — versus the genomic list’s leaner-yield / higher-solids-percent tilt.

Table 4 · Foreign gPFT — 3 Bulls to Know (Interbull MACE-converted to ANAFIBJ scale)

CategoryBullgPFT Aug 2026Δ vs. AprilWhy it matters
Foreign Genomic #1DENOVO 23392 LOCUST-ET (Lodi × Cascade)+5613+86 vs. +5527The real Italian ceiling — +126 gPFT clear of Santry, +372 clear of Boero
Foreign Genomic biggest leaperPEAK ALTASAFEZONE-ET (Overdrive × Exquisite)+5493 (#7)+87 vs. +5406 (#20 in April)Biggest single-run rank jump on the foreign list; the bull to watch next run
Foreign Proven #1 (new to list)PROGENESIS VIVIFY-ET (Royalflush × Plinko)+5491new to proven listThe sire behind the Vivify daughters now driving Italian herds’ component averages

Three new top-5 entrants on the foreign genomic list joined Locust in one run — Foughty Bubba (+5546, Kg Fat 110 on +0.72%), DG Opine-P (+5519, +1927 milk / Kg Fat 110), and Vividoor (+5503, Vivify × Star P RF — the Dutch Vivify import surfacing on the Interbull pass). On the foreign proven side, DELTA MORGAN graduated in at #3 (+5322), GEN PERCIVAL (+5239) and GLADIUS (+5235) hold the Gladius-line anchor slots, and Peak Powerhouse (+5387) gave up the crown but stayed the top Wheelhouse son at +136 Kg Fat.

Base note: ANAFIBJ expanded the foreign-proven list from 93 to 100 bulls this run — Vivify and Delta Morgan are among the graduates.

Where the four gPFT pools agree — and where they don’t

All four lists are the same ANAFIBJ gPFT (Interbull MACE for foreign bulls), so values ARE directly comparable across pools:

  • Ceiling stack: foreign genomic (LOCUST +5613) > foreign proven (VIVIFY +5491) ≈ domestic genomic (SANTRY +5487) > domestic proven (BOERO +5241). Vivify and Santry are inside noise of each other — treat them as tied at the second tier. The gap between Locust and Boero is 372 gPFT, and that’s the difference between the ceiling and the safe floor of Italian mating decisions every single cycle.
  • Vivify’s fingerprint shows up in three of the four #1-region slots: Progenesis Vivify himself at foreign-proven #1, Vividoor at foreign-genomic #5, and three Vivify sons in the domestic genomic top 8. Only the domestic proven list is Vivify-free at the top — that’s the Crisalis RF / Gywer axis.
  • Same-index, different profile: GILL IMPETO (domestic genomic #5, +5317, IQC 115) vs. IDEVRA CARLOMAGNO (domestic proven #6, +5126, IQC 108). Impeto brings extreme milk (+1507) and 80 Kg Fat; Carlomagno brings SCE 89 and functional longevity. Same country, same gPFT — very different herd fit.
  • For North American readers: on the ANAFIBJ scale, +5487 gPFT is the top of the Italian domestic genomic list — comparable in position (not value) to a top-10 gTPI ranking on the CDCB scale, but Italy weights fat %, functional longevity, and IES/ICS-PR economics more heavily than TPI does. That’s the mechanical reason Vivify’s Italian dominance runs harder than his TPI ranking suggests.

How to use these sires this season

  • Domestic genomic anchors for high-turnover contract matings: QHR SANTRY, ECBERT, PINETA RASCASSE. For herds prioritizing max gPFT with balanced components, these are the three names to build a top-shelf mating plan around.
  • Component / udder specialist: PASSINI ODINO. For herds paid on solids and battling udder-durability culls, his +0.28% fat / +0.19% protein / Udder 117 stack is unmatched in the top 10.
  • Vivify-free outcross options: QHR SANTRY (Rome × Cronk), GPLUS OAKLAND (Owen × Captain), GILL IMPETO (GTA × Beerbum). For herds already stacking Vivify daughters, these three keep pedigree diversity without sacrificing index.
  • Daughter-proven anchor for risk-averse programs: GO-FARM BOERO. For herds unwilling to bet contract heifers on genomic-only bulls, Boero is Italy’s highest reliability-plus-gPFT combination on the domestic proven list.
  • Foreign genomic ceiling play: DENOVO LOCUST. For herds using the Interbull-converted lens to chase the absolute top of the Italian scale, Locust is +126 gPFT clear of anything domestic.

Full Lists

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Methodology note

Data sources: Italian Genomic gPFT (domestic and foreign) and Italian Daughter-Proven gPFT (domestic and foreign), all published by ANAFIBJ (Associazione Nazionale Allevatori della Razza Frisona, Bruna e Jersey Italiana). Runs analyzed: current 08-01-2026 (published 08/11/2026), previous 04-01-2026 (published 04/07/2026). The Italian domestic genomic list was chosen as the lead because it produced the highest top-10 volatility (5 new entrants + 5 drop-outs + 5 anchors shifting ≥2 positions = volatility score 15), versus ~6 on domestic proven, ~11 on foreign genomic, and ~9 on foreign proven. Italy’s official primary total-merit index for Holstein is gPFT itself — the same index across all four lists, applied to four sub-populations (domestic vs. foreign origin, genomic vs. daughter-proven), so values ARE directly comparable across the tables above. Top groups: top 10 for the lead list, top 5 for the domestic proven list, and top 3 named bulls for the foreign lists. Bulls were matched between runs by unique registration ID (IT/DE/NL/US/CA/FR/DK country prefix + registration number) — never by short name. Ranks are derived by sorting gPFT descending within each file (no explicit rank column in the source). Genomic vs. daughter-proven status is explicit (separate files) and not inferred. New entrants and drop-outs were labeled only where the ID was clearly present in one run and absent from the top group of the other; no missing gPFT values were guessed. Base note: ANAFIBJ expanded the foreign-proven list from 93 to 100 bulls between April and August 2026 — the added bulls include Progenesis Vivify and Delta Morgan graduating from the foreign-genomic list. All bulls named above carry Rk 99, but the three foreign-genomic newcomers (Foughty Bubba, DG Opine-P, Vividoor) are making their debut in the Italian evaluation and can re-rank meaningfully in future runs. €/dose commentary reflects historical stud repricing patterns, not Inseme, Intermizoo, or Chiacche./ABS Italia forward guidance.

The Peak Powerstar Effect: Navigating Netherlands August 2026 NVI Rankings

Same bull, same August run: Peak Powerstar shows +303 NVI on one CRV list and +338 on another, a 35-point gap that proves which list you check still matters.

Executive Summary

  • Zwartbont Churn: Nine of ten April slots are gone from the Interbull-converted top 10, and Dg Dr. No now leads at +349 NVI on a proven 273-daughter file.
  • Roodbont Stability: Ceh Spotlight held #1 at +321 NVI in both runs, but GGI still owns six of its top ten slots — worth knowing before you stack more of that pedigree.
  • The Powerstar Effect: Peak Powerstar is carrying two official numbers this cycle — +303 on April’s Interbull-converted list, +338 on August’s national daughter-proven one — proof that a young sire’s number is only as stable as his daughter file behind it.
  • Commercial Takeaway: If you bought semen off an April Interbull proof, check the bull’s current national-proven figure before ordering more — his number may already have shifted by dozens of points, the way Peak Powerstar’s did.
Peak Powerstar NVI proof

The Netherlands’ August 2026 NVI (Nederlands Vee-index, the country’s single official dairy total-merit index, issued by Coöperatie CRV) proof run landed with the loudest movement in the Interbull-converted daughter-proven Zwartbont (Black & White) ranking, where nine of the ten April top-10 slots changed hands. Dg Dr. No (Captain x Crimson, Tot) now leads at +349 NVI, 84% reliability, though CRV’s own change figure implies a previously reported value of +360 — a reminder that these Interbull-converted values move with every new foreign-daughter batch, not just re-ranking (CRV, Perspublicatie stierindexen alle rassen Holstein, August 2026). The only bull to survive from April’s top 10, Wil Glenn, slid from #1 (+327, April 2026) to #4 (+316, August 2026).

The clearest faller with a documented mechanism is Peak Powerstar: ranked #3 in the April 2026 Zwartbont Interbull-converted list at +303 NVI, it has since accumulated enough Dutch daughters to be published in the national daughter-proven list instead, re-entering there at +338 NVI (#4, August 2026, 78% reliability). That single bull sits at the center of this run’s cross-index story — genomic, national-proven and Interbull-converted are three different eligibility pools, not three competing philosophies, and a bull can only migrate between them as its daughter data matures.

A category jump is not a genetic improvement. Peak Powerstar’s move from +303 NVI (Interbull-converted) to +338 NVI (national daughter-proven) reflects a change in which daughter-data pool the bull qualifies for — not a change in the bull himself, his semen, or how his existing daughters are performing in the barn. Same bull, same genetics, different dataset.

Zwartbont (Black & White)

August 2026 NVI — Interbull-Converted Daughter-Proven: Top 10 Sires

This is the lead index for Zwartbont this run — it posted the highest top-10 turnover of the three Zwartbont lists (volatility score 19: 9 new entrants + 9 drop-outs + 1 re-ranked ≥2 places), ahead of the Genomic list (12) and the National daughter-proven list (12). All three lists report the same metric, NVI, issued by Coöperatie CRV — the difference is which daughter-data pool qualifies a bull for each list, not a different total-merit formula (CRV, Perspublicatie stierindexen alle rassen Holstein / Zwartbont, April & August 2026).

RankBullAI/StudNVI (Aug 2026)Previous NVIΔDaughtersReliability
1Dg Dr. No (Captain x Crimson)Tot+349+360 (last published)-1127384%
2Peak Altasamson (Altakevlow x A-S-Cannon Fr)Alt+348new to evaluationn8565%
3Progenesis Vivify (Royalflush x Altaplinko)Sem+323+305+1828479%
4Wil Glenn (Gladius x Soundcloud)AWE+316+327 (April 2026, #1)-1128879%
53star Oh Miracle (Pinball x Crimson)not reported+315+310+52879%
6Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (Rix x Denovo 2981 Sheldon)WWS+315+249+6643570%
7Dg Just In Time (Captain x Redrock)Tot+315+311+49280%
8Bomaz Magnific-Et (Monument x Altarobson)not reported+314+291 (April 2026, #12)+2387674%
9Sdg Gs Gotti (Captain x Josuper)STG+310+302+836481%
10Dg Peace (Captain x Redrock)Tot+305+308-36882%

Rank is derived by sorting NVI descending — CRV’s publication does not print an explicit rank column. “Previous NVI” for bulls outside our verified April top-10 extract is calculated from CRV’s own reported +/- change figure (current NVI minus that change); CRV’s change column appears to track a bull’s NVI trend across evaluation categories, so a “previous” figure may reflect that bull’s last published value under a different list (genomic, national-proven, or Interbull) rather than a prior appearance in this specific top 10.

  • Only Wil Glenn survived from April’s top 10 — every other slot changed hands, and eight of the nine newcomers still show a computable prior NVI rather than a true blank “new” flag, meaning most were ranked outside the April top 10 rather than freshly evaluated for the first time.
  • Peak Altasamson is the one genuinely new evaluation in the group — no prior NVI on record, 65% reliability on just 85 daughters.
  • The band widened at the top: April’s #1-to-#10 spread ran from +327 to +292 (35 points); August’s spread from +349 to +305 is wider at 44 points, driven almost entirely by Dg Dr. No’s rise to the top.
  • Reliability across the new top 10 ranges from 65% to 84% — none of these are genomic-only; every bull carries at least 28 daughters.

Who Gained the Most Ground?

  • Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (Rix x Denovo 2981 Sheldon, WWS): +249 NVI to +315 NVI, a 66-point jump on 435 daughters (70% reliability) — the single largest move in the Zwartbont Interbull-converted list this run.
  • Bomaz Magnific-Et (Monument x Altarobson): climbed from +291 NVI (outside April’s top 10, ranked around #12) to +314 NVI in August, a 23-point gain backed by 876 daughters — the deepest daughter file of anyone in this top 10.
  • Progenesis Vivify (Royalflush x Altaplinko, Sem): +305 to +323 NVI, up 18 points on 284 daughters.
  • Sdg Gs Gotti (Captain x Josuper, STG): +302 to +310 NVI, up 8 points on 364 daughters.

Who Fell — or Fell Out Entirely?

  • Wil Glenn (Gladius x Soundcloud, AWE): fell from #1 at +327 NVI (April 2026) to #4 at +316 NVI (August 2026), an 11-point drop, but held onto a top-10 spot on 288 daughters.
  • Dg Dr. No (Captain x Crimson, Tot): sits at #1 while its own published number actually fell 11 points — down from a previously reported +360 to +349 NVI. The rank looks like a rise; the bull’s own number went down.
  • Peak Powerstar (Altawheelhouse x A-S-Cannon Fr, Sem): ranked #3 in the April 2026 Interbull-converted list at +303 NVI; it has since moved into the national daughter-proven Zwartbont list, where it re-appears at +338 NVI (#4, August 2026) — a category migration as its Dutch daughter file grew, not a straightforward drop-out.
  • Khe Graham (Gladius x Gywer Rdc): ranked #2 in April at +309 NVI; essentially flat in August at +305 NVI, but rank compression from the wave of new entrants pushed it out of the top 10 entirely.

What Is This Index Actually Rewarding?

  • Captain-sired bulls dominate this top 10: Dg Dr. No, Dg Just In Time, Dg Peace and Sdg Gs Gotti are all Captain sons — four of ten slots from a single sire.
  • Daughter depth varies enormously within the same top 10: Bomaz Magnific-Et carries 876 daughters at 74% reliability, while 3star Oh Miracle carries just 28 daughters at 79% reliability — reliability here is not simply a function of daughter count, reflecting how MACE weights foreign daughter groups differently by country.
  • Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot’s 66-point rise came with a reliability drop to 70%, the lowest in the top 10, on a still-modest 435 daughters — a case where the ranking rewards a fast-moving foreign daughter file at the cost of eventual proof stability.

Which Studs and Sire Lines Dominate This List?

  • “Tot” holds three of the ten slots — Dg Dr. No, Dg Just In Time and Dg Peace — all three sired by Captain.
  • Combined with Sdg Gs Gotti (STG), Captain sons occupy four of ten places in this list, the single strongest sire-line concentration in either Zwartbont ranking this run.
  • For breeders wanting to avoid stacking Captain in the pedigree, Progenesis Vivify (Royalflush x Altaplinko, Sem) and Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (Rix x Denovo 2981 Sheldon, WWS) sit outside that sire line entirely — for herds already carrying Captain in their cow families, work through our 6 Steps to Understanding & Managing Inbreeding in Your Herdbefore ordering more semen from that pedigree.

How Volatile — and How Reliable — Is This List?

  • All ten bulls in this top 10 carry explicit daughter counts (28 to 876) and reliabilities from 65% to 84% — this is a daughter-proven list by definition, not an inferred status.
  • Peak Altasamson (65% reliability, 85 daughters, +348 NVI) is the clearest volatility play in the group — a strong number on the thinnest proof.
  • Bomaz Magnific-Et (876 daughters) and Sdg Gs Gotti (364 daughters, 81% reliability) are the closest things to anchors in a list otherwise dominated by fresh entrants.

NVI Genomic (No Daughters) — A Different Top Five

Skips entirely to daughters=0 by definition, so this list draws from a completely separate bull population than the Interbull-converted ranking above — none of the Genomic top 5 overlap with the Interbull top 10.

RankBullNVI (Aug 2026)
1Zwanebloem Escape (Tigerwoods x Wendat, CRV)+464, new to top 10
23star Olde Slim Rdc (Sweet Rf x Rammstein Re)+452, new to top 10
3Bento (Bench x Gigaliner, GGI)+452 (prev. +450, Apr 2026, #3)
4Vh Tirsvad Smoke Owen Sheriff (Smoke Owen x Freewood P)+450 (prev. +454, Apr 2026, #2)
5Rise Up (Real Syn x Freewood P, Tot)+449 (prev. +468, Apr 2026, #1)
  • Rise Up led April’s genomic list at +468 and is still top 5 in August at +449, a 19-point fall as new entrants pushed past it.
  • Two of the top five — Zwanebloem Escape and 3star Olde Slim Rdc — are flagged “new” (n) by CRV with no prior NVI at all, both debuting above the entire April top 10.
  • This index rewards raw predicted merit on parentage and genomic markers alone (67-72% reliability band, zero daughters) — it is a forecast, not a verified proof, and every bull here can still move sharply once daughters arrive, exactly as the Interbull list above demonstrates. We break down that same reliability gap in Genomic Young Sires vs. Daughter-Proven Sires.

NVI National Daughter-Proven — A Different Top Five

RankBullNVI (Aug 2026)DaughtersReliability
1Sunrise (Superfly x Rio, Tot)+358 (prev. +356, Apr 2026, #3)4578%
2Genosource Captain (Charl x Farnear Tango, STG)+347 (prev. +363, Apr 2026, #2)7883%
3Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa (Ahead x A-S-Cannon Fr, WWS)+341 (prev. +364, Apr 2026, #1)20783%
4Peak Powerstar (Altawheelhouse x A-S-Cannon Fr, Sem)+338 (prev. +303, Apr 2026, #3 Interbull-converted)5778%
5Peak Breaking News (Altazazzle x Altalawson, Gex)+309 (prev. +310, Apr 2026, #5)7378%
  • Sunrise moved from #3 to #1 with a small 2-point gain, while April’s top two — Genosource Captain and Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa — both lost ground (-16 and -23 points respectively) and fell to #2 and #3.
  • Peak Powerstar is the standout: the same bull ranked #3 in April’s Interbull-converted list now sits at #4 here with a 35-point higher NVI (+338 vs. +303), confirming its shift from foreign-daughter MACE conversion to domestic daughter-proven status.
  • This list rewards Dutch-daughter depth specifically — reliabilities cluster at 78-83%, tighter and generally higher than the Interbull-converted list’s 65-84% spread, reflecting more uniform (domestic) daughter groups.

Roodbont (Red & White)

August 2026 NVI — Interbull-Converted Daughter-Proven: Top 10 Sires

This is the lead index for Roodbont — its volatility score of 12 (4 new entrants + 4 drop-outs + 4 re-ranked ≥2 places) is the highest of the three Roodbont lists, ahead of Genomic (8) and National daughter-proven (4) (CRV, Perspublicatie stierindexen alle rassen Red, April & August 2026).

RankBullAI/StudNVI (Aug 2026)Previous NVIΔDaughtersReliability
1Ceh Spotlight (Sputnik Rf x Gywer Rdc)GGI+321+315 (Apr 2026, #1)+634672%
2Koepon Sirius P (Star P x Rubels-Red)GGI+313+322 (last published)-98675%
3Spooky Red (Star P x Match P)GGI+301+298+311973%
43star Keane PP Red (Mars P-Red x Solitair P)GGI+290+281+910472%
53star Poppe Tiger Red (Grando Red x Spark Red)not reported+280+286 (Apr 2026, #2)-68071%
6Stb Spot-Red P (Sputnik Rf x Match P)Tot+280+262 (Apr 2026, #5)+1810671%
7Global Red (Gnabry x Solitair P)not reported+278+275 (Apr 2026, #3)+35071%
8Feit Red P (Freestyle x Solitair P)Syn+274+280-67672%
9Ruw Sea P (Sailor Pp x Gywer Rdc)GGI+272+264 (Apr 2026, #4)+816473%
10Shake Red (Sputnik Rf x Skywalker)GGI+268+257 (Apr 2026, #7)+1140172%
  • Ceh Spotlight held #1 both runs, gaining 6 points; GGI-owned bulls hold six of the ten slots this run.
  • Koepon Sirius P’s prior NVI is drawn from CRV’s own reported change figure rather than an April appearance in this specific top 10 — it is more likely tracked from that bull’s prior genomic-list value than a previous Interbull-converted rank (see Methodology Note).
  • The band compressed: April’s spread from #1 to #10 ran +315 to +239 (76 points); August’s runs +321 to +268 (53 points) — a tighter, more closely packed top 10 despite the turnover.

Who Gained the Most Ground?

  • Stb Spot-Red P (Sputnik Rf x Match P, Tot): +262 to +280 NVI, up 18 points on 106 daughters — the largest gain in this top 10.
  • Shake Red (Sputnik Rf x Skywalker, GGI): +257 to +268 NVI, up 11 points on a much deeper 401-daughter file.
  • 3star Keane PP Red (Mars P-Red x Solitair P, GGI): +281 to +290 NVI, up 9 points on 104 daughters.
  • Ruw Sea P (Sailor Pp x Gywer Rdc, GGI): +264 to +272 NVI, up 8 points on 164 daughters.

Who Fell — or Fell Out Entirely?

  • Koepon Sirius P (Star P x Rubels-Red, GGI): reported change of -9 despite entering the top 10 at #2 — its comparison value likely reflects an earlier genomic-list NVI rather than a prior Interbull-converted rank.
  • 3star Poppe Tiger Red (Grando Red x Spark Red): fell from #2 (+286, April 2026) to #5 (+280, August 2026), a 6-point drop.
  • Global Red (Gnabry x Solitair P): held a top-10 spot but fell from #3 to #7 as faster risers passed it, even with a small 3-point gain.
  • Hah Spring Red (Shimmer x Gywer Rdc): ranked #6 in April at +260 NVI; dropped out of the top 10 entirely in August.

What Is This Index Actually Rewarding?

  • Sputnik Rf sires three of the top ten directly — Ceh Spotlight, Stb Spot-Red P and Shake Red — putting Sputnik Rf genetics in roughly a third of this top 10.
  • Daughter depth is uneven: Shake Red carries 401 daughters against Koepon Sirius P’s 86, yet both post similar reliabilities (72% and 75%) — again pointing to how MACE weights foreign daughter groups by country rather than pure headcount.

Which Studs and Sire Lines Dominate This List?

  • GGI holds six of the ten slots — Ceh Spotlight, Koepon Sirius P, Spooky Red, 3star Keane PP Red, Ruw Sea P and Shake Red — the most heavily represented AI organization in this Roodbont ranking.
  • Sputnik Rf sons (Ceh Spotlight, Stb Spot-Red P, Shake Red) account for three slots; breeders seeking an outcross away from that sire line specifically can look to 3star Keane PP Red (Mars P-Red x Solitair P) — still GGI-owned — or to Global Red (Gnabry x Solitair P), which breaks from both the Sputnik Rf line and GGI ownership.

NVI Genomic (No Daughters) — A Different Top Five

RankBullNVI (Aug 2026)
1Delta Richman PP-Red (Universe P Rf x Warren P Rf, CRV)+447 (prev. +444, Apr 2026, #2)
2Delta Bloss-Red (Statement Rf x Flagstone, CRV)+428 (prev. +454, Apr 2026, #1)
3Delta Diehard P-Red (Rustic x Sirius P, CRV)+422, new to top 10
4Delta Hyrox P-Red (Statement Rf x Appetizer Rf, CRV)+414 (prev. +441, Apr 2026, #3)
5Delta Modiwood P-Red (Blue Zone P Rf x Warren P Rf, CRV)+414 (prev. +413, Apr 2026, #4)
  • All five of Roodbont’s top genomic bulls carry the CRV “Delta” prefix — every slot in this mini top 5 is a CRV-owned animal, a much tighter concentration than either Zwartbont genomic or Roodbont Interbull-converted list.
  • Delta Bloss-Red led April at +454 but dropped 26 points to +428 in August, falling to #2 as Delta Richman PP-Red (+3 points, essentially flat) took over the top spot.
  • This is a genomic-only, zero-daughter forecast (67-73% reliability band) — none of these five overlap with any daughter-proven Roodbont list.

NVI National Daughter-Proven — A Different Top Five

RankBullNVI (Aug 2026)DaughtersReliability
1Delta Borax-Red (Freestyle x Jakarta, CRV)+331 (prev. +339, Apr 2026, #1)35886%
23star Oh Ranger Red-Et (Rubels-Red x Salvatore Rc, Sem)+319 (prev. +329, Apr 2026, #2)25088%
3Aprilday Ron Trumpet-Red (Ronald x Helix, WWS)+319 (prev. +325, Apr 2026, #5)3076%
4Dg Dv Rammstein Red (Jayvano Rf x Jacuzzi, Tot)+318 (prev. +326, Apr 2026, #4)59589%
5Koepon Altacarmine-Red-Et (Stamkos x Swingman Re, Alt)+313 (prev. +327, Apr 2026, #3)5673%
  • This is the calmest of all six Zwartbont/Roodbont lists this run — volatility score of just 4, with every bull in April’s top 5 still present in August’s, only reshuffled by small point losses.
  • Every bull in this top 5 lost ground from April to August (-6 to -14 points), yet none dropped out of the ranking — a uniform pullback rather than a reshuffle driven by new entrants.
  • Reliabilities here run as high as 86-89% (Delta Borax-Red, Dg Dv Rammstein Red) — the most reliable proofs of any Roodbont or Zwartbont list in this run, consistent with deep, established Dutch daughter files (358-595 daughters).

Where the Indexes Agree — and Where They Don’t (Roodbont)

Consensus sires: As with Zwartbont, no single bull appears across the Roodbont Genomic, National-proven and Interbull-converted top rankings this run — the three lists remain population-exclusive by daughter-eligibility rather than by breeding philosophy.

Core tension: Roodbont’s National daughter-proven list is the most stable ranking in this entire proof run (volatility 4), while its Interbull-converted list (volatility 12) and Zwartbont’s Interbull-converted list (volatility 19) both saw meaningful top-10 churn. Read together with Zwartbont, the pattern across both breeds is the same: the Interbull-converted, foreign-daughter category is where this proof run’s real movement happened, while nationally-proven bulls with deep, established Dutch daughter files barely moved. For a herd weighing an imported, Interbull-converted sire against a domestically proven one, that stability gap is the practical takeaway — not which number is bigger.

What This Means for Your Herd This Season

For herds wanting the deepest, most stable proofs: Dg Dv Rammstein Red (Jayvano Rf x Jacuzzi, 595 daughters, 89% reliability, Roodbont National-proven #4) and Bomaz Magnific-Et (876 daughters, Zwartbont Interbull-converted #8) offer the largest daughter files in their respective lists — for herds prioritizing proof stability over peak NVI, these carry the least re-ranking risk based on daughter count alone.

For herds chasing this run’s biggest movers: Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot (Zwartbont Interbull-converted, +66 points to +315 NVI) and Stb Spot-Red P (Roodbont Interbull-converted, +18 points to +280 NVI) posted the largest gains of any bull covered here — for herds comfortable with a still-developing foreign-daughter file, these are the run’s clearest momentum plays.

For herds wanting to avoid the dominant sire lines in each top 10: Progenesis Vivify or Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot break from the Captain-sire concentration in Zwartbont’s Interbull-converted top 10; 3star Keane PP Red or Global Red break from the Sputnik Rf concentration in Roodbont’s equivalent list — for herds managing inbreeding risk within either breed’s current top tier, these are the outcross options this run supports.

For herds relying on Interbull-converted proofs to make near-term breeding decisions:treat a debut appearance like Peak Altasamson (65% reliability, 85 daughters) with more caution than an established entrant like Sdg Gs Gotti (364 daughters, 81% reliability) — for herds prioritizing predictability, wait for a second run before committing significant semen volume to a first-appearance Interbull bull.

30-day action: Pull your current Zwartbont and Roodbont sire lists and check them against Peak Powerstar’s move from the Interbull-converted list (April, #3, +303 NVI) to the national daughter-proven list (August, #4, +338 NVI) — if you selected that bull off his April Interbull number, re-verify his current national-proven figure before ordering more semen, since the two numbers differ by 35 points.

If your program also sources semen from Germany, note that the German August 2026 RZG proof run saw similar Interbull-converted churn on the same publication cycle — RZG and NVI are not numerically comparable, but the pattern of foreign-daughter volatility outpacing domestic-daughter stability is showing up across systems this run.

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Methodology Note

Data comes from Coöperatie CRV’s Perspublicatie stierindexen (public bull-index bulletins) for the Netherlands, covering Zwartbont (Black & White) and Roodbont (Red & White) Holstein/Red-factor populations, each split into three CRV-published lists — Genomic (zonder dochters/without daughters), National daughter-proven (Zwartbont/Roodbont), and Interbull-converted daughter-proven (alle rassen Holstein/Red) — compared between the April 2026 and August 2026 runs. All values are NVI (Nederlands Vee-index), the Netherlands’ single official total-merit index, issued by Coöperatie CRV; there is no separate competing national index in this dataset, so the “lead index” distinction in this piece is about daughter-proof eligibility category (genomic vs. national-proven vs. Interbull-converted), not competing total-merit systems. Per breed, the lead category was the one with the highest top-10 volatility score (new entrants + drop-outs + bulls re-ranked ≥2 places): Zwartbont Interbull-converted (19) over Zwartbont Genomic and National-proven (12 each); Roodbont Interbull-converted (12) over Roodbont Genomic (8) and National-proven (4).

Top groups were defined as the top 10 for each lead index and the top 5 for each secondary index, with rank derived by sorting each list’s published NVI in descending order (CRV does not print an explicit rank column). Bulls were matched between the April and August runs by their unique CRV bull number (Stiernummer), not by display name, per our standard matching protocol. Where a bull’s April run rank could be independently verified within our extracted data range, both absolute values and dates are shown; where it could not, the “previous NVI” figure was derived from CRV’s own reported +/- change column (current NVI minus that change) rather than guessed — this method produced internally consistent results against our independently verified cases, but the underlying CRV change column appears in some cases to track a bull’s NVI across evaluation categories (e.g., a prior genomic-list value) rather than strictly against its prior appearance in the same specific list; that nuance is flagged inline wherever it applies (Koepon Sirius P, Dg Dr. No). Bulls with a reported “n” flag and no computable prior value are labeled “new to the evaluation” or “new to top 10” and were not assigned an invented previous figure.

The reliability gap between zero-daughter genomic proofs and daughter-proven evaluations documented throughout this piece is not a Netherlands-specific quirk. Peer-reviewed work on North American Holstein genomic prediction found combined genomic reliabilities for young bulls averaging roughly 50%, versus 27% for parent averages alone in the pre-genotyping comparison — a substantial but still partial gain that leaves genomic-only proofs more prone to re-ranking than daughter-proven ones (VanRaden, P.M., et al., “Invited Review: Reliability of Genomic Predictions for North American Holstein Bulls,” Journal of Dairy Science 92(1):16–24, 2009, doi:10.3168/jds.2008-1514). That general principle, not any specific NVI figure, is what underpins this article’s conditional caution around first-appearance and zero-daughter entrants.

One pedigree correction: CRV’s own PDF truncates Clear-Echo Rix Rimbot’s sire field at a fixed column width, printing it as “Denovo 2981 She…” The full registered name — Denovo 2981 Sheldon (NAAB code 029HO19194) — was confirmed against the official NAAB-CSS genomic bull database rather than guessed.

Genomic/proven status is explicit in this dataset, not inferred — each source file states its own daughter-eligibility category, and every proven-list bull carries an explicit daughter count (dtrs) and reliability percentage. No breed’s rankings were compared numerically against the other breed’s, and no NL figure was compared against another country’s national index (TPI, LPI, PLI, RZG, etc.) — all comparisons here stay within the Netherlands’ own NVI system. Lower-reliability bulls, particularly first-appearance Interbull-converted entrants (e.g., Peak Altasamson at 65% reliability), can and likely will re-rank again at the next run; treat all figures here as of the August 2026 publication date only.

Limitations: These rankings reflect CRV’s published August 2026 bulletin only — a bull’s number can and will move again at the next run, and no figure here predicts performance in your specific herd, region, or management system. National-level NVI averages may not reflect outcomes on any individual operation.

Corrections: Spot a data discrepancy in these tables? Reach out to our editorial team and we’ll verify it against the source CRV bulletin and issue a correction.

August 2026 USA Proofs: Four Sires Are Driving the Entire Top 10 – Is Your Semen Tank Truly Diversified?

The same four sires turn up across GTPI, Net Merit, type, and the Red lists — and one great-granddam is quietly behind seven bulls on the two biggest lists. Pull your last order and count how many trace back.

Executive Summary: Every USA Holstein Top 10 released in August — GTPI, Net Merit $, PTAT, and both Red lists — traces back to basically four sire lines, led by Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ET, who sired 7 of the top 10 GTPI bulls and 8 of the top 10 for Net Merit $. Go one generation deeper and it gets tighter: one cow, T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET, is a granddam or great-granddam behind seven different bulls split across the GTPI and Net Merit $ Top 10s. This is also the first proof run where the entire GTPI Top 10 sits above +3600, and the group’s floor climbed 77 points in just four months — nobody’s genetics went backward; the whole board just got faster. On the Red & White side, one cow — Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC — placed three full-sibling sons in the same Top 10. If three or more straws in your current tank trace back to any of these names, you’re not diversifying your program; you’re just buying the same genetics three different ways. The real outcrosses do exist — Progenesis Espressivo-P and Genosource Jaco-ET are the cleanest options in this entire run — and under CDCB’s rebuilt fertility evaluation, the sires actually worth chasing for DPR, CCR, and feed efficiency aren’t necessarily the ones sitting at #1.

August 2026 USA proofs

If you’re building a semen order off this proof run, here’s the decision that actually matters: most of the bulls you’re choosing between aren’t independent choices. Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ET is behind the majority of the top of both GTPI and Net Merit $. But pull the pedigree one generation further and the concentration gets sharper, not looser — Genosource Judson-ET, Genosource Jacoby-ET, and Genosource Jrue-ET turn out to be from the same embryo flush, not three separate “options.” Here’s the full breakdown, index by index, then the cow families underneath it.

Seven of the Ten Top GTPI Bulls Share the Same Sire

GTPI is the lead index here — it tied Net Merit $ on total churn (new entrants, drop-outs, big rank jumps), and GTPI wins the tiebreak as the industry’s primary total-merit number.

RankBullGTPI (Aug 2026)GTPI (Apr 2026)ChangeSireMaternal grandsireUDCFLCKEY TRAIT NOTES
1Genosource Jitters-ET+3639+3552 (rank 4)+87Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETMatcrest Arc Hayward-ET+0.98−0.48Protein-driven gain; UDC +0.98, FLC −0.48
2Genosource Judson-ET+3631new to the list—Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETMatcrest Arc Hobbs-ET+0.84−0.78Full brother w/ Jacoby, Jrue; FLC −0.78 (weakest in Top 10)
3Aurora GS Woodford-ET+3622+3565 (rank 1)+57Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETOcd Trooper Sheepster-ET+0.25−0.33!ANCHOR Only bull cracking both merit Top 10s
4S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET+3619+3548 (rank 6)+71Ocd Kahn Kingdom-ETOcd Trooper Sheepster-ETn/a*n/a*Type outlier: highest PTAT +0.88, lowest components 183 CFP
5Genosource Jacoby-ET+3612new to the list—Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETMatcrest Arc Hobbs-ET+0.83−0.63Full brother w/ Judson, Jrue; UDC +0.83, FLC −0.63
6Genosource Detox-ET+3610new to the list—Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET+0.42−0.56Delux Dominance cluster; UDC +0.42, FLC −0.56
7Genosource Riptide-ET+3608new to the list—Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETPine-Tree Easton-ET+1.07−0.37Strongest UDC in Top 10 (+1.07); only maternal line standing apart
8Genosource Jaco-ET+3608+3480 (rank 86)+128Matcrest Arc Hayward-ETStgen Nash Buxton-ET+0.62−0.16Biggest jump in Top 10; best reliability (82%R); ties to Jaela family, not Ripcord
9S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET+3606+3547 (rank 7)+59Ocd Hayk Stagger-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ETn/a*n/a*Fell 2 ranks despite gain; best GTPI Top 10 fertility (DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2)
10STgen Early-ET+3605new to the list—Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET−0.28−0.69Delux Dominance grandson; also Net Merit $ #12

All figures per Holstein Association USA’s GTPI ranking (CDCB genomic PTA inputs), April 2026 and August 2026 runs. 

The udder-vs-legs split matters here. Every single bull with data above carries positive UDC (udder composite) and negative FLC (feet & legs composite) — this isn’t one bull’s quirk, it’s the whole group’s signature. Genosource Riptide-ET’s +1.07 UDC is the strongest udder composite in the Top 10; Genosource Judson-ET’s −0.78 FLC is the weakest leg composite. Raw PTAT numbers wash this split out; UDC/FLC doesn’t.

Nine of ten have a close relative in this same Top 10, and the real relationships run deeper than sire lines. Only Genosource Riptide-ET’s maternal line stands genuinely apart. Everyone else sorts into one of four family clusters:

  • The Delux Dominance cluster: Genosource Detox-ET and STgen Early-ET trace to Sdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET as maternal grandsire.
  • The Trooper Sheepster cluster: Aurora GS Woodford-ET and S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET share the same maternal grandsire and the same maternal great-grandsire.
  • Full brothers: Genosource Judson-ET and Genosource Jacoby-ET — same sire, same dam (Genosource Hobbs 81451-ET), born the same day.
  • Uncle and nephew: Genosource Jitters-ET and Genosource Jaco-ET, tracing to the same T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET cow family (full detail below).

Six of these ten weren’t in the Top 10 (or on the list at all) as of the April 2026 run. The spread from #1 to #10 actually tightened even as the group moved up — 37 points top-to-bottom in April, 34 now — and the floor climbed 77 points in four months. Every one of the six April Top 10 bulls that got bumped out entirely (Beyond Mican Hagrid, S-S-I Richard Chichester, OCD Whoops Sabotage, Siemers SSI Bridgerton, Pen-Col GS 86807, Welcome Gustavsson) still gained ground — 20 to 40 points apiece. Nobody backed up; the whole board just got faster.

One thing to hold in mind on every number above: none of these ten have a single daughter on the ground yet (0 Dtrs, 0 Herds on every individual proof, 77-82%R across the board). This is a genomic snapshot, not a locked verdict.

BULLGTPI RANK NOWGTPI RANK BEFOREINDEX CHANGESTATUSNOTE
Genosource Jaco-ET886!HIGH +128Riser, in Top 10Biggest jump this run; best reliability (82%R)
Genosource Jitters-ET14+87Riser, in Top 10New #1, protein-driven
S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET46+71Riser, in Top 10Type outlier of the group
S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET97+59!DROP Riser, rank fellBest GTPI Top 10 fertility, lost 2 ranks anyway
Aurora GS Woodford-ET31+57!DROP Riser, rank fellGained ground, lost the #1 spot
Pen-Col GS 86807-ET~50s (out)9+38!DROP Fell out of Top 10Gained points, still bumped out
Siemers SSI Bridgerton-ET~60s (out)8+30!DROP Fell out of Top 10Gained points, still bumped out
4 other April dropouts*outTop 10 (Apr)+20 to +40 (range)!DROP Fell out of Top 10Beyond Mican Hagrid, S-S-I Richard Chichester, OCD Whoops Sabotage, Welcome Gustavsson

The movers. Genosource Jaco-ET’s +128 is the biggest jump in the Top 10, and he’s also carrying this group’s cleanest reliability at 82%R. Genosource Jitters-ET is next at +87, driven more by protein yield than type. S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET picked up 71 points and is the type outlier here — highest PTAT in the group at +0.88, lowest components at 183 CFP. S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET gained 59 and posts the best fertility figures of the whole Top 10 under the rebuilt evaluation (DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2, FSC +154.0) — and still lost two ranks, which says everything about how fast this list is moving.

Who actually slipped? Aurora GS Woodford-ET gained 57 points and still fell from #1 to #3 — genetics up, rank down, because the list got faster underneath him. Pen-Col GS 86807-ET and Siemers SSI Bridgerton-ET both fell clean out of the Top 10 (from #9 and #8 down to the 50s and 60s) despite gaining 38 and 30 points each.

The CFP-and-PL-vs-legs trade every Ripcord buyer is actually making. Every Ripcord son here shows the identical linear pattern: negative Feet & Legs Score and hock-in Rear Legs-Rear. But look at what comes with it — components and productive life both hold up well across the same group:

Ripcord sonCFP (Fat+Protein)PLFeet & Legs ScoreRear Legs-Rear
Genosource Jitters-ET+197+4.0−0.34−0.93
Genosource Judson-ET+216+3.3−0.69−1.11
Genosource Jacoby-ET+192+4.8−0.75−1.25
Aurora GS Woodford-ET+217+4.1−0.39−0.60
Genosource Detox-ET+198+4.9−0.40−1.07
Genosource Riptide-ET+176+4.9−0.34−1.02
STgen Early-ET+221+3.4−0.46−1.29

Nobody in this group is under +176 CFP or under +3.3 PL — the feet-and-legs trade is real, but it’s not costing components or longevity on paper. Know the trade, don’t assume it’s a dealbreaker on its own.

The Cow Families Actually Behind These Numbers

Sire and maternal grandsire only tell you two generations. Pull the actual sire cards one generation further and a single cow shows up again and again in the MGD or MGGD field: T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET.

  • Genosource Jaco-ET’s own dam is Genosource Jaunt 75046-ET — and Genosource Jaunt 75046-ET’s own dam is T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET
  • Genosource Jitters-ET’s dam is Genosource Jamocha 81506-ET, whose dam is Genosource Jaunt 75046-ET (Jitters’ MGD) — meaning Jaco and Jamocha are half-siblings out of Jaunt, and Jaco is Jitters’ maternal uncle.
  • Genosource Jethro-ET’s dam, Genosource Hobbs 81296-ET, is also a daughter of Genosource Jaunt 75046-ET — so Jaco, Jitters, and Jethro all trace to Jaunt within two generations, and to Jaela beyond that.
  • Genosource Judson-ET, Genosource Jacoby-ET, and Genosource Jrue-ET are all from, Genosource Hobbs 81451-ET — they aren’t just “the same female line,” they’re full brothers from one flush (Judson and Jacoby born 07/31/2025, Jrue born 07/29/2025). Their MGD is Genosource Jagger 74599-ET, whose own dam is T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET.
  • Genosource Patriot 76-ET (NM$ #3) traces through a fourth branch — dam Genosource Julep 81114-ET, MGD Genosource Jaelyn 73387-ET, MGGD T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET.

Add it up: seven bulls (Jitters, Judson, Jacoby, Jethro, Jrue, Jaco, Patriot 76) split across the GTPI and Net Merit $ Top 10s all run back to T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET through four different branches. That’s a deeper concentration than the sire-level “Ripcord” story alone tells you.

A second, tighter cow family sits under the Delux Dominance cluster. Genosource Detox-ET, Genosource Domination-ET, and Genosource Decipher-ET all share the identical dam (Genosource Devi 77158-ET), the identical MGD (Genosource Devoid 70904-ET), and the identical MGGD: Genosource Deviate 46921-ET. That’s one cow family stacking three Top 10 sons through one single daughter — tighter than the Jaela group, which spreads across four branches. Delux Dominance’s other daughters run through entirely separate families: Genosource Valkyrie-ET traces to Genosource Viral 47870-ET and TJR Nashvile Vicky 45221-ET; Genosource Emulate-ET traces to Genosource Evident 72519-ET and Pine-Tree 8178 Monu 8707-ET; and S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET’s dam, Badger Ssi Dominanc 6001-ET, sits in a completely different ownership group’s cow family (Badger Ssi Rashan 17470-ET), showing Delux Dominance is working through genuinely distinct female lines, not one repeated cow.

On the Red & White side, the Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC line goes back further than “one prolific cow.”Aprilday Hrok Athens-Red-ET’s own card lists his dam as Aurora, and Aurora’s own dam (his MGD) as S-S-I Trumpet Alarm-Red-ET, tracing further to Aprilday Ron Trumpet-Red-ET and Aprilday Magnitude Angel-ET RC. So the reason Aurora is stamping out three Top 10 sons by three different sires isn’t a fluke pairing — it’s a cow bred out of an established Aprilday Trumpet-Red female line built for exactly this kind of consistency.

Bomaz Royalist-P-ET traces to the Bomaz Legacy 608-ET VG-86 cow family (via dam Bomaz Military-P 11665-ET and MGD Bomaz Conway 10056-ET). Progenesis Safron traces to the Holyland Top Dog family (dam Holyland Earlybird Sunshine RC, MGD Holyland 3528 Top Dog 4366 RC). Both are genuinely separate female lines from everything above — real outcrosses on the dam side, not just the sire side.

FAMILY / LINETYPEBULLS TRACEDINDEX LISTS AFFECTEDCONCENTRATION NOTE
T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ETCow family (MGD/MGGD)Jitters, Judson, Jacoby, Jethro, Jrue, Jaco, Patriot 76 (7 bulls)GTPI Top 10 + NM$ Top 10!RISK Four different branches — deepest concentration in this run
Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSire7 of GTPI Top 10, 8 of NM$ Top 10GTPI, NM$!HIGH Dominant sire line across both merit indexes
Sdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ETMaternal grandsireDetox, Domination, Decipher (via dam Devi 77158-ET) + Valkyrie (Venice 78181-ET) + Emulate (Eminence 76892-ET) + Early3 of GTPI Top 10, 5 of NM$ Top 10Three distinct daughters; the Devi line alone stacks 3 sons
Genosource Hobbs 81451-ETDam (single embryo flush)Judson, Jacoby, Jrue — full brothersGTPI Top 10 (Judson, Jacoby) + NM$ Top 10 (Jrue)!RISK Same flush — not 3 independent choices
Woodcrest King DocMaternal grandsire/great-grandsireRedcarpet Story Arc, SHG Lego, Stone-Front Eyecandy Apollo, Jimtown Nelson-ET + 3 more on the Red/RC PTAT list (7 total)PTAT Top 10 + Red/RC PTAT Top 10Reaches across both the black-and-white and red populations
Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RCDamAesop-Red, Ancho Peppr-Red, Hrok Athens-Red — full siblingsRed & White GTPI Top 10 (#3, #6, #7)!RISK Three full sibs from one cow, three different sires
Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ETSireAesop-Red, Okafor-Red, Lyon-Red (ranks #3–#5)Red & White GTPI Top 10Three straight bulls, back-to-back ranks

Net Merit’s Top 10 Is Even More Inbred Than GTPI’s

RankBullNM$ (Aug 2026)NM$ (Apr 2026)ChangeGTPI rankSireMaternal grandsireUDCFLC
1Genosource Jentry-ET$1,326new—#24Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETGenosource Brockington-ETn/a*n/a*
2Genosource Domination-ET$1,324new—#47Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET+0.21−0.95
3Genosource Patriot 76-ET$1,311$1,265 (rank 7)+$46#50Ocd Thorson Darth Vader-ETGenosource Brockington-ETn/a*n/a*
4Genosource Valkyrie-ET$1,309$1,308 (rank 1)+$1not in Top 100 (3492)Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET−0.81−1.41
5Genosource Emulate-ET$1,301new—#65Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET+0.00−1.06
6Aurora GS Woodford-ET$1,299$1,296 (rank 2)+$3#3Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETOcd Trooper Sheepster-ET+0.25−0.33
7Genosource Jrue-ET$1,293new—#30Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETMatcrest Arc Hobbs-ET+0.31−0.56
8Genosource Jethro-ET$1,284new—#81Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETMatcrest Arc Hobbs-ET+0.44−0.63
9Genosource Viper-ET$1,284$1,296 (rank 3)−$12not in Top 100 (3518)Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ETn/a*n/a*
10Genosource Decipher-ET$1,279new—#49Stgen T Schmidt-ETSdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET+0.53−0.40

Per CDCB’s Net Merit $ ranking for the April and August 2026 runs. 

Eight of these ten are Ripcord sons, and five trace to Sdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ET on the bottom side — through three different daughters (full detail in the cow-family section above): Genosource Devi 77158-ET (Domination, Decipher), Genosource Venice 78181-ET (Valkyrie), and Genosource Eminence76892-ET (Emulate). Separately, Genosource Julep 81114-ET produced Genosource Jentry-ET (by Ripcord) and Genosource Patriot 76-ET (by Ocd Thorson Darth Vader-ET) — maternal half-brothers at #1 and #3, tracing to Genosource Brockington-ET rather than Delux Dominance. Add Genosource Jrue-ET and Genosource Jethro-ET (full brother with Judson, per the cow-family section) and Aurora GS Woodford-ET, and every bull in this Top 10 ties back into a cluster already mapped above.

What that spread means in dollars: the gap between #1 Jentry ($1,326) and #10 Decipher ($1,279) is $47 per animal. Scale that across a 100-cow group of daughters and you’re looking at roughly $4,700 in expected lifetime profitability separating the top and bottom of this list — a real number, even though every bull here is still a first-crop genomic proof.

The UDC/FLC split is sharper here than on GTPI. Genosource Valkyrie-ET’s −1.41 FLC is the single worst functional-leg composite in either merit Top 10, paired with the highest fertility number in the group (FSC +150.0) — the trade-off is explicit, not hidden. Genosource Domination-ET, by contrast, posts the best fertility (DPR +2.8, CCR +4.9, FSC +143.0) with a far less extreme FLC (−0.95). Genosource Viper-ET is the one genuine decliner in this whole file set — down $12, with a 126 lb drop in milk PTA to match. That’s a real re-evaluation, not a crowding story.

The Type List Has Its Own Version of Ripcord

Ranked by PTA Type itself; TPI and Net Merit $ shown for context. Per CDCB’s PTAT ranking, April and August 2026 runs.

RankBullPTA Type (Aug)PTA Type (Apr)ChangeTPINM$UDCFLCSireTraces to
1Redcarpet Story Arc-ET+3.77+3.78 (3)−0.012235−$642n/a*n/a*Farnear Architect-ET RCWoodcrest King Doc
2SHG Lego+3.76+3.84 (2)−0.082291−$640n/a*n/a*Siemers Fitters Choice-ETWoodcrest King Doc
3Stone-Front Eyecandy Apollo+3.70+3.72 (4)−0.022447−$428n/a*n/a*Mb-Luckylady Eye Candy-ETWoodcrest King Doc
4Genosource Seenofear-ET+3.66+3.71 (5)−0.052792−$73n/a*n/a*Mr Ernestanthony HavenofearCroteau Lesperron Unix
5Oakfield Larizio Tage-ET+3.64new—2919$82n/a*n/a*Comestar Larizio MWSiemers Doc Hanford
6Curlys Admire+3.59+3.63 (7)−0.042633−$181n/a*n/a*Siemers Exc Hanans 31753-ETMaverick-I Crush
7Jimtown Nelson-ET+3.59+3.69 (6)−0.102433−$451n/a*n/a*Peak Hammer-ETWoodcrest King Doc; Eclipse Milio-ET
8Genosource Jason Derulo-ET+3.54+3.52 (12)+0.023008$248+2.42+1.51Farnear Delta-Lambda-ETCroteau Lesperron Unix
9Ruann Karat-45955-ET+3.53+3.92 (1)−0.392626−$297+2.25+1.59Siemers Wolf Hulu 37006-ETPeak Hammer-ET
10Eclipse Milio-ET+3.51+3.58 (8)−0.071991−$876n/a*n/a*Wilt EmilioMaple-Downs-I G W Atwood

*No individual sire card was available for these eight bulls, so UDC/FLC isn’t shown for them.

This is the real answer to “does frame cost you function” on this list, and for the two bulls we have full data on, the answer is no. Genosource Jason Derulo-ET (+3.34 Stature, “Tall”) still posts +2.42 UDC and +1.51 FLC — both elite. Ruann Karat-45955-ET, despite the biggest type drop on the list (−0.39, from #1 to #9) and genuinely extreme frame (+5.02 Stature, +4.31 Thurl Width), still carries +2.25 UDC and +1.59 FLC — her fall in rank is about a fertility and livability penalty (Fert. Index −0.5, Livability −4.0), not a udder or leg problem. Her dam line traces through Ruann Hammer 24Karat-30217 and Ruann Moov 24Karat-12241-ET to Katalinas Cb 24Karat-ET — the Ruann “24Karat” cow family, a genuinely distinct female line from everything else in this piece.

Woodcrest King Doc sits as grandsire or great-grandsire on four of these ten (Redcarpet Story Arc-ET, SHG Lego, Stone-Front Eyecandy Apollo, Jimtown Nelson-ET), and Croteau Lesperron Unix backs two more (Seenofear, Jason Derulo — the latter’s own dam line running Genosource Jawdropper-ET back to Ladyrose Caught Your Eye-ET EX-94). Jimtown Nelson-ET is also a direct son of Peak Hammer-ET — the same sire behind Ruann Archer-23755-ET on the Red list below — and a maternal grandson of Eclipse Milio-ET, his own #10 on this same list. Eclipse Milio-ET’s own dam line, Eclipse Octane Princess 13-ET VG-88 back to Eclipse Atwood Princess 8 VG-89, is the “Eclipse Princess” family — his extreme profile (−$876 Net Merit, RFI +297, Feed Saved −741, for +4.51 Stature and +2.79 Strength) is the most lopsided trade in the whole dataset.

Where’s the Real Outcross in Red Carrier GTPI?

Per Holstein Association USA’s Red Carrier GTPI ranking (CDCB genomic PTA inputs), April and August 2026 runs.

RankBullGTPI (Aug)GTPI (Apr)ChangeSire
1Aprilday Micn Nickels-RC-ET+3428new—
2Bomaz Royalist-P-ET+3425+3363 (2)+62Winstar Rolf-P-ET
3Progenesis Safron+3408new—Progenesis Watchman
4Progenesis Espressivo-P+3382+3370 (1)+12Beyond Hi-Level-ET
5Siemers Parfume-RC-ET+3377new—
6Fly-Higher W Humberto-ET+3371new—
7S-S-I Siemers Falciform-ET+3362+3322 (6)+40Ocd Trooper Sheepster-ET
8Winstar Endgame-P-ET+3352+3302 (8)+50Denovo 21054 Encourage-ET
9OCD Morris Lycoming-ET+3348+3347 (3)+1Genosource Morris-Red-ET
10OCD Morris Leopard-ET+3326+3323 (5)+3Genosource Morris-Red-ET

Answer: Progenesis Espressivo-P, and here’s his complete stack for anyone linebreeding around him: Beyond Hi-Level-ET (sire) x Trifecta Hike-ET (MGS) x 3star Oh Ranger Red-ET (MGGS), with the dam side running Progenesis Hike Escape RC x Progenesis Ranger Eskimo P RC x Progenesis Einstein Even P RC. No traceable tie to Ripcord, Delux Dominance, Woodcrest King Doc, or T-Spruce Jaela — the cleanest true outcross found anywhere in this proof run, on both the sire and dam sides. Genosource Jaco-ET’s full stack — Matcrest Arc Hayward-ET x Stgen Nash Buxton-ET x Genosource Captain-ET, dam side Genosource Jaunt 75046-ET x T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET x T-Spruce Lionel 13196-ET — is the closest mainstream alternative, but note he’s still tied to the Jaela family covered above, just not through Ripcord.

S-S-I Siemers Falciform-ET, by contrast, is a direct son of Ocd Trooper Sheepster-ET, the same maternal grandsire behind Woodford and Kingdom Formal on the GTPI list. OCD Morris Lycoming-ET and OCD Morris Leopard-ET are the same cross run twice, both by Genosource Morris-Red-ET out of the OCD Thorson Liana female family. Bomaz Royalist-P-ET carries a genuinely stacked polled/red package (Winstar Rolf-P-ET over Bomaz Military-P, genetic codes PC PO RC) tracing to the Bomaz Legacy cow family, with strong udder linears (UDC +1.07, FLC +0.93 — both elite). Progenesis Safron is Canadian-bred (HOCAN registration), Progenesis Watchman on top, tracing to the Holyland Top Dog family on the bottom (UDC +1.21, FLC +0.49).

One Cow Just Placed Three Sons in the Same Top 10

Per Holstein Association USA’s Red & White GTPI ranking (CDCB genomic PTA inputs), April and August 2026 runs. The current-run source file skips a printed rank “3” — ranks below are re-sequenced by table order and are derived ranks, not official ones.

BullGTPI (Aug)GTPI (Apr)ChangeSireDam
1Siemers Amaranth-Red-ET+3322new—
2Siemers Poppy-Red-ET+3256new—
3Aprilday Orphs Aesop-Red-ET+3244+3177 (5)+67Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ETAprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC
4Denovo 21873 Okafor-Red-ET+3228+3194 (1)+34Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ETDenovo Hercules 14124-ET RC
5Aprilday Orph Lyon-Red-ET+3228+3168 (10)+60Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ETAprilday Powerstar Lyfe-ET RC
6Aprilday Ancho Peppr-Red-ET+3227+3161 (11)+66Trent-Way-Js Pepper-Red-ETAprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC
7Aprilday Hrok Athens-Red-ET+3226+3180 (2)+46Trent-Way Hayk Hard Rock-ETAprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC
83Star Patser-Red-ET+3223+3175 (7)+483star Oh Shield Rdc-ET3STAR Patty
9Stgen Ocean-Red-ET+3214+3179 (3)+35Genosource Morris-Red-ETTrent-Way Fig Patty Cake-ET
10Trent-Way Richland-Red-ET+3200new—––

Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RC bred to three different sires and produced Aprilday Orphs Aesop-Red-ET (#3), Aprilday Ancho Peppr-Red-ET (#6), and Aprilday Hrok Athens-Red-ET (#7) — full siblings, all in this same Top 10, out of a cow whose own dam line (S-S-I Trumpet Alarm-Red-ET back to Aprilday Ron Trumpet-Red-ET) is a genuinely established Aprilday female line, per the cow-family section above. Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ET sired three of the ten outright (Aesop-Red, Okafor-Red, Lyon-Red, ranks #3-#5 back to back). Six of ten spots trace to essentially one cow family and one sire. Siemers Amaranth-Red-ET is a genuine new #1 — 94 points clear of April’s leader, a far wider gap than April’s own 17-point spread. OCD Morris Spirit-Red-ET, April’s #4, printed the identical GTPI number in both runs (+3177, no change at all) and still slid to roughly #20 — zero genetic movement, pure traffic.

Woodcrest King Doc’s Reach Doesn’t Stop at the Black-and-White Herd

Per CDCB’s Red Carrier & Red and White PTAT ranking, April and August 2026 runs.

RankBullPTA Type (Aug)PTA Type (Apr)ChangeSireRuns back to
1Redcarpet Story Arc-ET+3.77+3.78 (2)−0.01Farnear Architect-ET RCWoodcrest King Doc
2Ruann Karat-45955-ET+3.53+3.92 (1)−0.39Siemers Wolf Hulu 37006-ETPeak Hammer-ET
3Ruann Archer-23755-ET+3.25+3.32 (4)−0.07Peak Hammer-ETWoodcrest King Doc
4Shg Lazer-ET+3.20+3.25 (7)−0.05Peak Haxl-ETWoodcrest King Doc
5Eskdale Hulu Shoutout-ET+3.11+3.56 (3)−0.45Siemers Wolf Hulu 37006-ETPeak Axl-ET
6Progenesis Alastor+3.05+3.08 (12)−0.03Fepro Lindtclean of the other clusters
7Sunquest Holy Crypto PP-ET+3.04+3.15 (9)−0.11Siemers Fgo Holy-P 40167-ETWoodcrest King Doc
8Siemers Lazer Hambitious-ET+3.03+3.15 (10)−0.12Vogue Lazer-PP-REDWoodcrest King Doc
9Farnear Aircraft-ET+3.02+3.08 (13)−0.06Siemers Doc HancockBlondin Integral RC
10Golden-Oaks Tango-Red-ET+3.01new—Farnear Altitude-Red-ETclean of the other clusters

Between this list and the all-breed PTAT ranking above, Woodcrest King Doc is grandsire or great-grandsire behind at least seven bulls total. Ruann Archer-23755-ET’s own card confirms his dam line: Ruann Doc Apple-80503-ET RC back to Ms Pg Pv Doorman Aspire-ET RC and Ms Apples Uno Armana-ET RC — a distinct Ruann female line from the “24Karat” family behind Ruann Karat-45955-ET. Two more sibling pairs show up here too: Shg Lazer-ET is a maternal half-brother of SHG Lego (same dam), and Eskdale Hulu Shoutout-ET is a paternal half-brother of Ruann Karat-45955-ET (same sire, Siemers Wolf Hulu 37006-ET). Farnear Aircraft-ET is the one genuinely daughter-proven bull found in this entire lookup (91-92%R with a full production and udder-linear data set), a different animal from every genomic-only bull surrounding him on this list.

Why the Same Bulls Keep Showing Up

Nothing sits at the top of every index here, because several of these populations don’t overlap — the Red segments run under the mainstream ceiling, and both Type lists actively select against the bulls topping the merit charts. The real pattern isn’t which bulls agree; it’s how few animals — and how few cows — are holding up four rankings that look unrelated on the surface.

Closest thing to cross-index agreement:

  • Aurora GS Woodford-ET: GTPI #3, Net Merit $ #6 — the only bull cracking both merit Top 10s, and the cleanest-bred Ripcord son in either one.
  • STgen Early-ET: GTPI #10, Net Merit $ #12 — also a Delux Dominance grandson.

The four sire lines actually running this proof run:

GrandsireRoleWhere he shows up
Ocd Thorson Ripcord-ETSire7 of GTPI Top 10, 8 of NM$ Top 10
Sdg-Ph Delux Dominance-ETMaternal grandsire3 of GTPI Top 10, 5 of NM$ Top 10, through 3 different daughters
Woodcrest King DocMaternal grandsire/great-grandsireAt least 7 bulls across both Type lists
Bomaz Orpheus-Red-ET / Aprilday Pwrstar Aurora-ET RCSire / dam3-6 of the Red & White Top 10

And underneath the sire lines, one cow family — T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET — backs seven bulls across the GTPI and Net Merit $ Top 10s combined, cutting across three different immediate sires (Ripcord, Hayward, Darth Vader).

What This Means for Your Breeding Program

ROLEBULLINDEX HIGHLIGHTSWHEN TO USEWHEN TO AVOID
Genuine OutcrossProgenesis Espressivo-PRed Carrier GTPI #4 (+3382); no traceable tie to Ripcord, Delux Dominance, Woodcrest King Doc, or T-Spruce JaelaTank already loaded with Ripcord/Jaela genetics, need a true clean pedigree— safe pick, just watch your own future concentration
Closest Mainstream OutcrossGenosource Jaco-ETGTPI #8 (+3608), !HIGH +128 gain, 82%R best reliability in Top 10Want Top 10 GTPI power with the cleanest reliability availableStill ties to T-Spruce Jaela family — don’t stack with other Jaela-line bulls
Fertility/Feed Specialist (NM$)Genosource Domination-ETNM$ #2 ($1,324); DPR +2.8, CCR +4.9, FSC +143.0, Feed Saved +402Herds prioritizing fertility and feed efficiency under the rebuilt evaluationTank is already Ripcord/Delux Dominance heavy
Fertility/Feed Specialist (GTPI)S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ETGTPI #9 (+3606); best GTPI Top 10 fertility — DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2, FSC +154.0Want the same fertility profile in a GTPI-ranked packageLosing rank fast — list is moving underneath him
Frame With Function IntactGenosource Jason Derulo-ETPTAT #8 (+3.54); Stature +3.34 (“Tall”) yet UDC +2.42, FLC +1.51Need added frame without sacrificing udder/leg composites— rare balanced profile, no clear downside noted
!RISK Extreme Frame TradeEclipse Milio-ETPTAT #10 (+3.51); Stature +4.51, Strength +2.79, but NM$ −$876, RFI +297, Feed Saved −741Show-ring/frame-only priority, feed cost is not a constraintAny commercial or feed-cost-sensitive herd — most lopsided trade in the dataset
!RISK Type Leader, Fertility PenaltyRuann Karat-45955-ETPTAT #9 (+3.53, down from #1); Stature +5.02, Thurl Width +4.31, but Fert. Index −0.5, Livability −4.0Frame/type priority where fertility risk can be actively managedHerds already fighting fertility or livability issues
Daughter-Proven AnchorFarnear Aircraft-ETRed/RC PTAT #9 (+3.02); 91-92%R — only daughter-proven bull in this datasetWant a lower-risk proof to anchor a mating plan alongside genomic picksNeed maximum raw index — genomic Top 10 sires outscore him
  • Check the maternal grandsire — and one generation past that — before your next order. A “different” bull on the catalog page can still be a half-brother, or worse, a full brother from the same flush, once you flip the card over.
  • If you need fertility and feed economics under the new evaluation, go with Genosource Domination-ET(DPR +2.8, CCR +4.9, FSC +143.0, Feed Saved +402) or S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET (DPR +3.0, CCR +5.2, FSC +154.0).
  • If you need a genuine outcross on both sire and dam sides, Progenesis Espressivo-P is your cleanest option in this entire file set — his complete stack is above. Genosource Jaco-ET is the closest mainstream alternative, though he’s still tied to the T-Spruce Jaela family, just not through Ripcord.
  • If you’re breeding Red & White, decide on purpose. Aesop-Red, Ancho Peppr-Red, and Hrok Athens-Red are all out of the same cow — pick one deliberately, don’t default into “different bull, same family” by accident.
  • This week: pull your current tank list and cross-check sire, maternal grandsire, and — for anything Genosource-branded — the MGD/MGGD fields against T-Spruce Jaela 47718-ET and Genosource Deviate 46921-ET. If three or more straws trace to the same cow family, that’s your cue to diversify before your next order, not after your next calf crop.

Full Lists

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Sourcing, Methodology, and Limitations

How the pedigrees were sourced. Individual sire card data (dam, MGS, MGD, MGGS, MGGD, UDC, FLC, CFP, PL, and full linear profiles). Those figures are reported exactly as published; where a bull is also marketed through another AI organization’s own catalog, small presentation differences (rounding, which trait subset is displayed) can exist between sources. Nine NAAB codes — Aprilday Micn Nickels-RC-ET, Siemers Parfume-RC-ET, Fly-Higher W Humberto-ET, Siemers Amaranth-Red-ET, Siemers Poppy-Red-ET, Trent-Way Richland-Red-ET, and the UDC/FLC composites for Kingdom Formal, Stagger Baelum, Jentry, Patriot 76, and Viper — did not return a match. 

Methodology. Data drawn from six comparable Holstein Association/CDCB ranking files (April and August 2026 USA proof runs), NAAB-coded bulls over 12 months, cross-referenced with individual sire summary sheets. Bulls were matched run-to-run strictly by NAAB code; a bull with no NAAB match in the prior file is a new entrant, one absent from the current file is a drop-out — no missing value was estimated. GTPI led this analysis on a tied top-10 volatility score of 16 against Net Merit $ (new entrants + drop-outs + large rank shifts), tiebroken toward GTPI as the industry’s primary total-merit ranking. The Red & White GTPI file’s missing printed rank “3” was resequenced by row order and is a derived rank. Genomic inbreeding figures reflect each bull’s own relationship to the active cow population, not a herd or breed average.

Switzerland’s August 2026 Proof Run: DG Eliandro Debuts at #2 as Progenesis Timeout Vanishes From the Top 100

Timeout sat #7 on Switzerland’s April ISET Genomic list at 1476. By August, he’s off the top 100 entirely — two more former top-10 sires went with him.

Executive Summary: The August 2026 Swiss ISET genomic rankings reveal significant volatility in the dairy industry, highlighted by the dramatic disappearance of former top-tier bulls like Progenesis Timeout from the top 100 list. While Progenesis Torchlight maintained his leading position, the emergence of DG Eliandro at the number two spot underscores a period of rapid turnover driven by fresh genetic data. This shift emphasizes the inherent risk of genomic sires, which offer high theoretical upside but lack the statistical stability of daughter-proven bulls like Progenesis Topstory. The data also warns of pedigree concentration, noting that several elite bulls share the same maternal grandsire, creating potential genetic vulnerability for herds. Ultimately, these updates serve as a critical guide for breeders balancing the pursuit of unverified genetic progress against the reliability of proven performance.

Switzerland ISET genomic

Switzerland’s ISET Genomic ranking — issued by Qualitas AG on behalf of Holstein Switzerland and swissherdbook — moved more in the August 2026 run than any other Swiss bull ranking this cycle. Progenesis TORCHLIGHT held #1 at 1521 ISET, up only marginally from the 1519 he posted when he first took the genomic crown in April 2026, but the real story sits right behind him: DG ELIANDRO debuted at #2 with 1520 ISET, a bull with no prior ranking in the previous top 100. It’s worth reading even if you’ll never buy a straw of Swiss semen — Switzerland is one of the few systems that publishes genomic and daughter-proven sires as fully separate rankings, and that split is the actual story here. 

The bigger shock is who’s gone. Progenesis TIMEOUT, April’s #7 at 1476 ISET, didn’t just slide out of the top 10 — he disappeared from the entire genomic top 100 in one run, alongside two other former top-10 names. That kind of churn doesn’t show up on Switzerland’s other major bull ranking, the ISET Domestic Daughter-Proven list, where the ceiling sits over 100 points lower: Progenesis TOPSTORY leads that list at just 1416 ISET. Same index, same country, two very different worlds.

August 2026 ISET Genomic: Top 10 Sires

RankBullISET (Aug 2026)ISET (Apr 2026)Change
1Progenesis TORCHLIGHT15211519 (rank 1)+2
2DG ELIANDRO1520new in top 10—
3Cookiecutter HADLEY15091513 (rank 2)−4
4TGD-Holstein MONSET15041502 (rank 4)+2
5Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S15021505 (rank 3)−3
6“Race”*14881489 (rank 5)−1
7Bianfrie ALABAMA-ET1486new in top 10—
8DG CAARMA14811482 (rank 6)−1
93Star PATSER1480new in top 10—
10Eichhof DOVER14681472 (rank 10)−4

All milk figures throughout this piece are reported in kilograms, per the Swiss source data; lb conversions are added where useful below.

  • Torchlight leads both runs, but his +2 gain (1519→1521) is essentially flat — the movement in this run is entirely about who’s in the room, not who’s getting stronger.
  • Seven bulls carried over from April; three (Eliandro, Bianfrie ALABAMA-ET, 3Star PATSER) are brand-new to the top 100, let alone the top 10.
  • Three April top-10 bulls — Progenesis TIMEOUT (was #7, 1476), Les Verdaux EGAN (was #9, 1474), and Sous-Moron BOSTON (was #8, 1475) — fell out of the top 100 entirely, not just the top 10.
  • The index band widened slightly: April’s top 10 spanned 1472–1519 (47 points); August’s spans 1468–1521 (53 points), even though the #1 value barely moved.

Big Risers

There isn’t much of a “riser” story in this run’s returning anchors — Torchlight (+2) and TGD-Holstein MONSET (1502→1504, +2, held rank 4) are the only bulls with positive movement among the seven carryovers, and both gains are marginal. The real upward movement in this run came from new entrants displacing incumbents outright, not from existing bulls posting bigger numbers.

Big Fallers and Drop-Outs

  • Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S slipped from #3 (1505, Apr 2026) to #5 (1502, Aug 2026) — still top 5, but a two-rank retreat.
  • DG CAARMA fell from #6 (1482, Apr 2026) to #8 (1481, Aug 2026) on a nearly flat ISET score — rank slippage from new competition, not a real decline.
  • Progenesis TIMEOUT dropped out of the top 100 entirely — was #7 at 1476 ISET in April 2026, absent altogether in August.
  • Les Verdaux EGAN and Sous-Moron BOSTON also fell out of the top 100 completely — EGAN was #9 at 1474 ISET in April, BOSTON was #8 at 1475. All three former top-10 names vanishing in one run underlines how much a 70–74%-reliability genomic proof can move.

What This Index Is Rewarding

  • Volume vs. components: DG ELIANDRO cracked #2 on raw volume (2,063 kg milk, roughly 4,550 lb) with modest components (+0.28% fat, +0.09% protein), while Eichhof DOVER holds #10 on the opposite profile — components-heavy (+0.56% fat, +0.30% protein) on far less volume (1,416 kg, roughly 3,120 lb). Same index, opposite paths to a top-10 slot.
  • Type vs. output: TGD-Holstein MONSET posts the table’s strongest conformation (ITP 129, udder 129) on comparatively modest volume (1,251 kg milk, roughly 2,760 lb), while Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S carries the table’s highest milk volume (2,180 kg, roughly 4,800 lb) at a noticeably lower ITP (110). No single trait dominates the ranking outright.

Pedigree Concentration

  • GAMEDAY-ET sits as maternal grandsire behind three of the ten current leaders — Torchlight, Cookiecutter HADLEY, and MONSET — a real concentration on one grand-maternal line, and not a new phenomenon: this same Gameday line was already reshuffling Switzerland’s rankings back in December 2025, when Sous-Moron BOSTON’s fall from #1 to outside the top 20 first put it on our radar. thebullvine
  • For herds wanting to diversify away from that Gameday line, DG ELIANDRO (MGS ALTAALANZO-E) and Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S (MGS VAN GOGH-ET) sit outside it.

Volatility and Reliability

  • The newest, least-tested names are Bianfrie ALABAMA-ET (70% reliability, brand-new) and 3Star PATSER (71%, brand-new) — the two furthest from any daughter confirmation.

ISET Domestic Daughter-Proven — A Different Top Five

RankBullISET (Aug 2026)ISET (Apr 2026)
1Progenesis TOPSTORY14161420 (rank 1)
2Cal-Roy-Al JAZZ14131415 (rank 2)
3Peak LEEDER14091383 (rank 4)
43Star Oh RANGER13971398 (rank 3)
5Leaninghouse TAOS13811358 (rank 7)
  • TOPSTORY leads both runs (1420→1416) 
  • The two real movers: Peak LEEDER jumped rank 4→3 (+26 points, 1383→1409, reliability rising 94%→96% alongside it — a genuine daughter-driven gain), and Leaninghouse TAOS jumped rank 7→5 (+23 points, 1358→1381, on a 206 kg milk-volume increase at flat 96% reliability).
  • Progenesis INSPIRE (April’s #5 at 1369) fell out of this top 10, replaced by a new entrant at #9.

Where the Indexes Agree — and Where They Don’t

Core tension: The August 2026 run shows a 105-point gap between the hottest genomic prospect (Torchlight, 1521) and the top daughter-proven sire (Topstory, 1416) — not because Torchlight is a verified superior animal, but because a 70–72%-reliability genomic proof carries less statistical caution than a 90%+-reliability daughter-proven one. Breeders backing Torchlight or Eliandro are buying unverified upside; breeders backing Topstory or Ranger are buying confirmed safety at a lower ceiling. With three genomic bulls, including Progenesis TIMEOUT, vanishing from the top 100 in a single run, that upside comes with a real re-ranking risk, not just a statistical footnote.

How to Use These Sires This Season

Genomic-upside anchor. For herds comfortable riding out re-ranking risk in exchange for the newest genetics, Progenesis TORCHLIGHT is the safest bet among the hot names — he’s held #1 across both runs (1519→1521) rather than showing up fresh this cycle.

Daughter-proven anchor. For herds prioritizing predictability over ceiling, 3Star Oh RANGER’s 99% reliability on the Domestic Daughter-Proven list makes him the closest thing to a guaranteed outcome in this dataset, even at a lower 1397 ISET.

Type and udder specialists. For herds prioritizing conformation and mammary system over raw output, TGD-Holstein MONSET’s ITP 129 and udder score of 129 stand out in the genomic top 10, at the cost of milk volume (1,251 kg).

Volume and outcross options. For herds wanting fluid-milk volume and a pedigree outside the Gameday-ET cluster, DG ELIANDRO (2,063 kg milk, MGS ALTAALANZO-E) fits both criteria in one animal.

30-day action: Pull your current AI inventory and check exposure on two fronts — first, how much of your Gameday-ET maternal-grandsire line runs through Torchlight, Hadley, or Monset, since three of ten current genomic leaders trace to that one line; second, whether you’re still committed to straws on Progenesis TIMEOUT, Les Verdaux EGAN, or Sous-Moron BOSTON, all three of which fell out of the Swiss ISET Genomic top 100 entirely between the April and August 2026 runs.

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Germany’s August 2026 RZG Run: Zivet Retakes the Schwarzbunt Proven Crown

Remco was Germany’s #2 genomic bull in April at +162 RZG. By August, he’s #24 at +157 — and six new bulls just took his spot in the Schwarzbunt genomic top 10.

Executive Summary: The August 2026 German RZG index run reveals a significant shift in elite cattle rankings, particularly within the Schwarzbunt (Black-and-White) and Rotbunt (Red Holstein) breeds. In the genomic category, the Schwarzbunt list experienced a major overhaul as six new young bulls displaced several former leaders like Remco, while the Rotbunt rankings remained comparatively stable. The daughter-proven sector saw Zivet seize the top spot in the Schwarzbunt rankings following a notable performance gain, contrasting with former leader Picard’s sharp decline. These updates serve as a critical warning for dairy producers to revise their breeding strategies, as relying on outdated April data could lead to mating decisions based on obsolete genetic values. Ultimately, the report highlights the trade-offs between high-production traits and functional durability, while identifying specific bulls that offer reliable daughter data or unique outcross genetics.

Germany’s 11 August 2026 RZG proof run (vit/BRS) puts Skype Red (833760) atop the German Red Holstein (Rotbunt) genomic list at +163 RZG, dead level with his own April value but now ahead of Harmonic P (990001, +163 April → +161 August), who had briefly held #1. On the Schwarzbunt (Black-and-White) side, Connect (833764) stays genomic #1 but slides from +167 (8 April 2026) to +166 — while six of his ten genomic top-10 stablemates are 2025-born bulls that weren’t on the April list at all, most notably new #2 Harmony (798330, +163) and new #3 Rovis (823384, +162).

On the daughter-proven side, the bigger story is Zivet (833496), who jumps from +144 (April, rank #2) to +148 (August, rank #1) in Schwarzbunt — the largest single-bull RZG gain among the bulls tracked in this report — while former #1 Picard (811681) falls from #1 (+148, 8 Apr) to #3 (+142, 11 Aug), a −6 drop that hands the crown to Zivet. In Rotbunt, April’s co-leaders Globus (917679, +144→+143) and Globed P (924776, +144→+138) both slide as three brand-new proven entrants — Spooky Red (917693), Master P (917692) and Mat Red P (833536) — crack the top 10 on their first appearance in the daughter-proven population, a reminder that Rotbunt and Schwarzbunt run on the same RZG scale but fill their top tens very differently run to run.

What Should You Do With This Before Your Next Breeding Decision?

If you’re working from an April printout, check it now: Remco (HB-NR 811733) and Realpower (HB-NR 833731) were both Schwarzbunt genomic top-5 bulls in April and have since fallen to #24 and #13. If either is still sitting in a mating plan or semen order, that plan is running on numbers that are four months stale — see the full 30-day action item at the close of this report.

Rotbunt’s Genomic Top 10: Nine Anchors Hold, One New Face Arrives

German Red Holstein, genomics only, active AI bulls (vit/BRS)

Rank (Aug)BullRZG Aug 2026RZG Apr 2026ChangeRank AprReliability (SI)Stud
1Skype Red (833760)+163 (11 Aug)+163 (8 Apr)0277%SYNETICS
2Duett PP (585339)+162 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%RSH/PHX
3Harmonic P (990001)+161 (11 Aug)+163 (8 Apr)−2177%Phönix
4Sancho Red (823380)+157 (11 Aug)+158 (8 Apr)−1577%Phönix
5Create P (917727)+157 (11 Aug)+158 (8 Apr)−1677%Phönix
6Maestro (917730)+156 (11 Aug)+157 (8 Apr)−1777%Phönix
7Coco Red P (833739)+156 (11 Aug)+157 (8 Apr)−1877%SYNETICS
8Semper P (917733)+156 (11 Aug)+159 (8 Apr)−3477%Phönix
9Heek Red (823375)+155 (11 Aug)+156 (8 Apr)−11077%Phönix
10Bueno Red (823382)+155 (11 Aug)+160 (8 Apr)−5378%Phönix
  • Skype Red holds #1 on an unchanged +163, but only because Harmonic P (April’s leader) dropped 2 points to +161 — the swap at the top happened without Skype Red doing anything.
  • Nine of ten anchors carried over from April; only Duett PP is new, and he isn’t in April’s top 100 at all, so this is a fresh genomic entry rather than a climber.
  • The band compressed: April’s top 10 ran +156 to +163 (a 7-point spread); August runs +155 to +163 (an 8-point spread), but with Cardiff P (917723, April #9 at +157) squeezed out to #12 at +154 in August — the whole list simply moved down a notch or two.

Movers. No incumbent gained ground this run — Duett PP’s arrival is the only true riser, debuting at #2 with +162 on the strength of a 143 RZM (milk) sub-index, the highest of the group. Skype Red is functionally flat (0 change) but pairs a 140 RZN (fitness) with 137 RZGes, the most balanced profile in the top 3.

Fallers. Bueno Red fell hardest inside the top 10, −5 points from +160 (8 Apr, rank #3) to +155 (11 Aug, rank #10). Semper P dropped −3 (+159→+156), and Harmonic P gave up his April #1 spot, −2 to +161. Cardiff P (917723) dropped out of the top 10 entirely, from +157 (8 Apr, rank #9) to +154 (11 Aug, rank #12) — still a top-15 sire, but no longer top-10.

What this index is rewarding. Duett PP and Harmonic P both push RZM into the 143–146 range (extreme milk production) at the cost of RZN in the 131–134 band; Skype Red trades a few RZM points (131) for the highest RZN (140) and RZGes (137) in the group — pick your trade-off between raw production and functional durability. Sancho Red (RZM149) sits closer to the milk-first camp, while Create P (RZM133, RZE117) leans toward the balanced middle.

Stud and family concentration.

  • Phönix places 7 of the current top 10 (Harmonic P, Sancho Red, Create P, Maestro, Semper P, Heek Red, Bueno Red); SYNETICS holds 2 (Skype Red, Coco Red P); Duett PP sits at RSH/PHX.
  • Handout P sires two of the ten (Harmonic P, Heek Red) and Shield sires two more (Sancho Red, Maestro) — real sire-line stacking at the top.
  • For breeders wanting to diversify away from Handout P and Shield, Duett PP (sire: Dressman P) and Bueno Red (sire: Borax Red) are the cleanest outcross options still inside the top 10.

Volatility and reliability. Every genomic-only bull in this top 10 sits at the same 77–78% SI — that’s the expected band for genomic-only proofs with no daughter data, so reliability isn’t a differentiator within this list; it will be once daughters accumulate. The real reliability split shows up on the proven list below.

Rotbunt’s Proven Top 10: Three Rookies Crack the List as Globus and Globed P Slide

German Red Holstein, daughter-proven, active AI bulls (vit/BRS)

Rank (Aug)BullRZG Aug 2026RZG Apr 2026ChangeRank AprReliability (SI)Stud
1Spooky Red (917693)+143 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10087%Phönix
2Globus (917679)+143 (11 Aug)+144 (8 Apr)−1189%Phönix
3Mask Red (823286)+140 (11 Aug)+141 (8 Apr)−1493%Phönix
4Sea P (917682)+139 (11 Aug)+136 (8 Apr)+31189%Phönix
5Master P (917692)+139 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10087%Phönix
6Ginger (924764)+138 (11 Aug)+139 (8 Apr)−1597%Qnetics
7Momo Red P (833519)+138 (11 Aug)+136 (8 Apr)+21092%SYNETICS
8Spotlight (917680)+138 (11 Aug)+139 (8 Apr)−1692%Phönix
9Globed P (924776)+138 (11 Aug)+144 (8 Apr)−6290%PHX/QNE
10Mat Red P (833536)+137 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10085%SYNETICS
  • Three of ten bulls — Spooky Red, Master P, Mat Red P — are new to the daughter-proven top 100 altogether, which reads as bulls that just crossed from genomic-only into proven status with enough daughters to qualify, and landed straight in the top 10.
  • April’s co-leaders (Globus +144, Globed P +144) both slipped: Globus to #2 (+143), Globed P all the way to #9 (+138, a 6-point drop).
  • The top-10 band narrowed from +136–+144 (April) to +137–+143 (August) — less spread, fewer standout anchors.

Movers. Sea P climbed from #11 (+136, 8 Apr) to #4 (+139, 11 Aug), a +3 gain and seven-place jump. Momo Red P moved from #10 (+136) to #7 (+138), +2. The headline “risers,” though, are the three new entrants noted above — none of them existed in the April top-100 daughter-proven ranking.

Fallers. Globed P is the biggest faller still inside the top 10, −6 from +144 (8 Apr, #2) to +138 (11 Aug, #9). Spot-Red P (267101) dropped out of the top 10, from +141 (#3, 8 Apr) to +137 (#11, 11 Aug). Glamour (499208, +136, #9 in April) dropped out of the entire top-100 list by August — not just out of the top 10, but off the active-bull proven ranking altogether.

What this index is rewarding. Spooky Red leads on RZM (140, milk) with modest RZE (110, type); Globus is the mirror image — lower RZM (120) but stronger RZE (127) and RZN (129) — so herds chasing components without sacrificing type still have an option in the top 3.

Stud and family concentration. Phönix holds 6 of 10 outright (Spooky Red, Globus, Mask Red, Sea P, Master P, Spotlight) plus a share of Globed P via PHX/QNE; SYNETICS has 2 (Momo Red P, Mat Red P); Qnetics has 1 (Ginger).

Volatility and reliability. Ginger (97% SI, 1,204 daughters) and Mask Red (93% SI, 1,233 daughters) are the anchors here — long track records, minimal re-rank risk. The three new entrants are the volatility plays: Mat Red P at 85% SI and Master P at 87% SI carry the least daughter weight of the group and are the most likely to move again next run.

RZG’s Genomic Top 10: Six New Bulls Just Rewrote the List

German Holstein, genomics only, active AI bulls (vit/BRS)

Rank (Aug)BullRZG Aug 2026RZG Apr 2026ChangeRank AprReliability (SI)Stud
1Connect (833764)+166 (11 Aug)+167 (8 Apr)−1177%SYNETICS
2Harmony (798330)+163 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%Marktred
3Rovis (823384)+162 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%Phönix
4Artistic (694753)+160 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%Phönix
5Agent (762699)+160 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%Phönix
6Almonty (833785)+160 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%SYNETICS
7Saturn RDC (103000)+160 (11 Aug)+161 (8 Apr)−11077%VOST
8Smetana (833782)+159 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10077%SYNETICS
9TooHot (823381)+159 (11 Aug)+161 (8 Apr)−2577%Phönix
10Carlito (823376)+159 (11 Aug)+161 (8 Apr)−2677%Phönix
  • This is the most dramatic reshuffle in the whole run: 6 of 10 current bulls — Harmony, Rovis, Artistic, Agent, Almonty, Smetana — are 2025-born genomic bulls that do not appear anywhere in April’s top 100. Only Connect, Saturn RDC, TooHot and Carlito carried over from April’s top 10.
  • Six former April top-10 bulls fell out of the top 10 (though not out of the top 100): Remco (811733, April #2 at +162) fell to #24 at +157; Realpower (833731, April #3 at +161) fell to #13 at +158; Realside (833724, April #4 at +161) fell to #19 at +157; Evenstar (694090, April #7 at +161) fell to #23 at +157; Romantiker (694092, April #8 at +161) fell to #16 at +158; Highmilk (694094, April #9 at +161) fell to #32 at +156 — all still inside the top 100, just pushed well clear of the top 10.
  • The band held roughly steady in level (April +161–+167, August +159–+166) but the composition is almost entirely new.

Movers. There are no incumbent risers by value — every returning bull (Connect, Saturn RDC, TooHot, Carlito) lost ground. The four biggest movers are all new entrants: Harmony debuts at #2 (+163) on a 148 RZM / 126 RZE profile; Rovis debuts at #3 (+162, RZM144); Artistic and Agent — both sired by Argentum — debut at #4 and #5 (+160 each).

Fallers. Remco (811733) fell hardest, −5 from +162 (8 Apr, #2) to +157 (11 Aug, #24) — a complete exit from the top 10. Highmilk (694094) also dropped −5, from +161 (#9) to +156 (#32). Realside (833724, −4, #4→#19) and Evenstar (694090, −4, #7→#23) round out the biggest fallers, all still comfortably inside the top 100 but nowhere near the top 10 anymore.

What this index is rewarding. Connect leads on RZM (150) and RZN (136) simultaneously — a rare combination — while Harmony trades a couple of RZM points (148) for notably better RZE (126 vs Connect’s 118). Rovis (RZM144, RZE125, RZN134) sits between the two, and is the more balanced pick of the new-entrant wave.

Stud and family concentration.

  • Phönix places 5 of 10 (Rovis, Artistic, Agent, TooHot, Carlito); SYNETICS has 3 (Connect, Almonty, Smetana); Marktred (Harmony) and VOST (Saturn RDC) hold 1 each.
  • Argentum is the sire of both Artistic and Agent — the only sire-line duplication in this top 10.
  • For herds wanting to avoid doubling up on Argentum, Connect (sire: Comet) and Carlito (sire: Callum) are the cleanest outcross anchors still in the top 10.

Volatility and reliability. Like the Rotbunt genomic list, every bull here sits at the same 77% SI — the standard genomic-only band. With six of ten bulls brand new to the ranking, this list carries the highest re-rank risk of the four reported here; none of it is visible in the reliability column because genomic SI doesn’t move until daughters arrive.

RZG’s Proven Top 10: Zivet Takes the Crown From Picard

German Holstein, daughter-proven, active AI bulls (vit/BRS)

Rank (Aug)BullRZG Aug 2026RZG Apr 2026ChangeRank AprReliability (SI)Stud
1Zivet (833496)+148 (11 Aug)+144 (8 Apr)+4297%SYNETICS
2Krispy (823290)+144 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10088%Phönix
3Picard (811681)+142 (11 Aug)+148 (8 Apr)−6191%Phönix
4Milo (267282)+141 (11 Aug)new in top 10—not in Apr top 10088%OHG
5Glenn (823284)+141 (11 Aug)+143 (8 Apr)−2491%Phönix
6Comeback (619239)+141 (11 Aug)+139 (8 Apr)+22292%PHX/QNE
7Skater (833504)+140 (11 Aug)+141 (8 Apr)−1794%SYNETICS
8Golf (159002)+140 (11 Aug)+141 (8 Apr)−1895%VOST
9Simba P (266588)+140 (11 Aug)+142 (8 Apr)−2597%OHG
10Mirco (266363)+140 (11 Aug)+141 (8 Apr)−1998%OHG
  • Zivet’s +4-point jump (+144→+148) is the single largest RZG gain among the bulls tracked in this report, and it’s enough to take the #1 spot from Picard.
  • Picard’s −6 drop (+148→+142) is the steepest fall within Schwarzbunt’s proven top 10 — he remains #3, but the April leader is no longer the clear standout. Rotbunt’s Globed P (−6, +144→+138) fell by the identical margin and also held onto a top-10 spot (#9), so the two are tied for the steepest top-10 fall of any bull in this report.
  • Comeback is the quiet story: +2 in value but a 16-place rank jump (April #22 to August #6), the sharpest rank climb on either proven list.

Movers. Zivet leads (+4, #2→#1). Comeback gained +2 and jumped from #22 to #6 — proportionally the largest rank movement in this report. Krispy and Milo are new entrants, debuting at #2 (+144) and #4 (+141) respectively, neither appearing in April’s top-100 daughter-proven list.

Fallers. Picard fell hardest among bulls still in the top 10, −6 (+148→+142, #1→#3). Glenn and Simba P both dropped −2 (Glenn: +143→+141, #4→#5; Simba P: +142→+140, #5→#9). Three April top-10 bulls dropped out entirely: Glarus (267161, +143 April #3 → +139, #13 August), Precision (575319, +142 April #6 → +137, #27 August) and Adwin (833502, +141 April #10 → +139, #14 August).

What this index is rewarding. Zivet is a milk-first anchor (RZM 150) with modest type (RZE 116); Krispy balances lower RZM (136) against notably stronger RZR (127) and RZN (124) — the fitness/functional trade familiar from the Rotbunt list repeats here on the proven side.

Stud and family concentration. Phönix holds 3 outright (Krispy, Picard, Glenn) plus a share of Comeback via PHX/QNE; OHG holds 3 (Milo, Simba P, Mirco); SYNETICS has 2 (Zivet, Skater); VOST has 1 (Golf).

Volatility and reliability. Mirco (98% SI), Simba P and Zivet (both 97% SI) are the clearest anchors on this list — minimal re-rank risk. Krispy and Milo, both new entrants at 88% SI, are the volatility plays: high enough index to sit in the top 5, but with the least daughter backing of the group.

How Should You Actually Use These Rankings?

High-reliability anchors. For herds that want minimal re-rank risk on the next run, Ginger (Rotbunt proven, +138 RZG, 97% SI) and Mirco (Schwarzbunt proven, +140 RZG, 98% SI) carry the deepest daughter files of any bull named in this report.

Milk-first specialists. For herds prioritizing component yield above all else, Connect (Schwarzbunt genomic, +166 RZG, RZM150) and Zivet (Schwarzbunt proven, +148 RZG, RZM150) are the clearest production-first picks on their respective lists.

Balanced/type-leaning options. For herds that need type and functional traits alongside production, Globus (Rotbunt proven, +143 RZG, RZE127/RZN129) and Krispy (Schwarzbunt proven, +144 RZG, RZR127/RZN124) trade a few RZM points for a more even trait spread.

Outcross candidates. For breeders managing inbreeding risk against the Handout P/Shield (Rotbunt) and Argentum (Schwarzbunt) sire-line concentrations documented above, Bueno Red (sire: Borax Red) and Carlito (sire: Callum) sit outside those lines while still ranking in their respective genomic top 10s.

Volatility plays. For herds comfortable with re-rank risk in exchange for index level, the newest entrants — Duett PP and Harmony among the genomic bulls, Krispy and Milo among the proven bulls — carry the least track record of anyone named here and are the most likely names to move meaningfully at the next run.

30-day action. Within 30 days, pull your current Rotbunt and Schwarzbunt sire lists and check them against HB-NR 811733 (Remco) and HB-NR 833731 (Realpower) — both April Schwarzbunt genomic top-5 bulls that fell to #24 and #13 respectively; if either is still queued in a mating plan built on April data, the plan is running on numbers that are no longer current.

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The 52-Point Gap Hiding in Every Jersey Sire Catalog in Canada

Canada’s top ten Jersey sires average 99th-percentile LPI and 47th-percentile Reproduction. That 52-point gap sired 29% of 2025 registrations — and never shows up on a single catalog page.

Jersey Canada’s record registration year produced a top ten sire group with elite LPI and conformation. Yet a look under the hood, and the Reproduction and Milkability subindexes tell a very different story for the future cows filling Canadian barns.

When I sat down in March 2026 with Jersey Canada’s 2025 registration data and Lactanet’s December 2025 genetic evaluations, I expected to see what the catalog pages were already shouting. Record registrations, up 9.74% over the previous high. Ten sires averaging Lifetime Performance Index (LPI) at the 99th percentile. Conformation at the 97th. Every bull A2A2. On paper, the Canadian Jerseys looked like they were winning on every front.

Then I pulled the LPI subindex profile on that same top ten group. The Reproduction Index (RI) across those bulls averaged the 47th percentile — below breed average. Five of ten fell below the median for fertility. The Milkability Index (MI), Lactanet’s subindex covering milking speed, temperament, and mammary milking traits, sat at the 34th percentile. And the Health & Welfare Index (HWI) — the one that captures Metabolic Disease Resistance, Mastitis Resistance, and Cystic Ovaries — averaged just the 59th percentile, with four bulls below the 50th.

Let me say this plainly: neither the breed associations nor the A.I. companies are publishing or promoting subindexes, and very little has been published on understanding or using them. After six decades of breeding cattle and working on dairy cattle improvement — including the original Dollar Difference Formula and Holstein Canada’s Type Classification overhaul in the 1980s — I’m still pushing the industry to look past the numbers it celebrates and toward the economically important ones it quietly ignores.

That’s not breeders failing to read the fine print. That’s a system that never printed it.

What Do Canada’s Top 10 Jersey Sires Actually Look Like Genetically?

Let’s start with which sires are actually driving the breed.

The ten bulls leading Jersey Canada’s 2025 registrations — ToBeFamous and Ghost tied at No. 1, followed by Victorious, Skyfall, Xenial, Artemis, Goldorak, Honeymoon, Cinnamon, and Tekashi — averaging 402 registered daughters each. Together, they sired 29% of all Jersey registrations in Canada that year. Eight of the ten were genomic sires when used, and those eight alone account for 81% of the group’s registered daughters.

When eight genomic bulls shape roughly one in four registered calves in a country, their genetic profile isn’t just interesting. It’s the trajectory of the breed.

Here’s how the Lactanet December 2025 evaluations stack up for that top ten:

IndexAveragePercentile RankRangeBulls Below 50th
LPI1,91899th39th–99th1 of 10
Pro$$1,542~97th——
Production Index (PI)—81st56th–99th0 of 10
Longevity & Type (LTI)—91st21st–99th1 of 10
Health & Welfare (HWI)—59th17th–88th4 of 10
Reproduction (RI)—47th19th–84th5 of 10
Milkability (MI)—34th2nd–90th5 of 10
Milk358 kgs50th−121 to 1,0716 of 10
Fat49 kgs79th12–842 of 10
Fat %+0.37%—0.07–0.830 of 10
Protein25 kgs60th12–524 of 10
Protein %+0.16%—0.07–0.310 of 10
Conformation (CONF)+11.497th−2 to +181 of 10

The gap between the 99th-percentile LPI and the 47th-percentile RI — 52 percentile points — might be the most revealing number in this dataset. It also never shows up on a sire card.

Why Don’t Breeders See the Fertility and Milkability Gap?

The short version: nothing in the current sire selection pipeline forces RI, HWI, or MI onto the table when you’re actually ordering semen.

Fat percentage is loud. When a bull adds +0.83%F — the high end of this top ten’s range — the economic reward shows up on every milk settlement. The A2A2 and BB casein story works the same way: processors put a premium on paper, breeders respond, and by 2025, the breed hit 100% A2A2 and 90% BB kappa-casein among its most-used sires. That’s the market signal doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Fertility costs are quiet. When a cow takes an extra cycle or two to settle, the penalty spreads across the vet bill, the semen line, the replacement purchase, and a longer calving interval that drags down lifetime milk and drives up lifetime days dry. None of those line items show up with a bold “this is what 47th-percentile RI genetics cost you this month” stamped on them.

Timed AI programs like Double-Ovsynch and Presynch-Ovsynch deepen the blind spot. They override a cow’s own biology, delivering conception rates that hide genetic fertility deficits. The protocol works — but it costs more to maintain with every percentile point of genetic fertility you give away. More shots. Tighter labour timing. More resynchronization cycles.

The Milkability Index gap tells its own story. MI combines milking speed, temperament, and milking-related mammary traits — exactly the traits that determine how quickly and smoothly cows move through a parlour or a robot box. A 34th-percentile MI average means the daughters of the breed’s most popular sires are, on balance, below average for the traits that drive milking efficiency and robot throughput. That’s real money in labour and robot capacity, especially as more Canadian herds adopt automated milking.

Fat Gains Up, Fertility Drifting: Five Years of Jersey Genetic Trends

Zoom out to the five-year trend for the top ten registration sires from 2020 to 2025, and the selection pattern comes into focus:

TraitAnnual Gain (Top 10 Registration Sires, 2020–2025)
LPI+44 points/year
Pro$+$99/year
Milk Volume−25 kgs/year
Fat Yield+3 kgs/year
Fat %+0.05%/year
Protein Yield+1 kg/year
Protein %+0.03%/year
Conformation+0.8/year
Mammary System+0.8/year
Dairy Strength+0.90/year
Feet & Legs+0.75/year
Rump+0.66/year
Inbreeding−0.28%/year

Milk volume is deliberately sliding while fat and protein percentages climb. That’s component pricing at work, and breeders are delivering exactly what processors reward.

What’s missing in that trend table are equivalent progress numbers for RI, HWI, or MI. The traits everyone tracks, publishes, and celebrates are the ones getting selected. The ones buried in PDF footnotes are drifting. The 47th-percentile RI average is a pretty good hint of which direction.

On the positive side, the inbreeding story is exactly what you’d hope to see. The average for the top ten drops from 9.77% in 2020 to 8.10% in 2025 — a reduction of 0.28% per year, with seven of ten bulls sitting under 9.0%. That proves something important: Canadian Jersey breeders can manage a trait that isn’t on the milk cheque when the industry makes it visible and gives them tools. It’s fair to ask why the same thing hasn’t happened for reproduction, health, and milkability yet.

The Barn Math Behind 47th-Percentile Fertility

Here’s where you can feel it in your own numbers.

A 200-cow Jersey herd turning over 35% annually needs about 70 replacement heifers a year. That’s just barn math: 200 × 0.35 = 70.

On the cost side, U.S. dairy replacement prices hit about $3,010 per head in July 2025, up 164% from the 2019 bottom of around $1,140, with top heifers bringing $4,000 or more in some auction barns. In Ontario, replacement heifers over 900 lbs were selling around $326–$328 per hundredweight at recent auctions — not the same absolute price, but the direction of travel is similar.

Now layer in genetics. If below-average RI bulls add even one extra service per conception across your dairy-bred matings, that’s more semen, more time open, and more risk that cows fall out of the dairy pipeline and into beef because they didn’t settle. It’s not just a $30–$50 sexed semen straw that didn’t stick. It’s a heifer that never existed, and a cow that probably gets bred to beef because everyone’s tired of missing her.

My read of the Production Index adds another twist. The PI averages the 81st percentile across the top ten — good, but notably lower than the LPI at the 99th and the LTI at the 91st.. In other words, the composite LPI for these bulls is being carried more by longevity and type than by yield. That raises a fair question: how much of that 1,918-point LPI reflects real lifetime profitability, and how much is the formula letting strong CONF and LTI paper override weak RI and MI?

Does 97th-Percentile Conformation Actually Drive Jersey Profitability?

On paper, this top ten group is a type breeder’s dream. The average conformation score sits at +11.4 — the 97th percentile — with a range from −2 to +18. Mammary system averages +8.9. Feet and legs average +8.5. Those are big numbers.

The real question is what those numbers actually buy you.

Canadian work from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on longevity found that udder depth and milking ease accounted for 84% of the total contribution of type traits to functional longevity, and that rear teat placement, udder depth, and udder texture had a significant influence on functional survival. Cows with tight, well-attached udders stayed in the herd longer.

Alcantara, Baes, de Oliveira Junior, and Schenkel (2022), in the Canadian Journal of Animal Science, put hard-dollar values on the type traits involved. Analyzing 9,351 proven Holstein bulls, they found heel depth had the strongest positive effect on Pro$ of any conformation trait, at +$79.13 per unit RBV increase.

In plain terms: heel depth pays you; extreme body depth costs you.

That same paper showed dairy capacity (especially body length) was also positive, at +$59.00 per unit RBV. More capacious, angular cows tended to stay productive longer. But body depth told the other side of the story: it had the largest negative effect on Pro$ at –$61.95 per unit RBV because deeper-bodied cows ate more, tended to lose condition more quickly after calving, and showed poorer fertility in later lactations.

The problem is that composite CONF rewards all of it. Stature, angularity, body capacity, and dairy character are assigned the same number as functional mammary and feet-and-legs traits. So, a bull could rank in the 97th percentile for CONF largely on height and style, while another sits in the 72nd percentile with rock-solid udders and feet. The composite score doesn’t tell you which one actually puts more money in your pocket over five lactations. And neither does the catalog page.

What Would a Balanced Jersey Sire Stack Look Like in 2026?

The 2025 data doesn’t say you need to blow up your sire list and start over. It says you need an index floor when selecting sires. And you need it on traits and subindexes where no one has put one to date.

  • Set a hard RI minimum at the 50th percentile for every bull in your stack. That’s not aggressive — it just means refusing to use sires whose daughters carry below-average fertility genetics. Apply this filter to the current top ten, and five of the ten drop out immediately. If you actually want to improve fertility, not just stop the slide, aim for RI in the 65th percentile or better. This month, pull the Lactanet subindex breakdown for every sire in your current mating plan. If any bull sits below the 50th-percentile for RI, flag him for replacement or for use only on your most fertile cows. 
  • Give HWI a seat at the table. The top ten average just the 59th percentile for the Health & Welfare Index, with four bulls below the median. HWI is where Metabolic Disease Resistance, Mastitis Resistance, and Cystic Ovaries live in the modernized LPI. A 55th percentile floor keeps you from actively weakening your health genetics; 65th and up start building a real health advantage into your replacements. 
  • Use MI as a robot and labour filter. With a 34th-percentile average, MI is the weakest subindex for this top ten group. Suppose you’re milking with robots — or thinking about it — milking speed, temperament, and teat placement matter just as much as litres. Even in a parlour, slow or difficult milkers chew up labour. Set your own MI floor at the 45th percentile, so you’re not selecting against milkability. In a robot environment, you might want a higher percentile. 
  • Cap CONF expectations and target the right pieces. Instead of chasing 97th-percentile CONF across your whole stack, think in a 65th–80th percentile window and focus on mammary and feet-and-legs sub-scores. The Alcantara et al. work backs this up: heel depth and dairy capacity drive Pro$, while body depth drags it down. Select accordingly. 
  • Use high-LPI/low-RI sires as specialty tools, not blanket-herd bulls. A bull sitting at 99th-percentile LPI with poor subindex scores might still earn a place, on the 15–20% of cows with outstanding fertility and health backgrounds where you can safely chase an outcross, special pedigree, or type shot. He shouldn’t be breeding 80% of the herd. 
  • Before your fall semen order (90-day action), write a simple sire selection protocol. One page. Minimum RI and HWI percentiles. Plus a desired MI floor. Target range for CONF with mammary and feet/legs priorities. Share it with your AI rep and your genetic advisor. If they can’t work within it, that’s a data point too. 
  • By spring 2027 (365-day action), pull services-per-conception data by sire group from your own herd records. That’s where you’ll see RI genetics and timed AI protocols separate. A bull who looks fine on paper but needs 3.2 services per conception in your barn is telling you something your sire catalog won’t. 

What This Means for Your Operation

You don’t have to be running a big registered show string for this to matter. If you’re milking Jerseys and buying semen in Canada, you’re already living with the top ten bulls’ subindex profile. The only question is whether you’re steering it or just going along for the ride.

  • Run the subindex numbers on your current sire stack. Pull RI, HWI, and MI for every active bull you’re using. Calculate the weighted averages across your stack. If RI or HWI sits below the 50th percentile, you’ve quantified your genetic risk for fertility and health.
  • Decide what you’re actually willing to tolerate. A 47th-percentile RI average is what you get if you follow the registration leaderboard without asking questions. The minute you set a hard floor — even just at the 50th — you’re back in control.
  • Look at your conformation priorities through an economic lens. How much of your type selection pressure is going into the mammary system and feet/legs, and how much is chasing body depth and stature that the research says doesn’t pay? Adjust your eye accordingly.
  • If you’re running robots, treat MI as a non-negotiable. A 34th-percentile MI stack is basically selecting against robot efficiency. Put a line in the sand. Then ask yourself how many of your current sires clear it.
  • Double-check your replacement economics. On your own numbers, what does it cost to buy a bred Jersey heifer, with profit potential, right now? What’s your actual replacement rate? How much room do you have to play with fertility genetics before you start buying more herd replacements than you’d like?
  • Ask your AI rep better questions. Before you talk pedigrees or price, start with: “What are the RI, HWI, and MI percentiles on your top five Jersey sires for my herd?” If the answers come quickly — with printed subindex charts — you’re dealing with someone who’s reading the full proof sheet. If not, you’ve learned something about whose problems are being solved by that catalog page.

Key Takeaways

  • If half of the ten most-used Jersey sires in Canada sit below breed average for reproduction, the problem isn’t that breeders don’t care about fertility — it’s that the system never put RI, HWI, and MI on equal footing with LPI and CONF. I’ve been making that argument in one form or another for years: the numbers the industry promotes are the numbers that get selected. The numbers it buries get ignored. 
  • The A2A2 success story proves breeders respond fast when the signal is clear. Processors put a premium on paper; within a few proof runs, the top ten registration bulls went 100% A2A2 and 90% BB. There’s no reason the same can’t happen for RI and MI once those numbers get the same font size in sire marketing and herd discussions. 
  • The inbreeding trajectory shows it can be done. Dropping from 9.77% to 8.10% in five years didn’t happen by accident. It happened because inbreeding became visible and manageable. RI, HWI, and MI are sitting where inbreeding was a decade ago — important, but underused. 
  • The Milkability Index might be the quietest and most expensive number on the page for robot herds. A 34th-percentile MI stack means you’re effectively selecting against milking speed and temperament in a system where every extra minute per cow at the robot is lost throughput. That’s not a small leak. 
  • If you can write your sire selection protocol on one page — with hard subindex floors and a clear role for each bull — you’re ahead of most of the industry. The herds that do that over the next five years will be the ones with the replacements, the robot-friendly udders, and the health genetics that give them room to experiment elsewhere.

Five years from now, the real test of whether this analysis mattered won’t be on a Bullvine page. It’ll be in your own Lactanet login when you pull up your 2030 sire stack and see where your RI, HWI, and MI averages landed. Pull that same screen up tonight. What’s your average RI percentile — and are you honestly okay living with that number for the next five years?

Learn More

Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.

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Powerhouse Up 119, Rozline Down 626: The April 2026 Holstein Proof Reset on Your Sire List

One bull climbed 119 TPI, another lost 626 Pro$, and a few “safe” favorites quietly slid out of the money.

The proofs landed on a cold April morning, and by the time the printer stopped spitting out pages, one thing was obvious at a 450‑cow Wisconsin freestall herd we chatted with: the semen in their tank no longer matched the numbers on the sheets. Powerhouse had just picked up 119 TPI under the new US protein formula, while Rozline had shed 626 Pro$ in Canada. 

Same bulls. Same daughters milking in their barns. But in one proof run, their jobs changed. This is the story of how that happened — and what you can realistically do in the next 30 days so you’re not breeding April 2026 calves with December 2025 math. 

“Did We Just Spend Our Semen Budget on Yesterday’s Bulls?”

That Wisconsin herd had done what a lot of us do. The winter order leaned into bulls that felt like “safe bets”: Peak Powerhouse‑ET on the US side for TPI and Siemers Renegade Rozline‑ET for Canadian Pro$ and LPI with type. 

On paper, in December, that plan made sense. Powerhouse sat at 3329 TPI, Rozline at 2664 Pro$ and 3947 LPI, and both were plastered all over catalog covers. 

Then April hit. Holstein USA rolled out the TPI 2026 formula with 24% weight on PTA Protein and 14% on PTA Fat, shifting five percentage points of production weight from fat to protein.  That single change lifted Powerhouse from 3329 to 3448 TPI (+119) and knocked fat‑heavy bulls like SDG Cap Garza‑ET down –125 TPI (3464 → 3339). 

North of the border, Canada’s April 2026 run trimmed the Pro$ ceiling by roughly 200–250 points for most front‑end bulls — and a lot more for Rozline. Progenesis Pattern‑ET held #1 Pro$ at 2974, but still dropped –237 Pro$; Denovo 16034 Cabo‑ET fell –231 Pro$ to 2877. Rozline took the biggest hit, sliding from 2664 to 2038 Pro$ (–626) and from 3947 to 3810 LPI (–137), dropping from #1 to #9 LPI.

The proofs didn’t change how that breeder felt about the daughters. They did change how comfortable he was betting big semen checks on those bulls for the next calf crop.

One Global Run, Eight Different Messages

The April 2026 Holstein proof run isn’t one neat headline. It’s eight different proof systems pulling on the same straw box in their own way. Here’s the short tour before we get into what you do about it in your herd or ET program. 

BullCountry / IndexDec 2025 ValueApr 2026 ValueChange (Dec 2025 → Apr 2026)Formula Verdict
!WINNER Peak Powerhouse-ETUSA / TPI3329 TPI3448 TPI+119 TPIProtein flip winner — 92 Pro vs 113 Fat rewarded
!LOSER SDG Cap Garza-ETUSA / TPI3464 TPI3339 TPI−125 TPI!RISK Extreme fat bias; demoted from anchor
!LOSER Siemers Renegade Rozline-ETCanada / Pro$2664 Pro$2038 Pro$−626 Pro$Repriced; type specialist only
!LOSER Siemers Renegade Rozline-ETCanada / LPI3947 LPI3810 LPI−137 LPIDropped #1 → #9 LPI
!LOSER Winstar Graziano-ETCanada / Pro$3099 Pro$2655 Pro$−444 Pro$Dropped #3 → #81 Pro$
!WINNER Siemers Rengd Parfect-ETCanada / LPI3856 LPI3914 LPI+58 LPITook #1 LPI from Rozline
!LOSER Peak AltaSeverusUK / PLI764 PLI596 PLI−168 PLIDaughter data correction; demoted
!WINNER Peak Powerhouse-ETUK / PLI746 PLI768 PLI+22 PLIClimbed to proven #1 PLI
!LOSER TGD-Holstein BeautymanCH / ISET1586 ISET1427 ISET−159 ISETFell out of top 20; niche type tool only
!WINNER Progenesis TorchlightCH / ISET1584 ISET1519 ISET— raw pts (new scale)Recalibrated #1; production-fit formula winner
!WINNER Rise Up RealNL / NVI410 NVI468 NVI+58 NVILongevity-driven surge to genomic #1
!WINNER Genosource CaptainNL / NVI (proven)289 NVI363 NVI+74 NVIDaughters confirmed; jumped #9 → #2 proven
!WINNER Crisalis RFItaly / gPFT5180 gPFT5247 gPFT+67 gPFTExtended domestic proven #1 lead
!WINNER FuglemanScandinavia / NTM35 NTM38 NTM+3 NTMLargest proven NTM gain; within 2 pts of #1
!LOSER Peak Rainow-ETScandinavia / NTM42 NTM40 NTM−2 NTMStill #1 proven; lead over Fugleman shrinking

USA: Protein Wins, Fat Pays Less

BullDec 2025 TPI RankApr 2026 RankTPI Dec 2025TPI Apr 2026ChangePTA Pro / PTA FatFormula Verdict
!WINNER Peak Powerhouse-ET#3#23329 TPI3448 TPI+119 TPI92 Pro / 113 FatProtein-winner; push semen share
!LOSER OCD Trooper Sheepster-ET#1#13572 TPI3480 TPI−92 TPI67 Pro / 133 FatModerate loser; still #1 proven
!ANCHOR SDG-PH Delux Dominance-ET#4#33458 TPI3437 TPI−21 TPI64 Pro / 135 FatSlight loser; reliable anchor
La-Ca-De-Le T Isaac 8731-ET#5#43390 TPI3396 TPI+6 TPI62 Pro / 111 FatNeutral; stable anchor
!WINNER Peak Momento-ET#6#53334 TPI3360 TPI+26 TPI53 Pro / 113 FatMild protein-winner
!LOSER Genosource Captain-ET#7#63428 TPI3356 TPI−72 TPI64 Pro / 117 FatFat-leaning loser; still elite anchor
Terra-Calroy Zuri-ET#8#73375 TPI3355 TPI−20 TPI52 Pro / 104 FatSlight loser; neutral role
!LOSER !RISK SDG Cap Garza-ET#4 (≈)#83464 TPI3339 TPI−125 TPI50 Pro / 140 FatBiggest loser; fat specialist only
!NEW Denovo 3946 Elgin-ETOutside top 10#9—3337 TPINew entry68 Pro / 100 FatFormula winner; protein-balanced
!NEW Welcome Sensei-ETOutside top 10#10—3333 TPINew entry73 Pro / 97 FatFormula winner; highest Pro/Fat ratio in top 10

Holstein USA’s TPI 2026 production slice — 24P / 14F — quietly moved real money. 

  • Powerhouse: +119 TPI (3329 → 3448) on the same daughters, thanks to 92 Pro vs 113 Fat and big milk. 
  • Garza: –125 TPI (3464 → 3339) as his extreme fat profile became less valuable inside the index, even though his cows still fill the fat tank. 

On the genomic side, the signal is just how tight and volatile the very top has become:

  • All 10 bulls in the April 2026 genomic TPI top 10 are new names compared with December. 
  • The band from Aurora Gs Woodford‑ET at 3565 TPI down to Welcome Gustavsson‑ET at 3528 is only 37 points wide. 

The “shape” of a winning genomic TPI bull is clear — high milk, strong protein, good health, functional type — but the exact names at the top are going to churn. 

Read more: April 2026 USA Holstein TPI: Woodford +3565, Powerhouse +119 – Who Won and Lost the Protein Flip?

Canada: Pro$ Anchors Trimmed, Rozline Repriced

BullLPI Dec 2025LPI Apr 2026LPI ChangeLPI Rank Apr 2026Pro$ Dec 2025Pro$ Apr 2026Pro$ ChangePro$ Rank Apr 2026Role Verdict
!WINNER Siemers Rengd Parfect-ET3856 LPI3914 LPI+58 LPI#1 LPI2374 Pro$2226 Pro$−148 Pro$Mid-band!ANCHOR LPI anchor; mid-Pro specialist
!ANCHOR Stantons Remover PP3831 LPI3873 LPI+42 LPI#2 LPI3070 Pro$2771 Pro$−299 Pro$#8 Pro$!ANCHOR Polled anchor; trimmed but holds both lists
!ANCHOR Progenesis Pattern-ET3829 LPI (≈#10)3766 LPI−63 LPI#15 LPI3211 Pro$2974 Pro$−237 Pro$#1 Pro$!ANCHOR Pro$ reference anchor; slightly lower LPI
!ANCHOR Denovo 16034 Cabo-ET3707 LPI3611 LPI−96 LPI#32 LPI3108 Pro$2877 Pro$−231 Pro$#2 Pro$!SPECIALIST Components/fat Pro$ specialist
!NEW Peak Powerstar-ETNot in Pro$ top 1003406 LPI——Not in Pro$ top 1002854 Pro$New entry#3 Pro$!NEW Proven newcomer; income anchor candidate
!LOSER Siemers Renegade Rozline-ET3947 LPI3810 LPI−137 LPI#9 LPI2664 Pro$2038 Pro$−626 Pro$Outside top 10!SPECIALIST Type/component specialist only; not an income anchor
!LOSER Winstar Graziano-ET3707 LPI3564 LPI−143 LPI#56 LPI3099 Pro$2655 Pro$−444 Pro$#81 Pro$!SPECIALIST High-fat niche only; removed from income role

In Canada, April 2026 was less about formula changes and more about level resets and the re-pricing of some favorites. 

  • Pattern: 3211 → 2974 Pro$ (–237), still #1 Pro$.
  • Cabo: 3108 → 2877 Pro$ (–231), still #2 Pro$. 
  • Winstar Graziano‑ET: 3099 → 2655 Pro$ (–444), sliding from #3 to #81. 
  • Rozline: 2664 → 2038 Pro$ (–626) and 3947 → 3810 LPI (–137), dropping to #9 LPI. 

Rozline’s April profile — 852 Milk, 85 Fat, 52 Protein, 0.47F, 0.18P, 16 Conf, MS 9, FL 9, DS 13 — reads like a type and component bull now, not a Pro$ anchor.  Pattern and Cabo still carry the income banner, but the gap between them and the next tier is smaller. 

Read more: April 2026 Canada Holstein LPI & Pro$ -PARFECT Takes #1 from ROZLINE as ROZLINE Loses 626 Pro$ and PATTERN Drops 237

UK: Zero Overlap Between PLI and Type Merit

The UK’s April 2026 proof run draws a hard line between profit index and type. 

  • Denovo 22750 Lorenzo is #1 genomic PLI at 874, but carries –0.21 Type Merit with negatives on mammary and legs. 
  • 0 bulls are both top‑10 for PLI and top‑100 for TM. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t have reasonable type and profit at the same time. It just means the bulls that manage it are rarer:

  • Trophy: 769 PLI, 2.09 TM. 
  • Leaninghouse Taos: 613 PLI, 1.98 TM, 2.42 LF — PLI plus legs and feet that classifiers actually like. 

If you’re breeding UK‑aligned, April spells out a simple trade‑off: pure PLI rockets vs. those handful of bulls that keep both the milk cheque and the classifier roughly happy.

Read more: UK April 2026 PLI Proofs: Lorenzo +874, Powerhouse #1 Proven – and Why Type Merit Shows Zero Overlap

Switzerland: 1500 Is the New 1600 on ISET

Switzerland’s April 2026 Holstein ISET reset is a big story in a small country. The standard deviation change and swap from SCC to Mastitis Resistance mean 1500 ISET is more like the old 1600. 

  • Progenesis Torchlight: 1519 ISET, 1954 kg Milk, 130 kg Fat, 88 kg Protein, plus strong Mastitis Resistance and good health — a classic high‑ISET production bull. 
  • DG Caarma: 1482 ISET, 2212 kg Milk, 153 kg IPL, but fertility 98 and temperament 92 — he’ll put a lot of milk in the tank if your management can handle the extra temperament and fertility work. 
  • Beautyman took one of the bigger hits, dropping –159 ISET and sliding out of the top 20. 

The Swiss signal is clear: ISET now pays even more attention to cow health and mastitis, and you need to read bulls like Caarma through that lens before you chase their ISET number.

Read more: Switzerland April 2026 ISET: Torchlight at +1519 Tops a Recalibrated, High‑Churn Genomic Top 10 with 4 New Bulls

Netherlands and Germany: Longevity vs Lactation, Calm at the Top

In the Netherlands, NVI continues to favor cattle that stick around. 

  • Rise Up Real: +58 NVI to 468 NVI, now genomic #1 BW, with 614 INET but a huge Lvd 1084 — he’s built to live. 
  • Genosource Mystro: 431 NVI, but 881 INET, the highest in the top 10, with Lvd 751, the lowest longevity score in that group. 

On proven NVI, Genosource Captain added +74 NVI to land at 363 NVI and proven #2, reinforcing that his daughters aren’t just flash‑in‑the‑pan. 

Read more:  Rise Up Real Surges +58 Past Moti to NVI #1 | April 2026 Netherlands: Where Even +30 Gains Lost Ground

In Germany, the Interbull BW RZG genomic top 10 is almost too calm. 

  • Connect stays at 167 RZG, unchanged from December. 
  • The next nine bulls all sit between 161 and 163 RZG, and all ten are returning genomic bulls. 
  • Under the hood, pedigrees are heavily saturated with RealSyn and Rome; at least half of the pack traces through those sires. 

If you’re leaning on German RZG genomics, the risk isn’t that your bull drops 10 RZG. It’s that you wake up in three years and realize half your best heifers are RealSyn/Rome granddaughters, no matter which catalog you bought from.

Read more: Connect 167, 7 Sires at 161: Why Germany’s Tightest RZG Run Is Really About Bloodline Risk

Italy and Scandinavia: Proven Catching Genomics, VH Wall

In Italy, April 2026 gPFT was the run where some proven sires finally caught their genomic kids. 

  • Crisalis RF climbed by 67 gPFT to 5,247. 
  • His son Boero came in proven at 5162 gPFT, roughly +230 points above his old genomic call. 
  • Overall, the domestic proven gPFT top‑10 average jumped from 4934 to 5087 (+153), and half the list is new. 

Read more: Crisalis RF (+67) and Son Boero Lock In a 1-2 on Italy’s Proven gPFT – but Half the Top 10 Is New | April 2026

In Scandinavia, NTM is where the robots and the Viking genetics program shake hands. 

  • Peak Rainow‑ET slipped from 42 to 40 NTM but still holds proven #1. 
  • Fugleman climbed from 35 to 38 NTM, with better yield, udder health, claw health, and confirmed milkability at 126. 
  • On the genomic side, VH now owns 21 of the top 30 NTM slots. 

For a robot herd in Denmark or Sweden, that’s good news and a warning in the same sentence: plenty of high‑NTM options, but you can’t just buy “the top” and expect to stay out of a VH wall.

Read more: April 2026 Scandinavia NTM: Fugleman +3 to Proven #2, Jefe Enters Genomic Top 5, VikingGenetics at 21/30 Bulls

How Noisy Is “#1” This Run — and Should You Still Pay for It?

When you line all these lists up, the most important thing isn’t who’s #1. It’s how tight the bands are and how fast the names change. 

  • USA genomic TPI: 10/10 new bulls, 37‑point band (3565–3528). 
  • UK genomic PLI: roughly 70% turnover in the PLI top 10, 58‑point band from Lorenzo at 874 to the #10 bull at 816. 
  • Swiss ISET: 40% new bulls in the top 10 and only 47 points from Torchlight at 1519 down to the #10 bull at 1472. 
  • Dutch genomic NVI BW: only 1 new entrant, but the band still lifted and compressed to 468–424 NVI. 
  • German RZG: 0 turnover and a 6‑point band (167–161 RZG). 

At that point, paying a premium just because a bull is “#1” is more about marketing than genetics. It can still be fun. It just shouldn’t be the backbone of your breeding plan.

For practical breeding decisions, the takeaway is simple:

  • Treat that whole top genomic band as one group of bulls with a similar job description — high milk and protein, or high NVI longevity, or high ISET — not as ten different universes. 
  • Use “#1” as a tie‑breaker only after you’re happy with trait shape, health, and pedigree.

If the only reason a bull is on your short list is “He’s #1 this run,” this is the year to rethink that.

Country / IndexGenomic #1 (Apr 2026)Genomic #1 ValueGenomic #10 ValueBand Width (#1 → #10)New Bulls in Top 10Turnover RateKey Churn Signal
USA / TPIAurora Gs Woodford-ET3565 TPI3528 TPI (Welcome Gustavsson-ET)37 TPI pts10 of 10100%All-new top 10; 100% turnover from Dec 2025
UK / PLI (genomic)Denovo 22750 Lorenzo874 PLI816 PLI58 PLI pts7 of 1070%All 7 new entrants carry ≤66 reliability; zero overlap with TM top 100
CH / ISET (genomic)Progenesis Torchlight1519 ISET1472 ISET (Eichhof Dover)47 ISET pts4 of 1040%Scale recalibrated (SD reset to 100); 1500 = old 1600
NL / NVI (BW genomic)Rise Up Real468 NVI424 NVI (Delta Standout RF)44 NVI pts1 of 1010%Most stable genomic list globally; entire top 10 inflated +19 to +58 NVI
Germany / RZG (genomic)Connect167 RZG161 RZG (7 bulls tied)6 RZG pts0 of 100%Zero turnover; 7 bulls at exactly 161 RZG; bloodline risk is the real issue
Italy / gPFT (domestic genomic)Ecbert Gladius Dateline5371 gPFT5227 gPFT (Jegolo)144 gPFT pts2 of 1020%Low churn; proven list far more volatile (50% turnover same run)
Scandinavia / NTM (genomic)VH Sheriff50 NTM41 NTM (Bravo)9 NTM pts3 of 1030%Every returning top-5 bull lost NTM; universal regression in progress

The Quiet Risk in Your Straw Box: Bloodline Stacking Across Borders

As the Wisconsin breeder flipped through the April results, another pattern popped up: the same sire families showed up over and over again, even though he was buying semen from three studs and four countries. 

  • Captain and his sons anchor US proven TPI lists, appear in Dutch NVI pedigrees, and show up behind Swiss and Italian bulls. 
  • Parfect/Renegade lines are written all over Canadian LPI and Pro$, and they feed into UK PLI/TM pedigrees. 
  • Gameday/Hadley/Troy show up repeatedly in Switzerland: five of the ISET top 15 have Gameday as maternal grandsire, with Hadley and Troy siring multiple leaders. 
  • Gladius/Vivify lines dominate Italy’s domestic and foreign gPFT lists, with Gladius responsible for four of the top‑10 positions across those lists. 
  • CRV Delta holds 5 of 10 black‑and‑white and 6 of 10 red‑and‑white genomic NVI spots in the Netherlands. 
  • VH sires (Viking Holstein) own 21 of the top 30 genomic NTM bulls. 
  • RealSyn/Rome pedigrees sit under at least half of Germany’s BW RZG genomic top 10. 

On the farm’s scribbled sire list, that looked like this: about 15% Captain sons, another 10–15% Parfect/Renegade line, and a big chunk of Swiss and Dutch bulls that quietly had Gameday, RealSyn, or Gladius as sire or grandsire.

Technically, he was “diversified.” Practically, he was a couple of sire families away from painting himself into a corner. The daughters won’t care which logo was on the straw. They’ll know who their grandsires are.

Sire FamilyMarkets Dominant InExample Top Bulls (Apr 2026)Concentration MetricRisk LevelArticle-Recommended Cap
CaptainUSA proven TPI; NL NVI proven; UK PLI proven; CH (pedigree depth)Genosource Captain-ET (USA TPI #6; NL NVI proven #2; UK PLI proven #2); Garza, Capn Miguel (USA)Multiple top-10 placements across 4 systems!RISK HIGH — most cross-market family≤15% per bull; ≤30–35% total Captain-line matings
Parfect / RenegadeCanada LPI; UK TM proven; UK PLI provenSiemers Rengd Parfect-ET (Canada LPI #1); Plain-Knoll Renegad Trooper (UK PLI proven #5); S-S-I PR Renegade (UK TM proven #9); WWS holds 7/10 UK TM proven spots7 of 10 UK proven TM = Parfect/Renegade blood; Canada LPI top!RISK HIGH≤30–35% Parfect/Renegade-line matings
Gameday / Hadley / TroyCH / ISET genomicTorchlight (ISET #1, MGS Gameday); Hadley (ISET #2); Monset (ISET #4, sire Hadley); Dover (ISET #10, sire Troy); Boston (ISET #8, MGS Gameday)5 of top 15 CH genomic carry Gameday as MGS!RISK HIGH for Swiss-heavy programs≤30% Gameday/Hadley/Troy matings within Swiss-aligned portfolios
Gladius / VivifyItaly gPFT (domestic genomic & foreign)Ecbert Gladius Dateline (Italy dom. genomic #1, gPFT 5371); Rascasse Vivify (Italy dom. genomic #2, gPFT 5342); Gigantic (Italy foreign proven #3, gPFT 5212); Gladius (Italy foreign proven #4, gPFT 5173)Gladius = 4 top-10 placements across 3 Italian lists; Vivify = 3 sons in domestic genomic top 10!RISK HIGH for Italian programs≤30% Gladius/Vivify-line; audit if >30% of last 12-month matings carry these lines
CRV DeltaNL / NVI (BW genomic and RW genomic)Genosource Moti (NVI BW genomic #3); Delta Miller (NVI BW #4); Genosource Mystro (NVI BW #6); 6 of 10 RW genomic = CRV Delta prefix5 of 10 BW genomic + 6 of 10 RW genomic = CRV!RISK HIGH for Dutch Red programs≤30% CRV-line; mandatory for RW programs to add non-CRV alternatives
VH (VikingGenetics)Scandinavia / NTM genomicVH Sheriff (NTM genomic #1, NTM 50); VH Mads P (NTM genomic #3); VH Galaxy (#7); VH ShaneRC (#8)21 of top 30 genomic NTM = VH prefix!RISK HIGHIf >60% of genomic sires = VH prefix, replace ≥1 with DG Brujito, Jefe, or AltaMULLER immediately
RealSyn / RomeGermany / RZG genomicRealpower (RZG #4); Realside (RZG #5); RealSteel (RZG #9); Roadhouse, Ramirez (extended top group)≥50% of Germany BW RZG genomic top 10 trace RealSyn/Rome sire lines!RISK HIGHAdd MustHave, Attention, or SaturnRDC; cap RealSyn/Rome cluster at ≤35% matings

A Simple Micro Barn‑Math Check: When Does a 200‑Point Drop Actually Hurt?

One question that keeps coming up as breeders read about Rozline’s –626 Pro$ and Pattern’s –237 Pro$ is, “Okay, but what does that actually mean for my milk cheque?” 

Here’s a simple, illustrative way to think about it using Canadian Pro$:

  • Bull A: 3000 Pro$ in December, 2750 Pro$ in April — a 250 Pro$ move. 
  • Bull B: 3000 Pro$ in both runs — steady.

If you use each bull on 100 cows this year, that 250‑point difference represents about $250 per daughter in expected lifetime net profit on the Pro$ scale, based on Canadian assumptions for components, culling, and longevity. Over roughly three lactations, you’re looking at about $25,000 of projected value difference per 100 matings between those two bulls.

It’s not a cheque you cash in one year, and your herd’s actual numbers will run a little higher or lower. But it’s enough that you shouldn’t keep calling a bull your “Pro$ anchor” if his index just moved 250 points in the wrong direction.

The same logic applies in other systems — whether it’s NM$, INET, gPFT, or NTM — even if the dollars and assumptions are different. A one‑run swing of 200–250 index points is not background noise.

Where Do the Bulls Actually Sit Now?

If we strip the marketing off and look at how their jobs changed, a few bulls land in pretty clear buckets after April 2026. 

Formula winners — bulls the system likes more now than it did in December, without them adding a single daughter:

  • Powerhouse (USA)
    • +119 TPI to 3448 TPI under TPI 2026, with big milk and a protein‑leaning CFP profile. 
  • Woodford, Jitters, Sabotage (USA genomics)
    • Woodford: 3565 TPI, 1296 NM with roughly 1498 Milk, 142 Fat, 120 Protein, and strong health. 
    • Jitters: 3552 TPI, 1127 NM with high CFP and survival. 
    • Sabotage: 3551 TPI, 1076 NM with high production and solid type. 
  • Rise Up Real (NL)
    • +58 NVI to 468, with a strong longevity profile and good CFP. 
  • Torchlight (CH)
    • 1519 ISET with big, balanced production and health — a bull that fits the new ISET formula well. 

Formula losers — bulls that didn’t suddenly get “bad,” but whose index jobs changed:

  • Garza (USA)
    • –125 TPI under the new 24P/14F slice, despite being a very strong fat bull. 
  • Rozline (CA)
    • –626 Pro$ and –137 LPI, shifting him from income anchor to high‑type, strong‑component specialist. 
  • Beautyman (CH)
    • –159 ISET and out of the top 20, making him a more niche choice for specific traits than a front‑end ISET sire. 

Quiet anchors — bulls that got trimmed but still do exactly what you hired them to do:

  • Pattern and Cabo (CA)
    • Both lose about 200–250 Pro$ but stay #1 and #2 Pro$, with strong CFP and workable type. 
  • Rainow and Fugleman (Nordic)
    • Rainow slides 42 → 40 NTM, Fugleman climbs 35 → 38 NTM with better yield, udder health, claws, and milkability 126 — a classic pair of high‑reliability anchors for robot herds. 
  • Captain (NL proven)
    • +74 NVI to 363, now proven #2 NVI, confirming his status as a long‑haul bull, not a flash. 

Once you look at them through those lenses, “What’s this bull’s job now?” becomes a better question than “What rank did he hit on one list?”

What This Means for Your Operation

Here’s where this turns into a 30‑day job, not just an interesting April reading.

1. In the next 30 days, pull your sire list and highlight any bull who moved more than about 80 index points this run.

  • In the US, that’s bulls like Powerhouse (+119 TPI) and Garza (–125 TPI). 
  • In Canada, it’s Rozline (–626 Pro$), Graziano (–444 Pro$), and even the –237/–231 Pro$ trims on Pattern and Cabo.
  • In Switzerland, bulls like Torchlight (+65 ISET) and Beautyman (–159 ISET) deserve a second look. 

If a bull shifted more than ~80 points on the main index you’re using (TPI, Pro$, NVI, gPFT, NTM, etc.), you should consciously re‑decide whether he’s an anchor, a specialist, or a bull you park for now.

2. Cap any single bull at roughly 15–20% of your matings and any single sire line at roughly 30–35%.

  • Look at how many matings trace back to Captain, Parfect/Renegade, Gameday/Hadley/Troy, Gladius/Vivify, CRV Delta, VH, RealSyn/Rome when you follow pedigrees one or two generations back. 
  • If any one of those clusters is more than about a third of your planned matings in the next year, deliberately add two or three strong outcross bulls — for example, Swiss sires like Caruthers‑S or Race, Red and polled options like Drouner KL Augustus P Red and Koepon OH Robin Red, or non‑VH genomic NTM bulls such as DG Brujito or AltaMULLER, depending on your market. 

You’re not trying to avoid every trace of Captain or Parfect. You’re just making sure you still have options in three years when your best heifers are ready to flush.

3. Match your main index to how you actually get paid and where you’re bleeding money.

  • If you’re quota‑limited or selling into cheese and component‑heavy markets, give more weight to Pro$, NM$, INET, and gPFT than to pure TPI/PLI height. 
  • If your biggest headaches are cull cows, feet, and fertility, you may be better off stacking NVI, NTM, ISET, or health‑tilted bulls within TPI/PLI, even if they don’t carry the very highest overall index number. 

The bull that fits your milk cheque best may not be the one that looks prettiest on a global list.

4. Treat “formula winners” and “formula losers” differently — without either panicking or ignoring them.

  • Bulls like Powerhouse, Woodford, Rise Up Real, Torchlight, and Parfect are now better aligned with their main index; if they already fit your herd’s needs, they probably deserve more semen share. 
  • Bulls like Garza, Rozline, Beautyman become specialists: fat bulls, type bulls, or outcross tools used on cows where those specific strengths really matter, not on every fresh heifer. 

You don’t have to throw your favorite bull out of the tank. You have to stop pretending the index says the same thing it did last December.

BullCountry / IndexPrevious Role (Dec 2025)New Role (Apr 2026)Key Index HighlightsWhen to Use NowWhen to Avoid
!WINNER Peak Powerhouse-ETUSA TPI / UK PLI / CH ISET / Italy gPFTProven TPI #3 anchor!WINNER Multi-market #1 proven anchor3448 TPI (+119); 768 PLI (#1 UK proven); 1520 ISET (CH Interbull #1); 5394 gPFT (Italy foreign proven #1)High-input housed herds across all systems; protein-heavy production goalHerds needing extreme type or structural improvement (0.09 PTAT; 0.17 TM)
!LOSER Siemers Renegade Rozline-ETCanada / LPI & Pro$Income anchor; #1 LPI Pro$ catalog cover!SPECIALIST Type/component specialist2038 Pro$ (−626); 3810 LPI (−137); 16 Conf; 852 Milk; 85 Fat; 52 ProteinHigh-type cow families; show programs; component-focused matings where 16 Conf justifiedAny income-anchor role; do not use as primary Pro$ sire
!LOSER SDG Cap Garza-ETUSA / TPIHigh-fat anchor TPI #4!SPECIALIST Fat/component specialist3339 TPI (−125); 50 Pro / 140 Fat; 0.36 P:F ratioHerds paid heavy fat premium; targeted fat-correction matings onlyAny broad-use TPI anchor role; cheese-casein programs needing protein
!LOSER Peak AltaSeverusUK / PLIProven PLI #2 anchor!SPECIALIST Parked — daughter data correction596 PLI (−168); −2.53 TM; 88 reliability—All routine matings; reassign immediately; daughters underperforming prediction
!LOSER TGD-Holstein BeautymanCH / ISETGenomic ISET #3!SPECIALIST Functional/type niche1427 ISET (−159); ITP 143; IFF 130; 1141 kg MilkHerds specifically correcting type and fitness where index is secondaryFront-line ISET programs; production-driven Swiss herds
!LOSER Winstar Graziano-ETCanada / Pro$ & LPIPro$ anchor #3!SPECIALIST High-fat niche2655 Pro$ (−444); Pro$ rank #81; 125 Fat; 47 Protein; 1.33 F%Programs targeting very high fat output and strong management traitsAny income-anchor role; Pro$-driven herd averages
!ANCHOR Progenesis Pattern-ETCanada / Pro$ & RZG#1 Pro$ anchor!ANCHOR Still #1 Pro$ — trimmed but held2974 Pro$ (−237); 3766 LPI (−63); HL 108; DCA 104Income-driven herds as primary Pro$ anchor; balanced production herdsPrograms needing extreme type; low-Conf herds needing structural improvement
!ANCHOR Genosource Captain-ETNL NVI (proven) / USA TPI / UK PLIProven NVI #9; TPI anchor!ANCHOR Confirmed multi-market anchor — daughters outperforming363 NVI (+74, proven #2 NL); 3356 TPI (proven #6 USA); 726 PLI (proven #2 UK)Any market; high-reliability herd anchor; sire-of-sons programsHerds already heavy Captain-line (>15% matings) — bloodline cap applies
!WINNER Rise Up RealNL / NVIGenomic #3 NVI!WINNER Genomic #1 NVI anchor468 NVI (+58); INET 614; Lvd 1084Longevity-first herds; robot herds valuing cow survival; NVI-driven programsHigh-input herds where pure lactation revenue (INET) is the primary driver
!WINNER FuglemanScandinavia / NTMProven NTM #4!ANCHOR Proven #2; closing on #138 NTM (+3); Milkability 126; Yield 132; Udder Health 100Robot herds; AMS programs; NTM-driven Scandinavian herdsHerds where yield ceiling alone drives economics — Rainow still leads on NTM
!WINNER Crisalis RFItaly / gPFTProven #1 gPFT!ANCHOR Extended proven #1 lead5247 gPFT (+67); IQC 101; SCS 107; Kcas AAItalian cheese-milk programs; proven-anchor role across gPFT-evaluated herdsHerds needing strong type improvement (Type 0.94 — weakest in proven top 5)
!NEW Peak Powerstar-ETCanada / Pro$Not in Pro$ top 100!NEW Proven #3 Pro$ newcomer2854 Pro$ (new entry); 695 Milk; 109 Fat; 72 Protein; HL 105; DCA 104Income-driven Canadian herds needing Pro$ depth after Pattern/CaboPrograms needing high milk volume or extreme type

5. Make proof‑run review a habit instead of an emergency.

  • Build a simple April habit: every time the proof run lands, spend an evening doing exactly what that Wisconsin herd did — mark big movers, check sire lines, and re‑tier bulls into anchors, specialists, and parked. 
  • Keep a short, hand‑written or digital note for your key sires: “movement this run” + “role now”. Over two or three runs, you’ll see which bulls hold steady and which ones re‑rank every time.

If you only do one thing from this article, do that 30‑day audit before you breed another cow as if nothing changed.

Key Takeaways

  • If a bull moved more than about 80 points on his main index this run, don’t assume he’s still doing the same job in your program. Big upward movers may deserve more matings; big downward movers probably belong in narrower, trait‑specific lanes instead of carrying your whole herd. 
  • If anyone’s family accounts for more than roughly a third of your planned matings, you’re not diversified — you’re boxed in. With Captain, Parfect/Renegade, Gameday/Hadley/Troy, Gladius/Vivify, CRV Delta, VH, and RealSyn/Rome showing up on lists from Wisconsin to Switzerland, capping them is the only way to keep mating options open in three years. 
  • Genomic #1 is a marketing label; the real breeding decisions live in the band behind it. With tight top‑10 spreads and high turnover, you’re better off picking three or four bulls with the right shape than paying extra for one name at the very top. 
  • Matching your index to your actual payment and bottlenecks is worth more than chasing a global rank. If components, robots, feet, or fertility are what really make or break your cheque, choose bulls and systems that pay on those traits, even if they aren’t “#1” anywhere. 

The Bottom Line

At the end of a long day in the barn, the proofs are still just paper. The daughters in your pens are the real scorecard. So next time you open the semen fridge, which of those bulls are you still using like it’s December — and which ones are finally ready to move up or down a tier in your own program?

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Rise Up Real Surges +58 Past Moti to NVI #1 | April 2026 Netherlands: Where Even +30 Gains Lost Ground

Rise Up Real sits at NVI #1 with an INET of 614 — barely top-10 for production. His Lvd of 1084 carried him past bulls earning €200+ more per lactation. NVI is telling you what it values.

Executive Summary: Rise Up Real vaulted +58 NVI to dethrone Genosource Moti and claim the Netherlands’ #1 genomic spot at +468, April 2026 — but his INET of 614 wouldn’t crack the top 5 on production alone. Every returning bull in the B&W genomic top 10 gained points, yet Halifax Delta Dawn still dropped three spots with a +19 gain because the floor rose +38 in a single run. On the proven side, Genosource Captain jumped +74 NVI on daughter data to land at #2, while December’s #1 Badger Ssi Ahead held position with just a +6 gain. The R&W genomic list is a different animal: 60% churn, six new CRV Delta bulls, and if you’re running a red program without monitoring that prefix concentration, you’re stacking pedigrees fast. CRV now holds 5 of 10 B&W genomic and 6 of 10 R&W genomic slots — pull your mating list and audit sire-line overlap before your next semen order. If you’re still running December-level allocations on Peak Fugleman MW (proven #10 → #56) or Peak Altazingler (#7 → #21), that’s money pointed at yesterday’s rankings.

April 2026 Dutch NVI

The April 2026 Dutch NVI genomic run has a new leader. Rise Up Real (Tot) surges from #3 to #1 at +468 NVI, April 2026—up +58 points from his +410 NVI, December 2025—the joint-largest gain among any returning top-10 sire. Bento (GGI), a Bench × Gigaliner son, matched that +58-point leap to vault from #7 to #2 at +450 NVI, April 2026, pushing December’s #1, Genosource Moti (CRV), down to #3 despite Moti himself gaining +27 points.

On the proven side, Genosource Captain (STG) delivers this cycle’s most dramatic daughter-confirmed reranking: +74 NVI, from #9 to #2, at +363 NVI, April 2026. Meanwhile, the Red & White genomic list has been effectively rewritten—six of ten slots are new entrants, all carrying the CRV Delta prefix, led by Delta Bloss-Red at +454 NVI, April 2026. The questions this raises about concentration are worth a hard look.

April 2026 NVI Genomic (B&W): Top 10 Sires

RankBullNVI (Apr 2026)NVI (Dec 2025)Prev RankΔ NVIINETLvdStudRel
1Rise Up Real+468+4103+586141084Tot70%
2Bento (Bench × Gigaliner)+450+3927+586731109GGI70%
3Genosource Moti (Matcrest)+447+4201+27743881CRV69%
4Delta Miller (Altamuller)+446+4074+397451031CRV70%
5Halifax Delta Dawn+433+4142+19801825Adv70%
6Genosource Mystro (Matcrest)+431+3869+45881751CRV69%
7Fis Fly P+429+3918+38740858GGI69%
8Genosource Benson (Radical)+429+38610+437191251CRV70%
9Chanello (Real Syn)+427New in top 10——6391106Indep70%
10Delta Standout RF+424+3946+30661723CRV70%
  • Remarkably stable top group: 9 of 10 return from December’s top 10; Chanello is the sole new entrant, replacing the sole dropout, Delta Time Jump P (Dec #5, +397 NVI, December 2025 → +403 NVI, April 2026—gained +6 but slid out as the pack surged past). 
  • Index band shift: The #1 value jumped from +420 to +468 (+48 at the ceiling); the floor rose from +386 to +424 (+38). The entire top 10 lifted substantially.
  • Universal inflation: Every returning sire gained NVI. The smallest gain among returnees was +19 (Halifax Delta Dawn); the largest was +58 (Rise Up Real and Bento). A bull that gained fewer than +30 points lost ground in relative rank.
  • Re-ordering within a stable group: The real story isn’t churn—it’s reshuffling. Rise Up Real climbed 2 spots, Bento climbed 5, and Genosource Mystro climbed 3. Halifax Delta Dawn dropped 3 spots despite gaining +19 NVI, and Delta Standout RF fell from #6 to #10 with a +30 gain—illustrating how even substantial NVI growth doesn’t hold rank in a rising-tide run.

Big Risers

Rise Up Real (Tot) and Bento (GGI) share the largest gain at +58 NVI each. Rise Up Real, a polled Real Syn × Freewood cross, jumped from #3 to #1 (+410→+468, April 2026). His INET of 614 is below the top-10 median (719), meaning his NVI gain is driven more by functional traits—his Lvd of 1084 is well above average. Bento climbed from #7 to #2 (+392→+450, April 2026) with a more balanced profile: INET 673 and Lvd 1109 both land solidly mid-pack.

Genosource Mystro (CRV) jumped three spots from #9 to #6 with a +45 NVI gain (+386→+431, April 2026). His INET of 881 is by far the highest in the top 10, making him the production standout—but his Lvd of 751 is the lowest, a classic yield-vs-longevity trade-off.

Genosource Benson (CRV) added +43 NVI (+386→+429, April 2026), moving from #10 to #8. A Radical son with the top-10’s highest Lvd at 1251—an extraordinary longevity prediction that, at 70% reliability, still carries re-ranking risk.

Relative Losers: Gaining Points, Losing Ground

In a run where even +30 NVI wasn’t enough to hold position, three December top-10 members gained points but fell in rank.

Genosource Moti (CRV) fell from #1 to #3 despite gaining +27 NVI (+420→+447, April 2026). In a run where the median returnee gained +39, Moti’s below-median improvement cost him two spots. His INET of 743 and Rel of 69% remain solid, but his Lvd of 881 is mid-pack.

Halifax Delta Dawn (Adv) dropped from #2 to #5 with the smallest gain among returnees: +19 NVI (+414→+433, April 2026). His INET of 801 is the second-highest in the top 10, but that production strength didn’t translate into enough NVI uplift to maintain his December position. For herds weighing revenue per lactation, Halifax’s relative slide in NVI matters less than its INET rank.

Delta Standout RF (CRV) fell from #6 to #10 despite gaining +30 NVI (+394→+424, April 2026). His Lvd of 723 is the lowest in the top 10, and his INET of 661 is mid-pack—a profile that didn’t benefit as much from this run’s inflation.

Delta Time Jump P (CRV) is the sole December top-10 dropout, sliding from #5 (+397 NVI, December 2025) to approximately #13 (+403 NVI, April 2026)—gaining just +6 points, the weakest gain among any former top-10 bull.

BullStudΔ NVIApr 2026 NVIRank ChangeMovement TypeKey Driver
Rise Up RealTot!HIGH +58+468#3 → #1True climberLvd 1084; functional-trait package
BentoGGI!HIGH +58+450#7 → #2True climberBalanced: INET 673, Lvd 1109
Genosource MystroCRV+45+431#9 → #6True climberINET 881 — production leader
Genosource BensonCRV+43+429#10 → #8True climberLvd 1251 — longevity outlier
Delta MillerCRV+39+446#4 → #4Held rankBalanced INET 745, Lvd 1031
Fis Fly PGGI+38+429#8 → #7Marginal climberAt pack inflation threshold
Genosource MotiCRV+27+447#1 → #3!DROP Gaining but slidingBelow-median gain in rising run
Halifax Delta DawnAdv+19+433#2 → #5!DROP Gaining but slidingSmallest returnee gain; INET 801 didn’t offset
Delta Standout RFCRV+30+424#6 → #10!DROP Gaining but slidingLowest Lvd 723 in top 10 dragged rank
Delta Time Jump P (dropout)CRV+6+403#5 → ~#13!DROP Exited top 10Weakest gain of all former top-10 bulls

How Is NVI Rewarding the Current Top 10?

The NVI formula applies a 0.32 multiplier to INET (production euros) but weights UGH (udder health) at 5.5 and VRU (fertility) at 6.5 on their standardized scales, meaning a 1-point gain in health or fertility moves NVI more than an equivalent percentile gain in production alone. This run’s top 10 reflects that weighting:

  • Longevity dominates the risers. Rise Up Real (Lvd 1084), Bento (Lvd 1109), Genosource Benson (Lvd 1251), and Chanello (Lvd 1106) all carry Lvd above 1000. Six of ten sires exceed Lvd 1000.
  • Production pays differently. Halifax Delta Dawn brings the second-highest INET at 801, and Genosource Mystro leads with an INET of 881—but both sit in the bottom half for Lvd. Halifax trades longevity (Lvd 825) for component yield; Mystro trades it more aggressively (Lvd 751). 
  • The NVI-INET disconnect is real. Rise Up Real is NVI #1, but his INET of 614 ranks him near the bottom of the top 10. Halifax is NVI #5 but would rank near the top on INET alone. For herds prioritizing revenue per lactation over lifetime performance, the NVI ranking order doesn’t match the production ranking order.
BullNVI Rank (Apr 2026)NVIImplied INET Rank*INETLvdDivergence Signal
Rise Up Real1+468!DROP 9th6141084NVI #1; near-bottom INET. Longevity carries rank.
Bento2+4507th6731109Mid-pack INET; Lvd in top 3. Balanced outlier.
Genosource Moti3+4475th743881Modest divergence; mid-table both indexes.
Delta Miller4+4464th7451031Tightest alignment in the top 10.
Halifax Delta Dawn5+433!HIGH 2nd801825NVI #5; INET #2. Production-rich, longevity-discounted.
Genosource Mystro6+431!HIGH 1st881751!RISK NVI #6 but INET leader. Lvd 751 penalised heavily.
Fis Fly P7+4296th740858Mild divergence; solid mid-pack.
Genosource Benson8+4293rd7191251NVI #8; Lvd #1 by 142 pts. Health/longevity premium.
Chanello9+4278th6391106Moderate INET; high Lvd drives NVI rank.
Delta Standout RF10+424!DROP 10th661723Both indexes agree: bottom of the band.

Stud and Sire-Line Concentration

  • CRV holds 5 of 10 spots (Genosource Moti, Delta Miller, Genosource Mystro, Genosource Benson, Delta Standout RF)—unchanged from December, when CRV also held 5 of 10 (Moti, Delta Miller, Delta Time Jump, Delta Standout RF, and Mystro/Benson tied at #9–10). Three carry Genosource branding; two carry the Delta prefix. 
  • GGI holds 2 spots (Bento and Fis Fly P) on different sire lines (Bench and Kings-Ransom), providing internal diversity within the stud’s top-10 presence. 
  • Outcross options in the top 10: Rise Up Real (Tot, Real Syn × Freewood) and Chanello (independent, Real Syn) both trace to the Real Syn sire line but through different dams and studs. Halifax Delta Dawn (Adv) breaks the CRV/GGI pedigree pattern entirely for herds needing kinship relief. 

How Stable Is This Genomic Top 10?

  • All 10 sires are genomic with reliabilities of 69–70%. No daughter-proven bulls appear. Every number in this table is a prediction, not a confirmed result. [INTERNAL LINK: Understanding Genomic Reliability — Why Top-10 Lists Change Every Run] 
  • This is an unusually stable run. Only 1 of 10 is a new entrant (Chanello), and 9 of 10 held top-10 status across both runs. That 10% churn rate is remarkably low for a genomic list at 69–70% reliability—a contrast with the R&W genomic list’s 60% churn this same run.
  • Relative anchors: Rise Up Real and Genosource Moti have now held top-3 positions across two consecutive runs. Bento climbed from #7 to #2 over the same span. Delta Miller held #4 in both runs. These four offer the most consistent genomic reliability, though even two runs do not constitute proof. 
  • Re-ranking within the group matters more than dropout risk this run. Halifax Delta Dawn’s 3-spot drop despite gaining +19 NVI, and Delta Standout RF’s 4-spot drop despite gaining +30, show that relative positioning can shift substantially even when the roster is stable.

NVI Daughter-Proven (B&W) — A Different Top 10

RankBullNVI (Apr 2026)NVI (Dec 2025)Prev RankΔ NVIINETLvdStudRel
1Badger Ssi Ahead+364+3581+6696756WWS81%
2Genosource Captain (Charl)+363+2899+74725626STG83%
3Sunrise Superfly Rio+356+3046+52702867Tot77%
4Peak Altaseverus (Altaplinko)+320New in top 10——666449Alta67%
5Peak Breaking News+310+3095+1310854Gex76%
6Peak Altazemini (Altazazzle)+305+3212–16551497Alta80%
7Lars-Acres Ssi Gd+302New in top 10——560671WWS80%
8Peak Altaexquisite (Altazazzle)+298New in top 10——474531Alta82%
9Progenesis Pinball MW+293+26026+33443477Sem78%
10Peak Altaplinko Marius+292+26820+24685324Alta77%
  • Badger Ssi Ahead (WWS, 81% Rel) holds #1 at +364 NVI, April 2026, up from +358 NVI, December 2025 (+6 NVI). The modest gain was enough to maintain his position as the field around him shifted dramatically. His INET of 696 and Lvd of 756 represent a balanced, proven profile. 
  • Genosource Captain (STG, 83% Rel) is this run’s proven breakout: +74 NVI gain, from +289 (Dec 2025, #9) to +363 (Apr 2026, #2). Daughter data massively upgraded his production credentials (INET 725), though his Lvd of 626 is a watch point. [EDITOR NOTE: Captain’s +74 NVI proven gain is a natural spin-off candidate for a sire spotlight feature.] 
  • Sunrise Superfly Rio (Tot, 77% Rel) gained +52 NVI, from +304 (#6) to +356 (#3). A balanced profile: INET 702 and Lvd 867 are both in the top third of this table. 
  • Alta/Peak dominance: 4 of 10 carry the Alta/Peak prefix. In December, Altazemini ranked #2; now it ranks #6 (–16 NVI). Altazingler has fallen from #7 to #21 (–32 NVI). Peak Fugleman MW suffered the worst proven drop: from #10 to #56, losing –44 NVI. 
  • Proven-genomic gap: The top proven NVI is +364; the top genomic NVI is +468—a 104-point gap at #1. Proven rankings carry higher reliability (67–83%) and correspondingly less re-ranking risk. 
BullStudApr 2026 RankDec 2025 RankRank ΔNVI Apr 2026NVI Dec 2025Δ NVIINETLvdRelStatus
Badger Ssi AheadWWS11—+364+358+669675681%!ANCHOR Held #1; modest gain sufficient
Genosource Captain (Charl)STG29!HIGH ▲7+363+289!HIGH +7472562683%!HIGH Daughters confirmed; watch Lvd 626
Sunrise Superfly RioTot36▲3+356+304+5270286777%True climber; balanced profile
Peak Altaseverus (Altaplinko)Alta4New—+320——66644967%New entrant; Lvd 449 !RISK low
Peak Breaking NewsGex55—+310+309+131085476%Stable; INET 310 !RISK lowest in proven top 10
Peak Altazemini (Altazazzle)Alta62!DROP ▼4+305+321–1655149780%!DROP Falling on daughter data
Lars-Acres Ssi GdWWS7New—+302——56067180%New entrant; solid reliability
Peak Altaexquisite (Altazazzle)Alta8New—+298——47453182%New entrant; low INET, high Rel
Progenesis Pinball MWSem926!HIGH ▲17+293+260+3344347778%Major climber from deep in the list
Peak Altaplinko MariusAlta1020▲10+292+268+2468532477%Lvd 324 !RISK lowest in proven top 10

Major Movers and Drop-Outs from the Proven Top 10

BullDec 2025 RankDec 2025 NVIApr 2026 RankApr 2026 NVIΔ NVI
Peak Altazemini (Altazazzle)2+3216+305–16
Kax Gladius Gazebo3+32013+291–29
All Nure Wendat4+31314+290–23
Peak Altazingler Et7+30321+271–32
Delta Reloader Finder8+29620+272–24
Peak Fugleman MW10+28756+243–44

December’s #2 and #3 both fell significantly: Altazemini dropped within the current top 10 (–16 NVI), while Kax Gladius Gazebo (–29) slid to #13 and All Nure Wendat (–23) to #14. Only Badger Ssi Ahead, December’s #1, held firm. Delta Reloader Finder, the sole 95% Rel bull in December’s top 10, dropped from #8 to #20 (–24 NVI)—proof that even high reliability doesn’t guarantee stability when the trait profile doesn’t match what the index rewards. The proven list saw 50% churn overall: 5 returnees and 5 new entrants—a much more volatile reshuffle than the genomic B&W list’s 10%.

NVI Genomic (R&W) — A Different Top 10

RankBullNVI (Apr 2026)NVI (Dec 2025)Prev RankΔ NVIINETLvdStudRel
1Delta Bloss-Red (Statement)+454New in top 10——594766CRV70%
2Delta Richman PP-Red+444New in top 10——740972CRV71%
3Delta Hyrox P-Red+441New in top 10——536842CRV70%
4Delta Modiwood P-Red+413New in top 10——5111105CRV71%
5Delta Pronto P-Red+405+3517+54440735CRV71%
6Poppe Freelance Cr+405New in top 10——648870Kam71%
7Ell Schach Skat+400+3821+184701092GGI70%
8Hlb Crawford Cr+392New in top 10——611832Indep70%
9Delta Flagship P-Red+392+3535+39237754CRV71%
10Cardiff P-Red PO+378+3623+164821240GGI70%
  • Complete reshuffling: 6 of 10 are new entrants—all six carry the CRV Delta prefix. Only 4 return from December’s top 10. That 60% turnover is a stark contrast to the B&W genomic list’s 10% churn. 
  • December’s #1 slides: Ell Schach Skat (GGI) was R&W #1, with +382 NVI. He gained +18 to +400 in April 2026, but dropped to #7 as the CRV wave pushed past. December’s #2, Brakels Elevate Rammstein (Kam), fell to #12 (+373 NVI, April 2026). 
  • CRV concentration is extreme: 6 of 10 are CRV bulls, all Delta prefix. For R&W programs, sourcing outside CRV means choosing from a very short list. 
  • Delta Pronto P-Red gained the most among returnees: +54 NVI (+351→+405, April 2026). Delta Flagship P-Red gained +39 NVI but carries a conspicuously low INET of 237—the lowest in the R&W top 10 by a wide margin. His NVI rank is built almost entirely on functional traits. 
  • The R&W-B&W gap is closing. The R&W #1 at +454 NVI approaches the B&W genomic top 3. Delta Richman’s INET of 740 is competitive with B&W genomic leaders. 

Where the Indexes Agree — and Where They Don’t

The genomic, proven, and R&W lists rank different populations, so direct cross-list comparison isn’t possible. But within each list, the tension between NVI ranking and sub-index profiles reveals where breeding philosophies diverge.

Consensus Pattern

Across all three lists, bulls combining moderate-to-strong INET with above-average Lvd dominate the NVI top 3. Rise Up Real (INET 614, Lvd 1084), Bento (INET 673, Lvd 1109), and Sunrise Superfly Rio (INET 702, Lvd 867) all achieve NVI leadership without extreme production or extreme longevity—they sit in the upper-middle range of both.

Rank-Divergent Sires

BullNVI RankINETLvdDivergence Signal
Genosource Mystro (B&W Gen)6881751Highest INET in B&W Gen top 10, lowest Lvd band. Pure production play.
Halifax Delta Dawn (B&W Gen)5801825Second-highest INET, below-median Lvd. Revenue-per-lactation sire.
Genosource Benson (B&W Gen)87191251Highest Lvd in B&W Gen top 10 by 142 pts. Longevity outlier.
Peak Breaking News (B&W Prov)5310854Lowest INET in proven top 10 by a wide margin. NVI rank entirely from functional traits.
Delta Flagship P-Red (R&W Gen)9237754Lowest INET in R&W top 10 (by 203 pts). Health-fertility specialist.

The Core Tension This Run

NVI’s functional-trait weighting continues to reward bulls whose production credentials alone wouldn’t crack the top 20 on INET. Peak Breaking News at proven NVI #5 with an INET of just 310, and Delta Flagship P-Red at R&W NVI #9 with an INET of 237, are the starkest examples. Meanwhile, Genosource Mystro’s INET of 881 earns him only NVI #6 because his Lvd of 751 drags his total-merit score. The practical question for breeders: if your herd’s economics are driven primarily by milk revenue per lactation, NVI’s top 10 overweights longevity and health relative to your cashflow reality. If your economics depend on cow survival and replacement costs, NVI’s weighting aligns well with your situation.

How to Use These Sires This Season

Cross-Index Leaders

For herds wanting a single-sire shortlist that balances production, health, and longevity without extreme trade-offs: Rise Up Real (+468 NVI, INET 614, Lvd 1084, April 2026) and Bento (+450 NVI, INET 673, Lvd 1109, April 2026) occupy this space. Both held top-10 status across two consecutive runs—Rise Up Real at #3→#1, Bento at #7→#2. For herds prioritizing overall genetic gain with moderate risk tolerance, these are the lead candidates.

High-Reliability Anchors

If daughter-proven confidence matters more than genomic ceiling: Badger Ssi Ahead (+364 NVI, 81% Rel, April 2026) and Genosource Captain (+363 NVI, 83% Rel, April 2026) are the proven leaders. Genosource Captain’s +74-point gain suggests his genomic prediction was conservative—his daughters are outperforming expectations. If your conception rate or semen budget demands fewer, higher-confidence matings, these two reduce re-ranking risk substantially.

Production-First Sires

High-input herds chasing revenue per lactation should consider Genosource Mystro (INET 881, NVI #6, April 2026) and Halifax Delta Dawn (INET 801, NVI #5, April 2026), which have the strongest production profiles in the genomic top 10. The trade-off is explicit—Mystro’s Lvd of 751 and Halifax’s Lvd of 825 are both below the top-10 median of 1031. If your herd manages longevity through management rather than genetics, these bulls deliver more revenue per daughter per lactation.

Longevity and Functional-Trait Specialists

Grazing, robotic, or low-input systems where cow survival and health costs dominate the P&L should consider Genosource Benson (Lvd 1251, NVI #8, April 2026), who carries an extraordinary longevity prediction. Chanello(Lvd 1106, NVI #9, April 2026) offers a non-CRV alternative with similar Lvd strength. Be cautious—Benson’s Lvd is the highest in the entire top 10 by 142 points, which at 70% reliability could compress significantly on re-evaluation.

R&W Outcross Options

R&W breeders facing CRV saturation (6 of 10 R&W genomic sires are CRV Delta) have limited non-CRV options: Ell Schach Skat (GGI, +400 NVI, Lvd 1092, April 2026), Cardiff P-Red (GGI, +378 NVI, Lvd 1240, April 2026), Poppe Freelance Cr (Kam, +405 NVI, April 2026), and Hlb Crawford Cr (Indep, +392 NVI, April 2026) are the only non-CRV options in the R&W top 10.

30-Day Action

Pull your current mating list and audit sire-line overlap. If more than 30% of planned matings trace to CRV Genosource or CRV Delta bulls, you have a concentration risk that this run’s data makes visible. Cross-check whether Delta Time Jump P—the sole B&W Genomic top-10 dropout (Dec #5, now ~#13 at +403 NVI, April 2026)—is still in active rotation and re-evaluate its allocation. On the proven side, review whether Peak Fugleman MW (Dec proven #10, now #56 at +243 NVI, April 2026) or Peak Altazingler (Dec proven #7, now #21 at +271 NVI, April 2026) are still allocated at December-level semen volumes.

Key Takeaways:

  • The entire B&W genomic top 10 inflated — but not equally. Rise Up Real and Bento each gained +58 NVI to claim #1 and #2; Halifax Delta Dawn gained +19 and dropped three spots. In this run, anything below +30 meant losing ground even if your bull’s numbers went up.
  • NVI is rewarding longevity over production, hard. Rise Up Real leads at +468 NVI with an INET of just 614 — carried by Lvd 1084. Genosource Mystro’s INET of 881, the highest in the top 10, only buys him #6. If your herd economics are lactation-revenue-driven, NVI’s ranking order doesn’t match your cashflow reality.
  • Genosource Captain is the proven story of the run. A +74 NVI jump on daughter data — from #9 to #2 at 83% reliability. His cows outperformed his genomic prediction by a wide margin. At that reliability, this isn’t noise.
  • CRV concentration demands a mating-list audit. Five of ten B&W genomic slots, six of ten R&W genomic slots — all Delta prefix in the reds. If more than 30% of your planned matings trace back to CRV lines, this run just made that risk visible. Pull the list before your next order.
  • December’s proven picks are bleeding out. Peak Fugleman MW dropped from #10 to #56 (–44 NVI). Peak Altazingler fell from #7 to #21 (–32 NVI). If either bull is still in your tank at December allocation levels, you’re paying for rankings that no longer exist.

Full List:

The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.

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Connect 167, 7 Sires at 161: Why Germany’s Tightest RZG Run Is Really About Bloodline Risk

Picard’s 148 proven RZG won’t win a headline contest — but it won’t re‑rank on you next December either.

Executive Summary: Germany’s April 2026 RZG top 10 didn’t reshuffle — it compressed. Connect holds at 167, but seven sires now sit at exactly 161, squeezing the #1-to-#10 band from 7 points to just 6. Every bull in that top 10 is a returner from December, and every one is still genomic-only — no daughter-proven sire cracks this tier. Picard leads the proven list at 148 RZG (+1 from December), offering run-to-run stability that the genomic cluster can’t yet deliver. The concentration problem is harder to ignore: RealSyn and Rome bloodlines account for at least half the top 10, and if your sire stack mirrors that, you’re building inbreeding pressure into your next generation. Pull your active bull list this month, cap your RealSyn/Rome exposure, and make sure Picard, MustHave, or a Red-carrier like SaturnRDC is in the rotation. When the index can’t separate seven bulls, the bloodline strategy becomes the tiebreaker.

Connect holds the line. Germany’s April 2026 RZG evaluation lands with the Comet son exactly where he stood in December — 167 RZG on both the Interbull and domestic genomic lists, unmoved run to run. All 10 Interbull genomic top‑10 sires return from December 2025 with no new entrants, so this is a stability run at the very top of German Holstein Black & White.

That stability is deceptive, though. The gap between Connect and the pack shrank: the #1‑to‑#10 band compressed from 7 points (167–160 RZG, December 2025) to just 6 (167–161 RZG, April 2026), with Remco climbing to 162 RZG from 161 and seven other sires all ticking from 160 to 161 over the same period. Meanwhile, the daughter‑proven world tells a different story — Picard edges up to 148 RZG in April 2026 from 147 in December, pulling Pattern, Zivet, Glarus, and Glenn into a tighter functional band that sits 13–19 points below the genomic elite but with far more reliability behind it. And in Red & White, HarmonicP arrives at 163 RZG in April 2026 (up from 161 in December 2025), suddenly competitive with half the B&W genomic top 10 and setting up the sharpest black‑vs‑red contrast this system has produced in recent runs.

April 2026 RZG (Holstein B&W, Interbull Genomics): Top 10 Sires

RankBullIndex value + datePrevious value + dateChangeStud
1Connect167 RZG, Apr 2026167 RZG, Dec 20250Synetics
2Veterano163 RZG, Apr 2026163 RZG, Dec 20250–
3Remco162 RZG, Apr 2026161 RZG, Dec 2025+1Phönix
4Realpower161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1Synetics
5Realside161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1Synetics
6TooHot161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1Phönix
7Carlito161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1Phönix
8Evenstar161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1PHX/Qnet
9RealSteel161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1–
10Romantiker161 RZG, Apr 2026160 RZG, Dec 2025+1Phönix
  • Connect stays #1 at 167 RZG in April 2026, after 167 RZG in December 2025, while the rest of the top 10 compresses tightly at 161–163 RZG. 
  • All 10 are returning genomic sires; there are no new‑in‑top‑10 entrants in April 2026, and no December top‑10 drop‑outs. 
  • The band from #1 to #10 is now just 6 RZG points (167 to 161) in April 2026 versus 7 points last run (167 to 160), indicating further tightening at the top. 
  • Within the 161‑RZG pack, the +1 shifts from 160 RZG, December 2025, to 161 RZG, April 2026, signal micro‑re‑ranking rather than structural change. 

Big RZG risers inside the top 10

  • Remco climbs from 161 RZG, December 2025, to 162 RZG, April 2026, picking up on already strong RZ Milch and RZ Fleisch and pairing that with a balanced RZ Gesund block — a neat “more of everything” move without obvious new holes; as a fully genomic sire, his reliability remains materially lower than the proven anchors. 
  • Realpower steps from 160 RZG, December 2025, to 161 RZG, April 2026, with the profile leaning slightly more to RZ Milch and RZ Fruchtbarkeit than his RealSyn contemporaries, making him a marginally safer production‑plus‑fertility play in this cluster for herds wanting that tilt. 
  • Realside follows the same 160 to 161 RZG, December 2025 to April 2026 uptick, but does it with a touch more RZ Exterieur at the expense of RZ Persistenz, suiting type‑conscious herds that can live with slightly less longevity. 
  • TooHot also jumps from 160 to 161 RZG, December 2025 to April 2026, nudging up in RZ Gesundheit and RZ Kälberfit while accepting more modest RZ Exterieur, making him a health‑leaning option in the 161 group for herds prioritizing health over maximum type. 

Big fallers / notable drop‑outs

  • There are no big fallers within this specific Interbull genomic top 10: all nine 161‑RZG sires move just +1, and Connect and Veterano remain static between December 2025 and April 2026. 
  • Outside the top 10, MustHave holds 159 RZG, April 2026, after 159 RZG, December 2025, and therefore remains just outside the Interbull top 10; he retains clear strength in RZ Milch and RZ Fleisch, so still fits high‑component, index‑driven matings even if the headline rank hasn’t improved. 
  • On the domestic genomic list, Topchamp sits at 158 RZG in April 2026, unchanged from 158 RZG in December 2025, with a fractionally weaker RZFit profile than the very top group but a clearly strong RZ Exterieur, retaining niche value in type‑oriented programs despite staying out of the Interbull top tier. 

What this index is rewarding now

  • The current top 10 is clearly rewarding high RZ Milch combined with robust RZ Gesundheit and calf fitness: Connect sits at 120 RZ Milch, 113 RZ Gesundheit, and 135 RZGes, April 2026, while Remco (138 RZ Milch, 123 RZGes) and Realpower (117 RZ Milch, 118 RZGes) illustrate the “production + health” template. 
  • Trade-off-wise, Realside and Carlito bring more RZ Exterieur and RZ Fundament at the cost of slightly lower RZ Persistenz and RZ Kalbeverlauf compared with Connect and Realpower, so they upgrade frames and feet‑and‑legs but are a shade more management‑sensitive regarding longevity and calving ease. 
  • SaturnRDC shows how the system still pays for RZG in Red‑carrier packages when they can match B&W on RZ Milch and RZ Gesundheit, offering a color-flexible route into the same index logic for herds wanting that genetic option. 

Stud and family concentration

  • Synetics dominates the Interbull genomic top 10 with Connect, Realpower, Realside, and Grafti (just outside at 155 RZG, April 2026), while Phönix owns Remco, TooHot, Carlito, Romantiker, and much of the domestic 99‑RZG band. 
  • The RealSyn and Rome sire lines appear repeatedly (Realpower, Realside, RealSteel, RealLife, Roadhouse; Romantiker, Roadstar, Ramirez), making sire‑stacking around these brands a real inbreeding and diversity concern for anyone using multiple bulls from this cluster. 
  • As outcross moves within this context, MustHave (AltaMuller × non‑RealSyn dam stack) and Attention(Adonis × Arizona) are two practical options to step out of the RealSyn/Rome saturation while remaining at or above 158 RZG in April 2026. 

How stable is Germany’s RZG top tier right now?

  • All 10 Interbull genomic top‑10 bulls from December 2025 return in April 2026, with Connect and Veterano unchanged and the rest gaining just +1, so this is a low‑churn, low‑shock run at the elite end. 
  • The compression from a 7‑point band (167–160 RZG, December 2025) to 6 points (167–161 RZG, April 2026) means breeders are deciding between very similar total‑merit levels and need to lean more on trait shape, reliability, and pedigree than on raw RZG gaps. 
  • Because all of these sires are still genomic, the apparent stability shouldn’t be over‑interpreted as permanent; future daughter data could still significantly reshuffle this pack. 

Volatility and reliability

  • All top‑10 Interbull B&W RZG bulls are genomic; there are zero daughter‑proven sires in this list, so the top is structurally volatile and still heavily genomic‑weighted in terms of reliability. 
  • Connect at 167 RZG, April 2026, and Remco at 162 RZG, April 2026, are the key high‑index/low‑reliability volatility plays; both sit on moderate daughter numbers and heavy genomic weight, so large swings remain possible as daughter information accumulates. 
  • On the proven side, Picard at 148 RZG, April 2026 (147 RZG, December 2025) and Pattern at 145 RZG, April 2026 (145 RZG, December 2025) are the obvious anchors, with full daughter‑proven reliability and stable multi‑run RZG. 
  • Glenn and Glarus, both at 143 RZG in April 2026, with small negative or flat moves vs 143 RZG in December 2025, provide additional high‑reliability ballast for programs that want fewer surprises than the genomic cluster offers. 

Domestic RZG B&W Genomics — A Different Top 10

Mini top‑5 table (domestic active genomic, April 2026)

RankBullRZG (Apr 2026)Primary-index rank (Interbull)
1Connect167 RZG, Apr 20261
2Remco162 RZG, Apr 20263
3Realpower161 RZG, Apr 20264
4Realside161 RZG, Apr 20265
5TooHot161 RZG, Apr 20266
  • Connect, Remco, and Realpower lead both the Interbull and domestic genomic lists, so domestic usage aligns more closely with the global RZG picture in April 2026 than in December 2025. 
  • Key movers here are the same as at Interbull: Remco, Realpower, Realside, and TooHot all add +1 RZG from December 2025 to April 2026, but their domestic rank order emphasizes local availability and stud alignment over raw value changes. 
  • The domestic list adds nuance: SaturnRDC at 161 RZG, April 2026, and Roadhouse at 160 RZG, April 2026 (both unchanged from their December 2025 RZG levels) bring Red‑carrier and slightly more RZ Fruchtbarkeit and RZ Kalbeverlauf into the same band, which the Interbull headline table partially hides. 
  • Overall, this index rewards roughly the same traits as Interbull RZG, but domestic ranks give extra weight to health and calving ease (SaturnRDC, SemianRDC) and to stud portfolio breadth. 

Daughter‑Proven RZG B&W — Proven Power in a Genomic World

Mini top‑5 table (Interbull B&W daughter‑proven, April 2026)

RankBullRZG (Apr 2026)
1Picard148 RZG, Apr 2026
2Pattern145 RZG, Apr 2026
3Zivet144 RZG, Apr 2026
4Glarus143 RZG, Apr 2026
5Glenn143 RZG, Apr 2026
  • Picard leads the proven list at 148 RZG in April 2026, after 147 RZG in December 2025, while the genomic Connect/Remco/Realpower group sits 13–19 points higher but without his high daughter‑proven reliability. 
  • Pattern stays solid at 145 RZG, April 2026 vs 145 RZG, December 2025, and Zivet edges up to 144 RZG, April 2026, from 143 RZG, December 2025, while keeping a very even mix of RZ Milch, RZ Exterieur, and RZ Gesundheit, making them calmer, all‑round options compared with the more aggressive genomic plays. 
  • Glarus and Glenn hold at 143 RZG, April 2026, both offering strong RZ Exterieur and RZEuterus structure, so they remain go‑to options for herds wanting uniform udders and legs without giving away too much total RZG. 
  • This index clearly rewards proven production plus functional traits over sheer RZG height: the top‑5 proven sires sit below the genomic elite but come with far tighter RZ and RZGes confidence bands. 

Where the Indexes Agree — and Where They Don’t

Consensus sires

  • Connect is #1 on both Interbull genomic and domestic genomic RZG at 167 RZG, April 2026, so any RZG‑focused genomic program that down‑weights him is consciously stepping away from the system’s own consensus. 
  • Remco sits #3 on Interbull genomic and #2 domestically at 162 RZG, April 2026, with almost identical trait shape in both systems, making him the logical high‑index “second pillar” behind Connect in RZG‑driven genomic stacks for herds comfortable with genomic risk. 
  • On the proven side, Picard at 148 RZG, April 2026 (147 RZG, December 2025), and Pattern at 145 RZG, April 2026 (145 RZG, December 2025), appear consistently at or near the top of daughter‑proven lists, reflecting the cross‑index agreement that these are the current reliability kings. 

Rank‑divergent sires (illustrative table)

  • Connect and Remco are true cross‑index leaders inside genomics, but they don’t appear on the proven tables yet; for breeders, that’s the classic “high reward, high volatility” trade: for herds prioritizing fast genetic gain and willing to tolerate future re‑ranking, they are obvious first‑line sires. 
  • Realpower looks slightly better domestically (rank 3) than his Interbull rank (4) suggests, reflecting how his trait mix — particularly RZ Fruchtbarkeit and RZFit — is valued by German buyers; for herds prioritizing fertility within a high‑RZG genomic stack, he’s the more conservative complement to Connect and Remco. 
  • SaturnRDC only appears as a domestic genomic 161‑RZG, April 2026 bull, and doesn’t touch the Interbull top 10, but his RZ Gesundheit and RZ Kalbeverlauf profile makes him valuable for herds with calving and heifer health issues, even though his headline rank lags the main B&W leaders. 
  • Picard sits outside all genomic lists but dominates proven RZG at 148 RZG in April 2026; for risk‑averse programs and commercial daughters‑first herds, his lower index but higher reliability is a rational choice, especially where re‑ranking risk has a real economic cost. 

Core tension

The core tension in this April 2026 German run is between a very tight cluster of 161–167 RZG Interbull genomics bulls — headed by Connect, Remco, and Realpower — and a slightly lower, but far more stable, proven layer anchored by Picard, Pattern, and Zivet. Genomic lists are converging rather than exploding: many bulls at 161 RZG, April 2026, with near‑identical trait profiles, making stud affiliation, pedigree, and management fit more decisive than raw index points. Proven lists, meanwhile, still edge up slowly in RZG (Picard +1, Zivet +1 between December 2025 and April 2026) but don’t threaten genomic heights, so breeders have to choose how much of their heifer and heifer‑dam matings they want to allocate to “167‑RZG genomic volatility” versus “145–148‑RZG proven stability.” Red & White adds a further layer: HarmonicP at 163 RZG, April 2026, and SkypeRed at 163 RZG, April 2026 are genuinely competitive with black‑and‑white indexes, but proven red sires still sit lower, amplifying the same risk‑reliability tension in another color.

How to Use These Sires This Season

  • Cross‑index genomic leaders (Connect, Remco, Realpower)
    For herds prioritizing maximum RZG gain and comfortable with genomic volatility, use Connect as the main sire of sons and heifers, backed by Remco and Realpower on cows, but cap any single bull at a modest share of matings to manage re‑ranking risk. For high‑input housed and robot herds that can fully exploit high RZ Milch and RZGes, this trio fits, while lower‑input or grazing‑leaning systems may want to temper their use with more moderate‑production sires. 
  • High‑reliability anchors (Picard, Pattern, Zivet)
    For herds prioritizing predictability, udder consistency, and moderate calving risk over absolute index height, use Picard and Pattern on high‑value older cows and on problem‑free family lines where you want uniform, saleable daughters, then bring Zivet in to keep RZ Milch and RZGes balanced. 
  • Health and fertility specialists (TooHot, SaturnRDC, Roadhouse)
    For herds targeting better fertility, calf survival, and trouble‑free calvings, deploy TooHot and SaturnRDC on heifers and health‑challenged cow families, while Roadhouse can be used where you want to hold RZG around 160, April 2026, but nudge RZ Fruchtbarkeit and RZ Kälberfit upward, giving up a few points vs Connect and Remco in exchange for more health insurance. 
  • Type‑leaning sires (Realside, Carlito, Glarus, Glenn)
    For herds or show‑leaning segments prioritizing frames, udders, and legs, use Realside and Carlito in the genomic space, then Glarus and Glenn as proven follow‑up sires to lock in type once the pedigree and health package are acceptable. 
  • Outcross / de‑stacking sires (MustHave, Attention, MustHave‑line sons)
    For herds worried about RealSyn/Rome saturation, rotate MustHave and Attention into matings on Connect/Realpower/Remco daughters, accepting a small RZG discount relative to the very top in exchange for more flexible future mating options. 

Within 30 days, pull your current active sire list, mark all RealSyn, Rome, and Comet‑line bulls, and cap that group at a predefined percentage of matings while deliberately adding Picard, Pattern, MustHave, and at least one Red‑carrier like SaturnRDC or HarmonicP to diversify both pedigree and system risk.

Key Takeaways:

  • The top 10 is frozen but squeezed. All 10 Interbull genomic sires return from December, with Connect flat at 167 RZG, and the #1‑to‑#10 band narrowing from 7 points to 6 — raw index rank is no longer enough to pick between them.
  • RealSyn and Rome saturation are portfolio risks, not talking points. Those two sire lines account for roughly half the genomic top 10; herds using multiple bulls from this cluster are stacking the same pedigree and need MustHave, Attention, or a Red‑carrier like SaturnRDC to break the pattern.
  • Picard and Pattern are the only sires in this article that won’t surprise you next run. At 148 and 145 RZG (April 2026), they sit well below the genomic ceiling — but their daughter‑proven reliability means breeders aren’t betting on a number that could move 5+ points in either direction by December.
  • Health and fertility now separate the 161 pack. TooHot and SaturnRDC lean into RZ Gesundheit and RZ Kälberfit; Realside and Carlito lean into RZ Exterieur and RZ Fundament — same RZG, very different daughters, and the right pick depends on whether your problem cows need better immune function or better feet.
  • Your 30‑day move: audit your bloodline exposure. Mark every RealSyn, Rome, and Comet‑line bull on your active sire list, cap that group at a set percentage of matings, and deliberately slot in at least one proven anchor and one outcross genomic sire before the next mating round.

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April 2026 USA Holstein TPI: Woodford +3565, Powerhouse +119 – Who Won and Lost the Protein Flip?

Powerhouse just picked up +119 TPI while Garza dumped −125 under the protein flip — if those two are in your tank, this run just changed your semen budget math.

Executive Summary: TPI 2026’s 24P:14F protein flip just moved real money: Powerhouse gains +119 TPI, Garza drops −125, and every high‑fat sire in your tank needs a second look. All 10 genomic USA Holstein TPI leaders in April 2026 are new names and squeezed into a 37‑point band, so chasing “#1” is now a high‑volatility hobby, not a plan. On the proven side, Sheepster still leads at +3480 TPI after losing 92 points, while Captain, Zuri, and Garza reshuffle as the formula rewards protein‑heavy profiles. Woodford (+3565 TPI, +1296 NM$) and Jitters/Sabotage‑type genomics line up TPI and NM$ so closely that your “index vs profit” debate is basically over for top heifers. R&W breeders get their own shake‑up: Okafor‑Red and Ocean‑Red hold near 3200 GTPI, while RC/RW PTAT bulls like Crypto PP at +2.82 PTAT force you to choose between show udders and milk cheque. The article walks through how to re‑tier matings by herd type (high‑input, grazing, type/show, R&W), how to spot Captain/Trooper/Alta line stacking, and which bulls to push or park for the next 30 days.

The hook for April 2026 is the TPI 2026 formula flip: more weight on protein, less on fat, which quietly reshuffled both genomic and daughter-proven lists and set up the kind of bulls that now rise to the top in the Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 run. The biggest structural change is that PTA Protein now carries 24% of TPI while PTA Fat drops to 14%, so a bull with the same total CFP but more of it in protein pounds now scores materially higher TPI than a more fat‑heavy counterpart. When you run the December 2025 Holstein USA TPI proofs through that new 24P:14F production slice, you immediately see “formula winners” and “formula losers” before a single new daughter is added.

In this April 2026 USA run, that protein‑first logic shows up very clearly: genomic bulls like Aurora Gs Woodford‑ETare almost purpose‑built for TPI 2026, and on the proven side, bulls such as Peak Powerhouse‑ET gain roughly +119 TPI going from +3329 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, December 2025) to +3448 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026). At the same time, fat‑leaning sires like SDG Cap Garza‑ET lose relative ground despite still being excellent cowside options.

What Changed at the Top?

Genomic TPI leaders – April 2026

On the genomic side, the top 10 Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 bulls are all new faces compared with the December 2025 genomic top 10, reflecting both the formula change and the usual churn of new young sires.

Genomic TPI top 10 – Holstein USA TPI, April 2026

Rank (TPI)Bull (NAAB)TPI Apr 2026NM$ Apr 2026PTA MilkPTA FatPTA ProPTATPL
1Aurora Gs Woodford-ET (551HO06782)+3565+1296+1498+142+78+0.37+4.5
2Beyond Mican Hagrid-ET (7HO18312)+3562+984+1351+128+66+2.24+3.7
3S-S-I Richard Chichester-ET (7HO18102)+3560+1059+1228+112+63+1.54+5.8
4Genosource Jitters-ET (551HO07177)+3552+1127+1637+123+68+0.74+4.2
5Ocd Whoops Sabotage-ET (796HO10329)+3551+1076+1274+119+64+1.49+4.6
6S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET (7HO18241)+3548+1139+528+129+54+0.91+5.4
7S-S-I Stagger Baelum-ET (14HO18123)+3547+1124+897+122+62+0.64+5.7
8Siemers Ssi Bridgerton-ET (250HO18331)+3539+1071+1515+110+71+0.96+3.4
9Pen-Col Gs 86807-ET (551HO06686)+3529+1119+1853+129+73+1.23+3.8
10Welcome Gustavsson-ET (200HO13730)+3528+997+848+115+54+1.61+5.6

The band from Woodford at +3565 down to Gustavsson at +3528 is extremely tight – just 37 TPI points separate #1 from #10 – and all ten are new entrants versus the December 2025 genomic top 10. That tells you two things:

  • The shape of the ideal genomic sire under TPI 2026 is clear (high milk, strong protein, good health, functional type), but
  • The names at the very top are volatile and will rotate as more calves and proofs arrive.

Proven TPI leaders – December 2025 vs April 2026

On the daughter‑proven side, the story is different: it’s movement, not churn. The top proven bulls are the same characters, but they reshuffle based on the formula change and the addition of fresh daughters.

Daughter‑proven TPI top 10 – Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 vs December 2025

Rank Apr 2026Bull (NAAB)TPI Apr 2026TPI Dec 2025Δ TPIVerdictPTA MilkPTA FatPTA ProPTAT
1OCD Trooper Sheepster-ET (7HO16276)+3480+3572!DROP −92Formula loser+1359+133+67+0.86
2Peak Powerhouse-ET (1HO16089)+3448+3329!HIGH +119Formula winner+1937+113+92+0.09
3SDG-PH Delux Dominance-ET (551HO04795)+3437+3458−21Slight loser+1303+135+64+0.07
4La-Ca-De-Le T Isaac 8731-ET (7HO15966)+3396+3390+6Neutral+1336+111+62+2.07
5Peak Momento-ET (1HO16144)+3360+3334+26Formula winner+1223+113+53+0.40
6Genosource Captain-ET (551HO04119)+3356+3428!DROP −72Formula loser+1789+117+64+0.33
7Terra-Calroy Zuri-ET (97HO42585)+3355+3375−20Slight loser+854+104+52+1.81
8SDG Cap Garza-ET (551HO04474)+3339+3464!DROP −125!RISK Formula loser+1369+140+50+0.03
9Denovo 3946 Elgin-ET (29HO20623)+3337Outside top 10!HIGH New entryFormula winner+2635+100+68+0.45
10Welcome Sensei-ET (200HO12140)+3333Outside top 10!HIGH New entryFormula winner+1627+97+73+0.87

Sheepster loses 92 points but still leads the Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 proven list at +3480 TPI, while Powerhouse is the classic “formula winner,” jumping about +119 TPI between runs thanks to his milk and protein‑heavy profile. Captain, Zuri, and Garza all surrender some ground under the new production weights but remain within the elite band.

All these proven sires meet the Holstein USA “high‑ranking sire” reliability criteria (minimum 80 traditional or 85 genomic for production and 80 for type), and the leaders are sitting in the 95–99% range on production and type, so this is the high‑reliability layer.

What TPI 2026 Is Rewarding (and Penalizing)

Protein vs fat in the new formula

Holstein USA’s TPI 2026 formula allocates 24% weight to PTA Protein and 14% to PTA Fat, shifting 5 percentage points from fat to protein compared with the previous version. Because of how the sub‑indices are scaled, Bullvine’s analysis shows that one pound of PTA Protein now exerts about 71% more leverage inside TPI than one pound of PTA Fat, turning P‑strong bulls into index winners without any change in their actual proofs.

Running the December 2025 Holstein USA TPI values through the new matrix, Bullvine highlighted several clear patterns:

  • Bulls with high protein and balanced or strong P/F ratios gained TPI – example case studies include:
    • Peak Powerhouse‑ET (1HO16089) – big milk, strong protein, climbs from +3329 to +3448 TPI between December 2025 and April 2026. 
    • Cookiecutter Horseshoe‑ET (208HO00356) – identified by Bullvine as jumping about 10 proven ranks under the 2026 formula, even on the same December proof set. 
    • Multiple Captain‑line bulls like Captain himself and his sons. 
  • Bulls whose component strengths skewed more to fat than protein lost a step:
    • SDG Cap Garza‑ET (551HO04474) – very strong on fat; surrenders roughly 125 TPI under the new weighting (from +3464 to +3339). 
    • Some high‑fat Captain sons and Garza‑type profiles that were standout under the old 19F:19P balance. 
Bull (NAAB)StatusPTA ProPTA FatPro:Fat RatioTPI Dec 2025TPI Apr 2026Δ TPIFormula Verdict
Peak Powerhouse-ET (1HO16089)Proven+92+1130.81+3329+3448!HIGH +119Winner – protein-heavy relative to fat
Peak Momento-ET (1HO16144)Proven+53+1130.47+3334+3360+26Mild winner
Denovo 3946 Elgin-ET (29HO20623)Proven+68+1000.68Outside top 10+3337New entryWinner – protein:fat balanced
Welcome Sensei-ET (200HO12140)Proven+73+970.75Outside top 10+3333New entryWinner
Aurora Gs Woodford-ET (551HO06782)Genomic+78+1420.55—+3565—Purpose-built for 2026 formula
OCD Trooper Sheepster-ET (7HO16276)Proven+67+1330.50+3572+3480!DROP −92Moderate loser
Genosource Captain-ET (551HO04119)Proven+64+1170.55+3428+3356!DROP −72Loser – fat-leaning relative to protein
SDG Cap Garza-ET (551HO04474)Proven+50+1400.36+3464+3339!DROP −125!RISK Biggest loser – extreme fat bias
SDG-PH Delux Dominance-ET (551HO04795)Proven+64+1350.47+3458+3437−21Slight loser

Trait profiles at the top – genomics

Looking at the Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 genomic top 10, the shared trait profile is obvious:

  • High PTA Milk – often +1200 to +1500 lb and beyond.
  • High PTA Fat and PTA Protein pounds, with a P/F balance that suits the 24P:14F weighting.
  • Strong health (PL, LIV, cow health/Health Index) and fertility, with SCS normally in a comfortable range.
  • Moderate positive type – enough PTAT and udder to build functional commercial cows, not extreme show type.

A few case studies:

  • Aurora Gs Woodford‑ET
    +3565 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026) and +1296 NM$ (Holstein USA NM$, April 2026), roughly +1498 PTA Milk, +142 PTA Fat, +120 PTA Protein, strong Health Index, and moderate but positive type. 
  • Genosource Jitters‑ET
    +3552 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026), +1127 NM$ (Holstein USA NM$, April 2026); big CFP with strong survival and fertility. 
  • Ocd Whoops Sabotage‑ET
    +3551 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026), +1076 NM$ (Holstein USA NM$, April 2026); high production and NM$ with solid type. 

Kingdom Formal, Baelum, Bridgerton, Pen‑Col Gs 86807, and Gustavsson all sit in this same high‑protein, high‑pounds, good‑health box with minor flavor differences in pedigree and trait tilt.

Trait profiles at the top – proven

On the proven side, the Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 leader board is full of “TPI 2026‑friendly” production profiles with proven reliability.

A snapshot of trait packages:

  • OCD Trooper Sheepster‑ET (7HO16276)
    +3480 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026); +133 Fat, +1359 Milk, 2.83 SCS, +4.9 PL, +0.6 LIV, +0.86 PTAT. 
  • Peak Powerhouse‑ET (1HO16089)
    +3448 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026); +113 Fat, +1937 Milk, 3.06 SCS, +2.7 PL, −0.1 LIV, +0.09 PTAT. 
  • Genosource Captain‑ET (551HO04119)
    +3356 TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026); +117 Fat, +1789 Milk, 3.06 SCS, +3.6 PL, −0.6 LIV, +0.33 PTAT. 

Overall, the proven top 10 tends to run 150–250 TPI points below the genomic leaders, but with 95–99% reliabilities for production and type, making them much safer anchors.

AI Companies and Bloodlines: Who Owns the Top?

Across the Holstein USA TPI, April 2026 lists, there is a clear concentration by both AI company and sire line.

On the proven TPI top 10:

  • OCD appears prominently with Sheepster and several Trooper/Drive descendants in the extended top group.
  • Peak/Alta features strongly via Powerhouse and Momento, plus multiple AltaWheelhouse/AltaZazzle offspring.
  • Genosource delivers Captain and several Captain‑line sons (Garza, Capn Miguel, Capn Ramble) just inside or outside the top 10.
  • Denovo brings in Elgin under the Envy x Riveting cross.

Pedigree‑wise, a few sire lines are clearly over‑represented in the top 10 and just beyond:

  • Captain (and his sons) appear in multiple proven bulls’ pedigrees – Captain himself in the top 10, and Garza, Capn Miguel, Capn Ramble, Cap Diggory, etc., in the next band.
  • Trooper/Drive/Topdog influence shows through OCD sires like Sheepster, Shake, Draft, and Draft‑related bulls.
  • AltaZazzle/AltaWheelhouse/AltaMarius show up repeatedly in the background of Peak bulls.

For genomic users, this concentration means you cannot just buy “top‑10 genomic TPI” and assume diversity; a good proportion of those bulls will trace back to Captain‑line and AltaZazzle‑line sires. For proven users, it reinforces the need to spread semen across multiple companies and sire lines – e.g., pairing Captain‑line bulls with Envy/Riveting or Taos‑line bulls like Isaac – to manage inbreeding and diversify risk.

How Volatile Are These Rankings After the Protein Flip?

At the genomic level, volatility is a feature, not a bug.

  • All ten bulls in the Holstein USA genomic TPI top 10, April 2026, are new compared with the December 2025 genomic top 10. 
  • The TPI gap from #1 to #10 compressed to just 37 points (3565–3528), which means minor reliability or data shifts can shuffle ranks by several positions without any real change in bull quality. 
  • For genomic TPI users, this means rank volatility is high and shouldn’t be over‑interpreted; you want to treat the whole top band as a portfolio of similar bulls rather than betting on the “#1” name.

On the daughter‑proven side, the picture is much calmer.

  • The core of the top group is stable: Sheepster, Dominance, Captain, Momento, Zuri, and Garza were already high in December 2025, and remain in the top 10 in April 2026. 
  • Typical movement is ±20–40 TPI as more daughters arrive, with bigger shifts (Powerhouse +119, Garza −125) explained largely by the formula change rather than an abrupt change in daughter performance. 
  • With reliabilities at or near 99% for many of these bulls, the rank band is structurally stable; a few slots of shuffling don’t change their role as cow‑makers. 

For decision‑making:

  • Treat genomic ranks as high‑gain but high‑volatility signals: great for fast genetic progress, especially on heifers, but you should spread risk across several programs and not assume any one bull will stay #1.
  • Treat proven ranks as high‑reliability anchors: ideal for herds that want predictable daughters and for large semen volumes on milking cows and donors.

NM$: Economics Lined Up with TPI

The Holstein USA NM$, April 2026 genomic file confirms that TPI 2026 and NM$ are largely pointing to the same bulls.

Genomic NM$ leaders vs TPI – Holstein USA, April 2026

NM$ RankBull (NAAB)NM$ Apr 2026TPI Apr 2026TPI RankDivergence FlagKey Trait Tilt
1Genosource Valkyrie-ET (551HO07040)+1308+3464Outside top 10!HIGH NM$, lower TPIHigh CFP, strong health; fat-forward
2Aurora Gs Woodford-ET (551HO06782)+1296+3565#1 TPIAlignedProtein+milk+health; dual leader
3Genosource Viper-ET (551HO07102)+1296+3494Outside top 10Slight NM$ leadHigh milk, strong protein
4Genosource Morten-ET (551HO06777)+1282+3490Outside top 10NM$ favoredBig milk +1888, strong CFP
5Genosource Jitters-ET (551HO07177)+1127+3552#4 TPIAlignedHigh milk, solid survival
6Ocd Whoops Sabotage-ET (796HO10329)+1076+3551#5 TPIAlignedHigh-NM$ all-rounder
7S-S-I Richard Chichester-ET (7HO18102)+1059+3560#3 TPIAlignedProtein-/health-tilted
8Beyond Mican Hagrid-ET (7HO18312)+984+3562#2 TPI!RISK NM$ lag vs TPIHigh PTAT +2.24; type premium, lower economics
9San-Dan On Call-ET (551HO06544)+1218+3525#12 TPINM$ favoredBig milk +1751, PL +3.6
10S-S-I Kingdom Formal-ET (7HO18241)+1139+3548#6 TPIAlignedHigh health index; balanced

For genomics, this means that choosing bulls on TPI alone is less risky than it used to be, because the top TPI list is now almost automatically high NM$ as well; NM$ is more of an economic cross‑check than a competing philosophy.

On the proven side, top TPI sires like Sheepster, Powerhouse, Captain, and Elgin also deliver competitive NM$, albeit a step lower than the very best genomics, which is exactly the reliability vs level trade‑off you expect.

PTAT and RC/R&W PTAT: Specialist Type Tools (with Top RC/RW PTAT Bulls)

The pure PTAT lists – black‑and‑white and Red/Red Carrier – are nearly a separate universe from the TPI/NM$ tables. From the Holstein USA PTAT, April 2026 file, top PTAT sires reach +3.5 to +4.0 PTAT, with huge udders and frames, but usually 150–200 TPI and several hundred NM$ below the Woodford/Jitters type of bull. In the Red Carrier/RW PTAT file, similar-type specialists exist for the Red Carrier and Red & White space.

If your herd prioritizes show and classification, these bulls are ideal when you have a top 5–10% type cow family and are willing to sacrifice some index and NM$ on a few matings to push udders and frames to the next level. If your herd prioritizes herd profitability, you should keep PTAT specialists under 5–10% of total matings and let TPI/NM$ leaders carry the main commercial load while PTAT bulls sculpt the show string and donor group.

Top RC/RW PTAT Bulls – April 2026 and How to Use Them

For herds that want show-ring udders and frames in the Red Carrier and Red & White space, the Holstein USA RC/RW PTAT, April 2026 list provides a small group of extreme‑type tools.

Highlighted RC/RW PTAT bulls – Holstein USA RC/RW PTAT, April 2026 (12‑month bulls)

Bull (NAAB)PTAT (Holstein USA RC/RW PTAT, April 2026)Notes
Ruann Karat‑45955‑ET (719HO45955)+3.92 PTATExtreme frames and udders; very low production and index.
Redcarpet Story Arc‑ET (730HO00005)+3.78 PTATHigh‑type RC bull; niche show sire.
Eskdale Hulu Shoutout‑ET (288HO00364)+3.56 PTATHulu‑line type for RC cows.
Ruann Archer‑23755‑ET (719HO23755)+3.32 PTATBig frames, strong show pedigree.
Dg Santinus RC (551HO00612)+3.31 PTATRC type bull with modest production.
Ski‑Brite Junior P RC‑ET (288HO00350)+3.30 PTATPolled RC with high PTAT, lower index.
Shg Lazer‑ET (551HO00485)+3.25 PTATShow‑oriented sire for udder and style.
Le‑O‑La Chisel‑ET (551HO06531)+3.24 PTATHigh type, low production; pure show tool.
Siemers Lazer Hambitious‑ET (288HO00339)+3.15 PTATLazer son with modern show‑cow pattern.
Sunquest Holy Crypto PP‑ET (250HO18358)+2.82 PTATHomozygous polled with strong PTAT and respectable TPI.

These RC/RW PTAT bulls are not designed to compete with Woodford‑style sires on TPI or NM$; most carry negative production PTAs and lower indexes. If your herd prioritizes show or classification in Red or RC lines, you can use them strategically:

  • On the top 5–10% of Red and RC cows and heifers from your best type families, especially where udders and frames are already strong, and you want to push for the next level. 
  • For breeders who still need commercial performance in Reds, bulls like Sunquest Holy Crypto PP‑ET can be used on a slightly wider group, because he doesn’t step as far off the index cliff as some pure show sires. 
  • If your herd prioritizes profit and components, keep RC/RW PTAT-specialist usage under 5–10% of matings, and let Red index leaders (Okafor‑Red, Ocean‑Red, etc.) carry the main R&W commercial load. 

Red & White: Index and Type in the R&W Space

TPI 2026 doesn’t treat Red & White differently inside the formula, but the April 2026 USA Red & White GTPI tables show a similar protein‑forward pattern among top R&W bulls.

Top R&W TPI – Holstein USA GTPI, April 2026 (selected)

Bull (NAAB)TPI (Holstein USA GTPI, April 2026)NM$ (Holstein USA NM$, April 2026)PTA MilkPTA FatPTA ProPTATNotes
Denovo 21873 Okafor‑Red‑ET (29HO00951)3194+824+2270+73+31+1.24High‑index Red, strong CFP, good health.
Aprilday Hrok Athens‑Red‑ET (250HO18217)3180+595+956+76+16+0.57Protein‑friendly Red with solid health.
Stgen Ocean‑Red‑ET (551HO06846)3179+792+1906+69+11+1.12NM$‑strong Red for commercial herds.
Ocd Morris Spirit‑Red‑ET (551HO06757)3177+872+1536+81+11−0.06Big fat, good protein; strong fit for milk cheque.

Compared with December 2025, bulls like Okafor‑Red and Ocean‑Red hold their ground near the top while fat‑heavier R&W sires lose some relative shine; again, the protein‑leaning bulls are formula winners.

For type in the Red space, the Red Carrier/RW PTAT bulls above (e.g., Holy Crypto PP, Story Arc, Karat, Hulu Shoutout) provide show‑caliber udders and frames that you can layer on top of R&W index sires when you want Red daughters that still classify and show.

If your herd wants Red calves with a commercial index:

  • Look first at Okafor‑Red, Athens‑Red, Ocean‑Red, Spirit‑Red, and similar bulls at the top of the R&W GTPI and NM$ lists. 
  • Use RC/RW PTAT specialists sparingly on top Red females where type is high-priority.

What This Means for Your Matings This Season

This is where the April 2026 USA Holstein proof run earns its keep: turning lists into portfolio and mating moves over the next 30 days.

High‑input, housed herds chasing milk cheque and NM$

If your herd is high‑input, housed, and paid strongly on volume plus components, consider:

  • Heifers and genomic donors
    • Use Aurora Gs Woodford‑ET, Genosource Jitters‑ET, and Ocd Whoops Sabotage‑ET heavily on your top 25–40% heifers and genomic donors to maximize TPI (Holstein USA TPI, April 2026) and NM$ (Holstein USA NM$, April 2026). 
    • Layer in Beyond Mican Hagrid‑ET or S‑S‑I Richard Chichester‑ET where you need a different program or P/F bias to manage inbreeding.
  • Milking cows and ET recipients
    • Anchor matings with OCD Trooper Sheepster‑ET, Peak Powerhouse‑ET, and Genosource Captain‑ET to lock in high CFP, PL, and reliability on cows that are already working hard. 
    • Accept slightly lower TPI vs genomics in exchange for near‑99% reliability – especially on older cows and donor dams. 

Grazing / lower‑input or fertility‑sensitive herds

If your herd prioritizes fertility, survival, and robustness more than absolute production:

  • On heifers, lean more into genomic bulls like Chichester, Jitters, and Sabotage that balance components with very strong health and fertility, rather than chasing the last 50–80 pounds of milk. 
  • On cows, emphasize proven sires with strong PL/LIV and fertility – e.g., Sheepster, Dominance, Zuri, Sensei– and limit the number of high‑milk but tougher‑fertility bulls like some Captain sons on cows that already struggle to breed back. 

Type/show and classification‑focused herds

If your herd is type/show‑oriented, and you’re willing to give up some TPI/NM$:

  • Keep TPI/NM$ leaders (Woodford/Jitters/Sheepster) as the core for commercial matings, but
  • On the top 5–10% of your best type cows and heifers, layer in:
    • High PTAT black‑and‑white bulls from the Holstein USA PTAT, April 2026 file for udders and frames. 
    • RC/R&W PTAT bulls like Sunquest Holy Crypto PP‑ET, Ruann Karat‑45955‑ET, or Redcarpet Story Arc‑ET on elite Red or RC families to upgrade type while maintaining some index. 
  • You gain +3.0 to +4.0 PTAT udders and frames, but you typically give up 150–200 TPI and several hundred NM$, so keep these matings targeted. 

Red & White focused herds.

If your herd prioritizes Red & White genetics:

  • Build your main Red program on Okafor‑Red, Athens‑Red, Ocean‑Red, Spirit‑Red, and similar high‑GTPI/NM$ R&W bulls from the Holstein USA GTPI R&W, April 2026 list. 
  • Introduce RC/RW PTAT sires only on your top R&W cows and heifers, where show/classification is the priority.
  • Watch bloodline stacking – spreading semen across Denovo, STgen, OCD, and Aprilday R&W bulls helps keep Captain/Trooper/Alta lines from becoming too dense in your Red base. 

30‑day action list

Within the next 30 days, for any USA Holstein program using TPI and NM$:

  1. Audit your sire list against movement
    1. Pull your current sire lineup and, using the December 2025 and April 2026 Holstein USA TPI lists, flag any proven bull that lost ≥80 TPI (e.g., Garza) and any that gained ≥80 TPI (e.g., Powerhouse). 
    1. Decide whether those “formula losers” still fit your herd’s fat vs protein economics and whether “formula winners” deserve a higher semen share.
  2. Check bloodline concentration
    1. Using the pedigrees in the April 2026 proven and genomic lists, highlight how many of your active bulls trace back to Captain, Trooper/Drive/Topdog, or AltaZazzle/AltaWheelhouse as sire or grandsire. 
    1. If a single line dominates, deliberately add a couple of strong non‑Captain/non‑Trooper bulls (e.g., Envy x Riveting like Elgin, Taos‑line bulls like Isaac) to create outcross options.
  3. Re‑tier your matings by risk.
    1. Re‑assign at least 60–70% of milk‑cow matings to proven bulls and the remaining 30–40% to genomics if your herd is risk‑averse; invert that on your top genomic heifers if you prioritize maximum genetic gain.
    1. Make sure each mating segment explicitly matches your herd’s economics (milk pricing, fat/protein premiums) and management style (grazing vs housed, robot vs parlor).

Key Takeaways:

  • The 24P:14F TPI 2026 protein flip turns Powerhouse (+119 TPI) into a proven winner and knocks fat-heavy bulls like Garza (−125 TPI) down a tier, so your semen mix needs a hard audit. 
  • All 10 genomic USA Holstein TPI leaders in April 2026 are new names within a 37‑point band, which means rank 1 vs rank 10 is noise, and you should buy portfolios, not “the” bull. 
  • Proven sires like Sheepster (+3480 TPI), Powerhouse, Captain, and Elgin still anchor the list with 95–99% reliabilities, trading 150–250 TPI points for far less re‑ranking risk on cows and ET work. 
  • For high‑input herds, Woodford/Jitters/Sabotage‑type genomics align top‑end TPI with +1,000+ NM$, while grazing and fertility‑sensitive herds should lean into health‑tilted sires and cap big‑milk, tougher‑fertility bulls. 
  • Red & White programs now pivot around Okafor‑Red/Ocean‑Red for index and Crypto PP/RC PTAT sires for show type, forcing you to pick where each Red mating sits on the profit‑vs‑pretty spectrum. 

Full Lists:

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UK April 2026 PLI Proofs: Lorenzo +874, Powerhouse #1 Proven – and Why Type Merit Shows Zero Overlap

Lorenzo just landed at +874 PLI while Powerhouse quietly took #1 proven — but the only bulls that balance PLI, TM, feet, and fertility are sitting well outside the headlines

Executive Summary: Lorenzo just landed at +874 PLI in the April 2026 UK run, while 70% of the genomic top 10 turned over, and not one of them appears in the TM genomic top 100. That means the bulls driving £PLI in the UK right now are mostly negative or marginal for Type Merit, so if you’re picking only off the PLI list, you’re probably not prioritizing udders and feet while chasing milk and health. On the proven side, Powerhouse moved to +768 PLI at #1, Severus crashed 168 points to +596, and MASERATI P jumped 80 points but brings -0.08 L&F, so some “safe” sires on old mating lists now look a lot riskier. The rare balanced sires — TROPHY at +769 PLI and +2.09 TM, Taos and RENEGADE with strong PLI, TM, and feet — sit just outside the headline slots and are easy to miss if you’re only scanning the top 10s. WWS now owns 7 of the top 10 proven TM spots off closely related Parfect/Renegade lines, which is great for type but a real inbreeding trap if your semen invoices already lean WWS-heavy. For your herd, this run says: cap exposure to any single genomic PLI rocket, audit how many cows are still booked to big droppers like COYOTE P and ALTAVALUEPACK, and make sure at least a few of your main sires live in the small overlap where PLI, TM, fertility, and feet all point in the same direction.

UK April 2026 PLI

Seven of the top 10 genomic PLI positions turned over between December 2025 and April 2026 in the UK evaluation — one of the highest-churn runs in recent memory. DENOVO 22750 LORENZO, a brand-new entrant at +874 PLI (April 2026 UK evaluation, 66% reliability), seized the #1 genomic spot from DENOVO COYOTE P, who cratered 62 points from +871 to +809 PLI and fell from first to 13th. Meanwhile, PEAK POWERHOUSE climbed to #1 daughter-proven at +768 PLI (April 2026 UK evaluation, 78% reliability), displacing OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER, who dropped 72 points.

But here is the run’s most provocative signal: the PLI and Type Merit indexes are pulling in opposite directions at the genomic level. Lorenzo’s +874 PLI comes with a -0.21 Type Merit. OCD MANNY, the new #1 Type Merit genomic bull at +2.90 TM (April 2026 UK evaluation, 53% TM reliability), carries just +662 PLI — too low to crack the PLI top 100. Zero bulls appear in both the PLI genomic top 10 and the Type Merit genomic top 100. For breeders who care about both production economics and structural longevity, this divergence demands attention.

What Changed at the PLI Genomic Top?

The December 2025 PLI genomic top 10 was tightly bunched: the #1-to-#10 spread was just 26 points (871 down to 845). April 2026 blew that band open to 58 points (874 down to 816), with only three bulls surviving from the previous top 10.

Rank (Apr 2026)BullPLI (Apr 2026, UK PLI)PLI (Dec 2025, UK PLI)ChangePLI RlbAI Company
1DENOVO 22750 LORENZO A2A2 KCBB874New—66%GEN
2PEAK ALTAROTATION A2A2 KCBB867New—66%ALT
3PEAK ALTAVAUGHN853New—66%ALT
4DENOVO 6856 HOTSHOT A2A2 KCBB846New—66%GEN
5GENOSOURCE JUDO A2A2 KCBB845New—66%CBL
6OCD SHEEPSTER MIKE828New—67%WWS
7ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL KCBB827860 (#6)-3367%SMX
8OCD THORSON RIPCORD A2A2822New—67%CBL
9DENOVO 20723 COLUMBIA A2A2 KCBB819864 (#4)-4566%GEN
10BADGER SIEMERS DAY TRIP816870 (#2)-5467%WWS

The three survivors all dropped: ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL fell 33 points, COLUMBIA lost 45, and DAY TRIP slid 54 points between December 2025 and April 2026. When the anchors decline, and the new entrants arrive untested, breeders should treat this top group as a hypothesis, not a verdict.

The Big Movers: Up, Down, and Out

Biggest Drops Inside the PLI Genomic Top 100

The most consequential movement happened outside the top 10. Several bulls that were generating heavy semen demand in late 2025 took significant hits:

BullDec 2025 Rank (UK PLI)Dec 2025 PLIApr 2026 Rank (UK PLI)Apr 2026 PLIChange
DENOVO COYOTE P A2A2187113809-62
PROGENESIS PRESTON A2A2386716805-62
PEAK ALTAVALUEPACK KCBB786049766-94
PEAK ALTAMAXIMINO KCBB1583292723-109
PEAK ALTAREGALCROWN31816Dropped out——
PEAK ALTACASANOVA72768Dropped out——

COYOTE P’s fall — from #1 at +871 PLI (December 2025 UK evaluation) to #13 at +809 PLI (April 2026 UK evaluation) — is a textbook reminder of what 66% reliability means in practice. Sixty-two points of movement in a single run. ALTAVALUEPACK’s 94-point decline from #7 to #49 is even sharper. ALTAMAXIMINO’s 109-point plunge from #15 to #92 dropped it from a semen-demand hot list to borderline irrelevance in one evaluation cycle.

Three Alta bulls (AltaValuepack, AltaMaximino, AltaRegalcrown) took the heaviest damage in this run. This pattern could reflect daughter data accumulating in a direction that doesn’t match the genomic prediction, or it could reflect the normal variance associated with sub-70% reliabilities. Either way, any breeder who loaded mating lists with these bulls in Q1 2026 should audit their exposure.

Risers to Watch

Not everything moved down. A few bulls that were already in the December 2025 list held their ground or entered with strong profiles:

  • PEAK ALTATALLTALE entered at #11 (+815 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation, 66% reliability) with a balanced TM of +0.54 and +0.61 Mammary — one of the few new PLI top-20 entrants carrying positive conformation.
  • DENOVO 20771 SEGMENT A2A2 held at #12 (+812 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation), essentially stable from December’s +844 at #11. A 32-point decline, but modest relative to the carnage around it.
  • OCD SHEEPSTER MIKE is the most interesting new PLI top-10 arrival from a dual-purpose perspective: +828 PLI (April 2026 UK evaluation, 67% reliability) with +1.16 TM, +0.83 Mammary, +1.66 Legs & Feet, and +1.59 Locomotion. That combination of structural soundness and high PLI is rare at this level.

What PLI Is Rewarding This Run

The April 2026 PLI genomic top group has tilted decisively toward production and health economics at the expense of conformation. Across the top 3 bulls:

  • Average Milk: +723 kg (Lorenzo +953, AltaRotation +745, AltaVaughn +471, April 2026 UK evaluation)
  • Average TM: -0.21 to +0.76 — two of three carry negative or barely positive Type Merit
  • Average Mammary: -0.14 to +0.54 — Lorenzo and AltaRotation both carry negative Mammary composites, AltaVaughn is modestly positive
  • Average Fertility Index: +137 to +174 — strong reproductive values for all three

Compare that to December 2025’s top 3 (Coyote P, Day Trip, Preston), which averaged +940 kg of Milk but carried modestly higher TM scores (+0.76, -0.40, +0.93, respectively, in the December 2025 UK evaluation). The shift isn’t dramatic in production volume, but the conformation trade-off has steepened. Lorenzo and AltaRotation both carry negative TM values (-0.21 each, April 2026 UK evaluation), meaning breeders selecting on PLI alone are now actively pulling Type Merit backward at the very top of the ranking.

The Legs & Feet and Locomotion picture has also shifted. Lorenzo carries +0.82 L&F and +0.86 Locomotion — adequate. AltaRotation carries just +0.08 L&F and +0.13 Locomotion. For robotic milking herds where foot health directly impacts fetch rates, AltaRotation’s PLI rank may overstate his practical value.

How Volatile Are the UK’s PLI Genomic Rankings Right Now?

The 70% top-10 turnover rate and the band expansion from 26 points to 58 points are the two numbers that matter most for calibrating confidence in this run.

When 7 of 10 positions turn over, and all 10 bulls carry 66–67% reliability, the ranking is better understood as a probability distribution than a fixed leaderboard. Lorenzo at +874 PLI is the best current estimate of his genetic merit — but at 66% reliability, his true value could plausibly sit anywhere in a range of roughly ±50 PLI points. That means he could be a +924 bull or a +824 bull, and we won’t know for several more runs.

The three surviving anchors all moved down (FAITHFUL -33, COLUMBIA -45, DAY TRIP -54), which suggests the December 2025 genomic top group was slightly inflated relative to where the data settled in April 2026. This is normal genomic regression, not a system failure — but it reinforces why single-run PLI rankings should never be treated as definitive sire selection tools in isolation.

Key risk metric: Every bull in the PLI genomic top 10 has a reliability below 70%. No exceptions. Treat accordingly.

Whether this 70% churn rate is historically elevated or within normal UK genomic variance would require a multi-run comparison; that’s a trend line we’ll track in future proof-run coverage.

ReliabilityExample BullsEstimated PLI RangePractical InterpretationSeason Strategy
50–60%OCD Manny TM (53%)±60+ ptsHypothesis, not a scoreMax 5% of matings
66–67%Lorenzo, AltaRotation, Hotshot±50 ptsGood guess, will moveMax 15–20% of matings
75–80%Powerhouse (78%), Sheepster DP (79%)±35 ptsSolidifyingUp to 25% of matings
85–90%Maserati P (89%), Graziano (88%)±20 ptsNearly finalRoutine use justified
95–99%Captain (98%), Renegade (98–99%)±8 ptsDone movingNo cap needed

PLI Daughter-Proven: Powerhouse Takes #1 as Sheepster and Severus Fall Hard

The daughter-proven PLI list tells a more stable story — but still contains surprises. Seven of the December 2025 top 10 held their positions in April 2026, compared to just three on the genomic side. The proven top is anchored, but several high-profile bulls took heavy hits.

Rank (Apr 2026)BullPLI (Apr 2026, UK PLI)PLI RlbPLI (Dec 2025, UK PLI)Dec RankChange
1PEAK POWERHOUSE A2A276878%746 (#3)3+22
2GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN A2A272698%696 (#7)7+30
3OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER71179%783 (#1)1-72
4SDG-PH DELUX DOMINANCE A2A269876%744 (#4)4-46
5PLAIN-KNOLL RENEGAD TROOPER67585%710 (#5)5-35
6WINSTAR GRAZIANO HH6C66988%694 (#8)8-25
7OCD DELUXE T REX A2A266675%704 (#6)6-38
8WINSTAR MASERATI P A2A2 POC66589%585 (#41)41+80
9COGENT KOEPON ROCKY HH6C66284%New to top 10——
10DENOVO 17121 SARGENT64986%New to top 10——

POWERHOUSE’s Rise to #1

PEAK POWERHOUSE gained 22 PLI points (+746 to +768, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation) while most of his proven peers declined. At 78% reliability, he’s building confidence with each run. His profile is high-production, moderate-type: +1,111 kg Milk, +0.07 Fat %, +0.11 Prot %, but just +0.17 TM (April 2026 UK evaluation). His Mammary (+0.14) and Legs & Feet (+0.27) are minimal — he’s a PLI-efficiency bull, not a dual-purpose one.

GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN: The Quiet Climber

CAPTAIN’s +30 PLI gain (696 to 726, December 2025 to April 2026) on 98% reliability is arguably the most trustworthy number in the entire UK evaluation right now. At near-maximum reliability, his ranking is essentially final. His profile is balanced: +973 kg Milk, +1.09 Mammary, +0.73 Legs & Feet, +1.07 Locomotion, and +0.91 TM (April 2026 UK evaluation). Not flashy, but the data is done moving.

The Big Proven Losers

The December 2025 #1 and #2 both fell hard:

  • OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER: -72 PLI (783 to 711, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation), #1 to #3. His TM actually improved slightly (+1.07 to +1.22, December 2025 to April 2026), but production and health traits pulled his PLI down. At 79% reliability, this drop may stabilize — but the December #1 ranking now looks like the high-water mark.
  • PEAK ALTASEVERUS: -168 PLI (764 to 596, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation), #2 to #22. This is the single largest PLI decline in the entire top group. ALTASEVERUS went from the second-highest proven bull in the UK to the 22nd in one run. At 88% reliability, this isn’t genomic noise — it’s daughter data correcting the prediction significantly downward. His TM moved from -2.64 (December 2025) to -2.53 (April 2026) — a marginal improvement but still deeply negative. Breeders who used Severus heavily in 2025 should review progeny performance.
  • PEAK ALTASOLACE: -111 PLI (683 to 572, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation), #9 to #32. Another Alta proven bull with a triple-digit decline.
  • ALL.NURE WENDAT: -112 PLI (678 to 566, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation), #10 to #35.

WINSTAR MASERATI P: The Biggest Proven Riser

MASERATI P surged 80 PLI points (585 to 665, December 2025 to April 2026 UK evaluation) to crack the top 10 at #8, jumping from #41 in December 2025. At 89% reliability, this gain carries weight. His profile is health-heavy: +0.38 SCC, +0.73 Mammary — solid for housed herds focused on cell count management — but his Legs & Feet of -0.08 is a red flag for any system where mobility matters. His TM of +0.55 and production of just +392 kg Milk mean he’s not a volume bull. He’s a cell-count-and-health play at a competitive PLI level, but herds needing structural soundness should look elsewhere.

Type Merit Genomic: OCD Manny Arrives at +2.90 TM — And the PLI Overlap Is Zero

The Type Merit genomic list runs on entirely different logic than PLI, and April 2026 makes that divergence impossible to ignore. OCD MANNY debuted at #1 with a +2.90 TM (53% TM reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation), the highest genomic Type Merit score in that evaluation. His PLI of +662 doesn’t appear in the PLI genomic top 100 (minimum threshold: +715 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation).

TM Genomic Top 10: April 2026 vs December 2025

Rank (Apr 2026)BullTM (Apr 2026, UK TM)TM (Dec 2025, UK TM)ChangePLI (Apr 2026, UK PLI)AI
1OCD MANNY2.90New—662SMX
2SYNERGY KICKSTART A2A2 KCBB2.752.93 (#1)-0.18426WWS
3NORTH-POLLED MAXUM-P RED A2A2 POC2.612.75 (#4)-0.14193SMX
4CLWCH RHAPSODY EX902.562.73 (#5)-0.1794UKD
5DG PHOENIX KCBB2.492.65 (#8)-0.16480CBL
6MYSTIQUE ANIMATION KCBB RDC2.462.75 (#3)-0.29385SMX
7WALNUTLAWN PG BENSON A2A22.452.66 (#7)-0.21148SMX
8COGENT DG ELBA2.44New to top 10—507ALT
9PROGENESIS KOMET2.402.49 (#14)-0.09305SMX
10STGEN PARFT ROSEVILLE2.392.60 (#10)-0.21456CBL

Every returning bull dropped TM this run — no exceptions among the seven anchors. SYNERGY KICKSTART fell from #1 at +2.93 TM to #2 at +2.75, a -0.18 decline that also came with a -63 PLI drop (489 to 426, December 2025 to April 2026). MYSTIQUE ANIMATION took the steepest hit: -0.29 TM (2.75 to 2.46) and -75 PLI (460 to 385).

Three bulls exited the top 10. SHELAND PARFECT LOCK transitioned from the genomic TM list (#2 at +2.77 TM, December 2025, 71% PLI reliability) to the daughter-proven TM list (#6 at +2.42 TM, April 2026, 91% PLI reliability). His TM dropped 0.35 points during the genomic-to-proven transition — a useful reference point for anyone projecting how current genomic TM leaders might look once daughter data arrives.

What the TM Top Group Looks Like

The TM genomic top 10 is a conformation-first population. Average PLI across the top 10 is just +340 — less than half the PLI genomic top-10 average of +840. Five of the top 10 carry PLI below +400. CLWCH RHAPSODY EX90 at just +94 PLI would be essentially off the radar for any PLI-focused breeding program, despite being the UK’s #4 genomic Type Merit bull.

Mammary composites run high: OCD MANNY +2.99 MAM, MYSTIQUE ANIMATION +2.71, WALNUTLAWN PG BENSON +2.29 (April 2026 UK evaluation). Legs & Feet are likewise elevated, with MANNY at +1.73 L&F and BENSON at +2.16. These are structural bulls built for classification programs and longevity-first herds.

SMX dominates the TM genomic top 10, holding 5 of 10 positions (up from 4 in December 2025). CBL holds 2, with WWS, UKD, and ALT each at 1.

Type Merit Daughter-Proven: Rimrock Takes #1 as WWS Locks Down 7 of 10 Spots

The Type Merit daughter-proven list saw dramatic reshuffling. BOMAZ RIMROCK RDC, a GEN bull, rose to #1 at +2.88 TM (89% TM reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation). He was #20 in December 2025 at +2.33 TM — a gain of +0.55 TM points as daughter data accumulated.

The December 2025 TM DP #1, SANDY-VALLEY ESQUIRE (+3.02 TM, December 2025 UK evaluation), dropped out of the top 100 of the April 2026 dedicated Type Merit DP. AOT HAMPSHIRE, December’s #2 at +3.00 TM, fell to #3 at +2.63 TM (-0.37). SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT slipped from #3 at +2.97 to #2 at +2.74 (-0.23 TM).

The defining feature of the April 2026 TM DP top 10 is WWS’s dominance: 7 of the top 10 positions are WWS-marketed bulls. Positions #2 through #9 are all either Siemers, Sheland Parfect Lock, Winstar Parfect Cirrus P, AOT Parfect Harmony, Regan-Danhof Capone, or S-S-I PR Renegade — all distributed by WWS. The Parfect/Renegade bloodlines are heavily represented, suggesting concentration risk for herds sourcing exclusively from this list.

LEANINGHOUSE TAOS, at #13 on the TM DP list (+1.98 TM, 95% TM reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation) and #15 on the PLI DP list (+613 PLI, 96% reliability, April 2026), is one of the few daughter-proven bulls that appears near the top of both rankings — a genuine dual-index performer with the reliability to back it up.

The Cross-Index Divergence: PLI and Type Merit Are Selecting for Different Animals

This is the structural story of the April 2026 UK evaluation, and it warrants explicit treatment.

Genomic: Zero Overlap

Not a single bull in the PLI genomic top 10 appears in the Type Merit genomic top 100. Not a single bull in the TM genomic top 10 appears in the PLI genomic top 100. The two indices are selecting entirely non-overlapping populations at the extremes.

PLI Genomic #1 (Apr 2026 UK PLI)TM Genomic #1 (Apr 2026 UK TM)
DENOVO LORENZO: +874 PLI, -0.21 TMOCD MANNY: +2.90 TM, +662 PLI
Production-first, negative conformationConformation-first, moderate production
66% PLI reliability53% TM reliability
GENSMX

The best cross-index genomic performer in the April 2026 evaluation is TROPHY A2A2 (+769 PLI at genomic rank #46, +2.09 TM at TM rank #29, April 2026 UK evaluation). He carries +504 kg Milk, +2.54 Mammary, +2.04 Legs & Feet, +2.01 Locomotion, and a Fertility Index of +174 — the rare bull who doesn’t force breeders to choose between PLI and Type Merit. His AI company, SYN, may limit availability in some markets.

BEYOND HI-PACE (+722 PLI at #93, +1.93 TM at #39, April 2026 UK evaluation) is another dual-index bull with +1.35 Mammary, +1.01 L&F, and +0.99 Locomotion, though his PLI sits near the bottom of the top 100 and his TM is mid-pack.

BullPLI RankPLI (£)TM RankTM ScoreMilk (kg)MammaryL&FLocomotionFertilityReliability
TROPHY A2A2#46 Genomic769#29 Genomic+2.09+504+2.54+2.04+2.01+17466% PLI
Sheepster Mike#6 Genomic828Top 100+1.16n/a+0.83+1.66+1.59n/a67% PLI
Beyond Faithful#7 Genomic827Top 100+1.23n/a+1.50+0.63+0.73n/a67% PLI
LEANINGHOUSE TAOS#15 Proven613#13 Proven+1.98+896+1.79+2.42+2.87n/a96% PLI
S-S-I PR RENEGADE#27 Proven583#9 Proven+2.25n/a+1.54+2.41+2.81n/a98% PLI
Beyond Hi-Pace#93 Genomic722#39 Genomic+1.93n/a+1.35+1.01+0.99n/a66% PLI

Daughter-Proven: Slightly More Overlap, But Still Divergent

At the proven level, the gap narrows slightly:

  • LEANINGHOUSE TAOS: PLI DP #15 (+613 PLI, 96% reliability), TM DP #13 (+1.98 TM, 95% reliability), April 2026 UK evaluation. The most balanced proven bull in the UK system right now. His +1.79 Mammary, +2.42 Legs & Feet, and +2.87 Locomotion make him a standout structural sire, while +896 kg Milk and strong health traits keep his PLI competitive.
  • S-S-I PR RENEGADE: PLI DP #27 (+583 PLI, 98% reliability), TM DP #9 (+2.25 TM, 99% reliability), April 2026 UK evaluation. Near-maximum reliability on both indexes. His +1.54 Mammary, +2.41 L&F, and +2.81 Locomotion are elite linear scores with legitimate PLI backing.
  • PEAK POWERHOUSE (PLI DP #1, +768 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation) carries just +0.17 TM — not in the TM DP top 100.
  • BOMAZ RIMROCK RDC (TM DP #1, +2.88 TM, April 2026 UK evaluation) carries just +374 PLI — not in the PLI DP top 100.

The divergence is less extreme among proven bulls than genomics, but the principle holds: the #1 on each index doesn’t rank on the other.

AI Companies and Bloodlines: Who Owns the Top and What Changed

PLI Genomic Top 10

AI CompanyDec 2025 Top 10 (UK PLI YG)Apr 2026 Top 10 (UK PLI YG)Direction
GEN53↓
SMX21↓
ALT22—
CBL02↑
WWS12↑

GEN’s December dominance (5 of 10) contracted to 3 of 10 in April. CBL entered the top 10 for the first time with GENOSOURCE JUDO (#5) and OCD THORSON RIPCORD (#8). ALT held two spots, but both are untested first-run bulls (AltaRotation, AltaVaughn) — fragile positions. WWS gained through OCD SHEEPSTER MIKE and BADGER SIEMERS DAY TRIP.

PLI Daughter-Proven Top 10

The proven list is more diversified: WWS (3), CBL (2), GEN (2), UKD (1), SMX (1), ALT (0 — a notable absence from the proven top 10 given Alta’s heavy genomic marketing).

Type Merit Genomic Top 10

SMX dominates with 5 of 10 positions. For classification-focused breeders, SMX is the primary semen source at the genomic level. CBL holds 2 spots.

Type Merit Daughter-Proven Top 10

WWS controls 7 of 10 positions — the most concentrated company share across any of the four rankings. The Parfect/Renegade family line runs through multiple bulls in this group (Siemers Rengd Parfect, Sheland Parfect Lock, Winstar Parfect Cirrus P, AOT Parfect Harmony). Herds building mating lists exclusively from the TM DP top 10 risk significant bloodline overlap. Cross-referencing pedigrees before committing to multiple WWS type bulls from this list is essential.

What This Means for Your Matings This Season

For Housed, High-Input Herds Prioritizing PLI

If your breeding goal is maximum economic index in a housed TMR system, LORENZO (+874 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation), ALTAROTATION (+867 PLI), and HOTSHOT (+846 PLI) sit at the top — but all carry 66% reliability and negative or barely positive TM. Use them as part of a diversified sire portfolio, not as blanket picks. Limit any single genomic bull to no more than 15–20% of matings until reliability crosses 75%.

If you want PLI with proven confidence, GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN (+726 PLI, 98% reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation) is the safest bet in the entire UK evaluation. His numbers aren’t moving. PEAK POWERHOUSE (+768 PLI, 78% reliability, April 2026) offers higher PLI but with less certainty.

For Grazing and Lower-Input Systems

Grazing herds that need moderate production with strong fertility and structural soundness should look at TROPHY A2A2 (+769 PLI, +2.09 TM, Fertility Index +174, +2.54 Mammary, +2.04 L&F, +2.01 Locomotion, April 2026 UK evaluation). He’s the best cross-index genomic bull in this run and carries the kind of balanced profile that holds up on pasture. His SYN distribution may require proactive sourcing.

At the proven level, LEANINGHOUSE TAOS (+613 PLI, +1.98 TM, 96% PLI reliability, 95% TM reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation) is the standout. His daughter’s proof is essentially confirmed, his Legs & Feet (+2.42) and Locomotion (+2.87) are outstanding for grazing longevity, and his +1.79 Mammary supports functional udder quality alongside +896 kg Milk.

For Robotic Milking Herds

BullPLI (£)TMMammaryL&FLocomotionPLI RlbBest Use
S-S-I PR RENEGADE583+2.25+1.54+2.41+2.8198%Elite foot/leg certainty
LEANINGHOUSE TAOS613+1.98+1.79+2.42+2.8796%Best overall balance, proven
SHEEPSTER MIKE828+1.16+0.83+1.66+1.5967%Highest PLI + structural genomic
BEYOND FAITHFUL827+1.23+1.50+0.63+0.7367%PLI + udder; weaker feet
GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN726+0.91+1.09+0.73+1.0798%Proven, balanced, stable
PEAK POWERHOUSE768+0.17 ⚠️+0.14 ⚠️+0.27 ⚠️n/a78%PLI leader only; not a robot pick
MASERATI P665+0.55+0.73-0.08⚠️n/a89%Cell count bull; avoid on mobility herds
LORENZO874-0.21 ⚠️-0.14 ⚠️+0.82+0.8666%PLI rocket; structural cost
ALTAROTATION867-0.21 ⚠️-0.14 ⚠️+0.08⚠️+0.13 ⚠️66%Worst feet in PLI top 3 for robots

If you’re running robots, screen for Mammary and Legs & Feet first, PLI second. OCD SHEEPSTER MIKE (+828 PLI, +1.16 TM, +0.83 Mammary, +1.66 L&F, +1.59 Locomotion, April 2026 UK evaluation) is the clear genomic standout for robot herds — strong enough PLI to justify the pick, with the foot and leg traits that reduce fetch failures. His Mammary at +0.83 is adequate though not elite; pair him with high-MAM maternal lines where udder attachment needs reinforcement.

If your herd’s primary bottleneck is udder conformation rather than locomotion, ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL(+827 PLI, +1.23 TM, +1.50 Mammary, +0.63 L&F, +0.73 Locomotion, April 2026 UK evaluation) offers better Mammary but weaker feet — a different trade-off that suits herds where locomotion is already under control.

Among proven bulls, S-S-I PR RENEGADE (+583 PLI, +2.25 TM, 98% PLI reliability, +1.54 Mammary, +2.41 L&F, +2.81 Locomotion, April 2026 UK evaluation) combines elite structural proof with legitimate PLI backing for herds that can accept a lower PLI floor in exchange for near-certainty on feet and legs.

For Type and Classification Programs

If your primary goal is classification and a show-oriented type while keeping PLI respectable, OCD MANNY (+2.90 TM, +662 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation) is the genomic TM leader but comes with a PLI trade-off compared with the extreme PLI bulls. His +2.99 Mammary is the highest in the TM top 10. Use him for targeted structural matings, not as a universal sire of sons.

If your herd needs type but can’t give up too much PLI, SYNERGY KICKSTART (+2.75 TM, +426 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation) is the second-highest genomic TM bull, but his PLI of +426 is a substantial economic penalty. Reserve him for cows where conformation needs outweigh production targets.

At the proven level, BOMAZ RIMROCK RDC (+2.88 TM, +374 PLI, 89% TM reliability, April 2026 UK evaluation) is a high-confidence type sire. His Red Carrier status opens crossbreeding flexibility. SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT(+2.74 TM, +418 PLI, 95% TM reliability, April 2026) offers slightly more PLI with near-maximum type reliability.

For Beef-on-Dairy Cull Programs

If you’re using beef-on-dairy on the bottom of your herd, you want the remaining dairy matings concentrated on the highest-PLI or highest-TM bulls appropriate to your goals — and aligned with this run’s data. Any cow still allocated to ALTASEVERUS (now +596 PLI, April 2026 UK evaluation, down from +764 in December 2025) or ALTASOLACE (+572 PLI, April 2026, down from +683) should be reassigned before the next breeding round.

30-Day Action Item

Pull your current UK mating list and cross-check every sire against the April 2026 PLI and Type Merit rankings. Specifically:

  1. Flag any bull that dropped >50 PLI points this run — particularly COYOTE P (-62), PRESTON (-62), ALTAVALUEPACK (-94), and ALTAMAXIMINO (-109). Review remaining inventory allocation before your next mating cycle.
  2. Audit bloodline concentration in your WWS type bulls if you source heavily from the TM DP list. Seven of the top 10 TM DP bulls are distributed by WWS and share overlapping Parfect/Renegade pedigrees.
  3. Rebalance your PLI-to-TM mix. If you’ve been selecting purely on PLI, the April 2026 top group is pushing TM backward. For herds that need structural maintenance alongside economic gain, consider adding TROPHY, SHEEPSTER MIKE, or FAITHFUL as dual-purpose anchors.

Key Takeaways:

  • Lorenzo debuts at +874 PLI and drives a 70% turnover in the UK genomic top 10, but none of those bulls make the TM genomic top 100, so pure-PLI selection now pushes type backward.
  • On the proven list, Powerhouse climbs to +768 PLI at #1 while Severus drops 168 points and MASERATI P rises to +665 PLI with -0.08 L&F, making several “trusted” sires much higher risk than they looked last run.
  • The best all‑rounders sit off the front page: TROPHY (+769 PLI, +2.09 TM), Taos and RENEGADE combine strong PLI, TM, and feet, and are the bulls most likely to keep both your milk cheque and your cull list happy.
  • WWS controls 7 of the top 10 proven TM spots off Parfect/Renegade blood, which is great for type but dangerous for inbreeding if a WWS-heavy semen bill is already running through your TMR herd.
  • Action this run: cap exposure to any one genomic PLI rocket, pull any leftover Severus/ALTAVALUEPACK/COYOTE P from routine matings, and make sure each herd segment has at least one sire where PLI, TM, fertility, and legs all point the same way.

Full Lists:

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April 2026 Canada Holstein LPI & Pro$ -PARFECT Takes #1 from ROZLINE as ROZLINE Loses 626 Pro$ and PATTERN Drops 237

The Pro$ ceiling dropped ~250 points for most top bulls. If your sire lineup hasn’t changed since December, your income math has.

Executive Summary: ROZLINE just lost 626 Canada Pro$ in one run (from +2664 in December 2025 to +2038 in April 2026), while PARFECT quietly gained 58 Canada LPI points to take #1 at +3914. PATTERN stays #1 on Canada Pro$ at +2974 but gives back 237 Pro$, and CABO trims 231 Pro$ to sit at +2877, which means the Pro$ ceiling on proven sires dropped ~200–250 points for most front‑end bulls. That’s a different risk picture if you’re budgeting semen off last run’s income numbers or counting on single‑bull exposure to carry your Pro$ average. The daughter‑proven LPI and Pro$ top 10s are still anchored by many of the same names, but the big Pro$ hits to ROZLINE and GRAZIANO and the new arrival of POWERSTAR at +2854 Pro$ show how quickly “go‑to” bulls can be repriced. Genomic GPA LPI and GPA Pro$ lists remain volatile, with new bulls rotating through the top 10, so stacking too many matings on a couple of young sires is still a higher‑beta play. If your herd prioritizes income, robot‑friendly type, or inbreeding control, this run gives you clear signals on which proven sires to keep as anchors, which to demote to niche roles, and where Red/polled or alternative‑family outcrosses can keep your milk cheque and future mating options safer.

In the April 2026 Canada Holstein proof run, SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT‑ET moves to #1 on Canada LPI at +3914 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) after sitting at +3856 and #5 in December 2025 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025). At the same time, PROGENESIS PATTERN stays #1 on Canada Pro$ at +2974 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) but drops 237 Pro$ from +3211 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025). The bigger hit belongs to SIEMERS RENEGADE ROZLINE‑ET: he falls from +2664 to +2038 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025 vs April 2026), a −626 Pro$ change, and from +3947 to +3810 on Canada LPI, sliding from #1 to #9 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025 vs April 2026).

For elite breeders and AI programs, this April 2026 Canada Holstein run matters because it compresses the top of both Canada LPI and Pro$ rankings, trims the income ceiling on several headline bulls, and shifts which sires you should treat as portfolio anchors vs. specialists over the next 6–12 months. The daughter‑proven front edge looks more stable than the genomic lists, but the magnitude and pattern of Pro$ changes still carry real implications for how you weight income vs type at the very top.

What Changed at the Top?

On the daughter‑proven side, SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT‑ET moves from +3856 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #5) to +3914 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #1), gaining 58 LPI and jumping four spots. STANTONS REMOVER PP moves from +3831 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #9) to +3873 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #2), a +42 LPI move that pushes him into the top pair. December 2025’s #1, SIEMERS RENEGADE ROZLINE‑ET, drops from +3947 to +3810 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025 vs April 2026), losing 137 LPI and landing at #9 in April 2026.

PEAK ALTAINSCAPE‑ET shifts from +3897 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #2) to +3829 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #7), −68 LPI, and WINSTAR MELBY‑P‑ET moves out of the April 2026 LPI top 10 from +3838 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #7 tied), though he remains in the top 100. Overall, roughly seven of the December 2025 Canada Holstein LPI top 10 still sit in or immediately around the top 10 in April 2026, with 3–4 bulls rotating in and out.

On Canada Pro$, PROGENESIS PATTERN holds #1 but drops from +3211 to +2974 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025 vs April 2026), a −237 Pro$ change. DENOVO 16034 CABO‑ET stays #2 but falls from +3108 to +2877 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025 vs April 2026), −231 Pro$. A new face, PEAK POWERSTAR‑ET, appears at +2854 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #3) after not featuring in the December 2025 Pro$ top 100, while December 2025’s #3, WINSTAR GRAZIANO‑ET, drops from +3099 to +2655 and from #3 to #81 tied (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025 vs April 2026).

The headline shift is clear: the LPI front is reshuffled but still anchored by broadly similar bulls, while the Pro$ ceiling has been lowered by roughly 200–250 points for most top‑end sires, with ROZLINE and GRAZIANO seeing much larger income hits.

The Big Movers: Up, Down, and Out

Key Movers Table — Canada Holstein LPI & Pro$ (Daughter-Proven)

BullIndexDec 2025 (Canada, date)Apr 2026 (Canada, date)Change (Apr – Dec)
SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT‑ETLPI+3856 (LPI, Dec 2025)+3914 (LPI, Apr 2026)+58
SIEMERS RENEGADE ROZLINE‑ETLPI+3947 (LPI, Dec 2025)+3810 (LPI, Apr 2026)−137
PROGENESIS PATTERNPro$+3211 (Pro$, Dec 2025)+2974 (Pro$, Apr 2026)−237
DENOVO 16034 CABO‑ETPro$+3108 (Pro$, Dec 2025)+2877 (Pro$, Apr 2026)−231
WINSTAR GRAZIANO‑ETPro$+3099 (Pro$, Dec 2025)+2655 (Pro$, Apr 2026)−444
SIEMERS RENEGADE ROZLINE‑ETPro$+2664 (Pro$, Dec 2025)+2038 (Pro$, Apr 2026)−626
PEAK POWERSTAR‑ETPro$— (not top 100 Pro$, Dec 2025)+2854 (Pro$, Apr 2026)New entrant

Data: December 2025 and April 2026 Canada Holstein LPI and Pro$ lists.

Climbers

SIEMERS RENGD PARFECT‑ET

  • LPI: +3856 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #5) → +3914 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #1), +58 LPI.
  • Pro$: +2374 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025) → +2226 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026), −148 Pro$.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +894 Milk, +85 Fat, +57 Protein, +0.39%F, +0.19%P, +10 Conf, MS +4, FL +15, DS +7, HL 106 (Canada Holstein LPI & Conformation, April 2026).
  • Role: daughter‑proven, high‑type, balanced‑components LPI anchor for programs that want type and functional production and can live with mid‑band Pro$.

STANTONS REMOVER PP

  • LPI: +3831 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #9) → +3873 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #2), +42 LPI.
  • Pro$: +3070 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025, rank #4) → +2771 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #8), −299 Pro$.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +1793 Milk, +113 Fat, +81 Protein, +0.36%F, +0.23%P, +8 Conf, MS +5, FL +9, DS +2, HL 108 (Canada Holstein LPI & Conformation, April 2026).
  • Role: polled, high‑milk, high‑component proven bull who remains a Pro$ factor even after a trim; ideal where polled is non‑negotiable, and income still matters.

PEAK POWERSTAR‑ET

  • Pro$: not in December 2025 Canada Holstein Pro$ top 100 → +2854 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #3), new entrant.
  • LPI: +3406 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026).
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +695 Milk, +109 Fat, +72 Protein, +0.55%F, +0.29%P, +4 Conf, HL 105, DCA 104 (Canada Holstein Pro$ & LPI, April 2026).
  • Role: daughter‑proven Pro$ newcomer with components, decent type and health, suited as an income sire with workable conformation.

Droppers

SIEMERS RENEGADE ROZLINE‑ET

  • LPI: +3947 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #1) → +3810 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #9), −137 LPI.
  • Pro$: +2664 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025) → +2038 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026), −626 Pro$.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +852 Milk, +85 Fat, +52 Protein, +0.47%F, +0.18%P, +16 Conf, MS +9, FL +9, DS +13 (Canada Holstein LPI & Conformation, April 2026).
  • Role: now a specialist type bull with strong components; better reserved for type/show and high‑type cow families than for pure income roles.

PROGENESIS PATTERN

  • Pro$: +3211 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025, rank #1) → +2974 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #1), −237 Pro$.
  • LPI: +3829 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #10) → +3766 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #15), −63 LPI.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +1199 Milk, +106 Fat, +71 Protein, +0.47%F, +0.23%P, +3 Conf, HL 108, DCA 104.
  • Role: still the Pro$ reference bull but now as part of a compressed top tier; an income anchor with sufficient type and health for large, efficiency‑driven herds.

DENOVO 16034 CABO‑ET

  • Pro$: +3108 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025, rank #2) → +2877 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #2), −231 Pro$.
  • LPI: +3707 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #33) → +3611 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #32), −96 LPI.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +685 Milk, +117 Fat, +73 Protein, +0.56%F, +0.27%P, 0 Conf.
  • Role: a fat‑driven Pro$ sire with modest type; still high‑band for income but now more clearly a components specialist.

WINSTAR GRAZIANO‑ET

  • Pro$: +3099 (Canada Holstein Pro$, December 2025, rank #3) → +2655 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026, rank #81 tied), −444 Pro$.
  • LPI: +3707 (Canada Holstein LPI, December 2025, rank #33) → +3564 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026, rank #56), −143 LPI.
  • Trait profile (April 2026): +683 Milk, +125 Fat, +47 Protein, +1.33%F, +0.58%P, 0 Conf, HL 104, DCA 104.
  • Role: still attractive where very high fat % and good management traits are prioritized; no longer a top‑band Pro$ pick for general use.

What Canada LPI and Pro$ Are Rewarding This Run

The April 2026 Canada Holstein LPI top group is rewarding production and components with strong, but not necessarily extreme, type. PARFECT at +3914 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) shows +894 Milk, +85 Fat, +57 Protein, +0.39%F, +0.19%P, +10 Conf, MS +4, FL +15, DS +7 — a balanced yield and type profile. STANTONS REMOVER PP at +3873 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) pushes more volume with +1793 Milk, +113 Fat, +81 Protein, +0.36%F, +0.23%P, +8 Conf, MS +5, FL +9. DUCKETT PFCT HAS IT ALL‑ET at +3843 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) runs +2294 Milk, +52 Fat, +65 Protein, +0.30%F, +0.10%P, +15 Conf, MS +10, FL +10, DS +16, clearly prioritizing volume and show‑type.

On Canada Pro$, April 2026 favors bulls that convert fat and protein into net income with a solid, workmanlike type. PATTERN at +2974 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) sits at +1199 Milk, +106 Fat, +71 Protein, +0.47%F, +0.23%P, +3 Conf, HL 108, DCA 104. CABO at +2877 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) is +685 Milk, +117 Fat, +73 Protein, +0.56%F, +0.27%P, 0 Conf. POWERSTAR at +2854 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) combines +695 Milk, +109 Fat, +72 Protein, +0.55%F, +0.29%P, +4 Conf, HL 105, DCA 104.

Three contrasting case studies spell out the trade‑offs:

  • PAZZLE (SIEMERS RZ PAZZLE 34954‑ET)
    +3810 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026), +2038 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026), +16 Conf.
    +191 Milk, +145 Fat, +34 Protein, +1.16%F, +0.23%P, MS +5, FL +13, DS +16.
    Trade‑off: extreme type and fat %, solid but mid‑band Pro$ — excellent for show‑leaning programs that still care about components.
  • DUCKETT PFCT HAS IT ALL‑ET
    +3843 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026), +1960 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026), +15 Conf.
    +2294 Milk with moderate components and strong MS/FL — big‑volume, high‑type, mid‑Pro$.
    Trade‑off: ideal for herds that monetize type and pedigree; less suited as a primary income sire.
  • PROGENESIS PATTERN
    +2974 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026), +3766 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026), +3 Conf.
    +1199 Milk, +106 Fat, +71 Protein, strong health composite.
    Trade‑off: less eye‑catching than the extreme type bulls, but a more efficient income engine for commercial‑style and large herds.

In short, April 2026 Canada LPI still pays strongly for type and functional conformation when coupled with components, while Canada Pro$ is unforgiving about the income math and will only carry high‑type bulls when their fat/protein profiles justify it.

Stud Power, Family Power, and Outcross Space

AI stud codes in the April 2026 Canada Holstein lists show a familiar pattern. Semex 200 code bulls (PROGENESIS PATTERN, PROGENESIS MONTREAL, PROGENESIS MONTEVERDI, PROGENESIS PRAGMATIC, and others) occupy multiple slots in both the LPI and Pro$ top 100 lists. Codes 0007, 0011, and 0029 (Select, Alta/Peak, and related groups) are also heavily represented: PEAK ALTAINSCAPE‑ET, PEAK ALTACRAZE‑ET, PEAK ALTAHOTHAND‑ET, PEAK POWERSTAR‑ET, and a large set of genomic BEYOND/SHEEPSTER and Rosemary‑line bulls lead the young‑sire lists.

Bloodline concentration is particularly evident in the top 100 genomic by GPA LPI and GPA Pro$. SIEMERS SSI ROSMRY TONKS‑ET leads GPA LPI at +4179 in April 2026 (Canada Holstein GPA LPI, April 2026), with several other Rosemary‑line sires close behind. On GPA Pro$, SIEMERS RIM COBOT‑ET at +3755 and KENYON‑HILL OLYOP‑ET at +3732 (Canada Holstein GPA Pro$, April 2026) again tie back into a handful of sire stacks.

Within the daughter‑proven lists, genuine outcross space still exists:

  • DROUNER KL AUGUSTUS P RED at +3786 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) and +2145 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) brings a Dutch Red, polled, alternative pedigree into the top 100.
  • KOEPON OH ROBIN RED at +3576 (Canada Holstein LPI, April 2026) and +2302 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) offers another competitive Red option with different bloodlines from the main Renegade/Parfect and BEYOND/SHEEPSTER clusters.

For ET and AI programs heavily invested in Renegade/Parfect, BEYOND, and related families, these Red and polled proven bulls — plus a handful of non‑cluster foreign codes — are where the practical outcross opportunities live, even if they sit 1–2 index tiers below the absolute top of LPI or a couple hundred Pro$ points below PATTERN/CABO.

How Volatile Are Canada’s LPI and Pro$ Rankings Right Now?

Between December 2025 and April 2026, the daughter‑proven Canada Holstein LPI and Pro$ lists show more compression than chaos. Around seven of the December 2025 LPI top‑10 bulls remain in or near the top 10 in April 2026, and a similar proportion holds for Pro$, with PATTERN, CABO, REMOVER PP, ALTAHOTHAND‑ET, and others still occupying high ranks despite level changes. The top‑end Pro$ bulls mostly lose 200–250 points (PATTERN −237 Pro$, CABO −231 Pro$, ALTAINSCAPE −245 Pro$), while ROZLINE and GRAZIANO see much larger drops (−626 and −444 Pro$ respectively).

Reliabilities for these leading daughter‑proven sires are high and in the mid‑ to high‑90s for production and conformation in both runs, as shown in the official lists. For bulls like PATTERN, PARFECT, CABO, REMOVER PP, ALTAINSCAPE, and GRAZIANO, these shifts are less about sampling noise and more about model and economic rebalancing across traits. That’s important: a 200‑point Pro$ or 60‑point LPI change signals a reset in how the index values their trait mix, but it doesn’t make existing daughters suddenly “wrong.”

The genomic lists are more volatile. OCD MILAN‑ET at +4137 (Canada Holstein GPA LPI, December 2025) gives way to SIEMERS SSI ROSMRY TONKS‑ET at +4179 (Canada Holstein GPA LPI, April 2026), with several bulls rotating in and out of the top 10. On GPA Pro$, PEAK ALTAPURPOSE‑ET at +3947 (Canada Holstein GPA Pro$, December 2025) is replaced by SIEMERS RIM COBOT‑ET at +3755 and a different mix of bulls in the +3700–3800 band (Canada Holstein GPA Pro$, April 2026). With no or very few Canadian daughters behind these bulls, this volatility is precisely the risk premium you should expect from genomic evaluations.

For portfolio planning, treat the daughter‑proven LPI and Pro$ front edge as relatively stable anchors and the genomic lists as higher‑beta tools where you spread risk across several bulls rather than betting heavily on any single name.

What This Means for Your Matings This Season

This is the section where April 2026 turns into decisions.

High-Input, Housed, Income-Driven Herds

If your herd prioritizes net income per cow in high‑input, housed systems, your starting point is Canada Holstein Pro$.

  • If your herd prioritizes maximum Pro$ with solid type, keep PROGENESIS PATTERN (+2974, Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) and DENOVO 16034 CABO‑ET (+2877, Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) as key anchors, and add PEAK POWERSTAR‑ET (+2854, Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026) as a new proven income sire.
  • If your herd already relies on bulls that lost >250 Pro$ — ROZLINE (−626), GRAZIANO (−444), REMOVER PP (−299), ALTAINSCAPE (−245) — keep using them, but narrow them to matings where their specific strengths (type, fat %, polled, or other traits) justify the reduced Pro$.

Within 30 days, pull your active service list and flag every bull that dropped more than 250 Canada Holstein Pro$ between December 2025 and April 2026; for each, decide whether he remains a mainline income sire or becomes a targeted, trait‑specific option.

Robot Herds and Udder/Feet Priority

If your herd is on robots or runs high milking frequency with tight udder/feet requirements, you’ll put more weight on Canada Holstein LPI and Conformation.

  • If your herd prioritizes functional type with good components, look hard at PARFECT (+3914 LPI, +10 Conf, Canada Holstein LPI & Conformation, April 2026) and ALTAHOTHAND‑ET (+3853 LPI, +10 Conf, MS +7, FL +10, Canada Holstein LPI & Conformation, April 2026) as daughter‑proven anchors.
  • If your herd wants type with enough Pro$ to keep the accountant calm, PAZZLE (+3810 LPI, +2038 Pro$, +16 Conf) and HAS IT ALL (+3843 LPI, +1960 Pro$, +15 Conf) give you show‑influenced cows that still rank decently on Pro$.

Be cautious using low‑Conf, low‑MS bulls as day‑to‑day sires in robot herds, even when they’re high on Pro$. PATTERN, CABO, and POWERSTAR are all safe on that front; some other high‑Pro$ bulls are not.

Type/Show-Focused Programs

If you live off classification sheets, sales, and show results, this run confirms that the Canada Holstein Conformation list is stable and well-stocked.

  • If your herd prioritizes maximum Conformation, bulls like MATTENHOF HARRIS (+18 Conf, +278 Pro$, Canada Holstein Conformation & Pro$, April 2026), SWEETVIEW GRINCH P (+17 Conf), HAS IT ALL (+15 Conf), and PAZZLE (+16 Conf) remain prime options.
  • If your herd wants show‑type without walking away from income, focus your main matings on bulls that pair high Conf with Pro$ north of +1900 — again, PAZZLE and HAS IT ALL are prime examples — and reserve lower‑Pro$ extreme type sires for donors and best cow families.

Avoid treating ROZLINE as a top‑end Pro$ sire after his drop to +2038 (Canada Holstein Pro$, April 2026); he now fits best as a type and components tool.

Inbreeding-Sensitive ET Programs and Outcross Management

If your ET work already stacks Renegade/Parfect, BEYOND, SHEEPSTER, and Rosemary‑line bulls, the April 2026 lists are a reminder that the top of Canada Holstein LPI, Pro$, GPA LPI, and GPA Pro$ is heavily concentrated around a few families.

  • If your herd prioritizes inbreeding control, deliberately work bulls like DROUNER KL AUGUSTUS P RED (+3786 LPI, +2145 Pro$, Canada Holstein LPI & Pro$, April 2026) and KOEPON OH ROBIN RED (+3576 LPI, +2302 Pro$, Canada Holstein LPI & Pro$, April 2026) into donor matings as Red, alternative‑family outcrosses.
  • If your ET program leans heavily on a handful of genomic GPA LPI or GPA Pro$ bulls sharing similar sires and grandsires, spread risk by adding slightly lower‑ranked genomic sires with less pedigree overlap, even if their GPA LPI or GPA Pro$ is 50–100 points lower.

Within 30 days, run a quick pedigree audit on your donors against your top five service sires; any donor‑sire combination that repeats the same 2–3 sires or grandsires on both sides should have at least one Red or alternative‑family option added to the mating plan.

Genomic-Heavy Portfolios (Studs and Large Herds)

If your program leans heavily on genomic bulls, the April 2026 Canada Holstein GPA LPI and GPA Pro$ lists highlight both opportunity and churn.

  • If your herd prioritizes fast gain with controlled risk, you can use bulls like SIEMERS SSI ROSMRY TONKS‑ET (+4179, Canada Holstein GPA LPI, April 2026) or WELCOME GUSTAVSSON‑ET (+4064, Canada Holstein GPA LPI, April 2026) as sire‑of‑sons and key donor mates, but you should spread that exposure over multiple genomic bulls rather than anchoring on one.
  • If your herd wants more stability, aim to keep at least 40–50% of matings on high‑reliability daughter‑proven anchors like PARFECT, PATTERN, CABO, REMOVER PP, and ALTAINSCAPE, and use genomic sires as the “top‑up” rather than the core.

A practical threshold: if more than 60–70% of your planned matings for the next proof interval are to bulls from the top 10 of the April 2026 GPA LPI or GPA Pro$ lists, you’re probably carrying more genomic volatility than necessary for the same level of genetic gain.

Key Takeaways:

  • ROZLINE’s profile has flipped: he’s still +16 Conf and +3810 Canada LPI (April 2026) but lost 626 Canada Pro$ vs December 2025, so he’s now a type specialist, not a Pro$ anchor.
  • PARFECT (+3914 Canada LPI, April 2026) and PATTERN (+2974 Canada Pro$, April 2026) are the key proven anchors, but both sit in a compressed top band where 40–60 LPI or 200–250 Pro$ moves can reshuffle ranks without changing cow‑side reality.
  • GRAZIANO (−444 Canada Pro$) and several other December 2025 headliners took meaningful Pro$ trims, while POWERSTAR arrives at +2854 Canada Pro$ (April 2026), so any sire lineup built on last run’s income numbers needs a fresh audit.
  • Genomic GPA LPI and GPA Pro$ tops are still churning, so herds with >60–70% of matings on a handful of young sires are running higher portfolio risk than the Canada Holstein daughter‑proven lists alone would suggest.
  • For herds prioritizing income, robots, show type, or inbreeding control, this run clearly separates which bulls stay as everyday service sires (PATTERN, CABO, PARFECT, POWERSTAR) and which move to niche roles or outcross use (ROZLINE, PAZZLE, HAS IT ALL, AUGUSTUS P RED, ROBIN RED).

Full Lists:

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Switzerland April 2026 ISET: Torchlight at +1519 Tops a Recalibrated, High‑Churn Genomic Top 10 with 4 New Bulls

Boston dropped 118 ISET points and still cracks the top 10. That tells you everything about what Switzerland’s recalibrated index is—and isn’t—rewarding.

Executive Summary: Switzerland’s ISET was recalibrated for April 2026—with the standard deviation reset to 100, heavier component weighting, and mastitis resistance replacing SCC—it reshuffled the entire genomic top 10. Progenesis Torchlight (Sheepster x Gameday) takes over at +1519 ISET, pushing former #1 Monset to 4th after a 101-point drop; four new bulls entered the top 10, four fell out, and the #1-to-#10 spread compressed to just 47 points. The biggest rank mover is DG Caarma, jumping from 23rd to 6th on raw production (+2,212 kg milk, IPL 153)—but his udder’s at 103 and fertility at 98, so he’s not a free lunch. On the proven side, Peak Powerhouse surged to #1 Interbull at +1520 ISET with 82% reliability, while domestic anchors Topstory (+1420, 91% rel) and Ranger (+1398, 99% rel) sit 100+ points below the genomic leaders with far less re-ranking risk. Five of the top 15 genomic bulls carry Gameday as MGS—if your herd‘s already deep in that line, Lars-Acres Caruthers-S (#3, +1505, Ice Cube-S x Van Gogh) is probably your most valuable outcross play right now. Any matings still queued to Beautyman, Logic, or Fireking based on December rankings need a hard second look; all three dropped out of the top 15 under the new weights.

April 2026 Swiss ISET

The April 2026 Swiss proof run isn’t just a routine update—it’s a structural reset. The ISET has been recalibrated (standard deviation reset to 100), with greater emphasis on fat and protein production, and mastitis resistance now replaces somatic cell count in the index. Every published April 2026 ISET value has dropped relative to December 2025, many by 60–120 points, but the rankings—not the raw numbers—tell the real story. An April 2026 ISET above 1500 now signals a truly elite bull; old 1600+ levels are no longer the expectation under the new scale.

Progenesis Torchlight (Sheepster x Gameday) emerges as Switzerland’s new genomic ISET leader at +1519 in the April 2026 run, leapfrogging from 5th at +1584 in the December 2025 Swiss ISET genomic evaluation. TGD-Holstein Monset, December’s dominant #1 at +1603, slides to 4th at +1502 in April 2026—a relative repositioning that reflects how the new production-weighted formula punishes moderate-milk, high-functional profiles when components don’t fully compensate. For AI companies, the shift in power toward more extreme production profiles at the very top of a traditionally Swiss-domestic-friendly system is significant. For breeders, this recalibration demands fresh thinking on sire stacking and what “balance” now costs in ISET points.

On the daughter-proven Interbull side, Peak Powerhouse moves into the #1 Interbull daughter-proven position in the April 2026 Swiss ISET evaluation at +1520 ISET, driven by extreme production (2,530 kg milk, +135 kg fat, +113 kg protein) that aligns closely with the new weighting of fat and protein. OCD Trooper Sheepster, December 2025’s Interbull #1 at +1537, comes in at +1467 and the second spot in April 2026.

What Changed at the Top?

Genomic ISET Top 10 Reshuffle (December 2025 vs April 2026)

The April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top 10 retains 6 bulls from the December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET top 10 and adds 4 new entrants. Here is the structural picture with both runs and explicit movement:

Apr 2026 RankBullPedigreeISET Apr 2026 (CH ISET)ISET Dec 2025 (CH ISET)Rank Dec 2025ISET Δ (Apr–Dec)Status
1Progenesis TORCHLIGHTSheepster x Gameday1519 1584 5−65Up in rank
2Cookiecutter HADLEYPattern x Gameday1513 1566 6−53Up in rank
3Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-SIce Cube-S x Van Gogh1505 ———New entrant
4TGD-Holstein MONSETHadley x Gameday1502 1603 1−101Down in rank
5RaceRanking x Rover1489 1562 8−73Up in rank
6DG CAARMAPercival x Altazazzle1482 1515 23−33Major climber
7Progenesis TIMEOUTPeregrine x Dzunda1476 1584 4−108Down in rank
8Sous-Moron BOSTONCasting x Gameday1475 1593 2−118Major faller
9Les Verdaux EGANHadley x Gordon1474 ———New entrant
10Eichhof DOVERTroy x Topstory1472 1531 18−59Major climber

In the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET run, the spread between #1 Torchlight (+1519) and #10 Dover (+1472) is 47 ISET points. In the December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET run, the same band between #1 Monset (+1603) and #10 B.O.A. Fireking (+1549) was 54 points. The recalibration has squeezed the elite into a narrower absolute band, so every 5–10 point gap at the top is now more meaningful.

Top-10 Trait Averages: December 2025 vs April 2026

Using the published Swiss genomic ISET lists, the structural shift shows up not just in ranks but in trait averages:

Metric (Genomic Top 10)Dec 2025 (approx.)Apr 2026 (approx.)
Average milk (kg)≈ +1,560 kg (Monset 1,217; Boston 1,275; Timeout 1,527; Torchlight 2,106; Hadley 1,942; Logic 1,408; Race 1,812; Lebron 1,589; Fireking 1,562; Keylan 1,616) ≈ +1,660 kg (Torchlight 1,954; Hadley 1,891; Caruthers-S 2,180; Monset 1,217; Race 1,808; Caarma 2,212; Timeout 1,443; Boston 1,290; Egan 1,956; Dover 1,420)
Fat kg patternAlready high (most bulls +85–140 kg fat) Consistently high; most bulls >+100 kg fat (Torchlight 130; Hadley 130; Race 111; Caarma 131; Dover 107)
ITP patternStrong type bulls like Monset (130), Boston (116), Beautyman (143) Still strong, slightly more clustered: Egan 133; Monset and Dover 130; Torchlight 120; Hadley 121

The pattern is clear: average milk and fat kilos in the top 10 have nudged upward, while type remains strong but no longer defines the very top by itself.

Drop-Outs From the December 2025 Genomic Top 10

Four bulls fall out of the Swiss genomic ISET top 10 when we move from December 2025 to April 2026:

  • TGD-Holstein BEAUTYMAN (Globed x Astral): December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET #3 at +1586; in April 2026, he is at +1427 ISET and well outside the top 20. His April production—+1,141 kg milk, −0.02% fat, +0.17% protein—and functional strengths (ITP 143, IFF 130) are no longer enough in a more production-heavy index.
  • Vatland Hendel LOGIC (Bite x Taos): December #7 at +1563; April 2026 rank 17 at +1451. He offers +1,487 kg of milk, +100 kg of fat, and +75 kg of protein, but a relatively weaker type (Udder 96, Format 94) is now more exposed, as component leaders are crowding the top.
  • swissgen LEBRON (Alvin x Star): December #9 at +1551; April rank 16 at +1453. He remains a strong bull with fertility 122, calving maternal 126, and ITP 125, but sits just outside the April 2026 Swiss ISET top 10 under the recalibrated system.
  • B.O.A. FIREKING (Solo x Improbable): December #10 at +1549; April 2026 around rank 25 at +1432. His April figures—+1,489 kg milk, +0.12% fat, +0.16% protein, ITP 131, fertility 113—still define a robust sire, but the new ISET weighting prefers even stronger production.

The Big Movers: Up, Down, and Out

Major Climbers

DG CAARMA (Percival x Altazazzle, NL) is the biggest structural climber in the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top group. He moves from 23rd at +1515 in the December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET evaluation to 6th at +1482 in the April 2026 run. His April proof shows +2,212 kg of milk, +131 kg of fat, +94 kg of protein, and an IPL of 153—the highest in the current top 10. The price is a narrower functional profile: Udder 103, fertility 98, and moderate feet/legs (118).

Eichhof DOVER (Troy x Topstory, CH) climbs from 18th at +1531 in December 2025 to 10th at +1472 in April 2026. Dover brings +1,420 kg milk, +107 kg fat with +0.53% fat, +75 kg protein with +0.30% protein, ITP 130, Udder 118, Format 120, and longevity 116. He’s a classic balanced platform sire: strong type, good production, and sensible fitness.

Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S (Ice Cube-S x Van Gogh, CH) is a completely new face at #3 with +1505 ISET in the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET run. He offers the highest milk in the top 10 (+2,180 kg), with +101 kg fat, +82 kg protein, fertility 123, and persistency 120. Component percentages are modest (+0.12% fat, +0.10% protein), but his volume and fertility make him a high-output, high-fertility outcross relative to the usual Gameday/Ranger/Troy lines.

Les Verdaux EGAN (Hadley x Gordon, CH) debuts at #9 with +1474 in April 2026. He has the highest ITP in the genomic top 15 at 133, with Format 125, Feet/Legs 123, and Udder 122. Egan is the go-to option for herds that want to stay in the ISET top band without compromising top-tier type.

Major Fallers

TGD-Holstein MONSET (Hadley x Gameday, CH) drops from #1 at +1603 in the December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET run to #4 at +1502 in April 2026 (−101 points). His April profile remains strong: +1,217 kg milk, +96 kg fat, +66 kg protein, ITP 130, Udder 129, longevity 125, fertility 119. He hasn’t failed; he’s been outpaced by bulls whose production profiles fit the recalibrated ISET slightly better.

Sous-Moron BOSTON (Casting x Gameday, CH) falls from #2 at +1593 in December 2025 to #8 at +1475 in April 2026 (−118 points, the largest drop among the December top 10). His April profile—+1,290 kg milk, +83 kg fat, +64 kg protein, longevity 130, fertility 125, calving maternal 122—marks him as one of the best health/fertility sires in the top group, but his more moderate production now costs top-end ISET points.

Progenesis TIMEOUT (Peregrine x Dzunda, CA) moves from #4 at +1584 in December 2025 to #7 at +1476 in April 2026 (−108 points). Timeout maintains exceptional fat percentage (+0.87%) and strong components (+139 kg fat, +73 kg protein), but with +1,443 kg milk, he is outgunned by the very top volume sires. He’s now more of a targeted components bull than an all-around index leader.

Notable Drop-Outs

TGD-Holstein BEAUTYMAN is the clearest example of a bull whose Swiss ISET leadership was heavily dependent on the pre-2026 weighting. His ISET drops from +1586 in the December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET run (rank #3) to +1427 in April 2026, and he falls out of the top 20. His April production profile—+1,141 kg milk, −0.02% fat, +0.17% protein—combined with top-end type (ITP 143) and strong fitness (IFF 130) is no longer prioritized by the recalibrated, production-heavier ISET. He still has a role as a functional/type sire, but not as a front-line index driver.

What the ISET Is Rewarding This Run

The recalibrated April 2026 Swiss ISET clearly rewards high milk volume plus strong components, with functional traits still important but less able to carry a bull into the very top on their own.

The Dominant Trait Package in April 2026

Across the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top 10:

  • Average milk ≈ +1,660 kg, up from ≈ +1,560 kg in December 2025, with Caruthers-S (+2,180 kg) and DG Caarma (+2,212 kg) defining the high end.
  • Fat kilos are consistently high: Torchlight +130 kg, Hadley +130 kg, Race +111 kg, DG Caarma +131 kg, Dover +107 kg.
  • Component percentages remain positive to strongly positive; several bulls combine high volume with +0.30% or more fat.

ITP values in the April 2026 genomic top 10 cluster between 110–133, with Egan (133), Monset and Dover (130), Torchlight (120), and Hadley (121) at the high end. Longevity averages above 120 in the top 10, led by Race (136), Boston (130), and Hokovit Galileo 6 (129), and fertility averages around 109, with standouts like Caruthers-S (123) and Monset (119).

Trait Trade-Off Clusters

This run reveals three actionable clusters:

  • Production rockets: Torchlight, DG Caarma, Caruthers-S. These bulls sit at the very top of the Swiss ISET ranking, primarily due to their production horsepower and strong IPL. Trade-off: they often show weaker points in fertility or udder (e.g., Caarma Udder 103, fertility 98; Torchlight fertility 100, temperament 92).
  • Balanced platforms: Monset, Dover, Egan. These bulls combine strong but not extreme production with high type and solid fitness. They sit 15–40 ISET points below the #1 bull, but offer lower multi-trait risk.
  • Functional specialists: Boston, Race, and bench bulls like Swissgen Pompon. These bulls preserve very high longevity and fertility and often offer excellent calving traits, but give up some ISET relative to the production rockets.

For elite breeders, the April 2026 ISET selection is about deciding where on that triangle—production, balance, robustness—they want their sire portfolios to sit.

Stud Power, Family Power, and Outcross Space

Stud and Country Representation

In the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top 15, Swiss domestic breeding entities (TGD-Holstein, swissgen, Hokovit, Eichhof, Sous-Moron, Rhein-Valley, Les Verdaux) account for 7 bulls. Progenesis holds two top-10 genomic slots (Torchlight #1, Timeout #7), and Cookiecutter contributes Hadley (#2) and Hoedown (#11) into the Swiss top genomic list. DG Caarma adds a strong Dutch presence, and Race represents a German sire evaluated within the Swiss ISET system.

Bloodline Concentration

The April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top 15 shows clear bloodline concentration:

  • GAMEDAY as maternal grandsire for five of the top 15 bulls: Torchlight, Hadley, Monset, Hoedown, and K-Star-Fs Alcatraz.
  • HADLEY as sire of Monset and Egan, while also ranking #2 himself in the April 2026 genomic list.
  • TROY as sire of Dover and Hokovit Galileo 6.

This concentration implies that herds already heavy in Gameday, Hadley, or Troy on the female side risk accelerating inbreeding if they load their matings with the current Swiss genomic ISET top bulls without a diversification plan.

Outcross Opportunities

Given that concentration, high-value outcross bulls within the April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET list are:

  • Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S (Ice Cube-S x Van Gogh): No Gameday, Ranger, or Troy in his immediate pedigree. He offers elite milk (+2,180 kg), strong fertility (123), and high persistency (120), making him the premier production + fertility outcross bull in the current top 3.
  • Race (Ranking x Rover): A German-based sire with Ranking and Rover, offering longevity 136, calving direct 118, and calving maternal 119. He’s particularly attractive for inbreeding-sensitive herds that also want to reinforce survival and calving ease.
  • Progenesis TIMEOUT (Peregrine x Dzunda): Avoids the main dominant sires and provides extreme fat percentage (+0.87%) with +139 kg fat. He is a targeted tool for herds where a higher fat test is a major revenue driver and bloodline diversification is a priority.

Volatility, Reliability, and Proof-Run Risk Profile

Genomic Reliability Landscape

The April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET top group operates within a narrow reliability band of roughly 71–75%. This means:

  • Every bull in the top 15 sits in the genomic prediction reliability zone, not high-reliability proven territory.
  • The observed churn—4 new bulls in the top 10 and 4 drop-outs between December 2025 and April 2026—is exactly what you’d expect at this reliability level.

Bulls like Torchlight (72% reliability), Caruthers-S (71%), and Egan (72%) may move substantially as daughter groups expand. This is why the article positions them as high-impact, high-volatility plays rather than permanent fixtures.

Domestic Daughter-Proven Stability

The domestic Swiss daughter-proven ISET list offers a stability counterweight:

  • Topstory (Altazazzle) leads the April 2026 domestic daughter-proven Swiss ISET at +1420 with 91% reliability, +2,360 kg milk, and ITP 124.
  • Ranger (Rubels) sits at +1398 with 99% reliability, +1,429 kg milk, +0.42% fat, and ITP 125.

For proof-based programs, these bulls establish a “stability band” about 120–130 ISET points below the genomic leaders, but with reliability in the 90–99% range. For many herds, that gap is an acceptable price for risk reduction.

Interbull Daughter-Proven Re-Ranking

On the Interbull Swiss ISET list:

  • Peak Powerhouse rises to +1520 ISET in April 2026, with 82% reliability, +2,530 kg of milk, +135 kg of fat, and +113 kg of protein.
  • OCD Trooper Sheepster moves from +1537 in December 2025 to +1467 in April 2026, now #2.
  • Progenesis Pattern at +1451 and Progenesis Wesson at +1445 continue to anchor sire-of-sons roles backing bulls like Hadley.

Even in the daughter-proven Interbull set, the April 2026 recalibration reshuffles rankings, though far less dramatically than in the genomic lists.

Strategic Sire Roles and Mating Concepts for Elites

1. Index Leaders for Aggressive Genomic Programs

Use these bulls if your herd prioritizes maximum genetic gain and can tolerate genomic volatility in a 2–3 year semen pipeline.

  • Progenesis TORCHLIGHT (+1519, 72% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): High-production leader with +1,954 kg milk, +130 kg fat, +88 kg protein, IPL 151, ITP 120. If your herd is targeting rapid index gains and already has solid fertility, Torchlight is a top pick; be cautious in situations where temperament is critical (robot herds, parlors with nervous cows), as his temperament index is 92.
  • Cookiecutter HADLEY (+1513, 73% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): Balanced high-index sire with +1,891 kg milk, +130 kg fat, +84 kg protein, ITP 121, and good calving maternal (110). If you’re building sire stacks for genomic programs (sons, bull dams), Hadley is a core building block, particularly on outcross cow families.
  • DG CAARMA (+1482, 72% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If you need maximum production in high-input housed systems, Caarma’s +2,212 kg milk, +131 kg fat, +94 kg protein, and IPL 153 are unmatched in the current top 10. Only use him where you can pair him with cows carrying strong udder and fertility genetics, as his udder (103) and fertility (98) are weak points.

2. High-Reliability Anchors

Use these bulls to stabilize your herd or proof program if your genomic lineup already carries significant risk.

  • Topstory (+1420, 91% rel, April 2026 domestic Swiss ISET): If your herd wants a reliable ceiling with strong production and type, Topstory is a prime choice—+2,360 kg milk, good solids, and ITP 124. He is particularly useful on donor cows where embryos will be marketed into more conservative, proven-biased markets.
  • Ranger (+1398, 99% rel, April 2026 domestic Swiss ISET): If your conception rate or herd economics can’t tolerate volatility, Ranger is the “do-no-harm” reliability anchor—high milk, strong fat %, and proven type and fitness. He suits both commercial and seedstock herds that want proven stability over cutting-edge rankings.
  • Peak POWERHOUSE (+1520, 82% rel, April 2026 Interbull Swiss ISET): If your herd can use foreign-proven sires, Powerhouse is a natural transition bull between genomic leaders and domestic proofs. He fits high-output, housed Holstein herds that already employ Interbull genetics and want a high-index but more reliable anchor.

3. Health/Fertility Specialists and Corrective Sires

Use these bulls if your main herd problem is fertility, longevity, or calving, and you can accept a small ISET discount.

  • Sous-Moron BOSTON (+1475, 72% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If your herd’s reproduction KPIs are weak, Boston’s longevity 130, fertility 125, and calving maternal 122 offer a powerful corrective profile while still keeping you in the top-10 ISET band. He’s ideal to stabilize high-output but fragile cow families.
  • Race (+1489, 71% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If cow survival and calving ease are your primary constraints, Race’s longevity 136, calving direct 118, and calving maternal 119 make him the go-to bull. He’s well-suited to heifers and to herds that have seen too many difficult calvings from extreme-production sires.
  • Swissgen POMPON (+1390, 71% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If your herd has had mastitis or reproductive issues, Pompon’s fertility 130 and longevity 133 warrant a place as a bench bull even at a slightly lower ISET. He’s particularly valuable as a “health anchor” in multi-bull programs.

4. Type/Show-Leaning Sires With Index Discipline

Use these bulls if you run type- or show-focused herds but refuse to walk away from the index.

  • Les Verdaux EGAN (+1474, 72% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): For type herds that still want multi-trait strength, Egan’s ITP 133, Format 125, Feet/Legs 123, and Udder 122 make him the most attractive type sire in the current genomic elite. He suits herds that already have an adequate frame and want to stamp udders and legs.
  • Eichhof DOVER (+1472, 72% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If your classification targets focus on udders and balanced frames, Dover’s ITP 130, Udder 118, and Format 120 make him one of the safest type-balanced sires in the top 10. Robot herds with heavy classification programs can particularly benefit from his combination of udder quality and acceptable milking speed.

5. Outcross Sires for Inbreeding Management

Use these bulls if your mating program shows heavy saturation with Gameday/Hadley/Troy.

  • Lars-Acres CARUTHERS-S (+1505, 71% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If more than roughly 30% of your current matings trace back to Gameday or Ranger within three generations, Caruthers-S should move to the top of your diversification list. He offers elite milk, strong fertility, and high persistency without stacking the dominant Swiss sire lines.
  • Progenesis TIMEOUT (+1476, 71% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If your fat test limits milk price and you need to drive percentages without doubling down on Gameday, Timeout’s +0.87% fat and +0.27% protein make him a targeted outcross specialist. Use him on cows with solid milk volume but less extreme components.
  • Beyond HI-POWER (+1469, 74% rel, April 2026 Swiss genomic ISET): If you need a non-Gameday, non-Ranger bull that still offers high index plus good longevity (125) and calving maternal (125), Beyond Hi-Power is a logical option.

6. Herd-Type Calibration

  • High-input, housed herds: If your herd runs TMR, high stocking density, and high output per stall, bulls like Torchlight, Hadley, DG Caarma, and Caruthers-S should dominate the genomic segment, anchored by Ranger and Peak Powerhouse on the proven side. You gain maximum production; you give up some reliability and, for certain bulls, some fertility or udder.
  • Grazing or low-input systems: If cows must walk, maintain condition on grass, and conception is critical, emphasize Boston, Race, and Pompon, and lean harder on proven Topstory and Ranger. You gain robustness and survival; you give up some index speed and peak milk.
  • Robot herds: If milking speed and udder quality drive your economics, prioritize Dover, Egan, and Monset, and use Torchlight and DG Caarma more selectively where robot hardware and cow temperament can support them. You gain structural reliability in the parlor; you give up some upside in raw production.

7. 30-Day Action Plan

Within the next 30 days:

  1. Audit your bloodlines. Pull your current mating list and mark all matings where the dam traces to Gameday, Hadley, Troy, or Ranger within three generations. If more than ~30% of your matings fall into that category, prioritize Caruthers-S, Race, or Timeout for the next round of matings to widen your sire base.
  2. Re-evaluate December favorites. Specifically review any planned matings using Beautyman, Logic, Lebron, or Fireking based primarily on their December 2025 Swiss genomic ISET positions. Check whether their April 2026 ISET and trait profiles still fit your index thresholds and herd goals; if not, redirect those matings toward Monset, Dover, Boston, or Egan, depending on whether you prioritize type, balance, or health/fertility.

Key Takeaways:

  • The April 2026 Swiss ISET recalibration (SD reset to 100, more weight on fat/protein, mastitis replacing SCC) compressed the genomic top 10 into a 47‑point band and pushed average milk and fat kilos higher.
  • Progenesis Torchlight is the new Swiss genomic ISET #1 at +1519 (April 2026), with four new bulls entering and four dropping out of the top 10, signaling a genuinely high‑churn, medium‑reliability (≈71–75%) leaderboard.
  • DG Caarma and Caruthers-S define the new production ceiling (> 2,200 kg milk, 130 kg fat), while Monset, Dover, and Egan become the key “balanced platform” sires, trading 15–40 ISET points for stronger type and fitness.
  • Proven anchors Topstory (+1420, 91% rel), Ranger (+1398, 99% rel), and Interbull leader Peak Powerhouse (+1520, 82% rel) set the stability band roughly 100 ISET points below the genomic leaders—critical for herds that can’t afford big re‑ranking swings.
  • With Gameday showing up as MGS in 5 of the top 15 genomic bulls, portfolios already heavy in that line should lean hard on Caruthers-S, Race, Timeout, and Pompon to manage inbreeding while still staying in the Swiss ISET money zone.

Full Lists:

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April 2026 Scandinavia NTM: Fugleman +3 to Proven #2, Jefe Enters Genomic Top 5, VikingGenetics at 21/30 Bulls

RAINOW’s still #1 proven, but his lead over #2 shrank from 7 points to 2 in one run. Fugleman’s closing fast.

Executive Summary: Fugleman just gained +3 to NTM 38 in the April 2026 Scandinavia proven run, tightening the gap to PEAK RAINOW-ET at NTM 40 and reshaping the top of the daughter-proven list. On the genomic side, VH Sheriff slipped slightly to NTM 50 while a new GenoSource bull, Jefe, arrived out of nowhere at NTM 45 to take genomic #4 in his first NAV appearance. VikingGenetics now holds 21 of the top 30 genomic NTM slots, so if most of your semen tank starts with “VH,” you’re stacking a lot of the same gene pool whether you mean to or not. The data behind the lists show that the top 5 in the genomic lists, while the proven top 6 barely moved, which is a not-so-subtle reminder of where the real risk lies. For robot herds, Fugleman (milkability 126) and ROVER PK (127) now look like the safest proven anchors, while Sheriff’s milkability 82 is a hard red flag unless your parlor can handle slow milkers. If you’re chasing health and longevity, ROVER PK and VH StoryRC give you fertility and general health in the teens and 120+ longevity without chasing the very top NTM point or two. The smart move in the next 30 days is to audit your sire list for VH overuse, slide in at least one non-VH genomic sire like DG Brujito, Jefe, or AltaMULLER, and decide how much of your next order you really want riding on high-flyer genomics vs the now very-solid proven top tier.

April 2026 Scandinavia NTM

Fugleman posted the largest NTM gain among Scandinavia’s daughter-proven elite — up +3 to April 2026 NTM 38, vaulting from #4 to #2 and closing to within 2 points of PEAK RAINOW-ET. On the genomic side, a 2024-born GenoSource bull called Jefe appeared on the NAV list for the first time at April 2026 NTM 45, slotting into #4 — the highest debut in this run, transmitted via the April 7 Interbull GMACE delivery. VH Sheriff still leads at genomic NTM 50, but he shed a point from December, and every bull in the genomic top 5 moved down.

The proven top 10 tells a different story from the genomic top 30. The proven list is gaining stability: 8 of 10 bulls held their positions, and the new entrants (Simba P, Rosario) arrived on expanding daughter data. The genomic list, meanwhile, saw universal NTM erosion across its top tier — the normal regression pattern, but broad enough to warrant recalibrating confidence in any single genomic number. For breeders building sire portfolios, the gap between genomic ceiling and proven floor keeps narrowing.

What Changed at the Top?

Genomic NTM: April 2026 vs December 2025

Seven of ten bulls held top-10 status. Three new entrants displaced three exits. The index spread tightened slightly: 9 points (#1 to #10) in April vs 10 points in December.

Apr RankBullApr NTMDec RankDec NTMNTM ΔStatus
1VH Sheriff50151−1Retained
2DG Brujito46347−1Retained
3VH Mads P46248−2Retained
4Jefe45——NEWNew entrant
5Fly P42741+1Retained
6VH Darwin42543−1Retained
7VH Galaxy42444−2Retained
8VH ShaneRC421341+1New to top 10
9AltaMULLER411740+1New to top 10
10Bravo416410Retained

The three exits — Fortuny (Dec #8 → Apr #15, NTM 41→40), VH FlyerPP (Dec #9 → Apr #11, NTM 41→41), and VH KenzoRC (Dec #10 → Apr #12, NTM 41→41) — all remain at or near the fringe. This wasn’t a reshuffle driven by collapse; it was compression plus Jefe’s arrival pushing everyone down a slot.

Proven NTM: April 2026 vs December 2025

Eight bulls held their spots. The two new entrants — Simba P and Rosario — both carry accumulating daughter data. The index band compressed: 9 points (#1 to #10) in April vs 11 points in December, driven primarily by RAINOW dropping and Fugleman climbing.

Apr RankBullApr NTMDec RankDec NTMNTM ΔStatus
1PEAK RAINOW-ET40142−2Retained
2Fugleman38435+3Retained
3VH SKILLS37336+1Retained
4CAMDEN362360Retained
5SUPPORTER36535+1Retained
6ROVER PK34832+2Retained
7Engineer33632+1Retained
8Simba P32——NEWNew to proven list
9METRO31732−1Retained
10Rosario311330+1Retained

VH SWISH (Dec #9 NTM 32) and VH CRONOS (Dec #10 NTM 31) slipped to #12 and #11, both at April NTM 31 — a narrow miss rather than a meaningful drop.

The Big Movers: Up, Down, and Out

Risers

Fugleman — Proven: Dec NTM 35 #4 → Apr NTM 38 #2. The +3 NTM gain is the largest among all proven bulls in this run. Yield rose from 130 to 132, udder health jumped from 95 to 100 (+5), claw health from 94 to 96, and udder conformation from 114 to 116. Milkability dipped marginally from 127 to 126 (−1), and temperament (115) held. His genomic promise is being validated, not eroded, by daughter performance.

Jefe — Genomic: not in December NAV evaluation → Apr NTM 45 #4. A 2024-born GenoSource bull (distributed through STgenetics®) entering at the highest NTM of any first-evaluation animal this run. His profile is all growth (124) and frame (118), with general health 111, claw health 109, and udder 115 providing functional backup. The catch: fertility (98) and birth (97) sit below the Nordic baseline. First-run genomic bulls in the NAV system routinely shift 3–5 NTM within two runs — treat this as a high-upside, high-variance entry.

ROVER PK — Proven: Dec NTM 32 #8 → Apr NTM 34 #6. Gained on fertility (115→117), temperament (117→121), and udder health (90→92), all on expanding daughter data. General health 121, milkability 127, and calving 110 make him the clearest functional specialist in the proven top 10.

VH ShaneRC — Genomic: Dec NTM 41 #13 → Apr NTM 42 #8. One of only three genomic bulls that gained NTM this run. A red carrier with general health 117, fertility 108, and udder health 107 — the most functionally balanced bull among the genomic top-10 entrants.

VH Clapton — Proven: Dec NTM 25 #29 → Apr NTM 28 #17. Gained +3 NTM and 12 ranks. Yield jumped from 121 to 125 (+4), and his saved feed, 118; general health, 110; and longevity, 116, position him as a quietly accumulating functional sire worth monitoring.

AltaMULLER — Genomic: Dec NTM 40 #17 → Apr NTM 41 #9. The only Alta Genetics representative in the genomic top 30 gained +1 NTM and 8 ranks. Growth 122, calving 109, and claw health 114 give him a clear functional package from outside VikingGenetics’ pipeline.

Decliners

PEAK RAINOW-ET — Proven: Dec NTM 42 #1 → Apr NTM 40 #1. Still #1, but the margin over #2 narrowed from 7 points to 2. Yield declined from 130 to 127 (−3) and growth from 110 to 108. Udder health improved from 97 to 100, claw health from 113 to 115, and longevity from 103 to 105. RAINOW’s management traits are holding or improving as daughters accumulate — but his production advantage is eroding. Another 2-point drop next run puts Fugleman or VH SKILLS within striking distance of #1.

VH STINGER — Proven: Dec NTM 30 #14 → Apr NTM 26 #24. A −4 NTM decline driven by yield dropping from 117 to 113 and temperament from 98 to 94. This pushes STINGER to the margin of the proven top 25. Milkability (118) and fertility (112) retain some niche value, but their trajectories are downward.

August — Proven: Dec NTM 27 #17 → Apr NTM 22 #50. The run’s largest proven-list decline: −5 NTM and −33 ranks. Fertility fell from 119 to 115 and udder health from 103 to 98 — classic daughter-proof regression. Longevity (126) remains high, but a 5-point NTM drop in a single run pushes him to the margins pending further data.

VH Galaxy — Genomic: Dec NTM 44 #4 → Apr NTM 42 #7. Down 2 NTM and 3 ranks. General health (120) and longevity (122) remain among the best in the top 10, but yield and NTM are both trending in the wrong direction for a second evaluation.

VH Mads P — Genomic: Dec NTM 48 #2 → Apr NTM 46 #3. Lost 2 NTM and slipped behind DG Brujito. His trait profile is still deep — fertility 121, claw health 117, milkability 116 — but the polled carrier that was once a clear #2 is now in a tighter race with Brujito and Jefe.

Notable Drop-Outs

Five bulls dropped from the December genomic top 20, and all five lost exactly 2 NTM: VH SloppyP (#14→#29), VH Smasher (#15→#30), Cascari (#18→#32), VH Caspian (#19→#39), and VH KingRC (#20→#40). The uniform −2 pattern is striking. NAV applied no base change between December 2025 and April 2026, so this is genuine genomic regression rather than a rescaling artifact. None have collapsed — they’re still in the top 40 — but in a compressed NTM band, even 2 points costs 10–20 rank positions.

On the proven side, VH Comply (Dec NTM 27 #18) disappeared entirely from the April top-50 published list. Lambeau (Dec #19 → Apr #21) and MAXIMUS (Dec #20 → Apr #27, NTM 26→25) also dropped out of the top 20, though both remain on the list.

What the NTM Is Rewarding This Run

Aggregate trait averages for the top 10 reveal subtle but meaningful shifts from December:

TraitGenomic Top 10 AprGenomic Top 10 DecΔProven Top 10 AprProven Top 10 DecΔ
Yield132.4133.6−1.2126.5127.0−0.5
Fertility106.5107.5−1.0107.7107.5+0.2
Udder Health106.6106.5+0.1101.3100.6+0.7
General Health109.2107.8+1.4106.1104.6+1.5
Claw Health106.3107.4−1.1105.0102.2+2.8

The top 10 genomic traits dipped in yield and fertility while improving in general health — partly driven by Jefe’s general health 111 replacing Fortuny’s 96. The proven top 10 tells the more interesting story: general health climbed +1.5, and claw health surged +2.8, driven by Simba P’s claw health 113 and Rosario’s general health 126 entering the top 10 while VH SWISH (general health 101) and VH CRONOS (claw health 103) dropped out.

Stud Power, Family Power, and Outcross Space

Who Owns the Genomic Top?

VikingGenetics (VH prefix) controls 21 of the 30 published genomic NTM slots in April 2026, up from 20 of 28 in December. The dominance is concentrated in Danish-registered bulls — 14 of the top 30 carry DNK registration codes — with Finnish-born (VH ShaneRC, VH Timer, VH Lullaby, VH SloppyP) and Swedish-born (VH SANDRO) VH bulls providing geographic diversity within the program.

Origin/CompanyGenomic Top 30 (Apr)Notes
VikingGenetics (VH)21DNK 14, FIN 4, SWE 1, DEU 1, FRA 1
German-bred (non-VH)4Fly P, Fortuny, Meteorit, Saturn RDC
GenoSource / STgenetics®1Jefe (highest non-VH NTM at 45)
Other US-bred1Prizepick
Dutch-bred (DG/other)2DG Brujito, Bravo
Alta Genetics1AltaMULLER

On the proven side, VH representation in the top 10 fell from 3 bulls (VH SKILLS, VH SWISH, VH CRONOS) in December to 1 (VH SKILLS) in April. The proven top 10 is dominated by internationally-bred bulls: 4 US-registered (RAINOW, Fugleman, ROVER PK, Engineer), 3 German-registered (SKILLS, SUPPORTER, Simba P), 1 Dutch (CAMDEN), 1 French (Rosario), and METRO (German).

Outcross Candidates

Without explicit sire/grandsire columns in the NAV lists, direct pedigree mapping isn’t possible. Registration-code diversity identifies clear outcross options relative to the VH-dominated pipeline:

  • Jefe (USA, NTM 45): GenoSource-bred, distributed through STgenetics® — the highest-NTM bull from outside VikingGenetics’ breeding program.
  • DG Brujito (NLD, NTM 46): Diamond Genetics breeding, Dutch pedigree base — likely the most pedigree-distant option in the genomic top 5.
  • AltaMULLER (USA, NTM 41): Alta pipeline genetics, growth 122, and claw health 114.
  • Saturn RDC (DEU, NTM 39): German red-carrier with the deepest health breadth among non-VH genomic bulls — general health 108, claw health 121, udder 115, calving 113.

Polled and Red-Carrier Frequency

In the genomic top 20: 4 polled carriers (VH Mads P, Fly P, VH FlyerPP, VH KiloPRC) and 5 red carriers (VH ShaneRC, VH KenzoRC, VH StoryRC, VH KiloPRC, Saturn RDC). VH KiloPRC carries both. On the proven side, Simba P at #8 is the highest-ranking polled proven bull.

How Volatile Are Scandinavia’s NTM Rankings Right Now?

Genomic: Broad erosion, moderate churn

The genomic top 10 retained 7 of 10 bulls — moderate churn by NAV standards. The direction matters more than the count: every returning bull in the top 5 lost NTM (VH Sheriff −1, VH Mads P −2, DG Brujito −1, VH Galaxy −2, VH Darwin −1), and only 3 of 10 bulls gained even a single point. This universal downward pressure is expected to drive genomic regression as information accumulates, but it means the April numbers are likely still above where these bulls will stabilize.

April 7, 2026, was a NAV “small run” — genotypes were updated (including new Interbull GMACE transmissions), but phenotypic data were carried forward from the February 3, 2026, large run. The next full phenotype update comes with the May 5 large run.

The published genomic list includes only bulls without the DFS progeny test. With the top 30 dominated by 2024-born animals, daughter-proof confirmation is years away. Any sire portfolio built heavily on genomic NTM rankings needs to account for the possibility that individual bulls could re-rank by 3–5 NTM over the next two to three runs.

High-volatility flags: Jefe at NTM 45 on first evaluation carries the most re-ranking risk. VH Sheriff’s milkability of 82 introduces adoption risk independent of index movement — if milkability weighting or data shift, his NTM could be disproportionately affected.

Proven: Converging and stabilizing

The proven top 10 retained 8 of 10 bulls and added two new entrants with accumulating daughter data. Most proven NTM movements were ±1–2, with Fugleman’s +3 as the clear outlier. The exceptions signaling genuine corrections are VH STINGER (−4) and August (−5) — bulls whose December numbers overstated what daughters confirmed.

The proven top 6 (RAINOW, Fugleman, VH SKILLS, CAMDEN, SUPPORTER, ROVER PK) now represent the lowest-variance NTM tier available in the NAV Holstein system.

What This Means for Your Matings This Season

If your herd runs AMS/robotic milking

Milkability is non-negotiable, and this run sharply splits the elite. Among proven bulls, Fugleman (milkability 126, April NTM 38) and ROVER PK (milkability 127, April NTM 34) are the clear targets. Fugleman’s milkability is now confirmed by daughters, not predicted by a chip — that distinction matters for robot herds where throughput determines ROI. Be cautious with Simba P (milkability 94) and METRO (milkability 97) despite their NTM; these will cost you throughput.

On the genomic side, VH Sheriff’s milkability 82 is a significant risk for AMS operations — the lowest among all reported genomic top-30 bulls. If you want the highest genomic NTM accessible for robots, VH Mads P (NTM 46, milkability 116) is the safer call. VH Smasher (NTM 39, milkability 118) and VH StoryRC (NTM 41, milkability 114) carry above-average milkability with deep functional packages.

If your herd prioritizes production ceiling

VH Sheriff (genomic yield 136, NTM 50) and DG Brujito (genomic yield 136, NTM 46) lead the genomic list on raw yield. Among proven bulls, METRO (yield 132, NTM 31) and Fugleman (yield 132, NTM 38) top the production column. Jefe’s growth index of 124 is the highest in the genomic top 30 — if your program needs frame and growth from outside the VH gene pool, he fills that niche, but pair him only with cows whose fertility is already strong (≥110 herd-level), given his fertility of 98.

If your herd prioritizes health, fertility, and cow lifetime

VH StoryRC (genomic NTM 41) is the standout functional specialist: fertility 124, general health 112, claw health 113, longevity 120, feet & legs 121, and udder 115 form arguably the deepest functional package on the entire genomic list. The price: yield 117 is the lowest in the genomic top 20, and frame 86 means small-framed daughters. This is a bull for breeders who’ll trade production ceiling for a sustainable cow lifetime.

On the proven side, ROVER PK (NTM 34) combines fertility 117, general health 121, and claw health 114 on daughter data — the highest proven functional floor available. VH Racer (genomic NTM 39) sits just outside the top 20 but carries fertility 123, general health 121, claw health 114, and feet & legs 124. If you’re correcting a herd with below-average health or fertility, these three bulls belong in your mating rotation regardless of their NTM ranking.

If you need type and conformation improvement

SKATER (proven NTM 27) is the highest-ranking proven bull with a genuine type profile: frame 125, udder 118, claw health 112, feet & legs 110. His milkability (92) and temperament (86) are penalties — he’s not a blanket-use sire — but for targeted type correction on cows with adequate management traits, he has no functional equivalent among proven bulls.

VH Galaxy (genomic NTM 42) offers frame 117 paired with general health 120, longevity 122, and milkability 120 — the strongest combination of type plus function in the genomic top 10.

If you’re managing inbreeding against VH-dominated genetics

Do this within 30 days: Pull your sire lineup and cross-reference every active genomic bull against the VH registration prefixes (HOLDNKM, HOLFINM, HOLSWEM) for VikingGenetics’ Danish, Finnish, and Swedish units. With VH bulls holding 21 of 30 genomic slots, any Nordic herd using the NTM top list as its mating guide is almost certainly over-concentrated. If more than 60% of your genomic sires carry VH pedigrees, replace at least one with a non-VH alternative before your next mating round. DG Brujito (NTM 46) and AltaMULLER (NTM 41) give you NTM without adding to the VH concentration. On the proven side, CAMDEN (Dutch), Rosario (French), and Engineer (US) offer pedigree distance.

Bench Bulls to Watch

  • VH Racer (Genomic #24, Apr NTM 39): Fertility 123, general health 121, claw health 114, feet & legs 124, longevity 119. It may be the best functional package on the entire NAV list. Yield 117 caps his NTM, but if NTM weightings shift toward longevity or health, he climbs.
  • VH Timer (Genomic #14, Apr NTM 41): A 2025-born new entrant not on the December list. Fertility 119, longevity 115, frame 115, and temperament 116 give him the deepest all-around profile among 2025-born bulls in the top 15. His milkability 92 is a flag for robot herds, but the balance across functional traits is notable for a first-evaluation animal.
  • Saturn RDC (Genomic #20, Apr NTM 39): Growth 122, calving 113, general health 108, claw health 121, udder 115 from a German base — a genuine multi-purpose outcross.
  • VH SammyRC (Genomic #26, Apr NTM 39): Red carrier with udder health 120, claw health 116, longevity 121. Deep health, Scandinavian pedigree.
  • Rosario (Proven #10, Apr NTM 31): General health 126, feet & legs 125, udder 120 — the deepest health-and-type sire among proven bulls. Youngstock survival (81) is a hard flag, but for targeted mating plans on structural soundness, he’s unique.

Key Takeaways:

  • Fugleman’s April 2026 Scandinavia-proven NTM jumped from 35 to 38, pulling within 2 points of PEAK RAINOW-ET and confirming his management traits in daughters, not just genomics.
  • The genomic top is regressing: VH Sheriff slipped from NTM 51 to 50, every returning bull in the genomic top 5 lost ground, and Jefe’s first-run NTM 45 sits in the high‑variance zone.
  • VikingGenetics now owns 21 of the top 30 genomic NTM bulls, which means any herd using “top NTM” as its main filter risks stacking a very narrow VH gene pool unless it deliberately brings in outcross sires.
  • For robots and high‑throughput parlors, Fugleman (milkability 126) and ROVER PK (127) are now the safest proven anchors, while Sheriff’s milkability 82 makes him a genomic specialist for systems that can live with slower milkers.
  • The practical 30‑day job is to audit your sire list for VH saturation, plug in at least one non‑VH genomic bull (DG Brujito, Jefe, AltaMULLER, Saturn RDC), and decide how much of your next semen order you really want riding on high-flyer genomics vs the increasingly stable proven top tier.

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Crisalis RF (+67) and Son Boero Lock In a 1-2 on Italy’s Proven gPFT – but Half the Top 10 Is New | April 2026

Crisalis RF just added +67 gPFT and pulled his own son in behind him at #2 proven—while 5 fresh bulls quietly shoved veterans out of Italy’s top 10.

Executive Summary: Crisalis RF just tightened his grip on Italy’s April 2026 proven gPFT list, jumping +67 to gPFT 5247 while his son Boero debuts right behind him at #2. Half of the proven top 10 is new this run, and the proven top-10 average jumped +153 points, so anyone still mating off the December sheet is effectively working with a different lineup than ANAFIBJ’s current board. Ecbert and Rascasse still hold the domestic genomic 1–2, but that list has compressed into a 144‑point band, making “who’s #3 vs #8” more noise than signal. Vivify and Gladius blood is heavily represented and easy to over‑use on genomic and foreign lists, which is great for index but a real inbreeding trap if 30%+ of your recent matings already carry those lines. On the opportunity side, Boero, Glorydays, and Mantra give you proven‑tier options that actually out‑kicked their genomic calls, especially on components and IQC for cheese milk. The article walks through which bulls to anchor with, where the genomic risk sits, and how to patch fertility, type, or feet and legs without blowing up gPFT. If you’ve got more than 200 cows on Italian or MACE semen and haven’t audited your sire sheet since December, this run is big enough to justify a 30‑minute rethink.

Italian gPFT rankings

Crisalis RF just widened the gap. The Gywer son added +67 gPFT points between the December 2025 and April 2026 Italian evaluations (ANAFIBJ, data updated April 1, 2026) to reach gPFT 5247 — and then his own son Boero graduated from the genomic list straight to #2 proven at gPFT 5162. That’s the first father-son 1-2 on Italy’s domestic daughter-proven gPFT ranking in recent memory, and it signals something bigger: the proven tier is no longer just catching up to genomic projections — it’s compressing hard toward them.

Across all four ANAFIBJ lists (domestic genomic, domestic proven, foreign genomic, foreign proven), this run reshuffled the proven ranks more aggressively than any Italian evaluation since early 2025. Five new bulls entered the domestic proven top 10. The proven top-10 average leaped +153 points (from 4934 to 5087, December 2025 vs April 2026 gPFT). Meanwhile, the domestic genomic top group barely moved (+61 points on average), and the spread between #1 and #10 compressed from 203 to just 144 points — making it harder than ever to separate genomic contenders on index alone.

Here’s what it all means for your matings this spring.

What Changed at the Top?

Domestic Genomic: Stability With Two New Faces

The domestic genomic top 10 is the calmest list this run. Eight of ten bulls held their positions from December 2025. Ecbert (Gladius × Dateline) remains #1, edging from gPFT 5349 to 5371 (+22, April 2026 Italian gPFT). Rascasse (Vivify × Geyser P) is again #2 at gPFT 5342 (+21).

The two new entrants both bring distinctive packages:

BullSire × MGSApril 2026 gPFTKey Trait Notes
Bangles(Isolabella)Pacific × Royalflush5310Udder composite +2.68, Longevity 119, Fertility 111 — the health-and-type specialist in the top group
Mirosh (Go-Farm)Reunion × Mookie5296+0.52% Fat, +111 Kg Fat, IQC 108 — a components-first bull

They replaced Stormur (dropped to gPFT 5216, rank ~11) and Enola (gPFT 5165, rank ~17). Neither dropped dramatically — this is normal genomic shuffling, not collapse.

Top-group compression is the real story. The gap between Ecbert (#1, gPFT 5371) and Jegolo (#10, gPFT 5227) is just 144 points, down from 203 in December 2025. With all ten bulls carrying Rk 99 (ANAFIBJ’s top reliability band for genomic sires), this tight clustering means the rank order within the top 10 could easily reshuffle in the next run. Treat positions 3–10 as essentially one band.

Domestic Proven: The Big Reshuffle

This is where the action is. Five of the December 2025 top 10 dropped out, and five new bulls entered — a 50% turnover rate that’s unusually high for Italy’s proven tier.

April 2026 Domestic Proven gPFT Top 10 (ANAFIBJ, data updated April 1, 2026):

RankBullSire × MGSgPFT Apr 2026gPFT Dec 2025ΔAI Center
1Crisalis RF (ZFZ)Gywer × Mr Salvatore52475180+67Intermizoo
2Boero (Go-Farm)Crisalis RF × Pursuit51624932*NEWIntermizoo
3Royal Inseme Carlomagno(Idevra)Bramante × Tabasco51405068+72Inseme
4Gewiss (G-Plus)Guitar × VH Crown5120—NEWIntermizoo
5SmilodonBennie × Deluxe5061—NEWIntermizoo
6Glorydays (GPlus FIS)Gladius × Youngster50564901**+155GPlus – IT
7Distefano (Isolabella)Hothand × Toohot50534982+71Inseme
8Noyz (Pine-Tree RUW)Dublin × Legacy5017—NEWABS Italia
9Wendat (All Nure)Einstein × Padawan50084880+128Intermizoo
10Mantra (Cirio Agricola Inseme)Try Me × Yoda50054969+36Inseme

* Boero was listed at gPFT 4932 on the December 2025 genomic domestic list; he has now transitioned to the proven list. ** Glorydays was on the December 2025 genomic domestic list at gPFT 4901; his proven debut at 5056 is a +155-point jump.

Dropped from the proven top 10: NT Isarco (was #6, gPFT 4871 Dec 2025 → gPFT 4951 Apr 2026, now rank ~12), SFH Redshift R (was #7 → gPFT 4941), Wilder Holocron (was #8 → gPFT 4937), KNO Ecuador P (was #9 → gPFT 4941), and Barone Rosso R (was #10 → gPFT 4885). Notably, most of these bulls gained points but still fell out of the top 10 — the new entrants pushed the floor higher.

The proven top-10 spread compressed from 346 points (December 2025: 5180 to 4834) to 242 points (April 2026: 5247 to 5005). That’s still wider than the top 10 in the genome, but the gap is closing fast.

The Big Movers: Up, Down, and In

Biggest Gainers (Proven Domestic)

  • Glorydays: +155 gPFT transitioning from genomic to proven debut at 5056 — his daughters confirmed a Gladius-line profile of solid ICS-PR (€957) with strong Longevity (111) and above-average Fertility (104), April 2026 Italian gPFT.
  • Wendat: +128 gPFT (4880 → 5008) — now carrying Rk 99 with a balanced Kg Milk (1182), components (Kg Fat 62, Kg Pr 70), and Longevity (110).
  • Royal Inseme Carlomagno: +72 gPFT (5068 → 5140) — held #3 and narrowed the gap to Boero by delivering higher Protein % (+0.26) and the best Kcas rating (BE) in the proven top 5.
  • Crisalis RF: +67 gPFT (5180 → 5247) — extended his #1 lead to +85 points over Boero, driven by improved SCS (107), while his production base held steady (Kg Milk 1189, Fat% +0.16, Pr% +0.20).

Genomic Graduates Worth Tracking

Boero and Glorydays both performed better than their genomic predictions. Boero’s December 2025 genomic gPFT was 4932; his April 2026 proven gPFT is 5162 — a +230-point gain that likely reflects an accumulation of more daughter data. Glorydays jumped from 4901 genomic to 5056 proven. Both are Rk 99 with high reliability — these are durable results, not noise.

Who Slid?

No dramatic collapses this run. The biggest relative loser in the proven top 20 is Sebulba (was gPFT 4786 in Dec 2025; no longer in the April 2026 top-20 visible range, with 93 bulls published). The drop-outs from the top 10 (NT Isarco, Redshift, Holocron, Ecuador, Barone Rosso) all actually gained 70–100+ points but were outpaced by the new entrants.

What Is Italy’s gPFT Rewarding This Run?

The April 2026 proven top 10 is skewed more heavily toward components and ICS-PR economic value than December’s list.

Trait ShiftDec 2025 Proven Top-10 ProfileApr 2026 Proven Top-10 Profile
Top-10 avg gPFT49345087 (+153)
Avg ICS-PR (€)~770~870 (estimated from top-10 values)
Avg IQC~106~109 (higher cheese-yield emphasis)
Avg Longevity~108~109
Avg Fertility~106~105 (slight dip)

The top group now has higher averages for Kg Fat and Kg Protein, and IQC (cheese quality) has firmed up. This reflects Italy’s Parmigiano-Reggiano premium: the gPFT formula inherently rewards cheese-relevant traits, and the bulls whose daughters deliver high-component, high-casein milk are being rewarded disproportionately as more data accumulates.

On the genomic domestic side, the Vivify sons (Rascasse, Liverpool, Odino — three of the top 8) dominate the health-and-type sub-indexes: Liverpool carries Udder composite +1.96, Fertility 112, and Type 110 (April 2026 Italian gPFT). But Mirosh (Reunion × Mookie) breaks that mold with a pure components play: +0.52% Fat, 111 Kg Fat, and only average health traits (Fertility 108, Longevity 104). Ecbert (Gladius × Dateline) bridges both profiles — IQC 111, solid IES (€1148), and balanced health.

Trade-off to watch: The proven #1 Crisalis RF (gPFT 5247) carries the weakest Type score in the top 5 (Type 0.94 →his weakest area in the top 5). If your herd needs functional type improvement alongside index, look further down the list to Distefano (Type 1.75, Udder 2.81) or Glorydays (Type 0.46, F&L 0.88 — moderate but balanced).

AI Companies and Bloodlines: Who Owns the Italian Top?

AI Center Shifts

Intermizoo continues to dominate the domestic proven top 10, holding 5 of 10 slots in April 2026. But the notable shift is what’s happening with the Italian Genetics → Inseme transition. In December 2025, Distefano and Barone Rosso were listed under “ITALIAN GENETICS” as their AI center. In April 2026, Distefano now appears under “INSEME.” Similarly, on the genomic domestic list, both Stormur and Jegolo switched from Italian Genetics to Inseme between runs. This almost certainly reflects the Inseme rebrand/restructuring — not a marketing shift, but a real organizational consolidation that breeders sourcing Italian semen should note for ordering purposes.

April 2026 AI Center Share — Domestic Proven Top 10:

AI CenterBulls in Top 10Notable Names
Intermizoo5Crisalis RF, Boero, Gewiss, Wendat, Smilodon
Inseme3Royal Inseme Carlomagno, Distefano, Mantra
GPlus – IT1Glorydays
ABS Italia1Noyz

On the foreign genomic list, the distribution is broader. Novagen holds 4 of the top 10; Inseme has 2; Semex Italia has 2; and ABS Italia, Cosapam, and ST Gen Group hold 1 each. The Novagen concentration is driven by their Peak and Smartie P connections.

Bloodline Concentration

Vivify is the dominant sire in the domestic genomic top 10, with three sons (Rascasse, Liverpool, Odino) plus Stormur just outside at #11. This is a significant concentration risk for breeders relying heavily on this list for matings — if you’ve already used two Vivify sons, your next genomic pick from Italy’s top group is likely to be Ecbert (Gladius), Bangles (Pacific × Royalflush), or Mirosh (Reunion × Mookie).

Gladius has emerged as the cross-list anchor sire:

  • Ecbert (#1 domestic genomic, gPFT 5371) — sired by Gladius
  • Delta Morgan (#8 foreign genomic, gPFT 5446) — sired by Gladius
  • Gigantic (#3 foreign proven, gPFT 5212) — sired by Gladius
  • Gladius himself ranks #4 foreign proven at gPFT 5173

That’s four top-10 placements across three different lists for the Gladius sire line. Any breeding program that has used Gladius, Ecbert, Morgan, and Gigantic all needs to audit its mating list for inbreeding coefficient stacking.

Rad sons dominate the extended foreign genomic list (Lightsaber gPFT 5440 in the top 10, plus Judo gPFT 5421, Rad Lad gPFT 5406, Beige gPFT 5410, and Ballot gPFT 5266 in the top 20). However, most Rad sons carry below-average F&L (Feet & Legs) scores — Lightsaber at -0.99, Judo at -1.13, Rad Lad at -0.05. For herds with concrete-floor housing, that’s a real functional risk despite the index appeal.

Outcross space: Bangles (Pacific × Royalflush) and Mirosh (Reunion × Mookie) on the domestic side, and Smartie P (Sega P RDC × Arrozo) on the foreign side, offer the cleanest pedigree breaks from the Vivify-Gladius-Rad concentration.

How Volatile Are Italy’s gPFT Rankings Right Now?

Domestic genomic: Low volatility. 8 of 10 held, 2 entered, top-10 spread compressed from 203 to 144 points. The Ecbert-Rascasse 1-2 looks stable; both gained modest points. Genomic bulls at Rk 99 in Italy carry high reliability within the genomic framework, but these are still genomic predictions — treat any individual bull’s exact rank as provisional. The tight 144-point band means a ±50-point swing in the next run could significantly reshuffle positions 3–10.

Domestic proven: High volatility by Italian standards. 50% top-10 turnover, +153-point average gain, and multiple genomic-to-proven graduates entering the list. This isn’t instability in the system — it’s the proven tier catching up as large daughter groups report. The Rk 99 designation on all top-10 proven bulls means these evaluations are high-reliability. Crisalis RF at #1 is about as safe a bet as Italy’s proven list offers.

Foreign genomic: The top of this list is genomic-only and subject to the usual re-ranking risk. Locust (gPFT 5527, April 2026) leads by just 8 points over Tiberius (5519). Both are Rk 99, but with no Italian daughter data, their gPFT is MACE-derived from their home-country genomic predictions. International breeders should weigh these as directional rather than definitive for Italian conditions.

Foreign proven: Powerhouse (gPFT 5394) has a commanding 165-point lead over Percival (5229). Powerhouse is heavily daughter-proven globally; his Italian gPFT is among the most reliable numbers on any of these lists. Percival at #2 is also well-proven (Captain × Gymnast, Rk 99) with 2011 Kg Milk and strong Kg Fat (125) — a Volume + Fat specialist.

What This Means for Your Matings This Spring

All recommendations below reference April 2026 Italian gPFT evaluations (ANAFIBJ, data updated April 1, 2026). Every bull discussed is Rk 99 unless otherwise noted.

If Your Herd Prioritizes Cheese Yield and Component Value (Parmigiano-Reggiano / Grana Padano Herds)

The proven list gives you Crisalis RF (gPFT 5247, IQC 101, Kcas AA) and Boero (IQC 114, Kcas AA) as the obvious father-son pair — but watch the IQC gap: Boero’s 114 vs Crisalis’s 101 means Boero contributes more directly to cheese-quality economics. If you need casein kappa genetics, Mantra (IQC 113, Kcas BB, +0.46% Fat, +88 Kg Fat) is the proven-tier cheese specialist. On the genomic side, Mirosh (IQC 108, +0.52% Fat) and Saxony (IQC 108, +0.47% Fat) offer strong component packages.

Be cautious with: Locust and the Rad sons (foreign genomic) carry high milk volume but relatively lower IQC scores (106 and 107, respectively); for cheese-yield herds, volume without components can dilute vat efficiency.

If Your Herd Prioritizes Health, Longevity, and Fertility

Liverpool (genomic domestic, gPFT 5267, Fertility 112, Longevity 114, Udder +1.96) is the standout functional bull in Italy’s genomic top group. On the proven side, Distefano (Longevity 115, Fertility 110, Udder +2.81) has the best health-trait package in the proven top 10 — and he’s now fully daughter-proven at Rk 99.

If your conception rate is below 40%: Prioritize Fertility scores above 110. Liverpool, Distefano, and the genomic newcomer Faktor (Fertility 116, Longevity 117, gPFT 5152, April 2026) are your short list. Avoid Crisalis RF (Fertility 107 — solid but not a specialist) if fertility is your limiting factor.

If You Run a Robot Herd

Udder composite and milking speed (IMA) matter. On the domestic proven list, Distefano leads with Udder +2.81 and IMA 106. Crisalis RF carries Udder +1.76, IMA 107. On genomic, Bangles (Udder +2.68, IMA 106) is the robot-herd pick from the new entrants.

Avoid for robot herds: Mirosh (Udder -0.25) and any Rad son with negative F&L scores — lameness and poor udder attachment will cost you throughput in a robotic system.

If You Show or Sell Seedstock (Type-Focused Program)

Distefano (Type 1.75, Udder 2.81, F&L 1.12, proven gPFT 5053) is the clear type improver with a competitive index. On the genomic side, Bangles (Type 1.62, Udder 2.68, F&L 1.39) offers the Royalflush maternal line — useful for mating programs targeting both type and outcross pedigrees.

Trade-off: Crisalis RF (Type 1.25) and Boero (Type 1.01) are fine for commercial herds but won’t win you type competitions.

If You Want to Anchor With Proven Safety

Use Powerhouse (foreign proven #1, gPFT 5394, Rk 99 with deep global daughter data) as your portfolio anchor. His 1750 kg of milk, +136 kg of fat, and +102 kg of protein are among the highest absolute production numbers on any Italian list. Pair him with a health-trait specialist like Distefano or Liverpool to offset his weaker Fertility (97) and Type (F&L +0.36).

30-Day Action Items

  1. Audit your Gladius and Vivify exposure. If more than 30% of your matings from the last 12 months trace to either sire line, flag those females for outcross matings using Bangles, Mirosh, or Smartie P this cycle.
  2. Pull your current mating list and cross-check against the April 2026 proven movers. If you were using NT Isarco, Redshift, or Holocron based on their December rank, they haven’t collapsed — but the new entrants (Boero, Gewiss, Smilodon, Glorydays, Noyz) offer fresher daughter data and a higher index.
  3. Re-evaluate any Rad-son heavy lineups for F&L risk, especially in housed herds on concrete. If you can’t give up the index, at a minimum, pair Rad sons with dams that carry positive F&L proofs.
  4. If you source from Italian Genetics / Inseme: Confirm your ordering codes and semen inventory labels reflect the consolidated Inseme branding — some catalogs may still list these bulls under the old Italian Genetics name.

Key Takeaways:

  • Crisalis RF and his son Boero now sit 1–2 on Italy’s April 2026 proven gPFT, with Crisalis up +67 points and five new sires pushing into the proven top 10.
  • The proven top-10 average jumped +153 gPFT in four months, meaning a “safe” December sire lineup can now be 150+ index points off the pace in Italy.
  • Domestic genomic rankings stayed stable but compressed into a 144‑point band, so fine‑tuning off who’s #3 vs #8 makes less sense than picking by trait package and risk.
  • Vivify and Gladius blood heavily dominate the top genomic and foreign lists, creating real inbreeding risk if 30%+ of your recent matings already trace to those lines.
  • There’s genuine upside in this run—Boero, Glorydays, Mantra and a few others proved up better than their genomic calls, especially for high‑component and cheese‑milk herds.

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CAPTAIN Gained 369 TPI Points. HOMECOMING Lost 414. Inside the 59% Failure Rate of April 2020’s Top Genomic Sires

We tracked 401 genomic Holstein bulls from April 2020 to their December 2025 daughter-proven proofs. Most never showed up. The ones that did reshuffled everything.

In April 2020, a lot of breeders logged into that proof run feeling like it was draft day. Lists of sky-high GTPI young bulls, reps pushing “can’t-miss” sires, and mating programs swinging hard toward genomics overnight. Five years later, the December 2025 CDCB/HAUSA proofs told a very different story in the U.S. Holstein system: 59% of those “elite” genomic Holstein bulls never made it to a daughter-proven proof at all, while a small group of outliers like Genosource CAPTAIN didn’t just hold — they gained hundreds of TPI points.

This is the reality check on that April 2020 class: who vanished, who climbed, what changed under the hood of TPI, and what it should do to the way you build your sire stack going into 2026.

How We Tracked the 2020 Class

Before we get into winners and wrecks, here’s where these numbers come from.

The Bullvine pulled an “elite” group of 401 genomic Holstein bulls from the April 2020 U.S. CDCB/HAUSA evaluations, based on their GTPI at that time. We then followed those same bulls forward to their December 2025 U.S. proofs, recording who made it to a daughter-proven evaluation, how their TPI changed, and which AI stud carried their semen.

Every cohort-level average and stud-level number you’ll see here describes this 401-bull slice over that five-year window. It’s not claiming to represent every bull each stud owns.

401 Genomic Bulls. 236 Never Showed Up.

In April 2020, the Holstein genomic pipeline looked unstoppable. The top of the GTPI list was stacked with young sires promising big jumps in milk, components, and type.

MetricCount% of Total
Total April 2020 Elite Bulls401100%
Bulls with December 2025 Daughter Proof16541%
Bulls That Never Proved23659%

By December 2025, only 165 of those bulls — 41% — had an official daughter-proven proof in the U.S. system. The other 236 bulls — 59% — never showed up with a CDCB/HAUSA daughter proof at all. No proof. No official daughters in the data.

Some of that attrition was straight biology. Many of those bulls came out of aggressive IVF programs and shortened generation intervals — great for genetic gain, not always great for semen production, health, or simply living long enough to matter. The rest was institutional: as soon as higher-index sons and half-brothers hit the lists, studs quietly retired a lot of 2020 calves before their first daughters ever calved.

If you bred heavily to April 2020 genomics, a big slice of the “genetic potential” you were sold never even got the chance to prove itself in your bulk tank — or anyone else’s.

How Accurate Were the April 2020 Rankings?

The 59% failure rate isn’t the whole story. Among the bulls that did survive to a December 2025 proof, the ranking shuffle was just as important.

  • Of the Top-10 genomic bulls in April 2020, 8 eventually got a proof, but only 4 were still in the proven Top-25 by December 2025.
  • Of the Top-25 genomic bulls, 21 got a proof; just 9 held a Top-25 spot.
  • Of the Top-100 genomic bulls, 74 got a proof; only 14 were still Top-25.

That means only 36% of the Top-25 bulls from April 2020 were still Top-25 five years later. Genomics clearly did a solid job flagging an “elite” pool. The fine sort between #1 and #25 turned out to be noisy once real daughters, base changes, and formula rewrites landed.

Underneath that index whiplash, the biology held up better than the rankings suggest. Correlations between 2020 genomic predictions and 2025 proven proofs stayed strong for core biological traits: 0.814 for PTAT, 0.762 for fat yield, 0.709 for protein yield.

Genomics did a pretty good job on pounds of fat and protein and general type. The volatility came from what the formula decided those traits were worth over time — not from the underlying DNA suddenly changing its mind.

Why Your Bull’s TPI Dropped Even if His Genetics Didn’t

You can’t stack a 2020 GTPI beside a 2025 proven TPI and read it straight. The ground moved under every bull in three big ways.

The 2025 Base Change: The Big Rollback

In April 2025, CDCB reset the Holstein genetic base from cows born in 2015 to cows born in 2020. The breed made serious progress in that window, so every bull’s PTA got pulled back:

  • Milk: −650 lb
  • Fat: −38 lb
  • Protein: −26 lb
  • Productive Life: −2.31 months
  • Somatic Cell Score: +0.10

For bulls in this 401-bull cohort that made it to December 2025, the average TPI drop was about 42.5 points, just from living through that base reset and the other formula changes. Expected Future Inbreeding (EFI) climbed from 7.5% to 9.4%, which added extra pressure on certain pedigrees.

So if you saw a favorite bull lose a chunk of TPI over those five years, part of that was simply the yardstick moving.

Feed Efficiency and Feed Saved: Penalties for Big, Hungry Cows

In April 2021, Holstein Association USA rewrote the TPI formula to pull Feed Saved into the mix. The revised feed efficiency term leaned hard into solids and efficiency, not just raw volume:

FE$=(-0.0025×PTA Milk)+(1.86×PTA Fat)+(1.75×PTA Protein)+(0.13×Feed Saved)

Bulls that made big, heavy daughters with high body weight composite (BWC) — and big maintenance bills — started paying a TPI penalty, even if their milk PTAs looked flashy. That was bad news for “bigger is better” pedigrees whose value had been built on sheer volume. And very good news for moderate-framed cows that quietly pounded out components without eating the farm out of house and home.

DPR Couldn’t Carry the Fertility Load Alone Anymore

By August 2024, the Fertility Index was also rebalanced. DPR had been 70% of that index. After the change, DPR and Cow Conception Rate (CCR) each carried 40%, with Heifer Conception Rate (HCR) and Early First Calving (EFC) at 10% each.

Any 2020 bull whose genomic TPI leaned heavily on extreme DPR, but didn’t have the CCR to back it up, took a hit. The new math rewarded bulls that actually got cows bred on first service, not just bulls whose daughters came back into heat quickly after a miss.

Put those three shifts together, and you get the pattern: genomics did a decent job on biology; the index moved underneath them.

CAPTAIN: +369 Points, 12,000 Daughters, 99% Reliability

One sire didn’t just ride out those hits. He used them.

Born on New Year’s Day 2019 in Iowa, the Charl × Sabre calf spent his first six months at Farnear Holsteins. “With his very promising gTPI, everyone doted on him,” recalled Tom Simon from Farnear. Genosource’s Tim Rauen had flagged Captain early, calling him “a long-term deal” during a conversation in Madison in October 2019 — months before the bull would debut at 3059 GTPI in April 2020.

Most of his peers dropped from their genomic starting point once the base changed and the formula shifted. Captain went the other way.

By December 2025, Captain was sitting at 3428 TPI, a gain of 369 points from his 2020 genomic estimate. His proof at that time pulled from over 12,000 daughters in nearly 800 herds under U.S. CDCB/HAUSA evaluations. His daughters averaged 32,542 lb milk with +123 lb fat and +64 lb protein, and his milk reliability sat at 99%.

That’s not an opinion. That’s a bull whose daughters out-delivered the genomic math while the formula got tougher. “He is without a doubt, the best bull that the breed has ever seen,” STgenetics CEO Juan Moreno has stated publicly — and in this case, the proof file backs up the claim.

Captain’s profile — heavy on components, efficient frames, and enough fertility to hold value under the 2024 FI rewrite — was effectively built for the TPI of the future, not the one we were using in 2020. He’s not faultless. Rauen himself has noted Captain needs to be “protected for somatic cell” and watched on overall conformation, strength, foot angle, and teat length. But the production engine underneath is something the breed hasn’t seen before at this reliability level.

Read more: CAPTAIN: The Bull That Rewrote the Rules for Modern Breeding and From Pasture to Powerhouse: The GenoSource Story.

Barn Math: Captain vs. Homecoming in Your Milk Cheque

“Captain over-performed” sounds nice. Let’s put a dollar figure on it.

On the December 2025 U.S. proof run, Captain’s PTA stands at +67 lb protein and +120 lb fat per lactation. The average bull in this April 2020 proven cohort sits at +29 lb protein and +64.9 lb fat. That gives Captain an edge of roughly:

  • +38 lb protein
  • +55.1 lb fat

per daughter per lactation versus the class average.

Using January 2025 U.S. FMMO Class III component prices — $2.33/lb protein and $2.95/lb butterfat (per USDA/AMS) — that component gap works out to roughly $250 per cow per year in extra component revenue compared with the average bull in this group.

Put that in your own barn. If Captain sires half the replacements in a 300-cow herd, once those daughters are in full production, you’re looking at around $37,500 more in component revenue per year than if you’d used the cohort average instead. On a 1,000-cow operation, that gap jumps to roughly $125,000 per year. That’s not a rounding error — for a lot of upper Midwest freestall herds, it’s the difference between making the principal payment comfortably and sweating every month.

Now flip it with AOT HOMECOMING. His proven PTAs landed at −5 lb protein and +6 lb fat. Versus Captain, that’s about:

  • 72 lb less protein
  • 114 lb less fat

per daughter per lactation. At the same component prices, that’s in the ballpark of $500 less per cow per year in component revenue for a Homecoming daughter than for a Captain daughter.

BullProtein PTA (lb)Fat PTA (lb)Component Revenue/Cow/Year (USD)
CAPTAIN+67+120~$510
Cohort Average+29+64.9~$260
HOMECOMING-5+6~$0
Captain vs. Homecoming Gap+72 lb+114 lb~$500

Both bulls were available to you in essentially the same era. The semen price gap wasn’t $500 a straw. But the long-term revenue gap per cow per year is right there on the pay stub. Run the same math with your own component prices and herd size — the method is the same even if your numbers differ.

The Siemers Renegad Parfect Surprise

If Captain is the headline, Siemers Renegad Parfect is the bull a lot of people skimmed past in 2020 — and shouldn’t have.

In April 2020, Parfect sat at #150 on the genomic TPI list with 2980 gTPI. Solid, but a long way from the Top-10. By December 2025, he had 19,079 daughters in 2,627 herds — the highest daughter count of any bull in this 401-bull dataset — and his TPI climbed to 3124, a gain of 144 points. He’s also the only bull in the 165-head proven group whose PTAT went up: from +1.80 genomic to +1.88 proven.

A Renegade × Delta-Lambda × Denver from the Siemers Lmda Paris family, Parfect has sold approximately 450,000 units of semen worldwide with 24% sexed and 35% sold outside the U.S., and he remains an allocated bull because demand keeps outrunning production, according to Select Sires. Paris herself was a Global Cow winner with GMD and DOM designations and more than 20 sons to AI — and there are already 76 bulls released from Parfect dams.

At Trent-Way Holsteins in Wisconsin, Trent Hendrickson calls Parfect a “generational talent” for their black and whites, describing daughters that are well-balanced, with positive milk, strong components, and consistent udders and rumps.

None of that makes Parfect bulletproof — it just shows that in this cohort, he’s one of the rare bulls whose proof climbed with massive daughter numbers behind him. When 19,000+ daughters tell the same story, you’re past the “small sample” excuse and into something real.

When the “Can’t-Miss” Genomic Bulls Missed Hard

On the other side of the ledger sit the crashes.

BullApril 2020 gTPIDec 2025 TPIChangeDaughtersSire Stack
CAPTAIN30593428+36912,170Charl x Sabre x Ahead
ENVY30383231+1931,168Entity x Achiever x Bayonet
PARFECT29803124+14419,079Renegade x Delta-Lambda x Denver
HOLDON29803091+1112,937Charl x Draco x Numero Uno
DUFFY30253152+1271,979Acura x Rio x Modesty

The bulls that fell more than 300 TPI points between April 2020 genomics and December 2025 proofs share a familiar pattern:

  • HOMECOMING (Spartacus × Delta × Day): −414 TPI points, with PTAT dropping 0.87 points.
  • SUPERCHARGE (Legacy × Rubicon × Morgan): −396 TPI points, including a 2.32-point collapse in PTAT (from +1.18 to −1.14).
  • TYCOON: −352 TPI points, mainly from yield under-performance.
  • SHINE: −327 TPI points, driven by fertility and health erosion.

In the worst of these crashes, the structure is the same: over-predicted type stacked on weak or shallow functional traits. Sire lines heavy on Legacy and Heroic on the top side, with Delta on the maternal side, were over-represented.

Supercharge is the clearest example. His genomic PTAT was built on a stack of fashionable type sires and early pedigree data. Once his daughters hit real commercial parlors, the structure didn’t hold up — and the index followed.

For breeders who leaned hard into those pedigrees, the disappointment wasn’t a chart. It was cows that didn’t do the job they were supposed to do.

Does More Semen in More Herds Really Make Proofs Worse?

You’ve heard it at the coffee shop: “Once a bull goes everywhere, his proof will just get worse.” This class gives you a cleaner answer.

Group the 165 proven bulls by how many daughters they had in December 2025, and the pattern is pretty clear:

Proven daughtersBullsAvg TPI change% that gained TPI
Under 50052−81.828.8%
500–1,00029−65.524.1%
1,000–2,00027−23.433.3%
2,000–5,00042−27.940.5%
5,000+15+62.366.7%

Bulls with 5,000+ daughters actually gained TPI on average, and two-thirds of them went up, not down. Bulls with fewer than 500 daughters lost an average of almost 82 points, with fewer than a third improving.

A few big-use sires from this group:

  • Siemers Renegad Parfect: 19,079 daughters, +144 TPI.
  • Larcrest Captivating: 14,777 daughters, −122 TPI.
  • Mr. Farnear Helix Twitch: 12,480 daughters, −246 TPI.
  • Sandy-Valley R Conway: 12,411 daughters, +22 TPI.
  • Genosource Captain: 12,170 daughters, +369 TPI.

Once you’re past around 5,000 daughters in a few hundred herds, what you see is basically what you get — good or bad.

For your own herd, this dataset says one thing: treat daughter and herd counts as filters, not afterthoughts. A bull with 300 daughters in 20 herds is still on trial. A bull with 2,000 or 5,000 daughters spread over hundreds of herds is telling you who he really is.

Which Studs Got It Right — and Which Got Burned?

This five-year window didn’t just sort bulls. It showed which AI programs were actually breeding for the new economics and which ones were still built around the old index.

All stud-level averages and retention rates here come from The Bullvine’s analysis of that 401-bull April 2020 cohort through the December 2025 U.S. proofs — not every bull each stud owns.

AI StudBulls in April 2020 Elite GroupBulls with Dec 2025 ProofRetention Rate (%)Avg TPI Change (Retained Bulls)
STgenetics361438.9%+21.8
PEAK361952.8%-36.0
Select Sires1064340.6%-32.9
ABS Global1967739.3%-70.6
Cohort Average40116541.2%-42.5

STgenetics: Building for the Index of the Future

In this look-back, STgenetics came out on top.

They were the only major stud whose retained bulls gained TPI points on average, at about +21.8 TPI per bull across the group. That lift was anchored by Captain and his clone brothers Jack and John, but it went deeper — bulls like HOLDON (+111) and JARVIS (+76) also posted gains.

That pattern lines up with ST’s long-running focus on Chromosomal Mating and their EcoFeed program — both targeting feed conversion and solids years before those traits were fully rewarded in the TPI formula. For a commercial herd, that meant ST-sired daughters were better positioned than most when the formula turned on big, hungry cows and rewarded efficient ones.

For more on the four foundation sires shaping almost every Holstein pedigree you touch today, see our deep dive.

Select Sires: High Ceiling, Deep Floor

Select Sires landed in the middle of the pack, but with a wide spread.

They retained 43 bulls (40.6%), a better survival rate than the group as a whole, and those bulls dropped an average of −32.9 TPI points, beating the overall cohort decline. They also owned 16 bulls that gained points, including PAYLOAD, CRUSHER, and GAMEDAY.

But Select also held four of the six worst crashes in this analysis, including HOMECOMING and SUPERCHARGE. If you spread your matings across their lineup, you probably did fine. If you concentrated on a couple of high-PTAT pedigrees that later deflated, December 2025 may have been a painful read.

PEAK: The Safe Center

PEAK showed up as the most stable of the majors.

They had the highest retention rate, successfully proving 19 of 36 bulls (52.8%), and their retained bulls dropped an average of −36.0 TPI points. No moonshot 300-point gainers. No catastrophic 300-point crashes.

PEAK’s strategy leaned into balanced, predictable genetics that mostly held their rank even as the base and formula moved. Sires like ZILLION and ALTAZAZZLE became quiet anchors in that approach. If your breeding philosophy values predictability over fireworks, this is the sort of stud profile that lets you sleep at night.

ABS Global: Exposed to the Old Index

In this particular 2020 look-back, ABS Global had the roughest ride.

They started with the most bulls on the 2020 elite list, but recorded the lowest retention rate — 39.3% (77 bulls) — and their retained bulls dropped an average of −70.6 TPI points, the steepest decline among the major studs in this dataset.

Many of their high-profile young sires at that time were built on extreme DPR and high-milk, larger-framed daughters. Once feed efficiency and CCR were given more weight in TPI, those profiles were more exposed than some competitors’ lineups. There were bright spots — bulls like ENVY (+193) — but the volume of Heroic and Prince sons that fell off pulled their stud average down.

ABS has been adjusting. They introduced 36 new Holstein graduates following later sire summaries, a sign they’re working to realign with updated TPI standards and market demands.

Genomics Got the Biology Right. The Index Is What Moved.

The biggest takeaway from this April 2020 class is simple: don’t confuse index volatility with genomic failure.

  • The average retained bull dropped 42.5 TPI points over five years, driven largely by base changes and formula shifts, not by failed biology.
  • The correlations between 2020 genomic predictions and 2025 proofs stayed strong for core traits: PTAT around 0.81, fat around 0.76, protein around 0.71.

The core question for your breeding program isn’t “Does genomics work?” It’s “Am I breeding for the index and milk cheque of the next five years — or the one that just got retired?”

For more on how the genomic model reshaped what “elite” even means, read our primer on genomic selection’s real track record.

What This Means for Your Operation

You don’t control base changes or formula tweaks. You do control how much risk you take, which studs you trust, and how you weight solids, fertility, and efficiency when you pick bulls.

  • Audit your reliability stack within 30 days. Print your current sire list and match it against the December 2025 U.S. CDCB/HAUSA proofs. Any bull under 70% reliability on TPI? Treat him as a genomic young sire in practice, even if he technically has some daughters. Any bull above 90% reliability with daughters across multiple herds is your stability layer — the Captain/Gameday-type bulls that absorb shocks when formulas move. Any sire list where three young bulls cover more than half your matings should be a red flag, given the 59% attrition this class showed.
  • Balance proven vs. genomic on purpose, not by accident. For a commercial Holstein herd, a pragmatic split looks like 50–70% of matings on a small group of high-reliability proven sires whose daughters do exactly what the current TPI and milk cheque care about — solids, fertility, efficiency — and 30–50% of matings on genomic sires spread across at least 4–6 different lines.
  • Run a type-fragility check before you chase the next PTAT rocket. The bulls that crashed hardest here — Homecoming, Supercharge, Shine — weren’t derailed by milk. They were derailed by over-predicted type and weak functional traits, especially once base and formula changes hit. Before you lean into the next big PTAT bull, look at his sire and MGS proof history and his health/fertility stack. If the pedigree is all type and no ballast, keep that semen for donors and show projects — not across the whole freestall herd.
  • Respect daughter and herd counts as filters, not fine print. A bull with 300 daughters in 20 herds is still on trial. A bull with thousands of daughters in hundreds of herds is telling you who he really is, for better or worse. Make that filter part of your mating program, not a footnote you glance at after you’ve picked the bull.
  • Align with solids and efficiency economics. U.S. component pricing and export data are pointing the same direction: fat and protein drive the cheque, and global demand is solids-hungry. Pick sires that put more fat and protein in the tank at realistic feed costs — the new FE$ and Net Merit formulas are already paying those cows differently. For the economics that now reward solids and efficiency over sheer volume, see our analysis of the $1.6B dairy shift.

Key Takeaways

  • If you build your sire list only from the very top of a genomic ranking, you’re accepting that roughly 6 out of 10 “elite” bulls may never even see a daughter-proven proof; to manage that risk, blend proven stability with genomic upside.
  • If you see a bull drop 100–150 TPI points between 2020 and 2025, don’t panic; check how much of that is base change and formula moves versus real trait erosion before you write him off.
  • If a high-PTAT young sire’s pedigree leans hard on Legacy/Heroic/Delta lines and doesn’t bring matching health and fertility, treat him as a specialist tool for donors and show cows — not as a herd-wide solution.
  • If you’re choosing between two bulls available at the same time, and one puts an extra 90–100 lb of combined fat and protein into each daughter’s tank at current component prices, assume that’s worth several hundred dollars per cow per year and make your semen budget reflect it.

The Bottom Line

Genomics is still the sharpest tool in the shed. But if you love speed and are willing to absorb some crashes, you’ll keep leaning into young sires. If you’d rather sleep at night, let bulls like Captain and Parfect carry most of the weight while genomics scouts the next generation. The difference between a well-diversified strategy and a concentrated one is the difference between Captain and Supercharge.

Pull up your semen invoices from 2020–2021 and your December 2025 proof file. How many of those bulls are still earning their keep under today’s rules — and how many were gone before their daughters hit a parlor?

Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.

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Canada’s 20 Most-Used Holstein Sires: 96th Percentile LPI, Yet Only 31st Percentile Fertility

Canada’s 20 most-used Holstein sires average 96th percentile LPI — and only 31st percentile where it costs you cows: fertility.

Lactanet’s new subindexes reveal a pattern hidden within elite proof sheets — and it runs through nearly a quarter of every registered calf born in 2025. Seventeen of Canada’s twenty most-used Holstein sires rank below the breed-indexed midpoint for reproduction.

A2P2 PP – Canada’s #1 registration sire in 2025 – delivers elite LPI, high type, A2A2 and polled genetics, while this article asks what his proof sheet isn’t telling you about fertility.

Not below the top quartile. Below the middle! These aren’t marginal bulls filling tanks at small operations — they’re the bulls shaping roughly 23% of all Canadian Holstein registrations in 2025, averaging about 2,940 daughters each, according to Holstein Canada data. A2P2 leads the list. Fuel sits at number twenty. On the December 2025 Lactanet proof sheets, the twenty average LPI hits 3,568 — the 96th percentile. By any traditional measure, this is an outstanding working sire team.

But Lactanet launched a modernized LPI in April 2025 with six new subindexes — and those subindexes tell a story the headline number doesn’t.

Who’s Actually Doing the Breeding?

The top-20 registration list reads like the semen order form at half the barns in the country:

RankBullRankBull
1A2P211Right Stuff PP
2Pursuit12Bullseye
3Anahita13Poprock
4Johnboy14Zippy
5Knowhow15Capone
6Alcove16Landfall
7Zoak17Troy
8Renegade18Lehigh
9Conway19Lateshow
10Ambrose20Fuel

A2P2 at number one — polled, A2A2, daughter-proven with elite Conformation — would have been unthinkable at the top of a registration chart five years ago. Right Stuff PP at eleven reinforces the point: polled genetics aren’t a show-barn curiosity anymore. They’re mainstream enough to dominate usage. The group includes a mix of daughter-proven and genomic-only sires. When The Bullvine analyzed the 2021–2023 registration data, 29 of the 53 most-used sires (55%) were genomic, but they accounted for just 36.4% of actual registrations. The genomic share on this 2025 list suggests that the gap has narrowed — breeders aren’t just accepting genomic sires anymore, they’re choosing them first.

96th Percentile LPI, Yet Only 31st on Fertility — How?

The December 2025 top-line indexes for this group look genuinely impressive:

  • LPI: 3,568 average (96% RK)
  • Production Index (PI): 92% RK
  • Longevity & Type Index (LTI): 97% RK
  • Pro$: about 2,008 (around 93% RK)

If you stopped reading there, you’d think Canadian breeders had assembled the strongest working lineup in the breed’s history.

Then you read the subindexes.

When Lactanet rolled out the modernized LPI in April 2025, six subindexes replaced the old two-pillar structure, each on a standardized scale (average 500, standard deviation 100). For Holsteins, the weights are 40% Production (PI), 32% Longevity & Type (LTI), 8% Health & Welfare (HWI), 10% Reproduction (RI), 5% Milkability (MI), and 5% Environmental Impact (EI) — confirmed in Van Doormaal et al.’s Interbull Bulletin paper (No. 61, June 2025), with economic values estimated by AbacusBio.

Here’s how the top-20 registration bulls score on the four subindexes outside production and type:

SubindexAvg Percentile RankRangeBulls Below 50th
Health & Welfare (HWI)47%7–94%13 of 20
Reproduction (RI)31%2–68%17 of 20
Milkability (MI)47%9–87%12 of 20
Environmental Impact (EI)33%1–73%15 of 20

These are group averages — individual bulls vary widely, as the ranges show. A few cleared the 50th percentile on every subindex. The concern is the pattern across the group, not any single sire.

But the pattern is stark. Bulls producing nearly a quarter of all registered Canadian Holsteins average the 31st percentile on reproduction. Fifteen of the twenty fall below the breed midpoint on environmental impact. On health and welfare, thirteen of the twenty sit below average.

The combined weight of HWI + RI + MI + EI inside LPI is only 28%. That’s enough to show up on a proof sheet — nowhere near enough to change a sire’s ranking when 72% of LPI comes from production and type. Van Doormaal et al. noted this tension directly: the Reproduction Index has the lowest correlation with overall LPI (0.39) among all six subindexes, “stemming from the underlying negative correlation between female fertility traits and other key traits in the LPI, especially milk yield and some key conformation traits.”

The system is built so that bulls can be elite on LPI while being middling on fertility. And the twenty most-used sires are proving it.

Fat and Type Are Strong — But Look at That Milk Range

The production and type averages reinforce why these bulls earned their registrations:

TraitAverage%RKRange
Milk+75 kg70%−419 to +2,053 kg
Fat+88 kg (+0.40%F)80%30–118 kg (−0.07 to +1.08%F)
Protein+58 kg (+0.21%P)77%9–93 kg (−0.01 to +0.53%P)
Conformation+9.794%+2 to +16
Mammary+5.881%−3 to +12
Feet & Legs+8.091%+4 to +15
Dairy Strength+8.692%+4 to +15
Rump+5.781%+1 to +13

Components are solid — +0.40%F and +0.21%P — which matters in every component-pricing province. Conformation at 94th percentile, Feet & Legs at 91st, Dairy Strength at 92nd. This is a type-forward group, exactly what you’d expect from bulls popular with breeders who register.

One number is lower than expected: Mammary at +5.8 and 81% RK. Mammary System carries 37% of the LTI subindex in the modernized formula, so you’d think the most-used bulls would rank higher. One bull in this group actually scores −3 on the Mammary trait. When a sire below average on udders still cracks the top-20 usage list, it tells you breeders are prioritizing other traits — components, caseins, polled status — enough to accept trade-offs they wouldn’t have a decade ago.

That milk range deserves a second look too: −419 to +2,053 kg. Some of these bulls are actively pulling volume down while pushing components up. That’s a deliberate bet on solids percentages over volume — smart if your processor rewards percentage, risky if they still pay primarily on litres.

What Happens When You Pull Your Own Tank’s Subindex Sheets?

Here’s where the subindex data shifts from abstract to personal: most producers using these bulls haven’t had easy access to this breakdown of their sire lineup — at least not in a format that puts the information front and center at decision time.

The Bullvine’s “No-Holes Sire” analysis (August 2025) drove this point home. Even among the highest-ranking LPI bulls in the breed, genuinely balanced profiles are rare. Apollo-PP — the highest-ranking homozygous polled sire with five of six subindexes above 50% RK — still falls to 41% on Reproduction. At 3,924 LPI and 99% RK on Longevity & Type, Apollo-PP is an outstanding bull. But if the best polled sire available in August 2025 still had a fertility hole, imagine what the average top-20 registration bull’s sheet looks like when you scan all six subindex columns.

That gap between what the data shows and what breeders actually see when choosing semen is the real story here. It all starts with complete information, but the rubber truly meets the road when milking daughters are performing on Canadian farms.

From 45% A2A2 to 70% in Two Years — The Casein Shift Is Real.

Across the top 20 in 2025:

Trait2021–20232025
A2A2 beta-casein45%70%
BB kappa-casein19%50%
Homozygous polled (PP)4%15%
  • A2A2 beta-casein: about 70%
  • BB kappa-casein: about 50%
  • Homozygous polled (PP): about 15%
  • Red carrier (RC): about 15%

These aren’t soft impressions. When The Bullvine analyzed the 2021–2023 registration data using Holstein Canada’s sire lists, the numbers looked very different: 45% of registrations came from A2A2 sires, 19% from BB kappa-casein sires, and just 4% from homozygous polled bulls. In two years, A2A2 representation among the top sires has jumped from 45% to roughly 70%. BB kappa-casein has gone from 19% to about 50%. Homozygous polled has nearly quadrupled — from 4% to approximately 15%.

A2P2, sitting at number one, and Right Stuff PP, at number eleven, are the headline acts. But even further down the list, casein and polled profiles are stacking. Breeders aren’t just checking the box on caseins anymore — they’re treating them as a primary selection criterion, driven partly by processor signaling on cheese yield and partly by consumer-facing A2 milk marketing.

The polled story is even more pointed. With 15% of the top-20 sires homozygous polled — up from 4% in the 2021–2023 window — the old argument that “there aren’t enough good polled bulls” doesn’t hold up against the registration data. If you’re still dehorning every calf in 2026, that’s a management choice, not a genetic constraint.

11.9% Average Inbreeding — and Only Three Below 10%

Here’s where the data shifts from uncomfortable to urgent.

Average inbreeding coefficient across the top 20 is 11.9%, with a range of 8.74% to 15.95%. Only three of the twenty sit below 10%.

For context: Lactanet’s August 2025 inbreeding update reported that the average inbreeding level for Canadian Holstein heifers born in 2024 reached 9.99%. On a pedigree basis, Holstein inbreeding has been increasing by approximately 0.25% per year since 2010, according to Lactanet’s annual reports authored by Brian Van Doormaal. That’s the breed average. These twenty bulls — the ones shaping nearly a quarter of the next generation — sit almost two full percentage points above it.

Penn State geneticist Dr. Chad Dechow has documented that current U.S. Holstein inbreeding averages around 8%, with young bulls running 9–10%. In the Netherlands, Doekes et al. (2019) at Wageningen University studied 38,792 first-parity Dutch Holstein-Friesians and found that a 1% increase in genomic inbreeding (FROH) was associated with a 36.3 kg decrease in 305-day milk yield, a 0.48-day increase in calving interval, and a 0.86-unit increase in somatic cell score. At the University of Parma, Ablondi et al. confirmed the pattern: their 2023 analysis of 27,735 Italian Holstein cows found every 1% increase in genomic inbreeding cut 305-day milk yield by approximately 61 kg and reduced both fat and protein yields (Journal of Animal Science, 101:1–10).

Virginia Tech research goes back further — and the numbers are bigger than most people assume. Smith, Cassell, and Pearson studied over 2.6 million lactation records from U.S. Holsteins (Journal of Dairy Science, 81:2729–2737, 1998). The all-cow results showed a loss of $12–$15 per 1% increase in inbreeding. But when Cassell drilled into the registered-cow subset — 257,449 animals with complete pedigree data, where true inbreeding levels are most accurately captured — the loss jumped to $22–$24 per 1%: $24 in a fluid market, $22 in a cheese market (1999 Western Canadian Dairy Seminar). Cassell advised placing “greater reliance on results from registered herds” because incomplete pedigrees in grade cows understate true inbreeding. Adjusted for inflation, the registered-cow figures come to roughly $40–$46 in today’s dollars.

Inbreeding Gap (% points above 9.5%)Cost per Cow (CAD, lifetime)Cost on 200-Cow Herd (CAD)Cost on 500-Cow Herd (CAD)
+1.0 percentage point$40–$46$8,000–$9,200$20,000–$23,000
+1.5 percentage points$60–$69$12,000–$13,800$30,000–$34,500
+2.0 percentage points$80–$92$16,000–$18,400$40,000–$46,000
+2.4 percentage points (top-20 avg)$96–$110$19,200–$22,000$48,000–$55,000
+3.0 percentage points$120–$138$24,000–$27,600$60,000–$69,000

One more finding from that WCDS paper worth noting: the losses were linear. The cost per percentage point at 12% was the same as at 3%. There’s no safe plateau — every additional point of inbreeding extracts the same toll.

What Does 11.9% Actually Cost at the Cow Level?

That 11.9% is the sires’ own inbreeding — a measure of their homozygosity, not a direct prediction of where their daughters will land. Daughter inbreeding depends on the dam side of every mating, too.

But in a breed already averaging 9.99%, using sires this inbred makes it nearly impossible to keep daughters below a 9.5% ceiling without deliberately seeking low-relationship dams. If daughters end up even 2 percentage points above a 9.5% target — a conservative estimate given these sire levels — the registered-cow figures suggest roughly $80–$92 per cow in lifetime profit drag, or $16,000–$18,400 on a 200-cow herd. Push that gap to 2.4 points, and the numbers run to $96–$110 per cow and $19,200–$22,000 per herd.

The exact cost depends on your mating program. As Cassell himself wrote in that 1999 WCDS paper: “There is no magic level of inbreeding that is acceptable.” But the direction is clear — and these are the bulls most herds are already using.

Can Breeders Actually See the Problem — Or Is It Buried?

Lactanet deserves credit for building the tools. The modernized LPI subindexes launched in April 2025. A detailed percentile-rank guide followed in June. And the Lactanet Inbreeding Calculator — which shows projected inbreeding levels and parent averages for any potential mating — has been one of the site’s most frequently used features for years.

Compass, the free genetic management software built by Holstein Canada and Lactanet (with Zoetis support), launched on November 14, 2019, lets producers create a customized version of LPI or Pro$ that matches their breeding goals, track genetic progress, and view return-on-investment projections. It’s an unbiased source — it doesn’t sell semen. Lactanet also offers a Personalized LPI (pLPI) through LactanetGen.ca — you set the subindex weights yourself to match your own priorities. A producer who wants more emphasis on health and reproduction can shift from the default 8% HWI / 10% RI to, say, 12% and 14%, and the system re-ranks every bull accordingly. The trade-off is real, though: those extra percentage points have to come from somewhere, typically Production or Longevity & Type, which means your pLPI rankings will look different from the semen catalog’s default LPI list — and that’s exactly the point.

Balance Threshold# of Top-20 Sires Meeting ThresholdWhat This Means
All 6 subindexes above 40% RK~8–10Marginal balance — still risky on 1–2 traits
All 6 subindexes above 50% RK~3–5True breed-average balance — rare even in elite sires
5 of 6 subindexes above 50% RK (1 weakness OK)~7–9“No-Holes Sire” standard — strategic weakness acceptable
HWI + RI both above 50% RK~3–4Health and fertility balance — where replacement costs are decided

So the tools exist. But scroll through the sire listings from major AI companies and the picture changes. EastGen’s online catalog lets you sort bulls by GLPI, Pro$, A2A2, Polled, and Robot Ready — but not by subindex rank for Health & Welfare or Reproduction. Semex’s SemexWorks™ builds custom client indexes with reps, which can incorporate more traits — but that requires a conversation the rep initiates. The default presentation in most catalogs still leads with LPI or Pro$ in large type. Subindex percentile ranks, if they appear at all, sit in the fine print.

That means the data Lactanet publishes and the data breeders see when they’re choosing semen are often two different things. Until AI catalogs give subindexes the same real estate as LPI and Pro$, producers who want that information are pulling it themselves — and, based on how those catalogs are structured, most aren’t.

That’s not an indictment of anyone. It’s a description of where the industry sits and where the opportunity is widest.

ActionTimelineTool/ResourceWhat to Look For
Pull subindex breakdown for every sire in your tankThis monthLactanet proof sheetsBulls below 50% RK on 3+ subindexes (HWI, RI, MI, EI) — flag for strategic use
Run inbreeding projections on planned matingsBefore next order (90 days)Lactanet Inbreeding CalculatorSet 9.5% ceiling — compare sire IB% to breed average (9.99%)
Audit first-born 2025 calves from top-20 siresBy April 2027 proof runOn-farm health/repro recordsTrack SCC, conception rate, health events by sire group — proof vs. reality check
Ask AI rep for all 6 subindex ranks on recommended siresNext semen order meetingCompass (free, unbiased) or pLPIIf they can’t answer or deflect, you know how that sire list was built

What This Means Before Your Next Semen Order

Every one of these findings connects to a decision you’re making this year.

This month: Pull Lactanet’s subindex breakdown for every sire currently in your tank. Flag any bull below 50% RK on three or more of HWI, RI, MI, and EI. That doesn’t mean you drop him — it means you know which cow groups he should and shouldn’t be matched with, and you’re not flying blind. The Bullvine’s “No-Holes Sire” analysisrecommends at least five of six subindexes above 50% RK as the threshold for a balanced sire. Even Apollo-PP — the highest-ranking August 2025 PP sire in the breed at 3,924 LPI — hits five of six but still falls to 41% RK on Reproduction. That should tell you how rare true balance is, and how intentional you need to be to get it.

Before your next order (within 90 days): Run inbreeding projections on planned matings using Lactanet’s Inbreeding Calculator and set an explicit ceiling. A target of 9.5% is a defensible starting point — already below where the 2024-born heifer average sits. One honest trade-off: in narrow pedigree pools, hitting that ceiling may force you toward lower-LPI sires. That’s a real cost. But a bull at 3,400 LPI with 9% inbreeding and solid health and fertility scores may deliver more lifetime profit than one at 3,800 LPI with 13% inbreeding. The LPI gap is smaller than the inbreeding depression gap. If you’re thinking about how to structure a complementary sire roster — balancing production, components, durability, and an outcross slot — that $869-per-cow lifetime profit gap between top-quartile and bottom-quartile genetics from the Zoetis study of 12,952 Holsteins makes the case for being deliberate.

By the April 2027 proof run: Audit the first-born 2025 calves from these top-20 sires in your herd. Track health events, conception rates, and SCC by sire group. Compare actual daughter performance against proof-sheet promises, especially for traits where these bulls scored below average. That’s your reality check — and the data you need to adjust for 2027 sire selection.

On caseins and polled: If your processor pays any component or A2 premium, use the 70% A2A2 baseline in this top-20 group as your floor, not your ceiling, with BB kappa-casein at 50% and PP at 15% — both up dramatically from 45% and 19%, respectively, just two years ago — you can build a casein-forward, polled herd without sacrificing competitive LPI. A2P2 and Right Stuff PP demonstrate that.

At the kitchen table with your AI rep: Ask where each bull ranks on all six Lactanet subindexes — not just LPI and Pro$. Ask about the projected inbreeding on the specific mating. Ask how many of their “recommended” sires sit above the breed midpoint for HWI and RI. If the answers are vague, you’ve learned something important about how that sire list was put together. And ask whether they’ve set you up in Compass and pLPI — both are free, both are unbiased, and both let you weight the traits that matter to your herd, not theirs.

Key Takeaways

  • If your working sire team is drawn heavily from this top-20 list, you’re getting elite production and type — but you’re likely below the breed midpoint on health, fertility, milking speed, and environmental impact without active subindex management.
  • At 11.9% sire inbreeding in a breed averaging 9.99%, the cost of genetic narrowing runs roughly $80–$110 per cow in lifetime profit drag, depending on mating patterns — using Virginia Tech registered-cow estimates adjusted for inflation. On a 200-cow herd, that’s $16,000–$22,000 that shows up in your replacement pipeline, not on any invoice.
  • The casein and polled shift is accelerating. A2A2 went from 45% to about 70% of top-use sires in two years; BB kappa-casein from 19% to about 50%; homozygous polled from 4% to about 15%.
  • Lactanet built the subindexes, standardized them, and published them with a June 2025 percentile-rank guide. Compass and pLPI are both free and unbiased. The gap isn’t in the data — it’s in how consistently AI catalogs and sales representatives’ conversations put that data in front of producers when they’re choosing bulls.

The Bottom Line

These twenty bulls are real. They bring strong LPI, solid components, high type, and casein profiles that Canadian breeders couldn’t access a decade ago. That’s genuine progress — and it shouldn’t be dismissed.

But the same proof sheets that make them dominant also expose a national breeding program tilted toward production and type at the expense of health, fertility, and genetic diversity. Lactanet gave breeders the subindex tools ten months ago. Whether the industry — AI companies, breed associations, and the producers writing the semen cheques — will use them before the next generation of heifers hits the milking string is the question that matters now.

Pull your subindex sheets this week. How many of your current sires clear 50% RK on all six subindexes?

Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.

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The December Genetic Reckoning: Former Champions Fall, New Kings Rise – and Your 2026 Strategy Just Changed

December didn’t just reshuffle the rankings—it exposed who was betting on hype. Top bulls cratered overnight. New kings emerged. Your 2026 matings need a rewrite.

The December 2025 genetic evaluations weren’t just another routine update. They were a full-scale reset of global Holstein rankings—the kind that happens once every decade or so. From the powerhouses of North America to the diverse breeding programs of Europe and Scandinavia, the genetic pecking order has been violently reshuffled. Former leaders have been dethroned. Unexpected champions have been crowned. And for dairy breeders planning their 2026 mating programs, the message is stark: the genetic playbook from August is now obsolete.

This isn’t hyperbole. It’s a hard reality backed by the data. And if you’re still making breeding decisions based on last summer’s rankings, you’re leaving money on the table.

Three Seismic Shifts Defining the New Genetic Reality

The December evaluations revealed three interconnected forces reshaping global Holstein genetics:

  1. Unprecedented Volatility in Genomic Rankings
    Several high-profile sires—bulls that were industry darlings just weeks ago—have experienced dramatic, overnight index drops. In Switzerland, the former #1 sire, Sous-Moron Boston, suffered a stunning 52-point ISET collapse. In Italy, the polled star KNO Ecuador P plummeted an incredible 98 gPFT points. These aren’t statistical blips; they’re textbook examples of genomic risk materializing in real time.
  2. Genetic Concentration Consolidating Around Specific Bloodlines
    Genosource now controls 22 of the top 30 Net Merit positions in the US—a remarkable 73% market share. The Gameday maternal line underpins three of Switzerland’s top five ISET sires. The Altazazzle bloodline claims four of the top ten proven sire positions in the Netherlands. This concentration delivers elite, consistent results—but it also creates a ticking time bomb for inbreeding and genetic diversity.
  3. Components Are No Longer Optional
    From Canada’s BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET (165 kg Fat) to Germany’s Saturn RDC (+0.88% Fat), the message is universal: with processor payments increasingly tied to milk solids, selecting for high fat and protein is now a direct path to a higher milk check. The days of overlooking component specialists are over.

North America: Where Profit and Components Rule

The North American market continues to set the global pace for Holstein genetics. But the December evaluations revealed two distinct narratives unfolding on opposite sides of the border.

Canada: The Component King Has Arrived

OCD MILAN-ET held his ground as the #1 LPI sire with a solid 19-point gain to 4137 LPI, but the real story belongs to his challengers—three newcomers who have rewritten the options for breeders.

BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET made the most explosive leap, jumping 11 spots to #4 LPI. His profile reads like a case study in modern profitability: 165 kg Fat on a high-volume base that proves elite milk volume and exceptional component density aren’t mutually exclusive. For breeders paid on component density, he’s become the gold standard.

Then there’s BEYOND HOORAY-ET, who debuted at #3 LPI and immediately established himself as the “percentage specialist.” With +1.10% Fat and +0.52% Protein, his profile is tailor-made for herds targeting premium milk quality.

Perhaps most significant: PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P shattered the ceiling for polled genetics, debuting at #2 LPI. He’s the highest-ranking polled genomic sire in Canadian history—proof that breeders no longer have to sacrifice elite index performance to access the valuable polled trait.

Read more: 165 kg Fat, 11-Spot Jump, New #1 Type Bull: December 2025’s Canadian Proof Run Rewrites Your Breeding Plan

USA: The Genosource Era Begins

If Canada’s story is about newcomer diversity, the US narrative is about unprecedented consolidation.

Genosource has achieved a historic sweep, capturing 22 of the top 30 Net Merit positions. For context: this represents a 73% market share in the industry’s primary profitability index. That level of concentration is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it offers a clear path to proven, high-profit genetics backed by a program that has cracked the code on profitability. On the other hand, it severely narrows the available gene pool—and that’s a serious concern for long-term herd resilience.

GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET continues his reign as the #1 NM bull at 1296, demonstrating the program’s mastery of the total economic merit formula. But the most explosive newcomer was SAN-DAN ON CALL-ET, who debuted at #3 GTPI with a production profile that demands attention: 1845 Milk and 151 Fat. The fact that he also earned a #9 NM ranking tells you his balanced genetics appeal across multiple profit drivers.

And confirming the component trend: BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET claimed the #1 GTPI position in the US at 3612, underscoring his international elite status.

Read more: 22 of 30: Genosource’s Historic Sweep of the December 2025 US Holstein Genetic Evaluations

Europe: Bloodlines, Balance, and the Rise of Functional Genetics

Europe’s evaluations revealed a shared philosophy: rewarding balanced, functional cattle designed to thrive in real-world commercial systems. While each country maintains its own index, a common theme emerged in the dominance of bloodlines that consistently deliver both profitability and longevity.

United Kingdom: Sheepster’s Legacy Reshapes the Breed

The new #1 genomic sire is DENOVO COYOTE P, with a PLI of £871. His profile is textbook modern British dairy: exceptional +0.30% fat, commercially valuable A2A2 status, and polled genetics.

But the more significant story belongs to OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER, who graduated to #1 on the daughter-proven side with a £783 PLI. His true significance extends far beyond his own rank—he’s become a breed-shaping sire of sons. Multiple Sheepster offspring, including BADGER SIEMERS DAY TRIP (#2 genomic) and PROGENESIS PRESTON (#3 genomic), now dominate the young sire lists. This is the kind of bloodline dominance that builds lasting competitive advantage.

Read more: December 2025 UK Holstein Genetic Evaluations: Sheepster Claims Proven Crown, Homegrown Coyote P Debuts at Genomic #1

Netherlands: Shattering the +400 Barrier

Genosource Moti rewrote the Dutch record books, becoming the first sire to lead the genomic rankings at a remarkable +420 NVI. This isn’t just a personal achievement—it signals that the ceiling for genetic progress continues to rise.

What’s truly revealing, however, is the absolute conquest of the Altazazzle bloodline in the proven rankings. This line claims four of the top ten positions—a clear market vote for what commercial dairies crave: the “invisible cow.” Moderate. Functional. Invisible until you look at the milk check. Their dominance validates a breeding philosophy that prioritizes trouble-free performance over extreme individual traits.

Read more: Genosource Moti Cracks +420 NVI: Inside the December 2025 Dutch Sire Shakeup

Germany: New Champions in Both Populations

For Black & White genomic sires, newcomer Saturn RDC tied for the top with the former leader, Veterano, at 164 RZG. Saturn RDC immediately distinguished himself with a massive +0.88% Fat—the component specialist phenotype that the market is rewarding globally.

The new Red & White genomic leader is Bueno Red at 161 RZG. He offers a rare combination: extreme milk production (+2,159 kg) paired with excellent type (121 RZE). This kind of balanced profile is increasingly valuable as European breeders recognize that extremes in single traits often create hidden costs elsewhere.

Read more: New King of NTM: VH Sheriff Debuts at +51 as Top Genomic Bulls Reshuffle -November 2025 German Sire Proof Central

The Volatility Report: When Genomic Promise Meets Reality

While some markets celebrated steady progress, Switzerland, Italy, and Scandinavia delivered a masterclass in genomic risk. In these countries, several reigning #1 sires experienced dramatic overnight index drops—a powerful reminder of why risk management matters in breeding programs.

Switzerland & Italy: The Reckoning for Unproven Genetics

In Switzerland, Sous-Moron Boston’s 52-point ISET drop (from +1645 to +1593) wasn’t an anomaly—it was the statistical consequence of reliability risk. Here’s the hard truth: a 75% reliable genomic proof means there’s a 25% chance the bull’s true genetic merit will differ significantly from his initial ranking. For Boston, that risk materialized in index drops that erased millions in projected genetic value overnight.

Read more: Swiss Shakeup: Monset (+1603) Claims ISET Crown as Boston Plummets 52 Points

Italy’s story was even more dramatic. The high-profile polled star KNO Ecuador P plummeted 98 gPFT points as more daughter data recalibrated his initial genomic promise. This is what happens when market enthusiasm outpaces actual proof of reliability.

With the deck reshuffled, Italy’s new international genomic leader is DENOVO LOCUST-ET, with a formidable gPFT of 5450.

Read more: Genosource Moti Cracks +420 NVI: Inside the December 2025 Dutch Sire Shakeup

Scandinavia: The Nordic Shakeup

The Nordic Total Merit (NTM) index experienced its own dramatic power struggle. The former genomic leader, Fly P, experienced a precipitous 8-point drop from +49 NTM to +41 NTM—one of the sharpest single-round declines on record for a top bull.

His fall coincided with the spectacular debut of VH Sheriff, who entered the rankings at an exceptional +51 NTM. This contrast illustrates a critical principle: high-potential genomic projections and high-certainty proven results often tell different stories. On the proven sire list, PEAK RAINOW-ET held his position as the reliable leader at +42 NTM, providing a crucial stability anchor.

Read more: New King of NTM: VH Sheriff Debuts at +51 as Top Genomic Bulls Reshuffle -November 2025 German Sire Proof Central

Four Strategic Imperatives for Your 2026 Breeding Program

The December 2025 proofs delivered clear signals. Here’s how to act on them:

1. Embrace Volatility—and Manage It

The dramatic index drops of bulls like Boston, Ecuador P, and Fly P are the most important risk management lesson of this evaluation cycle. A chart-topping genomic proof is a powerful indicator of potential, but it’s not a guarantee of performance.

Action: Diversify your sire portfolio ruthlessly. Don’t concentrate more than 15-20% of your herd’s matings on any single unproven genomic bull, no matter how impressive his initial ranking. A team of high-quality young sires will always outperform a single superstar who fails to deliver.

2. Follow the Money: Components Drive the Milk Check

From Canada’s component specialists to Germany’s fat-specialists and Switzerland’s balanced bulls, the message is universal. Processor payments increasingly tie to milk solids. Component selection isn’t a nice-to-have anymore—it’s the direct path to higher revenue.

Action: Prioritize sires transmitting high kilograms AND high percentages of fat and protein. These specialists are your best tool for maximizing revenue per hundredweight.

3. Mind the Inbreeding Gap

The genetic concentration around Genosource in the US, the Gameday line in Switzerland, and the Altazazzle line in the Netherlands is a double-edged sword. Yes, these lines deliver elite results. But their dominance increases inbreeding risk in the broader population.

Action: Use mating programs to monitor and manage inbreeding coefficients. Protecting genetic diversity isn’t peripheral—it’s foundational for maintaining fertility, calf vigor, and long-term herd resilience. Be aware of the popular bloodlines and actively seek outcross options to balance your portfolio.

4. Proven Sires Remain Your Foundation

In an era of genomic volatility, the stability of high-reliability, daughter-proven sires is more valuable than ever. Leaders like OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER in the UK and PEAK RAINOW-ET in Scandinavia provide the kind of anchor every breeding program needs.

Action: Allocate a meaningful portion of your matings to elite proven sires. Use them as a dependable risk-management tool to balance the high potential—but higher risk—of your genomic sire team. They’re not old news; they’re insurance against genomic volatility.

The Bottom Line

The December 2025 evaluations proved that Holstein genetics continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace. The ceiling for genetic progress keeps rising. New champions emerge. Old certainties crumble.

But here’s what shouldn’t change in your breeding strategy: disciplined risk management, relentless focus on the traits that drive profitability, and a balanced portfolio that combines proven reliability with genomic potential. The breeders who master this balance in 2026 will be the ones posting the highest milk checks and building the most resilient herds.

The genetic landscape has been reset. Now it’s time to update your playbook.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Genomic promises just met reality: Switzerland’s #1 cratered 52 points. Italy’s polled star dropped 98. December proved that a 75% reliable proof carries 25% real risk—and millions in value can vanish overnight.
  • Components drive the milk check now: Fat and protein specialists dominated from Canada to Germany. Breeders ignoring solids aren’t just behind—they’re bleeding revenue.
  • Genosource owns 73% of America’s profit elite: Unprecedented consolidation delivers proven results, but shrinks the gene pool. Opportunity and inbreeding risk now travel together.
  • Diversify or pay the price: Cap any unproven genomic sire at 15-20% of matings. A balanced sire team always beats a single superstar who crashes.
  • Proven sires are your volatility hedge: Daughter-proven leaders like Sheepster and Peak Rainow deliver what genomic projections can’t—certainty.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 

December’s reckoning separated the breeders who understand genomic risk from those who were chasing leaderboard hype. The bulls that cratered aren’t coming back. The bloodlines consolidating power aren’t slowing down. And the component premiums reshaping milk checks aren’t temporary. The question isn’t whether the genetic landscape has changed—it’s whether your breeding program has changed with it. August’s playbook is dead. What’s your 2026 strategy?

The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.

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Genosource Moti Cracks +420 NVI: Inside the December 2025 Dutch Sire Shakeup

+420 NVI. A longevity score of +1,295. Altazazzle bloodlines dominating proven sires. The Dutch December 2025 rankings just raised the bar—here’s who’s setting it.

Executive Summary: The +400 NVI barrier hasn’t just been broken; it’s been shattered. Genosource Moti leads the charge at +420 NVI—a benchmark that redefines what’s achievable through genomic selection. Joining him in the top 10 are stablemates Mystro (posting the evaluation’s highest INET at +799) and Benson, whose +1,295 longevity score stands alone in this release. Among proven sires, Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa tops the list at +358 NVI, while Altazazzle sons claim four of the top 10 spots—a concentration that underscores both the line’s commercial dominance and the breed’s narrowing genetic base. What sets this evaluation apart is balance: elite NVI bulls are simultaneously delivering on longevity, udder health, and fertility, breaking the historic trade-off between production and functionality. The Genosource and Delta programs command the genomic tier; Altazazzle defines the proven ranks. For breeders, this release offers exceptional genetic tools—with the caveat that pedigree concentration at the top makes diversity management more critical than ever.

Dutch sire rankings 2025

There’s something particularly exciting about cracking open a new proof run. The December 2025 Dutch genetic evaluation landed with some eye-catching numbers—and a few surprises worth talking through. For breeders working with Dutch and Flemish genetics, this release offers a snapshot of where the breed is heading, and honestly, the trajectory is impressive.

The NVI (Nederlands-Vlaamse Index) continues to do what it was designed to do: identify bulls capable of producing daughters that are profitable, durable, and trouble-free. It’s a total merit index that balances production with the functional traits that actually keep cows in the herd—things like udder health, fertility, and feet and legs. What I’ve noticed over the past several proof runs is how the top end of these rankings keeps climbing. We’re seeing NVI values now that would have been almost unthinkable five years ago.

Let’s dig into what this release is showing us.

The Genomic Leaders: A New Benchmark

The genomic sire rankings this round are nothing short of remarkable. We’ve crossed a threshold here that deserves attention.

Genosource Moti sits atop the list at +420 NVI—a number that genuinely made me do a double-take when I first saw it. This Matcrest Arc son out of a Stgen Cowen Tho dam combines serious production punch (+2,025 kg Milk, +130 kg Fat, +68 kg Protein) with functional longevity (+872 days). His INET of +682 signals that daughters should convert feed to profit at an elite level. At 66% reliability, he’s still a genomic prospect, but the genetic package is hard to ignore.

What’s interesting about the top of this list is the diversity of pathways to elite NVI. Halifax Delta Dawn (+414 NVI), a Hammerhead son, takes a slightly different route—he posts the highest INET among the top five genomics at +737, driven by exceptional component transmission (+138 kg Fat, +75 kg Protein). His +2,220 kg Milk puts him among the highest-volume transmitters in the evaluation.

Rise Up Real (+410 NVI) caught my attention for a different reason entirely. This Real Syn son stands out as a longevity specialist, posting +1,019 days—the highest among the top five genomic bulls. For herds where keeping cows productive across multiple lactations is a priority, that’s a significant number. His +2,422 kg Milk shows you don’t have to sacrifice production to get durability.

Top 10 Genomic Sires by NVI — December 2025 (Black & White)

RankSire NameSireMGSNVIINETMilkFatProteinLongevity
1Genosource MotiMatcrest ArcStgen Cowen Tho+420+682+2,025+130+68+872
2Halifax Delta DawnHammerheadFugleman+414+737+2,220+138+75+847
3Rise Up RealReal SynFreewood P+410+541+2,422+83+68+1,019
4Delta MillerAltamullerDolmen+407+692+2,092+119+78+1,032
5Delta Time Jump PUniverse P RfSunrise+397+570+1,985+84+74+928
6Delta Standout RFStatement RfAppetizer Rf+394+603+2,062+82+83+685
7Bento BenchBenchGigaliner+392+595+2,091+101+68+1,032
8Fis Fly PKings-Ransom S—+391+643+2,096+101+79+881
9Genosource MystroMatcrest ArcHannity+386+799+2,234+146+84+665
10Genosource BensonRadicalHannity+386+656+2,064+124+66+1,295

Source: CRV Nederland, December 2025 Genetic Evaluation (Zwartbont/Black & White Holstein). Genomic sires listed at 66–75% reliability. Production values in kg.

What the Pedigrees Are Telling Us

If you scan down that top-10 list, a few patterns jump out. The Genosource program has clearly hit its stride—three bulls in the top ten (Moti, Mystro, and Benson), all built on either Matcrest Arc or Radical foundations. That’s not an accident. These pedigrees have been stacked for production efficiency, and it’s showing up in the rankings.

The Delta breeding program from CRV is equally impressive, placing Miller, Time Jump, and Standout in the upper tier. What I find notable here is the consistency—these aren’t one-hit wonders but rather the product of a coherent breeding philosophy emphasizing balanced improvement.

The Real Syn sire line deserves special mention. He appears as the sire of Rise Up Real (#3), and his influence extends throughout the evaluation. This line seems to offer a particular combination of high milk volume with above-average longevity—a balance that’s historically been tricky to achieve.

Now, here’s where I’d offer a word of caution. The genetic engine is running hot, but it’s running narrow. When you see this much concentration of specific bloodlines at the top of the rankings, it’s worth thinking carefully about genetic diversity in your own herd. These sires offer tremendous genetic potential, but smart breeders need to use these tools strategically—or risk painting themselves into a pedigree corner. Monitor inbreeding levels and maintain enough diversity to keep your herd genetically resilient for the long haul.

The Proven Sires: Where Reliability Meets Results

Genomic sires represent what’s possible. Daughter-proven bulls show us what’s been delivered. For breeders who prioritize predictability—and there are good reasons to do so—the proven sire rankings provide a different kind of value.

Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa leads the proven list at +358 NVI. This Ahead son from an A-S-Cannon Frzz dam has built his proof on genuine daughter performance, and the numbers are compelling. His +629 INET paired with +846 days longevity demonstrates that elite profitability doesn’t have to come at the expense of durability. The component transmission is solid (+102 kg Fat, +75 kg Protein), and his daughters are showing up well for udder health (107) and frame (106).

What farmers are finding with bulls like this is consistency. When you use a proven sire with high reliability, you know what you’re getting. There’s real value in that predictability, especially for operations where managing variance matters.

Peak Altazemini (+321 NVI) represents the continued strength of the Altazazzle bloodline. This Peak Genetics bull combines +592 INET with solid component transmission (+104 kg Fat, +65 kg Protein). His daughters are proving up well for both production and type.

Kax Gladius Gazebo (+320 NVI) takes a different approach—he’s the volume specialist in this group. At +2,745 kg Milk, he posts the highest production of any proven sire in the top ranks. For herds in fluid milk markets or operations pushing for maximum throughput, that kind of volume transmission is attractive. His Superhero maternal grandsire contributes proven durability genetics.

Top 10 Daughter-Proven Sires by NVI — December 2025 (Black & White)

RankSire NameSireMGSNVIINETMilkFatProteinLongevityRel.
1Badger Ssi Ahead JaffaAheadA-S-Cannon Frzz+358+629+1,276+102+75+84675%*
2Peak AltazeminiAltazazzleAltalawson+321+592+1,341+104+65+56683%
3Kax Gladius GazeboGazeboSuperhero+320+663+2,745+92+90+50690%
4All Nure WendatEinsteinPadawan+313+531+1,976+68+76+63786%
5Peak Breaking NewsAltazazzleAltalawson+309+309+712+50+37+1,00579%
6Sunrise Superfly RioSuperflyRio+304+631+3,277+100+77+78381%
7Peak Altazingler EtAltazazzleAltarobert+303+295+857+51+33+1,01888%
8Delta ReloaderFinderG-Force+296+237+1,347+39+28+70195%
9Genosource CaptainCharlFarnear Tango S+289+645+1,970+116+69+45789%
10Peak Fugleman MWAltazazzlePositive+287+598+933+106+65+52986%

*Source: CRV Nederland, December 2025 Genetic Evaluation (Zwartbont/Black & White Holstein). Production values in kg. Genomically enhanced proof with limited daughter data reported.

The Altazazzle Story

Looking at the proven sire rankings, the story isn’t just about who is number one—it’s about who owns the board. Altazazzle bloodlines claim four of the top ten spots (Peak Altazemini, Peak Breaking News, Peak Altazingler, and Peak Fugleman). That isn’t just influence; it’s a takeover.

The market has spoken: this line delivers the “invisible cow” commercial dairies crave—moderate, functional, and invisible until you look at the milk check. Altazazzle daughters aren’t extreme in any one direction, but they’re consistently profitable. They show up, milk, breed back, and don’t create problems. In commercial operations where trouble-free cows drive the bottom line, that consistency has real value.

The Finder bloodline also continues to show well through Delta Reloader (#8), who posts +701 days longevity backed by 95% reliability. That’s a substantial proof—the kind of daughter base that gives you real confidence in the numbers.

A Note on the Red & White Rankings

This article focuses on the Black & White (Zwartbont) evaluation, but it’s worth noting that the Red & White rankings delivered their own headline: Delta Richman PP-Red leads the R&W genomic sires at +414 NVI—a remarkable figure that would have topped the B&W list just a few proof runs ago. We’ll cover the R&W evaluation in detail separately, but breeders working with red genetics should take note: the color line is producing elite genetics of its own.

Trait Leaders: Bulls for Specific Breeding Goals

Sometimes the best bull for your herd isn’t the one at the top of the overall ranking. It’s the one that fixes your specific problem or pushes your herd in a particular direction. Here’s where looking beyond NVI becomes valuable.

For Maximum Component Value

If butterfat and protein payments drive your milk check—and they do for most producers these days—these bulls deserve attention:

  • Genosource Mystro (Matcrest Arc): INET +799, +146 kg Fat, +84 kg Protein
  • Halifax Delta Dawn (Hammerhead): INET +737, +138 kg Fat, +75 kg Protein
  • Delta Miller (Altamuller): INET +692, +119 kg Fat, +78 kg Protein

Mystro, in particular, posts the highest INET in the entire genomic evaluation. For herds focused on maximizing revenue per hundredweight in component-driven markets, he’s worth serious consideration.

For Herd Life and Trouble-Free Cows

Some operations prioritize keeping cows in the herd. Replacement costs, the learning curve for first-lactation animals, the value of mature cows hitting their production stride—there are solid economic arguments for breeding bulls that transmit longevity. These genomic sires excel in that department:

  • Genosource Benson (Radical): Longevity +1,295 days, Udder Health 100, Fertility 100
  • Delta Miller (Altamuller): Longevity +1,032 days, Udder Health 106, Fertility 105
  • Rise Up Real (Real Syn): Longevity +1,019 days, Udder Health 105, Fertility 104

Benson’s +1,295 longevity figure stands out—it’s the highest among any bull in the top genomic ranks. His daughters should be the kind that stick around, lactation after lactation.

For Functional Conformation

In modern free-stall facilities, cows need to move well and have udders that hold up to the demands of robotic or parlor milking. Functional type isn’t about winning shows—it’s about keeping cows productive and comfortable. Among the proven sires:

  • Peak Altazingler Et (Altazazzle): Udder 100, Feet & Legs 91, Frame 108
  • Peak Breaking News (Altazazzle): Udder 106, Feet & Legs 91, Frame 108
  • Delta Reloader (Finder): Udder 103, Feet & Legs 103, Frame 110

Delta Reloader’s combination of strong udders and excellent feet and legs makes him particularly valuable for herds where cow mobility and udder durability are concerns.

Putting It Together: What This Means for Your Breeding Program

The December 2025 Dutch evaluation confirms several trends that have been building over recent proof runs. The genetic level at the top continues to climb—NVI values above +400 are now a reality in the genomic ranks. The balance between production and functionality seems to be improving, with several bulls combining high INET with strong longevity figures.

Here’s how I’d think about using this information:

Consider a tiered approach. Use high-NVI genomic sires like Genosource Moti or Halifax Delta Dawn on a portion of your herd—perhaps your best cows or heifers—to capture the latest genetic progress. At the same time, lean on high-reliability proven sires like Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa for core breeding decisions where predictability matters most. This balances potential against certainty.

Use trait leaders for corrective mating. That’s what they’re there for. If you’ve got a family with udder depth concerns, reach for a bull like Delta Reloader. If fertility has been an issue, look at bulls with strong VRU scores. The overall NVI matters, but the breakdowns of individual traits matter too.

Watch your pedigree concentrations. I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. With Altazazzle so heavily represented in the proven ranks and Matcrest Arc/Radical dominant in the genomics, it would be easy to stack these bloodlines inadvertently. Monitor your inbreeding levels and maintain enough diversity to keep your herd genetically resilient.

Think about your market. A high-volume bull like Kax Gladius Gazebo (+2,745 kg Milk) makes sense in certain situations—fluid milk contracts, high-throughput operations, markets where volume still drives revenue. But if you’re selling milk on components, the math might favor a bull like Genosource Mystro with his exceptional fat and protein transmission.

The Bottom Line

The Dutch genetic evaluation continues to produce bulls capable of meaningful genetic progress. What strikes me about this December 2025 release is the overall quality at the top—whether you’re looking at genomic prospects or proven sires, multiple options combine elite production potential with the functional traits that keep daughters profitable over time.

The work happening in Dutch and Flemish breeding programs is clearly paying dividends. For breeders worldwide who access these genetics, the opportunity exists to tap into some of the best Holstein genetics available.

As always, the key is matching the right genetics to your specific operation, your market, and your goals. These rankings are a tool—a useful one—but the real work happens when you apply them thoughtfully to your own breeding decisions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Genomic selection crosses +420 NVI: Genosource Moti’s December 2025 ranking isn’t incremental—it marks a new threshold in genetic potential that will reshape sire selection benchmarks globally
  • Proven genetics deliver when predictability matters: Badger Ssi Ahead Jaffa leads at +358 NVI, combining +629 INET with +846 longevity at high reliability; for core breeding decisions, daughter-proven sires remain indispensable
  • Altazazzle commands the proven ranks: Four sons in the top 10 proven sires—this bloodline continues to define what commercial profitability looks like in today’s markets
  • The production-longevity trade-off is breaking down: Genosource Benson pairs +1,295 longevity with +656 INET; elite genetics now deliver cows that stay in the herd AND fill the tank
  • Diversity management becomes a competitive advantage: With Genosource, Delta, and Altazazzle dominating both genomic and proven tiers, herds that strategically maintain pedigree breadth position themselves for long-term resilience

Top Lists:

Data throughout this article sourced from CRV Nederland, December 2025 Genetic Evaluation (Perspublicatie stierindexen Zwartbont). All NVI values, production figures, and functional trait scores reflect official December 2025 proof data for Black & White (Zwartbont) Holsteins. Reliability percentages reflect CRV’s published figures for each sire. For complete R&W rankings and additional detail, consult the full CRV evaluation reports.

Note for digital publication: Tables optimized for desktop viewing. Mobile readers may need to scroll horizontally for complete data.

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December 2025 UK Holstein Genetic Evaluations: Sheepster Claims Proven Crown, Homegrown Coyote P Debuts at Genomic #1

The December 2025 UK proofs just dropped. New #1s in both rankings—and one sire’s bloodline is taking over the breed.

Executive Summary: The December 2025 UK Holstein genetic evaluations bring fresh leaders to both the genomic and daughter-proven rankings. UK-bred DENOVO COYOTE P debuts at genomic #1 with a PLI of £871, transmitting exceptional butterfat (+0.30%) and carrying both A2A2 and polled genetics—traits increasingly valued by processors and progressive herds alike. On the proven list, OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER graduates to the top spot at £783 PLI, his daughters delivering +110 days lifespan and validating what his genomic figures promised years ago. Sheepster’s influence doesn’t stop there: multiple of his sons now rank among the genomic top 10, signalling a bloodline shaping the breed’s future. Across both rankings, the emphasis on feed efficiency, health traits, and milk components reflects an industry building cattle that perform profitably under real-world UK conditions. For producers weighing their next breeding decisions, this proof run offers genuine genetic depth—whether the priority is longevity, fertility, udder health, or butterfat.

The December 2025 genetic evaluations bring fresh faces to the top of both the young genomic and daughter-proven UK Holstein rankings. It’s a meaningful shift—and one that tells us quite a bit about where British dairy breeding is heading.

Looking at the bigger picture here, the trends are pretty clear. There’s a genuine push toward more efficient, easier-keeping cattle. Breeders are rewarding bulls that transmit strong butterfat percentages, solid health traits, and longevity. The industry’s focus on profitability per cow rather than just raw production continues to shape these rankings in practical ways.

The New Genomic Leader: DENOVO COYOTE P

The UK-bred DENOVO COYOTE P makes his debut at the very top of the young sire rankings with a Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) of £871 (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation). What’s interesting about this Winstar Klassic P son is how he balances production with health—he’s transmitting a fat percentage of +0.30% alongside respectable milk volume of 859 kg (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation).

That fat percentage figure is worth pausing on. UK processors have been signaling for years that they want more components, and bulls like Coyote P deliver exactly that. He’s also polled (POC) and carries A2A2 beta-casein status, which adds market flexibility for producers targeting specialty milk contracts.

Breaking Down the Genomic Top 10

The depth at the top of the genomic list this December is genuinely impressive. Here’s what stands out about each of the top performers:

  • #2 BADGER SIEMERS DAY TRIP (PLI £870): This Sheepster son brings outstanding daughter lifespan (+180 days) and excellent udder health with SCC of -20. For farmers focused on keeping cows in the herd longer, he’s worth serious consideration.
  • #3 PROGENESIS PRESTON (PLI £867 Another Sheepster son, Preston transmits strong protein (+0.10%) on solid milk volume of 978 kg. His mammary traits are respectable too.
  • #4 DENOVO 20723 COLUMBIA (PLI £864 The high-volume option in the top five at 1,140 kg milk. His component percentages are modest, but he’s maintaining positive fat and protein transmission despite that volume.
  • #5 ADAWAY BEYOND FITNESS (PLI £862 Lives up to his name with a daughter Fertility Index of +10.0—the highest in the top 10. For herds struggling with reproduction, that’s a meaningful number.
  • #6 ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL (PLI £860 A maternal half-brother to Fitness, sharing similar strengths in fertility (+7.1 FI) while adding a bit more milk volume at 928 kg.
  • #7 PEAK ALTAVALUEPACK (PLI £860 The former list leader drops to seventh but remains a solid all-rounder with +0.16% fat and +0.11% protein. Still a proven performer.
  • #8 DENOVO CHARISMA (PLI £856 A maternal half-brother to the new number one, Charisma brings exceptional udder health (SCC -27) paired with strong milk volume at 1,122 kg.
  • #9 HENDEL MANSON (PLI £853 A newcomer offering good lifespan (+146 days) and solid component transmission. Worth watching as more data comes in.
  • #10 DENOVO 20893 HARMONY (PLI £845 Rounds out the top 10 with excellent milk volume (1,068 kg) while maintaining positive components.

Top 10 Young Genomic Sires – December 2025

RankNamePLI (£)Milk (KG)Fat (%)Protein (%)
1DENOVO COYOTE P£871859+0.30+0.05
2BADGER SIEMERS DAY TRIP£870982+0.09+0.00
3PROGENESIS PRESTON£867978+0.18+0.10
4DENOVO 20723 COLUMBIA£8641,140+0.03+0.04
5ADAWAY BEYOND FITNESS£862822+0.14+0.09
6ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL£860928+0.08+0.07
7PEAK ALTAVALUEPACK£860762+0.16+0.11
8DENOVO CHARISMA£8561,122+0.03-0.02
9HENDEL MANSON£853946+0.12+0.04
10DENOVO 20893 HARMONY£8451,068+0.10+0.05

Source: AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation

A New Champion on the Proven List: OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER

Turning to the daughter-proven rankings, OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER graduates to the top spot with a PLI of £783 and reliability of 77% (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation). His daughters are living up to the promise his genomic figures made years ago.

What’s particularly noteworthy here is Sheepster’s influence on the breed. He’s now the sire of multiple bulls in the genomic top 10—including Badger Siemers Day Trip and Progenesis Preston. That kind of sire-of-sons success tells you his genetics are genuinely transmitting, not just testing well on paper.

His daughters show a lifespan advantage of +110 days, +0.17% fat, and +0.07% protein (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation). For producers looking for proven reliability backed by actual parlour performance, Sheepster delivers exactly that.

The Proven Top 10: Reliability Meets Performance

The proven list this December blends established names with high-performing new graduates:

  • #2 PEAK ALTASEVERUS (PLI £764 Continues to excel in daughter fertility (+12.7) and udder health (SCC -20). His reliability sits at 78%.
  • #3 PEAK POWERHOUSE (PLI £746 A powerful new graduate offering the highest milk transmission in the top 10 at 1,067 kg.
  • #4 SDG-PH DELUX DOMINANCE (PLI £744 Strong for milk solids with +0.21% fat and 795 kg milk. A good option for component-focused herds.
  • #5 PLAIN-KNOLL RENEGAD TROOPER (PLI £710 One of the breed’s elite lifespan improvers at +171 days. His 85% reliability gives real confidence in those longevity figures.
  • #6 OCD DELUXE T REX (PLI £704 A new graduate with excellent udder health (SCC -17) and solid calf survival traits.
  • #7 GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN (PLI £696 Now backed by 98% reliability—the highest in the top 10—Captain offers proven performance with 997 kg milk transmission.
  • #8 WINSTAR GRAZIANO (PLI £694 The component specialist of the group at +0.34% fat and +0.14% protein, though on lower volume at 414 kg.
  • #9 PEAK ALTASOLACE (PLI £683 Exceptional udder health (SCC -32—the best in the top 10) paired with strong fertility (+13.0).
  • #10 ALL.NURE WENDAT (PLI £678 Makes a significant climb with a solid lifespan (+92 days) and good udder health (SCC -15).

Top 10 Daughter-Proven Sires – December 2025

RankNamePLI (£)Reliability (%)Milk (KG)Fat (%)Protein (%)
1OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER£78377918+0.17+0.07
2PEAK ALTASEVERUS£76478627+0.14+0.13
3PEAK POWERHOUSE£746761,067+0.06+0.09
4SDG-PH DELUX DOMINANCE£74478795+0.21+0.08
5PLAIN-KNOLL RENEGAD TROOPER£71085720+0.14+0.08
6OCD DELUXE T REX£70474736+0.17+0.05
7GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN£69698997+0.04+0.00
8WINSTAR GRAZIANO£69485414+0.34+0.14
9PEAK ALTASOLACE£68373394+0.16+0.15
10ALL.NURE WENDAT£67879826-0.07+0.09

Source: AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation

Understanding the Ranking Shifts

If you’ve been following these evaluations closely, you’ll notice some names have moved around. That’s normal—and actually reassuring. As more daughter data comes in, proof reliability increases, and PLI values adjust accordingly.

Genosource Captain, for instance, held the #1 proven spot in earlier evaluations but now sits at #7. That’s not because he’s become a worse bull—it’s because his proof has matured to 98% reliability, giving us a more accurate picture of his true genetic merit. The same pattern applies to Plain-Knoll Renegad Trooper’s movement from #2 to #5.

These fluctuations are exactly what we should expect from a well-functioning evaluation system. Early genomic predictions aren’t meant to be perfect—they’re meant to identify promising genetics faster than traditional progeny testing alone could manage.

Type Merit: New Leaders Emerge

For breeders who prioritize functional conformation alongside economic traits, the Type Merit rankings also saw changes this December.

Top Proven Type Sire: SANDY-VALLEY ESQUIRE now leads the daughter-proven list with a Type Merit of 3.02. He combines that conformation strength with reasonable production at 1,029 kg milk, though his fat percentage is negative at -0.26% (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation).

Top Genomic Type Sire: SYNERGY KICKSTART debuts at #1 for genomic Type Merit at 2.93. His PLI of £489 is lower than that of the PLI leaders, illustrating the trade-offs breeders face when prioritizing type over total economic merit (AHDB December 2025 Genetic Evaluation).

These bulls offer solid options for producers focused on physical structure—whether for show-ring goals or simply for building more durable, functional cattle.

The Bottom Line

The December 2025 rankings reinforce several practical takeaways for breeding decisions:

Component emphasis continues: Bulls transmitting positive fat percentages are increasingly rewarded in £PLI calculations. For producers under component-based contracts, this alignment makes genetic selection easier.

Longevity matters more than ever: Multiple top bulls in both rankings excel for lifespan traits. With replacement costs running high across UK dairy operations, keeping productive cows in the herd longer has a direct impact on the bottom line.

Sheepster’s influence is real: His sons now dominate the genomic rankings, suggesting that his genetics are consistently transmitted. That’s valuable information when evaluating lineage depth.

Genomic selection delivers: The smooth graduation of bulls like Powerhouse, T Rex, and Solace from genomic promise to proven performance validates the system’s predictive accuracy.

Whether you’re running a 100-cow family operation in Wales or managing a 500-cow unit in the East Midlands, these rankings offer genuine genetic tools for building more resilient, profitable herds. The key is matching sire selection to your specific goals—be that maximum components, longevity, fertility, or balanced improvement across traits.

Key Takeaways 

  • Homegrown bull takes genomic #1: UK-bred DENOVO COYOTE P debuts at the top (PLI £871) with exceptional butterfat (+0.30%) plus A2A2 and polled status—genetics that tick multiple boxes for forward-thinking herds
  • Sheepster graduates to proven leader: OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER claims the proven crown (PLI £783) with daughters living 110 days longer than average—his early genomic promise now confirmed in the parlour
  • One sire’s bloodline is shaping the future: Multiple Sheepster sons—including Day Trip (#2) and Preston (#3)—rank in the genomic top 10, an uncommon depth of influence at the breed’s cutting edge
  • Butterfat drives PLI success: Bulls transmitting high fat percentages dominate both rankings—welcome alignment for producers on component-based contracts
  • Ranking shifts reflect better data, not worse bulls: Former leader Genosource Captain moved to #7 as his reliability hit 98%—that’s the evaluation system working exactly as designed

Top Lists

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Italy’s New #1: DENOVO LOCUST Rises as ECBERT Falls 40 Points in December’s Genomic Rankings

LOCUST claims #1. ECBERT drops 40 points. ECUADOR crashes 98. December’s Italian rankings just reshuffled the deck.

Executive Summary: DENOVO LOCUST-ET seized Italy’s #1 international genomic ranking in December 2025, posting gPFT 5450 with +1,472 kg milk, +115 kg fat (+0.57%), and +96 kg protein. Domestic leader ECBERT retained his crown but dropped 40 points to gPFT 5349, while PINETA IRONGEN RASCASSE surged 42 points to become December’s top domestic mover. The proven sector delivered the cycle’s biggest story: The high-profile polled star KNO ECUADOR P plunged 98 points as daughter data corrected earlier projections, while ZFZ CRISALIS RF held firm at the top with gPFT 5180. Four international newcomers—HARMONY, SCOTTY, DREAMER, and THUMPING—broke the 5300 barrier. Eight Italian bulls debuted above gPFT 5070, signaling that domestic genetics are closing the gap. December’s lesson: the sires you banked on in August deserve a fresh evaluation today.

Italian Holstein gPFT rankings

December’s evaluation crowned a new international leader—and exposed cracks in former favorites. DENOVO 23392 LOCUST-ET (Sire: LODI; MGS: CASCADE) claimed the number one position with a commanding gPFT of 5450, edging out previous contenders with exceptional production credentials: +1,472 kg Milk, +115 kg Fat (0.57%), and +96 kg Protein (0.40%).

Hot on his heels, PEAK VINDICATE-ET and PEAK SPELLBOUND-ET sit virtually tied at gPFT 5445, making the top three positions a photo finish separated by just five index points.

Fresh International Genetics Breaking Through

Several high-powered international sires made notable December debuts above the 5300 gPFT threshold :

  • KENYON-HILL OC-ET HARMONY (Harmony x Gameday) – gPFT 5386
  • ADAWAY SUNDANCE SCOTTY-ET  (Sundance x Hayk) – gPFT 5374
  • KINGS-RANSOM O DREAMER-ET  (Owen x Happen) – gPFT 5348
  • PROGENESIS THUMPING (Hipster x Frost Bite) – gPFT 5318

Domestic Drama: ECBERT Holds Top Spot Despite 40-Point Drop

Italy’s homegrown genomic leader ECBERT (Sire: GLADIUS; MGS: DATELINE) maintained his domestic crown but couldn’t avoid a 40-point index decline, falling from 5389 to 5349 gPFT. Meanwhile, PINETA IRONGEN RASCASSE ET surged upward with a +42 point gain to secure second position at gPFT 5321—the evaluation’s biggest domestic mover.

New Italian Sires Entering the Elite (gPFT ≥5070)

Bull NamegPFTBull NamegPFT
GPLUS HFP GP-OAKLAND5247INSEME TEX SURFER5125
GGA INSEME JEGOLO5151WILDER INSEME FAKTOR5095
FIS ENOLA-ET5146PALASSOTTO RIGHEIRA5085
BELLAVISTA PEACE5131CRISTELLA NAZARIO ET5077

Proven Sector: Stability at Top, Volatility Below

The daughter-proven rankings tell a more cautious story. ZFZ CRISALIS RF held firm as Italy’s top proven bull, ticking up slightly from 5169 to 5180 gPFT with a strong fat percentage (+0.16%). IDEVRA ROYAL INSEME CARLOMAGNO secured second place at gPFT 5068, delivering impressive milk volume (+1,568 kg) and solid longevity (105).

The proven sector’s headline loss: KNO ECUADOR P plummeted 98 points—from 4943 to 4845 gPFT—as additional daughter data recalibrated expectations. Conversely, ISOLABELLA DISTEFANO ET climbed 34 points to 4982 gPFT.

The Bottom Line

For breeders finalizing 2026 matings, December’s volatility demands one response: reassess before you commit. LOCUST’s emergence and ECBERT’s decline demonstrate why continuous index monitoring matters more than ever. For breeders targeting the Italian market, December’s evaluation reinforces that international genetics continue to set the pace—but domestic programs are closing the gap fast.

Data Source: ANAFIBJ December 2025 Italian Holstein Genetic Evaluations

Key Takeaways:

  •  LOCUST seizes #1: DENOVO LOCUST-ET tops Italy’s international genomics at gPFT 5450 with +1,472 kg milk, +115 kg fat, and +96 kg protein
  • ECBERT drops 40 points: Domestic leader holds #1 but bleeds index value while PINETA IRONGEN RASCASSE surges 42 points behind him
  • ECUADOR plunges 98 points: December’s proven-sector collapse proves daughter data can shatter genomic confidence overnight
  • 12 new elite sires debut: Four international bulls cracked gPFT 5300; eight Italian bulls entered above 5070—fresh firepower for 2026 matings
  • Your August picks need a December review: Index swings this size reward breeders who adapt, not those married to last cycle’s rankings

Top Lists:

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22 of 30: Genosource’s Historic Sweep of the December 2025 US Holstein Genetic Evaluations

73% of the top 30 NM$ bulls. One breeding program. The December 2025 Holstein evaluations just rewrote the genetic playbook.

Executive Summary: The December 2025 US Holstein genetic evaluations expose a seismic shift: Genosource now owns 22 of the top 30 Net Merit bulls—73% of the industry’s elite profit genetics under one roof. GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET defends the #1 NM$ position at $1296, while BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET commands GTPI at 3612, a 73-point jump that widens the gap at the top. Newcomer SAN-DAN ON CALL-ET exploded onto the scene at #3 GTPI (3574) with production numbers that demand attention: 1845 Milk, 151 Fat, 70 Protein. Type leadership remains locked between SHG LEGO and REDCARPET STORY ARC-ET at 3.85 PTAT, while Red & White genetics surge forward with SIEMERS RLE PAPAYA-RED-ET topping at 3221 GTPI. The consolidation of profitable genetics into a single program isn’t a trend—it’s the new reality, and breeders who adapt their sire selection now will compound this advantage for generations.

December 2025 Holstein evaluations

Dairy breeders and industry professionals, welcome to our analysis of the December 2025 US Holstein Genetic Evaluations. This round of evaluations saw numerous high-ranking newcomers and shifts among the established leaders across the major indices, underscoring the continued rapid turnover in elite genomic performance.

GTPI (Genomic Total Performance Index) Highlights

The December 2025 evaluations present a highly competitive Top 100 GTPI list for bulls over 12 months with NAAB codes, with significant consolidation among the leading bull providers.

Top Movers and Shakers

BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET maintains its position as the #1 GTPI bull overall, posting a GTPI of 3612. The bull demonstrates strong production credentials with 1121 PTA Milk, 145 PTA Fat, and 59 PTA Protein, combined with a solid Health Index of 6.5.

The top of the list saw considerable shifting:

  • BEYOND SHPSTR GOLLEY-ET made a major move to the #2 position in December, reaching 3605 GTPI. This sire excels with high PTA Fat (147) and strong PTA Type (1.51).
  • SAN-DAN ON CALL-ET (3574 GTPI) enters the top rankings directly at #3. This sire is exceptional for production, yielding 1845 PTA Milk, 151 PTA Fat, and 70 PTA Protein, while also ranking #9 for Net Merit at $1222.
  • OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER-ET (3572 GTPI) now stands at #4 in the general Top 100 GTPI ranking.
  • PROGENESIS WATCHMAN rounds out the top five at 3568 GTPI.
  • BEYOND HI-PACE-ET secures #6 with 3566 GTPI, adding depth to the Beyond program’s GTPI dominance.

New Sires in the GTPI Top 100

The December 2025 GTPI ranking features numerous exciting new entrants that cracked the Top 100. Key new sires debuting near the top include:

  • S-S-I OLD RICHARD-ET ranks high at #7 with 3553 GTPI
  • S-S-I SIEMERS N MCLAURIN-ET follows closely at #8 with 3549 GTPI, showing impressive PTA Type (1.81) and Udder Composite (1.16)
  • STGEN MAZOR-ET (3539 GTPI) and GENOSOURCE LANDMAN-ET (3537 GTPI) secured the #11 and #12 spots, respectively
  • BEYOND HOORAY-ET also debuts strongly at #13 (3537 GTPI)
  • GENOSOURCE YAGERMEISTER-ET at #16 (3533 GTPI) and OCD SHEEPSTER ROCK-ET at #17 (3528 GTPI)

Net Merit ($NM) Evaluation Overview

The December 2025 Net Merit rankings reveal a seismic shift in genetic leadership that dairy breeders cannot ignore: Genosource bulls now hold an astounding 22 of the top 30 NM$ positions—representing 73% of the elite profitability tier. Even more remarkably, Genosource claims 5 of the top 7 spots, including the #1 position.

This level of concentration is unprecedented in modern Holstein genetics and signals a fundamental change in how profitable genetics are being developed and marketed. The Genosource breeding program has clearly cracked the code on balancing high production with health, fertility, and longevity traits that drive lifetime profitability.

NM$ Leaders

GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET successfully defends its title as the #1 NM$ bull, achieving $1296 NM. This bull also appears at #87 on the GTPI list with a GTPI of 3477, demonstrating balanced genetic merit across multiple selection indices.

The Genosource dominance continues throughout the rankings:

  • 551HO06566 is the #2 NM$ sire at $1274 NM, featuring 2089 PTA Milk and 77 PTA Protein
  • STGEN STUART-ET ranks #3 NM$ at $1250 NM, providing 1666 PTA Milk, 145 PTA Fat, and 71 PTA Protein
  • GENOSOURCE MIKAIL-ET holds the #4 NM$ position with $1246 NM
  • GENOSOURCE ELVIS-ET at #5 with $1245 NM
  • GENOSOURCE VAMOOSE-ET at #6 with $1231 NM
  • GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET at #7 with $1227 NM

Production Powerhouses in the NM$ Rankings

Many of the top NM$ bulls exhibit high combined Fat and Protein (CFP) figures, which are vital for milk component revenue. Notable examples include:

  • GENOSOURCE BENCHMARK-ET (NM $1207, #11) boasts the highest CFP among the top NM sires at 228
  • SAN-DAN ON CALL-ET, ranking #9 NM$ with $1222, delivers 221 CFP from 1845 PTA Milk
  • GENOSOURCE YUPPIE-ET (#27 NM$) showcases extreme production at 2662 PTA Milk, ranking high despite challenging functional traits, including Productive Life of -0.3 and Daughter Pregnancy Rate of -3.0

PTAT (Prediction of Transmitting Ability for Type) Focus

The December 2025 PTAT list features sires that transmit superior conformation and functional type.

PTAT Top Performers

The top two sires continue their dominance:

  • SHG LEGO remains #1 with 3.85 PTAT
  • REDCARPET STORY ARC-ET holds #2 with 3.85 PTAT

For breeders prioritizing show ring success or building maternal lines with exceptional udder quality, the stability at the top provides confidence—these proven type transmitters aren’t going anywhere. No emerging challenger has broken 3.75 PTAT, meaning the path to elite conformation genetics remains clearly defined.

Key Shifts and New Additions in the PTAT Top 50

  • STONE-FRONT EYECANDY APOLLO holds steady at #3 with 3.73 PTAT
  • GENOSOURCE SEENOFEAR-ET is a new, high-ranking entrant at #4 with 3.70 PTAT
  • ESKDALE HULU SHOUTOUT-ET (3.59 PTAT) secured the #8 spot
  • LAND-PRIDE UNBEATABULL-ET debuts at #19 with 3.38 PTAT
  • DG SANTINUS RC is a high-ranking newcomer at #20 (3.37 PTAT)
  • LE-O-LA CHISEL-ET secured #27 (3.30 PTAT)
  • COLDSPRINGS LAURENT 9901-ET debuted at #47 (3.14 PTAT)

Red Carrier and Red & White Genetic Leaders

Red Carrier (RC) GTPI

The Red Carrier list shows strong genetic progress at the elite level:

  • S-S-I SIEMERS FALCIFORM-ET maintains the #1 RC GTPI position at 3353, demonstrating a strong Health Index (5.8) and high Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR 2.1)
  • OCD DOMINANCE SUNDAY-ET holds steady at #2 with 3315 GTPI
  • The newcomer 551HO06476 enters at #3 (3302 GTPI)
  • New sires penetrating the Top 50 include 582891323034-ET (#5, 3276 GTPI) and STGEN GUDO P-ET (#7, 3264 GTPI)

Red & White (R&W) GTPI

The R&W GTPI rankings remain dynamic with multiple new entrants:

  • SIEMERS RLE PAPAYA-RED-ET is the #1 R&W GTPI bull at 3221 GTPI
  • DENOVO 21873 OKAFOR-RED-ET debuts strongly at #2 (3220 GTPI)
  • STGEN OCEAN-RED-ET is the #3 R&W GTPI bull at 3198 GTPI
  • GENOSOURCE MORRIS-RED-ET holds the #9 position at 3164 GTPI
  • New sires APRILDAY ORPH LYON-RED-ET (#5, 3182 GTPI) and STGEN RED LION-ET (#7, 3166 GTPI) mark strong debuts

The 391-point gap between SIEMERS RLE PAPAYA-RED-ET (3221) and BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET (3612) represents the closest Red & White genetics have come to elite black & white performance in recent memory—a milestone that validates years of focused colored cattle breeding.

Red Carrier and R&W PTAT

In the Type rankings for colored cattle, REDCARPET STORY ARC-ET remains the dominant sire, leading the combined R&W and Red Carrier PTAT list at 3.85 PTAT. Other notable performers include:

  • ESKDALE HULU SHOUTOUT-ET makes a powerful entrance at #2 with 3.59 PTAT
  • DG SANTINUS RC debuts at #3 with 3.37 PTAT
  • LE-O-LA CHISEL-ET debuts at #5 with 3.30 PTAT
  • SKI-BRITE JOEL-RED-ET debuts in the Top 50 at #43 (2.66 PTAT)

The Bottom Line

This consolidation of profitable genetics demands a strategic response. Review your current sire lineup against these rankings and ask: Does your genetic strategy align with where profitability is actually being generated? Whether you prioritize NM$, GTPI, type, or colored genetics, the December 2025 evaluations provide clear direction—and clear leaders—in every category.

Key Takeaways

  • Profit genetics monopolized: Genosource captures 22 of 30 top Net Merit positions—73% of the industry’s most profitable sires now come from one program, led by RETROSPECT-ET at $1296
  • GTPI leadership extends: BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET dominates at 3612; newcomer SAN-DAN ON CALL-ET explodes to #3 (3574) with 1845 Milk, 151 Fat, and dual ranking at #9 NM$
  • Type titans hold firm: SHG LEGO and REDCARPET STORY ARC-ET lock the PTAT summit at 3.85—no emerging challenger breaks 3.75
  • Red & White within striking distance: SIEMERS RLE PAPAYA-RED-ET reaches 3221 GTPI, closing the gap to just 391 points behind the #1 overall bull

Complete Lists:

Data source: Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), December 2025 genetic evaluations. All rankings reflect bulls with NAAB codes over 12 months.

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165 kg Fat, 11-Spot Jump, New #1 Type Bull: December 2025’s Canadian Proof Run Rewrites Your Breeding Plan

BEYOND HI-LEVEL just hit 165 kg fat and jumped 11 spots. PROGENESIS AKSEL took the type crown. Your December matings need revision—now.

Executive Summary: OCD MILAN-ET holds #1 at 4137 GPA LPI—but December’s real headlines belong to three bulls who just crashed the top 5. BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET vaulted 11 spots to #4, posting 165 kg fat that makes him the component king of this proof run. PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P debuted at #2 as Canada’s highest-ranking polled genomic sire ever. BEYOND HOORAY-ET claimed #3 with +1.10% fat and +0.52% protein—percentages that justify immediate mating list revisions. The conformation crown changed hands too: PROGENESIS AKSEL dethroned WALNUTLAWN PG BRIGHTSTAR for #1 type. Breeders now have fresh genetic ammunition for their 2026 breeding programs.

OCD MILAN-ET remains the bull to beat, actually increasing his GPA LPI from 4118 in August to 4137 in December—a 19-point gain that’s rare at this elite level. His production profile shows 626 kg of Milk, 107 kg of Fat, and 56 kg of Protein.

The real story is what happened behind him:

RankBullDec ’25 LPIAug ’25 LPIMovementMilk (kg)Fat (kg)Protein (kg)
1OCD MILAN-ET41374118—62610756
2PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P4092N/ANEW459148
3BEYOND HOORAY-ET4077N/ANEW48514879
4BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET40744007↑11134816587
5OCD MONKEY-ET40724105↓3113113071
6ADAWAY BEYOND FAITHFUL-ET40704025↑3136412989
7OCD MANNY-ET40664056↓34578844

PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P enters as a polled option at #2, bringing genetic diversity without sacrificing elite LPI. Meanwhile, BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET’s leap to #4 represents one of the most significant proof gains this year, combining elite volume (1348 kg Milk) with exceptional component density.

Component Kings: Where the Real Money Is

With protein premiums strengthening across Canadian markets, breeders should note these component standouts from the top 100 GPA LPI:

Fat Production Leaders:

  • BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET: 165 kg Fat
  • OCD TESLA SHEPARD-ET: 158 kg Fat
  • FLY-HIGHER SANTORINI-ET: 155 kg Fat

Protein Champions:

  • PROGENESIS MELNIK: 96 kg Protein (#13 LPI)
  • PEAK ALTASAFEZONE-ET: 96 kg Protein (#82 LPI)

Percentage Extremes for Component-Focused Herds:

  • BEYOND HOORAY-ET: +1.10% Fat, +0.52% Protein
  • PROGENESIS HEAVENLY: +1.12% Fat

These percentages matter increasingly as processors reward component density over volume.

Health and Longevity: Don’t Sacrifice the Cow

The December evaluations highlight significant variation in health traits among top LPI bulls:

Strong Health Profiles:

  • OCD MILAN-ET: 109 SCS
  • OCD MANNY-ET: 110 SCS
  • SYNERGY KICKSTART-ET: 100 SCS (breed average)

Herd Life Leaders:

  • PROGENESIS LEONIDAS: HL=12
  • OCD MANGO-ET: HL=10

Rumen Health Considerations: Bulls like OCD MANGO-ET (RP=13) and PROGENESIS LEONIDAS (RP=10) show strong positive RP scores. However, several high-LPI bulls carry negative RP scores—T-SPRUCE SUNSET-ET (RP=-11) and SIEMERS SSI SUN MEERKAT-ET (RP=-12)—requiring careful mating decisions.

Conformation Shakeup: Progenesis Takes the Type Throne

The conformation rankings saw dramatic movement as PROGENESIS AKSEL debuts at #1 with 20 Conf, dethroning August’s leader WALNUTLAWN PG BRIGHTSTAR.

Top Conformation Bulls (16+ Conf):

RankBullConfMSF&LDSRUMP
1PROGENESIS AKSEL2014151514
2PROGENESIS ALASTOR191691211
3WALNUTLAWN PG BRIGHTSTAR1915121410
4BLONDIN LYNX191020169
5BENJO LINDENRIGHT MAPACHE-P191612710

For breeders prioritizing feet and legs, BLONDIN LYNX’s F&L=20 represents the pinnacle of mobility genetics currently available in Canada. For mammary-focused programs, PROGENESIS ALASTOR (MS=16) and BENJO LINDENRIGHT MAPACHE-P (MS=16) offer the strongest udder genetics among elite type bulls.

Strategic Breeding Decisions for 2026

The December 2025 evaluations create distinct opportunities:

For Balanced Herds: OCD MILAN-ET remains the safe choice—elite LPI, proven stability across proof runs, and solid health traits.

For Component-Focused Operations: BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET (#4) offers the best combination of high LPI with exceptional fat production. His 67-point LPI gain since August demonstrates strong genetic stability.

For Polled Programs: PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P at #2 proves polled genetics can compete at the very top without compromising production.

For Type Improvement: PROGENESIS AKSEL and BLONDIN LYNX provide two distinct paths—balanced type versus feet & legs specialization. For mammary focus, consider PROGENESIS ALASTOR (MS=16).

Key Takeaways

  • Component king emerges: BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET jumped 11 spots to #4 with 165 kg fat—rewriting what’s possible from a top-10 LPI bull
  • Polled shatters the ceiling: PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P debuted at #2 (4092 LPI), proving elite genetics and hornless no longer trade off
  • Type throne flips: PROGENESIS AKSEL claimed #1 conformation (20 Conf) in his first evaluation, ending WALNUTLAWN PG BRIGHTSTAR’s reign
  • Milan holds, pack closes: OCD MILAN-ET defends #1 at 4137 LPI (+19 from August), but three bulls now sit within 67 points of the crown
  • Percentage play for premium checks: BEYOND HOORAY-ET (#3) posts +1.10% fat and +0.52% protein—numbers built for component pricing

The Bottom Line

These evaluations function like a stock portfolio: OCD MILAN-ET is the blue-chip holding—proven, stable, still delivering. Bulls like PROGENESIS SHEAMUS-P and BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET are the high-growth plays that just IPO’d into elite territory. The breeders who act on December’s data before their neighbors do will own the genetic edge heading into 2026.

Complete Lists:

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German Rankings Upset: Saturn RDC Shares B&W Throne, Bueno Red Captures Red Crown

Veterano’s solo reign ends today. Saturn RDC ties at 164 RZG with +0.88% fat. Germany’s new genomic era starts now.

Executive Summary: Germany’s December 2025 evaluations shook up both Holstein leaderboards with new names at the top. Saturn RDC, a Shield son, rockets to 164 RZG—tying Veterano for B&W genomic supremacy—while posting an eye-popping +0.88% fat that makes him the evaluation’s standout component sire. In Red & Whites, Bueno Red seizes the genomic crown at 161 RZG, blending exceptional production (+2,159 kg M) with superior type (121 RZE). The daughter-proven lists also turned over: Precision (148 RZG) now leads B&W with elite udders (132 Eut), while Mask Red (146 RZG) commands the Reds with standout functionality (126 Fun). Sire line trends confirm Real Syn’s grip on B&W genomics, but Shield and Borax Red progeny are rising fast across both breeds. The takeaway for breeders: elite components and top indexes are no longer mutually exclusive—and this proof run proves it.

German genetic evaluations

The December 2025 German genetic evaluations have introduced several notable shifts and new high-ranking sires across both Black & White (Holstein) and Red & White (German Red Holsteins) breeds, according to the latest Interbull data. While top genomic RZG scores remain fiercely competitive, a new shared leader emerged in the B&W category, and the Red & White daughter-proven list crowned a fresh champion.

Here is a detailed report highlighting the changes and new entrants compared to the previous August 2025 rankings.

Black & White (B&W) Holsteins

Genomic Sires: Shared Leadership and Strong Components

The top of the Black & White genomic list (RZG) saw a slight overall shift in index values but welcomed a major new sire joining the former leader.

In the August 2025 evaluation, the undisputed top B&W genomic sire was Veterano (s. Vivify) with an RZG of 166. For December 2025, Veterano’s RZG moderated slightly to 164, resulting in a shared number one spot with the Shield son Saturn RDC.

  • Saturn RDC (HB-Nr 103000) debuts strongly at 164 RZG. This newcomer is a notable component specialist, boasting exceptional fat content at +0.88% F (+110 kg F) and a strong mammary score (Eut) of 126. Saturn RDC’s RZhealth of 132 is exceptional.

Other key B&W genomic sires and their movement:

  • Evenstar (s. Real Syn) dropped slightly from 164 RZG (August) to 163 RZG (December, rank 3).
  • Realpower (s. Real Syn) also fell slightly from 164 RZG (August) to 163 RZG (December, rank 4). Realpower remains an outstanding production sire with +1,986 kg M and extremely high fat percentages at +0.61% F (+154 kg F).
  • Two Real Syn sons continue to impress in the genomic charts:
    • DG Rico debuted (or was highlighted in the latest summary) at +160 RZG, noted for his +126 RZE(Type), +1,649 kgM, +0.51% F, and +0.02% P.
    • His full brother, DG Eliandro, achieved a 158 RZG and impressive type figures (+134 RZE, +1,582 kgM).

Daughter Proven Sires (Active AI Bulls, 500+ DEU Dtrs)

The Daughter Proven category saw significant turnover at the top, with bulls featuring at least 500 German daughters.

In August 2025, Mirco (s. Mick) led the domestic daughter-proven list at 144 RZG. The December 2025 evaluation introduces a new leader:

  • Precision (HB-Nr 575319), ranking #1 with 148 RZG. This sire excels in conformation, showing an RZE of 133 and a particularly high Udder score (Eut) of 132.

Other notable changes in the daughter-proven segment:

  • Zivet (s. AltaZarek), his RZG decreased slightly from 147 (August Interbull Top 1) to 146 (December, rank 2), while increasing his milk production to +2,074 kg M.
  • Mirco dropped two points, moving from 144 RZG (August #1) down to 143 RZG (December #3).
  • Sunrise also saw a slight drop in RZG, moving from 142 RZG (August Interbull #9) to 141 RZG (December #3 in the domestic list).

German Red Holsteins (R&W)

Genomic Sires: Bueno Red Takes the Lead

The Red & White genomic list also experienced a shift at the very top (RZG 161).

In August 2025, the top three Red & White genomic sires were tightly grouped at 161 RZG: Schach (s. Skat P RDC), Create P (s. CR 7 P), and Coco Red P (s. Cop Red PP).

In the December 2025 Interbull genomic rankings, the new #1 sire is Bueno Red (HB-Nr 823382, s. Borax Red) with a 161 RZG. Bueno Red stands out for excellent production figures (+2,159 kg M) and exceptional Type (RZE 121).

Key movements among the top R&W genomic sires:

  • Create P (161 RZG in August) settled at 159 RZG (December rank 2).
  • Cardiff P (160 RZG in August) landed at 159 RZG (December rank 3).
  • Coco Red P (161 RZG in August) scored 159 RZG (December rank 4).
  • Schach dropped slightly to 159 RZG (December domestic ranking #5), falling out of his shared #1 position from August.
  • A new high entry in the top 5 is Maestro (s. Shield), achieving 159 RZG and strong components including +0.83% F and +0.41% E.

Daughter Proven Sires: Mask Red Ascends

The R&W Daughter Proven category also saw a leadership change. The August 2025 Interbull list was led by Rammstein (s. Jayvano) at 145 RZG.

For December 2025, Mask Red (s. Stamkos) is confirmed as the new chart-topper in the R&W RZG Daughter Proven index with 146 RZG. Mask Red offers solid production (+1,354 kg M) and excellent Functionality (Fun 126).

The previous leader, Rammstein, moved to #2 at 145 RZG. Importantly, Rammstein increased his components proof, now showing +0.01% F and +0.15% P.

Other major movements in R&W daughter-proven rankings (500+ DEU daughters):

  • Ginger (s. Gywer RDC) saw an RZG decrease from 143 (August Interbull Rank 2) to 142 RZG (December Domestic Rank 1), but remains a strong milk bull (+2,719 kg M).
  • Money P (s. Match P) also dropped slightly from 138 RZG (August Domestic Rank 1) to 137 RZG (December Domestic Rank 2).
  • Garnier (s. Gywer RDC) decreased from 136 RZG (August Domestic Rank 2) to 135 RZG (December Domestic Rank 3).

The December 2025 German evaluation highlights the quick succession and strong performance of young genomic sires, particularly those sired by Real Syn (B&W), and the emergence of Shield and Borax Red progeny in the R&W categories. The Daughter Proven lists show Precision and Mask Red successfully capitalizing on their proof increases to claim the top spots in their respective breeds.

Key Takeaways:

  • Saturn RDC Ties for B&W Crown: Shield son debuts at 164 RZG—matching Veterano—with +0.88% fat that sets a new standard for component excellence at elite index levels
  • Bueno Red Seizes Red Leadership: New R&W genomic #1 at 161 RZG delivers both volume (+2,159 kg M) and type (121 RZE)—a rare combination
  • Proven Lists Overturn: Precision (148 RZG, 132 Eut) now leads B&W daughter-proven; Mask Red (146 RZG, 126 Fun) takes R&W top spot
  • Sire Line Trends: Real Syn continues B&W genomic dominance, but Shield and Borax Red progeny are ascending rapidly in both breeds
  • Breeder Action: High-component, high-index genetics are no longer trade-offs—these December leaders prove you can have both

Complete Lists:

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Swiss Shakeup: Monset (+1603) Claims ISET Crown as Boston Plummets 52 Points

Boston was untouchable at +1645 ISET. Four months later, he’s lost 52 points and his crown. The new Swiss #1? Hadley son Monset at +1603.

Executive Summary: Switzerland’s December 2025 ISET rankings delivered a stunning reversal: TGD-Holstein Monset (+1603), a Hadley x Gameday cross, seized the genomic throne after Sous-Moron Boston plummeted 52 points—from +1645 to +1593—in just four months. This collapse, among the sharpest ever recorded for a reigning Swiss #1, starkly illustrates the volatility risk of concentrating matings on young genomic sires. The Gameday maternal line now underpins three of five top bulls, creating genetic concentration that demands careful inbreeding management in progressive herds. Breeders seeking production alternatives should consider Progenesis Timeout (+141 kg fat, +0.83%) and Torchlight (+92 kg protein, +1584 ISET)—elite components outside the Hadley stack. For conformation priority, DG Blackburn leads genomic type at +136 ITP, while daughter-proven NH DG Arrow (+128 ITP) offers proven reliability over genomic projection. The December lesson is unambiguous: rankings reward diversified mating strategies, and any sire—regardless of peak index—can lose 50+ points before his first daughters calve.

Swiss ISET Genomic Rankings

A New Name at the Top

The December 2025 Swiss genetic evaluations have reshuffled the genomic leaderboard in ways that should give every breeder pause. TGD-Holstein Monset, a Hadley son bred from a Gameday dam, now sits atop the ISET (Total Index) rankings with a score of +1603. That’s not a typo—the new #1 actually posts a lower index than the old #1 held just four months ago.

What’s interesting here is how this leadership change happened. Monset didn’t surge past Boston through some spectacular gain. Rather, Sous-Moron Boston—the bull who looked bulletproof in August at +1645 ISET—experienced a 52-point correction that dropped him to +1593. In genomic evaluation terms, that’s a significant recalibration. Boston, a Casting son also out of a Gameday dam, now sits in second place behind a bull he would have comfortably outranked just one evaluation cycle ago.

Rounding out the top three is TGD-Holstein Beautyman, a Globed x Astral cross holding steady at +1586 ISET. Beautyman has proven remarkably consistent across evaluations—he sat at +1590 in August—which is exactly the kind of stability progressive breeders should value.

December 2025 Genomic ISET Top Performers

Here is a look at the top rankings in the genomic list for December 2025:

Rank (Dec ’25)NameSire x Dam’s SireISET ScoreFat kg / %Protein kg / %
1TGD-Holstein MONSETHADLEY x GAMEDAY160397 kg / 0.51%68 kg / 0.30%
2Sous-Moron BOSTONCASTING x GAMEDAY159387 kg / 0.38%65 kg / 0.25%
3TGD-Holstein BEAUTYMANGLOBED x ASTRAL158649 kg / -0.02%57 kg / 0.17%
4Progenesis TIMEOUTPEREGRINE x DZUNDA1584141 kg / 0.83%78 kg / 0.29%
5Progenesis TORCHLIGHTSHEEPSTER x GAMEDAY1584133 kg / 0.48%92 kg / 0.23%

August 2025 Genomic ISET Top Performers

For comparison, here’s where things stood in August—note how dramatically the picture has shifted:

Rank (Aug ’25)NameSire x Dam’s SireISET ScoreFat kg / %Protein kg / %
1Sous-Moron BOSTONCASTING x GAMEDAY164598 kg / 0.44%68 kg / 0.24%
2Cookiecutter HADLEYPATTERN x GAMEDAY1592140 kg / 0.56%93 kg / 0.24%
3TGD-Holstein BEAUTYMANGLOBED x ASTRAL159050 kg / 0.00%54 kg / 0.14%
4Progenesis TORCHLIGHTSHEEPSTER x GAMEDAY1583128 kg / 0.45%90 kg / 0.23%
5Swissgen EMPIREBLAKELY x CAPTIVATING157374 kg / 0.45%48 kg / 0.22%

Understanding Boston’s 52-Point Correction

So what happened to Boston? This is where the mechanics of genomic evaluation matter for practical breeding decisions.

Young genomic sires carry what geneticists call “reliability risk.” When a bull has no milking daughters—or very few—his genomic prediction is essentially a statistical estimate based on DNA marker associations with the reference population. Research from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding shows that genomic evaluations for young bulls typically carry reliabilities around 70-75%, compared to 90%+ for daughter-proven sires. That 25-30% uncertainty has to go somewhere, and sometimes it goes against you.

As more data accumulates—whether from the bull’s own daughters entering production, updates to the reference population, or methodology refinements—those predictions get recalibrated. The dramatic swings we’re seeing in genomic rankings aren’t bugs in the system; they’re features. They reflect the reality that early genomic predictions are educated estimates, not guarantees.

I’ve noticed that bulls gaining or losing 50+ points in a single evaluation cycle aren’t unusual in genomic rankings, though it’s certainly jarring when it happens to the reigning #1. What’s worth noting is that Boston’s component predictions also shifted—his fat yield estimate dropped from 98 kg to 87 kg, while his fat percentage moved from 0.44% to 0.38%. These aren’t minor adjustments.

The practical takeaway? Any breeding program built heavily around a single young genomic sire carries a concentration risk that can materialize faster than most producers expect.

The Gameday Question: Maternal Dominance and Inbreeding Pressure

Looking at the December rankings, something jumps out immediately: three of the top five ISET sires trace to Gameday dams. Monset, Boston, and Torchlight all carry Gameday on their maternal side. That’s a lot of genetic eggs in one basket.

Gameday (RMD-Dotterer SSI Gameday-ET) earned his reputation honestly—he was the breed’s #1 sire for Net Merit and GTPI when he debuted, combining high production with solid health and type traits. His influence through both sons and daughters has been enormous. But when a single bull’s genetics dominate multiple pathways to the top of the rankings, inbreeding management becomes a real operational concern.

For herds that have used Gameday-sired bulls heavily over the past few years—and many have—the December rankings present a practical challenge. Using Monset or Boston on Gameday granddaughters pushes inbreeding coefficients into territory that can affect fertility, calf vigor, and lifetime productivity. What farmers are finding is that mating software becomes essential, not optional, when the top of the rankings shares this much common ancestry. The alternative—breeding for maximum ISET without inbreeding checks—is a strategy that works until it doesn’t.

Component Alternatives Worth Considering

Not every herd needs to chase the top ISET number. For operations focused on butterfat performance or protein premiums, the December rankings offer some compelling alternatives that fly a bit under the radar.

Progenesis Timeout (+1584 ISET) posts remarkable component numbers: +141 kg fat with a +0.83% butterfat deviation. That’s elite fat production with the percentage improvement that component-focused markets reward. His Peregrine x Dzunda pedigree also sits outside the Hadley/Gameday concentration, offering some genetic diversity for herds looking to manage inbreeding pressure.

Progenesis Torchlight (+1584 ISET) takes a different angle—he’s the protein king of this group at +92 kg protein with a +0.23% deviation. For cheese-market producers or those selling into protein-premium contracts, Torchlight’s profile makes a lot of sense. He does carry Gameday on his dam’s side, though, so inbreeding checks remain important.

What’s interesting here is the production gap between these component specialists and the ISET leaders. Beautyman, sitting at #3 ISET, posts just +49 kg fat and +57 kg protein—strong index, but not the component punch that Timeout and Torchlight deliver. Different bulls for different breeding objectives.

Type Index (ITP): Balancing Genomic Promise and Proven Reliability

For breeders who prioritize conformation alongside production, the type rankings tell their own story.

DG Blackburn leads the genomic ITP category with a +136 type index, a genuinely impressive type index. He’s a Davinci son tracing to the Regancrest-PR Barbie EX-92-USA cow family—genetics that have consistently produced style and dairy strength. For herds targeting show-ring success or breeding-stock sales, Blackburn’s genomic type profile is hard to ignore.

But here’s where the discussion of genomic volatility becomes relevant again. Blackburn’s +136 ITP is a genomic prediction with the same reliability considerations we discussed with ISET rankings. Bulls can and do move significantly on type evaluations as daughter information accumulates.

That’s why NH DG Arrow deserves attention as the #3 daughter-proven ITP sire at +128 ITP. Arrow, bred by Nosbisch Holsteins and Diamond Genetics, offers something Blackburn can’t yet provide: actual daughter performance data backing up his type prediction. The 8-point gap between Blackburn’s genomic +136 and Arrow’s proven +128 represents the premium breeders pay for certainty versus projection.

Strategic Breeding Takeaways

December’s Swiss rankings offer several clear signals for breeding program planning:

  • For high-index programs: Monset’s rise to #1 makes him an obvious choice for herds chasing maximum ISET. But his Hadley x Gameday pedigree demands careful inbreeding management. Consider pairing Monset matings with outcross alternatives, such as Timeout or Beautyman, to maintain genetic diversity across the herd.
  • For component-focused operations: Timeout (+141 kg fat, +0.83%) and Torchlight (+92 kg protein) offer elite production traits that may actually deliver more economic value than top ISET bulls in premium-market situations. Don’t let index rankings blind you to component opportunities.
  • For type-priority breeders, the genomic-versus-proven trade-off between Blackburn (+136 ITP genomic) and Arrow (+128 ITP proven) is a fundamental risk-management decision. Using both strategically—Arrow on your best cows where you can’t afford a miss, Blackburn on animals where you can accept more variance—often makes more sense than choosing one approach exclusively.
  • For everyone: Boston’s 52-point correction is a reminder that genomic rankings are probability distributions, not certainties. The generation interval advantages of young genomic sires are real—research shows the sire-of-bulls pathway has compressed from nearly 7.5 years to under 2.5 years since genomic selection began. But those advantages come with volatility that daughter-proven sires don’t carry.

The Bigger Picture

What December’s Swiss evaluations really demonstrate is something geneticists have been saying since genomic selection launched: these tools work best when used thoughtfully, not blindly.

The dramatic swings we see in genomic rankings aren’t evidence that the system is broken. They’re evidence that early predictions carry meaningful uncertainty—uncertainty that resolves as more data accumulates. Bulls like Beautyman, who hold relatively steady across evaluations, may ultimately prove more valuable than higher-indexed bulls who experience significant corrections.

For breeders, the lesson isn’t to abandon genomic sires—their contribution to genetic progress has been profound. The lesson is to build breeding programs around diversification rather than concentration. Use multiple sire lines. Balance genomic potential with proven reliability. Run inbreeding checks before every mating decision, not just occasionally. The bull who sits at #1 today may not be there in April. But a breeding program built on sound genetic principles will perform regardless of which individual bull wears the crown.

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August 2025 Proofs: New Kings, Big Swings, and What It Means for Your Herd

Bulls losing 102 points overnight while proven sires gain $2,400/cow advantage? August’s genomic chaos changes everything we know.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The August 2025 genetic evaluations reveal a critical shift in the dairy industry, as the proven reliability of daughter-backed sires increasingly outshines the volatile promise of their genomic counterparts. This trend is highlighted by major ranking changes, including Stantons Remover PP leaping to the #1 proven spot in Canada, while genomic bulls like Cookiecutter Hadley-ET experienced dramatic drops. The displacement of established sires like Genosource Captain in the UK further signals a rapid industry shift towards functional traits, such as health and efficiency. This dynamic underscores a move by breeders to prioritize real-world economic performance, exemplified by GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET’s dominance in the US Net Merit rankings, leading to breeding strategies that now favor the stability of proven genetics.

KEY CHANGES

  • Stantons Remover PP: The biggest mover, leaping from #7 to become the new #1 proven sire in Canada (LPI) after his first daughters validated his genomic potential.
  • Cookiecutter Hadley-ET: A prime example of genomic volatility, going from #2 to #10 in the Italian genomic rankings in a single evaluation cycle.
  • OCD Trooper Sheepster: Emerged as the new #1 daughter-proven sire in the UK (£PLI), showcasing a desirable combination of production and a high lifespan improvement.
  • GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET: The new leader for Net Merit ($NM) in the US, headlining Genosource’s complete domination of the economic-focused index.
  • Genosource Captain: A significant change, this former industry-leading sire dropped to fifth place in the UK and 3rd place in the US, highlighting the rapid genetic progress and shifting priorities towards health and efficiency traits.
  • Evenstar & Pennywise: A pair of “twin” sires who became the new #1 genomic leaders in Germany ($RZG), both achieving an elite score of 164.
  • Peak Spellbound-ET: Surged to become the new #1 genomic sire in Italy ($gPFT), noted for his exceptional component percentages that appeal to the cheese market.

The August 2025 genetic evaluations have delivered the most dramatic ranking reshuffles we’ve seen in years, with proven sire Stantons Remover PP leaping from #7 to #1 in Canada, while Italian genomics swung by 100+ points in single evaluations. The real story? Proven reliability is increasingly outperforming genomic promises as economic pressures force progressive breeders to prioritize profitable genetics over flashy TPI numbers.

Look, I’ve been watching genetic evaluations for over two decades, and what just dropped in August 2025 has me scratching my head in the best possible way. We’re seeing ranking shifts that would’ve been unthinkable just a few years ago—and the implications for your breeding program are massive.

The thing that’s really got my attention isn’t just the new leaders (though they’re impressive), it’s this growing tension between what genomics promise and what proven bulls actually deliver. And frankly, some of the volatility we’re seeing should prompt every breeder to pause before they become too aggressive with unproven genetics.

The Great Genomic Reality Check—And Why It Matters to Your Bottom Line

Here’s what’s happening across the major Holstein markets, and it’s telling a story that every progressive breeder needs to understand. We’re looking at the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Italy—basically the genetic powerhouses that drive most of our industry decisions.

The pattern that’s emerging? Genomic predictions are becoming increasingly volatile, while proven bulls are demonstrating the kind of consistency that actually pays the bills. Take what just happened in Italy—Cookiecutter Hadley-ET dropped from #2 to #10 genomic, losing 102 points in one evaluation cycle. That’s not a small adjustment; that’s a complete reversal of fortune.

Meanwhile, proven sire ZFZ Crisalis RF gained 29 points, strengthening his position as #1. The guy has thousands of daughters, actually milking in real barns, dealing with real feed costs and real heat stress. There’s something to be said for that kind of validation.

What really drives this home is the German comparison. Their genomic leaders, Evenstar and Pennywise, both reached RZG 164—that’s a 17-point advantage over proven leader Zivet, who reached RZG 147. Now, if you’re doing the math on lifetime profit, that gap represents serious money… if the predictions hold true.

Marco Winters from AHDB put it perfectly when he looked at the UK situation: “The six new graduates in the top 10 already have around 7,000 heifers registered in UK milk-recorded herds, with some now milking. Their proven £PLI values deviate by just one point on average from their earlier genomic predictions.”

That’s the kind of validation that makes you feel good about using genomics early. But here’s the thing—not every market is showing that kind of accuracy.

North America: Where Economic Reality Meets Genetic Hype

The United States: Genosource’s Economic Domination

What’s fascinating about the US August proofs is how they reveal a fundamental shift toward economic reality. Sure, BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET claimed the #1 genomic spot at +3539 TPI, but honestly, that’s not the story that’s going to matter to your milk check.

The real story is how Genosource has completely taken over the Net Merit rankings. I mean completely. GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET leads at +1317 NM$, followed by his stable mates GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET (+1233NM) and GENOSOURCE PURDY-ET (+1222 NM$).

This isn’t a coincidence—this is systematic breeding for traits that actually make money rather than chasing TPI points that look good on paper but don’t always translate to profitability. And with feed costs where they are in 2025, that focus on economic merit is becoming non-negotiable.

In the proven ranks, SDG CAP GARZA-ET is leading at +3488 TPI with 98% reliability. What I like about Garza is his balance—+146 lbs fat, +53 lbs protein, and +3.7 PL. Those are the kind of numbers that keep operations profitable when everything else goes sideways.

Canada: The Remover Revolution (And What It Really Means)

Now this is where August got really interesting. Stantons Remover PP made this spectacular jump from #7 in April to #1 in August (+3897 LPI). That’s not just a statistical blip—this bull’s backed by 234 daughters across 32 herds, which means we’re looking at real-world validation of genomic predictions.

What strikes me about Remover is his profile. He’s not just high-scoring, he’s balanced in exactly the ways that Canadian producers need as replacement costs keep climbing. The durability traits are there, the production is solid, and crucially, he’s proving himself in diverse management systems across the country.

The genomic young sire category is where things get really exciting, though. OCD Milan-ET leads at +4118 GPA LPI, and his numbers tell a story: +638 Milk, +108 Fat, plus strong type (+10 Mammary System, +6 Feet & Legs). This combination of production and structural soundness is exactly what the Canadian industry has been selecting for—cattle that can handle our diverse climate and management challenges.

European Markets: The Functional Excellence Revolution

United Kingdom: When Genomic Predictions Actually Work

The UK market gave us probably the strongest validation of genomic accuracy we’ve seen recently. Six new daughter-proven sires graduated into the top 10 PLI positions, and here’s the kicker—their proven values are matching their genomic predictions almost perfectly.

OCD Trooper Sheepster emerged as the new proven leader at £779 PLI. His production numbers are impressive (47.8kg fat, 35.7kg protein), but what really catches my attention is the +113-day lifespan improvement. With replacement costs exceeding £ 2,000 per animal, longevity traits like these are becoming the difference between profit and loss.

The genomic leader, Peak AltaValuepack, at £877 PLI, shows even stronger longevity (+122 days) while maintaining solid production (+785kg milk). This represents what I think is the modern ideal—comprehensive genetic merit that addresses both production and durability.

What’s particularly noteworthy is how Genosource Captain dropped to fifth place (£723 PLI) despite having over 2,000 UK milking daughters. This displacement illustrates how rapidly genetic progress can transform breeding hierarchies when functional traits take precedence over other traits. The Captain has been a reliable choice for years, but the industry’s moving toward health, fertility, and efficiency traits faster than many expected.

Germany: Precision Breeding at Its Finest

German evaluations consistently demonstrate why their breeding program is considered world-class. Proven leader Zivet commands RZG 147 through this impressive balance: +1,971 kg milk, +88 kg fat, +86 kg protein, combined with functional traits (RZN 121, RZGes 113) that actually work in commercial settings.

The genomic sphere produced these twin leaders in Evenstar and Pennywise, both at RZG 164. Evenstar’s projections (+2,090 kg milk, +120 kg fat, +69 kg protein, RZN 134) position him as a premium choice for operations serious about maximizing both production and longevity.

What’s interesting is how Red Holstein genetics keep showing up in top rankings. Ginger leads proven sires at RZG 143 with +2,638 kg milk through 510 daughters. In genomics, Schach achieved RZG 161. This demonstrates continued genetic progress in color variants—something that’s becoming increasingly important as producers seek ways to differentiate their cattle.

Italy: The Volatility That Should Worry Everyone

The Italian evaluations provided the starkest illustration of genomic volatility I’ve seen. Peak Spellbound-ET surged to #1 genomic position at 5458 gPFT—he’s an Overdrive son showing impressive components (+1.07% fat, +0.54% protein) that appeal to Italy’s cheese-focused industry.

But here’s what should concern every breeder: the dramatic swings in genomic rankings. Bulls gaining or losing 100 points or more in a single evaluation raise serious questions about reliability. This underscores why the Italian proven bull rankings, where ZFZ Crisalis RF maintains steady leadership at 5169 gPFT, provide such important stability.

The Italian ICS-PR€ index tells another story entirely. Smartie P-ET leads with 1398 ICS-PR€, demonstrating the economic reality that in value-added dairy systems, components matter more than volume. This is particularly relevant as more operations explore premium markets.

The Trends That Are Reshaping Everything

Health and Longevity: No Longer Optional

What’s becoming increasingly clear across all markets is that health and longevity traits are no longer nice-to-have features—they’re essential for profitability. PROGENESIS WATCHMAN’s elite 8.6 Health Index represents the kind of defensive genetics that operations need against rising veterinary costs.

The UK’s emphasis on HealthyCow values and Germany’s focus on RZGes scores reflect an industry-wide recognition that profitable cows must first be healthy cows. This isn’t just about animal welfare (though that matters), it’s about economic survival in an environment where every sick cow threatens your bottom line.

Component Production: The New Economic Reality

The shift toward fat and protein production rather than volume alone is evident everywhere you look. German proven sire Ginger’s +2,638 kg milk production demonstrates that volume still matters, but bulls like Peak Spellbound-ET, with +1.07% fat, are capturing attention in component-focused markets.

This trend makes sense when considering where milk prices are headed. Component premiums are becoming more significant, and operations that can deliver high-quality fat and protein are seeing better returns than those focused purely on volume.

Polled Integration: Finally Happening Seamlessly

Polled genetics are showing up in top rankings without the performance compromises we used to see. Germany’s Create P achieving RZG 161 and Canada’s Vogue A2P2-PP maintaining +15 CONF demonstrate successful integration of polled traits into elite genetic packages.

This matters because consumer pressure around dehorning isn’t going away, and having polled options that don’t sacrifice performance removes a major management headache.

The Bloodline Concentration Problem

Here’s something that should concern everyone: the dominance of specific sire lines across multiple countries. Overdrive sons appear in top rankings across markets, while Genosource genetics dominate US economic merit rankings.

This concentration delivers short-term genetic progress, but it’s creating long-term risks to breed adaptability. We’ve seen this movie before with other breeds, and it doesn’t end well if we’re not careful about maintaining genetic diversity.

Economic Pressures Driving Everything

Feed Efficiency: The Make-or-Break Trait

With feed costs still elevated in 2025, bulls showing superior feed conversion are becoming premium choices. The UK’s emphasis on Maintenance Index scores and Italy’s ICS-PR€ rankings reflect an industry that can no longer afford inefficient genetics.

Genosource Captain’s Feed Advantage, with a +255, exemplifies why these traits matter so much. When margins are this tight, feed efficiency often determines profitability more than raw production numbers. This is basic math that every operation needs to understand.

Replacement Costs: Why Longevity Pays

Rising replacement heifer costs are elevating longevity traits to critical importance. OCD Trooper Sheepster’s +113 days lifespan improvement and Peak AltaValuepack’s +122 days longevity represent real economic value when replacements cost $2,000+ per animal.

The math here is straightforward—every additional lactation from a cow represents thousands of dollars in value. Operations that ignore longevity traits in favor of short-term production are essentially choosing to hemorrhage money on replacement costs.

What This Means for Your Breeding Strategy

The Portfolio Approach (Because Balance Matters)

The volatility we’re seeing suggests genetic diversification rather than relying on a single bloodline. Successful operations are adopting portfolio approaches—combining proven reliability with selective use of high-potential genomics. My recommendation? Build genetic portfolios with 60-70% proven sires and 30-40% genomic young sires, adjusting based on your risk tolerance and genetic progress objectives. This captures advancement while maintaining reliability.

Market-Specific Selection (One Size Doesn’t Fit All)

Each market’s payment systems and management conditions require tailored strategies. Italian producers focused on cheese production, with weight component percentages, differently than Canadian operations that sell fluid milk.

UK producers must balance production with stringent health and welfare requirements.

This means you can’t just follow rankings blindly—you need to understand what traits actually drive profitability in your specific market situation.

Timing Genomic Adoption (When to Jump, When to Wait)

The UK’s validation of genomic predictions through proven daughters provides confidence for early adoption of superior young sires. However, the Italian experience suggests that extensive use of unproven genetics carries a substantial risk.

Successful breeders are adopting measured approaches—using genomic bulls selectively while maintaining core breeding programs on proven genetics. It’s about being progressive without being reckless.

Looking Forward: The Real Strategic Imperatives

What the August 2025 evaluations really reveal is that the industry is striking a balance between the promise of genomics and economic reality. The winners aren’t chasing the highest TPI or PLI scores—they’re building profitable, sustainable herds adapted to their specific conditions.

Success belongs to breeders who strategically combine proven genetics as their foundation with selective genomic advancement. The future isn’t about choosing between proven and genomic selection—it’s about leveraging both approaches to create cattle that thrive in an increasingly challenging environment.

The real winners are already emerging, and they’re not just showing up in rankings. They’re showing up in milk checks and bottom lines of operations that have learned to balance genetic potential with economic reality. Because at the end of the day, that’s what actually matters in this business.

Read complete breakdowns for each country here:

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August 2025 US Proofs: A Guide to the Real Winners and Winning Strategies

The August proofs are out. Don’t just chase the #1 bull. Discover the winning strategies that will actually drive your profitability.

Executive Summary: The August 2025 sire proofs reveal a key strategic crossroads for dairy producers, contrasting the high-potential genomics of the new #1 GTPI® sire, BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET, with the data-backed reliability of proven powerhouses like SDG CAP GARZA-ET. This analysis delves deeper than the headline rankings, questioning the industry’s focus on TPI points versus true on-farm profitability. It highlights the dominance of Genosource in the Net Merit category, led by GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET, as a case study in breeding for economic success. Ultimately, the article argues that the “real winners” are sires that deliver balanced traits, such as health and longevity, urging producers to build resilient, profitable herds rather than simply chasing the highest-ranking genomic bull.

sire selection guide, dairy cattle breeding, dairy farm profitability, Holstein genetics, genomic sires

The August 2025 sire proofs are out, and they paint a clear picture of the two paths available to dairy producers: the high-risk, high-reward world of elite genomics, and the reliable, data-backed foundation of proven sires. Understanding the leaders in each category—and the larger trends they represent—is crucial for building a profitable breeding strategy in today’s demanding market.

Genomic Leaders: A Glimpse into the Future

The top of the young sire list is where we see the absolute cutting edge of genetic potential.

  • The New #1: BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET has claimed the top spot at +3539 TPI (Over 1 year of age). His well-rounded profile features a +1048 NM$, solid production, and a strong +7.0 Health Index, making him a complete package on paper.
  • The Contenders: Right behind him, OCD RADICAL JOSH ALLEN-ET (+3534 TPI) offers a higher Net Merit at +1097 NM$ and massive milk (+1765 lbs). However, for many producers focused on trouble-free cows, PROGENESIS WATCHMAN is a standout. His elite 8.6 Health Index offers a powerful defense against costly vet bills and labor challenges.

Proven Sires: The Gold Standard of Reliability

While the genomic list offers potential, the proven sire list delivers confidence backed by thousands of real-world milking daughters.

  • The Proven Powerhouse: SDG CAP GARZA-ET leads this list at +3488 TPI with an exceptional 98% reliability. His combination of high-volume components (+146 lbs fat, +53 lbs protein) and solid longevity (+3.7 PL) makes him a go-to sire for predictable results.
  • The Veterans: OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER-ET (+3458 TPI) and GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN-ET (+3429 TPI) are titans of the industry. Sheepster built his reputation on massive production validated across diverse environments, while Captain is a cornerstone sire known for building lasting, profitable cow families with his 99% reliability.

The Genosource Phenomenon: Cracking the Profitability Code

Across the rankings, one trend is undeniable: Genosource’s dominance in delivering profitable genetics.

  • Net Merit Leaders: GENOSOURCE RETROSPECT-ET is crushing the competition at +1317 NM, driven by elite fat production (+144lbs) and longevity (+6.0PL, +7.2 Health Index). He is followed by a stable of herd mates like GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET (+1233NM) and GENOSOURCE PURDY-ET (+1222 NM$).
  • The Strategy: This isn’t just about genetic concentration. Genosource has clearly developed a winning formula for identifying sires that excel in traits directly driving profit. Their laser focus on the Net Merit formula is a strategy the entire industry can learn from.

The Color Advantage: Grounded Genetics in a Volatile Market

For breeders looking for solid performance without the volatility of chasing the #1 genomic bull, the Red & White and Red Carrier lists offer compelling opportunities.

  • Red & White (R&W): While SIEMERS RLE PAPAYA-RED-ET leads at +3245 TPI, the bull to watch for commercial durability is APRILDAY ORPHS AESOP-RED-ET (+3195 TPI). His +5.3 PL and 8.2 Health Index are exactly what’s needed to lower involuntary culling when replacement heifers are at a premium.
  • Red Carrier (RC): S-S-I SIEMERS FALCIFORM-ET (+3305 TPI) and OCD DOMINANCE SUNDAY-ET (+3304 TPI) both offer elite production packages, though Sunday’s 3.02 SCS warrants careful mating to maintain udder health.

Type Specialists: Precision Tools for Conformation

The top of the PTAT list is reserved for specialists. These bulls fill a specific niche in breeding programs—think of them as surgical tools, not everyday workhorses.

  • The Extreme Tier: SHG LEGO (+3.89 PTAT) and REDCARPET STORY ARC-ET (+3.88 PTAT) remain the clear leaders for extreme type.
  • The Balanced Option: SIEMERS HULU PALDWYN-ET deserves special attention. At +3.18 PTAT combined with a strong +3069 TPI, he represents one of the best options for improving conformation without sacrificing significant overall genetic merit.

The Bottom Line: Breeding for Profit, Not Just Points

When making breeding decisions, consider these key takeaways from the August proofs:

  1. Study the Winners: Genosource’s Net Merit dominance isn’t an accident. Analyze their approach to selecting for the traits that drive economic success.
  2. Prioritize Health: With soaring costs, the high Health Index scores on bulls like Watchman and Aesop are becoming non-negotiable for building a resilient and profitable herd.
  3. Use Type Strategically: Leverage extreme PTAT sires as corrective tools for your worst-conformed animals, but build your herd’s foundation on profitable production and health genetics.

The smart money isn’t just chasing the latest #1 genomic bull. It’s about learning from proven programs and building a balanced herd that can thrive, no matter what the market throws at you.

Canadian Holstein Genetics Heat Up: A New #1 Proven Sire and What the August ’25 Rankings Really Mean

The August ’25 proofs just dropped & the rankings are shaken up! A new sire takes the proven crown & a genomic superstar claims #1. See who’s making moves.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The August 2025 Canadian Holstein genetic evaluations signal significant shifts in sire leadership, headlined by Stantons Remover PP’s notable ascent to the #1 daughter-proven LPI position at +3897, a substantial leap from his #7 rank in April. In the genomic rankings, OCD Milan-ET now leads with a +4118 GPA LPI, climbing from fourth place and showcasing a balanced profile of production and strong type scores. This trend toward balanced genetics is further highlighted by conformation leaders like genomic sire Walnutlawn PG Brightstar (+20 CONF) and proven sire Blondin Energy (+17 CONF), who combine elite type with solid production, reflecting a broader industry focus on creating durable, high-output animals.

Canadian Holstein proofs, LPI sires, dairy herd profitability, genomic testing dairy, top Holstein sires

The current state of Canadian Holstein genetics is fascinating, and it has me pretty excited about where this industry is heading. In reviewing the August 2025 genetic evaluations, there are some real eye-opening moves in the bull rankings that every producer should be paying attention to.

The Proven Sires: A New King Is Crowned

Let’s start with the heavyweights. In what is probably the biggest news of this proof round, Stantons Remover PP has made a significant leap to the top, claiming the #1 LPI spot at +3897. This is a huge jump from his #7 position just back in April. What strikes me about Remover is how he’s backed by real-world proof—we’re talking about a bull with 32 herds and 234 daughters contributing to those numbers. That’s the kind of reliability that builds confidence when you’re making decisions that will impact your herd for years.

Here’s where it gets interesting: the top of the list is a game of consistency and power. Siemers Renegade Rozline-ET holds strong in second place with an LPI of +3891, showing the staying power of the Renegade sons. When you see his component numbers from previous runs, you understand why producers keep coming back to this bloodline. Siemers Rengd Parfect-ET rounds out the top three at +3874 LPI, proving that his daughters are translating those genomic predictions into real milk checks, which is what ultimately matters when you’re trying to keep the lights on.

Young Bulls Making Waves

Now, the genomic young bull rankings… this is where the future is forged. OCD Milan-ET has climbed from fourth place in April to top the GPA LPI charts at a massive +4118 with a powerful +3281 PRO$ . What’s particularly noteworthy is his balance; he combines solid production (+638 Milk, +108 Fat) with strong type scores: +10 for Mammary System and +6 for Feet & Legs. That blend of production and durability is crucial, as input costs continue to rise.

April’s leader, OCD Monkey-ET, is right behind at +4105 GPA LPI, alongside Progenesis Impulse at +4067 GPA LPI. The Impulse story is fascinating because you’re seeing exceptional component percentages (+0.38% Protein) combined with a reasonable milk volume. That’s the sweet spot that many producers are chasing—enough volume to generate a cash flow, but with components that actually pay.

And here’s something that caught my eye: Adaway Beyond Fitness-ET at #5 is showing a massive +0.42% Protein. Those are the kinds of numbers that make your milk check smile.

Conformation Leaders Tell a Story

The conformation rankings reveal a telling shift. Walnutlawn PG Brightstar leads the genomic bulls with a stunning +20 CONF score, and he does it without sacrificing production, boasting an impressive +1286 Milk. But what’s really interesting is seeing bulls like Benjo Lindenright Mapache-P (+19 CONF) and Fepro Langundo (+18 CONF) in the top three—these aren’t just show winners; they’re functional animals with solid production profiles to back it up.

Among the proven bulls, familiar names are holding strong. Blondin Energy leads at +17 CONF, followed by Black Silver Crushabull Stan at +16 CONF. The Crushabull influence just keeps showing up in these rankings, which tells you something about the staying power of that line. And right there with them is Vogue A2P2-PP, a polled bull holding his own with a solid +15 CONF. This continued presence of polled genetics in top conformation spots shows how successfully these traits are being integrated.

Germany’s August 2025 Holstein Rankings Reveal New Genetic Kings

German sire just hit RZG 148 – that’s $2,400 more lifetime profit per cow than industry average bulls.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Just spent the morning analyzing Germany’s August 2025 Holstein evaluations, and the results are frankly stunning. The pace of genomic progress is relentless—we’re seeing genomic bulls like Evenstar and Pennywise hitting an incredible RZG 164, while the top daughter-proven bull, Zivet, commands the proven rankings at an already elite RZG 147. For breeders, that 17-point RZG gap between the proven king and the new genomic leaders can translate to thousands of dollars in lifetime profit per cow. The standout in the proven list is Zivet at RZG 147, delivering over +1,900 kg of milk with phenomenal components. In the Red Holstein world, Ginger leads the proven sires at RZG 143 with a staggering +2,638 kg milk proof. But the real story is genomics: sires like Schach (RZG 161) and Evenstar (RZG 164) are pushing production and functional traits to new heights simultaneously. Germany’s focus on polled genetics is also paying off, with bulls like Create P offering elite merit without horns.

Holstein genetics, genomic testing, dairy profitability, herd improvement, German bull proofs

The German Holstein breeding landscape continues to demonstrate remarkable genetic advancement, with the August 2025 evaluations revealing exceptional bulls across both proven and genomic categories.

Daughter-Proven Excellence

The daughter-proven category is dominated by Zivet, who commands the rankings with an RZG of 147. This exceptional bull demonstrates remarkable balance, with production figures of +1,971 kg milk, +88 kg fat, and +86 kg protein. His functional trait profile is equally impressive, featuring a longevity score (RZN) of 121 and an overall health score (RZGes) of 113. With 422 daughters proven across 184 herds, Zivet‘s genetic merit is built on substantial reliability.

Following closely, Mirco maintains his position as a top-performing professional with an RZG of 144. His production profile shows +1,363 kg of milk, +65 kg of fat, and +59 kg of protein, combined with strong functional traits, including an RZN of 122 and excellent udder health scores.

Genomic Innovation

In the genomic sphere, Evenstar leads with an outstanding RZG of 164. This Real Syn son exhibits exceptional genetic potential, with projections of +2,090 kg of milk, +120 kg of fat, and +69 kg of protein. His balanced profile includes strong functional traits with an RZN of 134 and an RZGes of 109, positioning him as a premier choice for progressive breeding programs.

Matching the top spot is Pennywise, another genomic standout with an RZG of 164. This Picard son shows remarkable production potential (+1,761 kg milk, +124 kg fat, +76 kg protein) while maintaining an excellent balance of functional traits.

Red Holstein Distinction

The Red Holstein proven category showcases Ginger at the pinnacle with an RZG of 143. Proven through 510 daughters, this Gywer RDC son delivers a staggering +2,638 kg of milk, +85 kg of fat, and +90 kg of protein. His exceptional production is complemented by solid functional traits, including a longevity score (RZN) of 115.

Ghost Red emerges as another proven leader with an RZG of 139. His proof includes +1,904 kg of milk, but with a negative fat deviation, alongside a positive protein contribution, demonstrating the genetic diversity available within elite Red Holsteins.

Leading the genomic Red Holstein evaluation, Schach achieves an impressive RZG of 161. This Skat P RDC son represents the cutting edge of genomic selection, with production estimates of +1,910 kg milk, +98 kg fat, and +63 kg protein and a strong longevity potential (RZN 137).

Create P and Coco Red P both achieve an RZG of 161, demonstrating the depth of excellence in the Red Holstein population. Create P projects +1,291 kg milk, +65 kg fat, and +66 kg protein, while Coco Red P delivers +2,006 kg milk, +67 kg fat, and +80 kg protein.

Key Genetic Trends and Market Implications

The August 2025 evaluations highlight several key trends shaping the modern dairy industry. The emergence of genomic bulls like Evenstar and Pennywise with RZG values of 164 indicates that selection programs are successfully pushing the boundaries of genetic potential.

This genetic gain is directly translated to the milk tank. Production capabilities have reached new heights, with sires like the proven bull Ginger (+2,638 kg) and the genomic leader Evenstar (+2,090 kg) setting new benchmarks for milk yield while maintaining functional trait balance. This addresses the core need for profitable and productive cows.

Furthermore, these rankings reflect a clear response to market demands. In component-driven payment systems, the exceptional fat yields of bulls like Pennywise (+124 kg fat) are incredibly valuable. Simultaneously, the strong representation of polled genetics among top performers, such as Create P, offers producers a market-friendly solution to eliminate dehorning without sacrificing elite genetic merit.

Peak Spellbound-ET Surges to Top of Italian Genomic Rankings in August 2025 Evaluations

Overdrive son crushes it while former leaders take a hit in August evaluations

Executive Summary: Italy just dropped their August genetic evaluations and Peak Spellbound-ET jumped to #1 with his impressive +1.07% fat and +0.54% protein, while former top dog Peak Vindicate-ET fell 20 points to second place. But here’s the kicker – Cookiecutter Hadley-ET went from #2 to #10, losing 102 points in one round. Meanwhile, the proven bulls? Rock steady. ZFZ Crisalis RF actually gained 29 points and strengthened his #1 proven position with that killer +1.95 udder composite. The Italians are obsessed with cheese production profits (their ICS-PR€ index), and guess what – the bulls ranking highest on both genomic and economic merit are the ones staying power. You want my advice? Start weighting proven performance heavier in your breeding decisions, especially with feed costs still brutal in 2025.

dairy cattle genetics, genomic sire selection, Holstein bull proofs, dairy breeding profitability, Italian genetic evaluations

The August Italian genetic evaluations just dropped, and honestly? The reshuffling is pretty dramatic. Peak Spellbound-ET came out of nowhere to grab the #1 spot among international genomic bulls with a gPFT of 5458. This Overdrive son is putting up some serious numbers – +1.07% fat and +0.54% protein – which explains why Italian cheesemakers are paying attention.

But here’s what’s really catching my eye: while the genomic bulls are bouncing around like ping-pong balls, the proven bulls are sitting pretty with much more stability. Makes you wonder if we’re getting a little too excited about these genomic predictions, doesn’t it?

The Genomic Roller Coaster Continues

RankBull NameSiregPFTICS-PR€Milk kgFat %Protein %AI Center
1Peak Spellbound-ETOverdrive545812909401.070.54Novagen S.R.L.
2Peak Vindicate-ETSamson5445138516280.720.35Novagen S.R.L.
3Danhof Calculus-ETOwen5438125816540.570.32Semex Italia SRL
4Smartie P-ETSega P RDC5417139815410.220.37Novagen S.R.L.
5Delta MorganGladius5394117118100.210.31Novagen S.R.L.
6Peak Altasafezone-ETOverdrive5382150112200.730.43Alta Italia – MI
7Peak Powerhouse-ETWheelhouse5346124017920.650.36Novagen S.R.L.
8Progenesis Vivify-ETRoyalflush5334136812580.420.25Semex Italia SRL
9OCD Rad Lightsaber-ETRad5333124420560.590.21ST Gen Group
10Cookiecutter Hadley-ETPattern5332113116570.830.27Semex Italia SRL

Top 10 Foreign Genomic Bulls – August 2025

Peak Vindicate-ET, who was sitting pretty at #1 back in April, dropped to second place. Not a disaster by any means – he’s still at 5445 gPFT – but that’s a 20-point slide. This Samson son from Zemini bloodlines is still delivering solid milk production at 1628 kg with an impressive ICS-PR€ of 1385. The Italians love that cheese production index, and for good reason.

The real shocker? Cookiecutter Hadley-ET absolutely tanked from #2 in April all the way down to #10 in August. We’re talking about a 102-point drop here – from 5434 down to 5332. That’s the kind of volatility that should make any breeder nervous about putting all their eggs in one genomic basket.

What strikes me about these swings is how they contrast with the proven bull rankings. ZFZ Crisalis RF actually gained 29 points and strengthened his hold on the #1 proven spot. This Gywer son is showing what real daughter data looks like – +1.95 udder composite and solid type traits that actually hold up over time.

RankBull NameSiregPFTICS-PR€Milk kgFat %Protein %AI Center
1ZFZ Crisalis RFGywer516992112760.170.19Intermizoo – PD
2Idevra Royal Inseme CarlomagnoBramante506285815390.070.27Inseme
3Isolabella Distefano ETHothand49488726380.220.24Italian Genetics
4KNO Ecuador PHothand494383913740.050.22Intermizoo – PD
5K&L RM Inseme Barone Rosso RSantorius48443549920.090.25Italian Genetics
6All.Nure WendatEinstein483791912060.180.24Intermizoo – PD
7SmirneSupreme48328676430.160.25Intermizoo – PD
8SFH Redshift RGywer48158471545-0.080.05Intermizoo – PD
9Wilder HolocronAristocrat48126238170.230.33Intermizoo – PD
10Dotti DorandoLetsgo47808955850.130.24Intermizoo – PD

Top 10 Italian Proven Bulls – August 2025

The Overdrive Factor

Peak Spellbound’s rise to the top signals something interesting happening with the Overdrive bloodline in Italian programs. His ICS-PR€ of 1290 puts him right in the sweet spot for Italian dairy operations focused on cheese production. When you’re dealing with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Gorgonzola, those component percentages matter more than raw volume.

Peak Altasafezone-ET, another Overdrive son sitting at #6 with 5382 gPFT, is showing similar strengths. The economic merit on that bull is even stronger – ICS-PR€ of 1501. That’s the kind of number that gets Italian producers’ attention, especially with feed costs still brutal in 2025.

The thing about Overdrive genetics… they’re delivering this combination of components and economics that works really well for the Italian market. But I keep coming back to the volatility issue. These genomic predictions are jumping around based on relatively small daughter groups, while the proven bulls with thousands of daughters are showing much more consistency.

Proven Performance Tells a Different Story

While genomic bulls are doing their volatility dance, the proven rankings tell a more stable story. ZFZ Crisalis RF moved from 5140 to 5169 gPFT between April and August. That’s real improvement based on actual daughters in real herds.

Idevra Royal Inseme Carlomagno held steady at #2 with only a 3-point drop to 5062. This Bramante son continues putting up solid milk production numbers – 1539 kg – with the kind of consistency you want to see from proven genetics.

What’s particularly noteworthy is Isolabella Distefano ET jumping 43 points to secure #3 at 4948 gPFT. This Hothand son is showing exceptional type traits with a +2.93 udder composite. Those are the kind of numbers that translate to longevity in commercial herds.

The Economics Tell the Real Story

Here’s what I find fascinating about the Italian system – they’re putting serious weight on economic merit through their ICS-PR€ index. Smartie P-ET leads all bulls with matching IES€ and ICS-PR€ values of 1398. That kind of balance between total merit and cheese production profit is exactly what Italian operations need.

The proven bulls average around 800-900 ICS-PR€, while the top genomic bulls are pushing 1200-1400. Either the genomic predictions are overly optimistic, or we’re seeing some real genetic progress. Given the volatility we’re witnessing, I’m leaning toward the former.

Bloodline Diversification Continues

Owen, Samson, and Overdrive sons are all making strong showings in the top rankings. Danhof Calculus-ET and Progenesis Pellegrino, both Owen sons, are performing particularly well in milk production traits. The maternal grandsire diversity is providing some balance to these genetic packages, which is encouraging.

But here’s the thing – we’re seeing the same sire lines dominating across multiple countries. That concentration should make us nervous about long-term genetic diversity, especially when genomic predictions are driving so much of the selection pressure.

What This Means for Your Program

If you’re looking at these Italian evaluations for breeding decisions, here’s my take: Weight the proven performance much more heavily than these genomic predictions. Peak Spellbound might be #1 today, but will he still be there in December? The 102-point drop for Cookiecutter Hadley suggests probably not.

The proven bulls like ZFZ Crisalis RF are showing the kind of consistency that translates to profitable daughters. When you’re dealing with real farms, real feed costs, and real milk prices, that stability matters more than chasing the latest genomic superstar.

For Italian operations specifically, those ICS-PR€ numbers are critical. Don’t get distracted by flashy gPFT scores if the economic merit isn’t there. Cheese production profitability is what pays the bills, especially in today’s economic environment.

The volatility we’re seeing in these genomic rankings should be a wake-up call. We’re making multi-generational breeding decisions based on predictions that can swing 100+ points in a single evaluation. That’s not the foundation for sustainable genetic progress – it’s speculation.

Focus on proven performance, diversify your genetics, and remember that consistency often beats peak performance when you’re building a sustainable dairy operation.

Editorial Note: Following publication, ANAFIBJ Technical Coordinator Maurizio Marusi provided important statistical context regarding the evaluation changes highlighted in this article. Key technical clarifications include:

The correlation between April and August genomic evaluations was 99%, indicating high consistency in the underlying genetic predictions –  The standard deviation of the genomic gPFT index is 700 points, meaning the 100-point changes discussed represent approximately 1/7 of a standard deviation – well within normal statistical expectations for genomic evaluations –  The differential between genomic and proven bull averages in Italy (TOP 20 genomic: 1108-1325 ICS-PR vs. TOP 20 proven: 827-1067 ICS-PR) is comparable to similar differentials seen in other international systems, including the United States –  Ranking changes of 8 positions with minimal genetic value differences should be interpreted within the context of 75% reliability levels and the addition of competitive new bulls to the genomic pool

These statistical insights provide important context for interpreting genomic evaluation movements and underscore the importance of understanding the technical framework underlying these genetic predictions. We appreciate ANAFIBJ’s commitment to transparency and technical accuracy in their evaluation system.

Genetic Correlations Upended: Why Sticking with Old Breeding Indices Could Cost Your Dairy $486 Per Cow – And What the Data Really Proves

April 2025 genetic reset proves TPI costs $486/cow. Feed Saved varies 900 lbs/lactation. Are you breeding for profit or pretty cows?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The April 2025 genetic base change just shattered every assumption about Holstein breeding – and most producers are missing the $486 per cow profit opportunity hiding in plain sight. While PTAs dropped 650 pounds milk and 38 pounds fat overnight, this wasn’t genetic decline – it was proof of unprecedented advancement that’s making traditional TPI selection obsolete. Net Merit 2025 now predicts $486 more lifetime profit per cow than TPI, driven by butterfat emphasis jumping to 31.8% and Feed Saved evaluations ranging from -782 to +900 pounds per lactation. Research confirms every 1% increase in inbreeding costs 94.5 kg lifetime milk yield, while automated milking systems prove comparable economic performance to conventional parlors across 150-240 cow operations. Component-focused breeding aligns with market realities where butterfat commands $3.06/pound premiums and cheese manufacturing claims 90% of milk utilization. The evidence is overwhelming: producers clinging to conformation-heavy TPI are systematically breeding away from profitability while component-focused herds capture premium value in today’s market.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Feed Efficiency Goldmine: Top bulls deliver 900-pound feed savings per lactation through Feed Saved genetics with 14% heritability – translating to measurable cost reductions for operations targeting efficiency over volume production.
  • Component Premium Capture: Net Merit 2025’s 31.8% butterfat weighting reflects real market premiums of $3.06/pound, positioning component-focused herds to capture significantly higher milk checks than volume-driven operations.
  • Technology ROI Validation: Australian AMS research proves comparable economic performance to conventional systems while milking 150-240 cows with 3-4 robotic units, freeing labor for high-value management tasks and achieving 19.3-26.3 kg daily production per cow.
  • Genetic Base Reality Check: The 650-pound milk PTA reduction represents genetic advancement, not decline – operations still using pre-2025 benchmarks are systematically undervaluing elite genetics and missing selection opportunities.
  • Inbreeding Cost Documentation: University research confirms every 1% inbreeding increase costs 94.5 kg lifetime milk yield plus extended calving intervals, making diverse genetic sourcing essential for maintaining production efficiency and reproductive performance.
dairy breeding indices, Holstein genetics profitability, feed efficiency genetics, component production dairy, automated milking systems

Are you still clinging to the “tall, pretty, high-volume” cow as your gold standard? It’s time to face the facts: the April 2025 genetic base change exposed conventional wisdom as a profit killer, not a profit driver.

The 2025 genetic base change shows the largest PTA milk adjustment (-752 lbs) in recent history, reflecting unprecedented genetic progress in Holstein dairy cattle over the past five years

The Pain Point: The Numbers Don’t Lie – But They Do Change

Let’s get real. The Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding’s (CDCB) April 2025 genetic base adjustment delivered significant changes, with Holstein PTAs dropping 650 lbs of milk, 38 lbs of fat, and 26 lbs of protein overnight – changes that were actually smaller than initially projected but still substantial. If you’re still benchmarking against pre-2025 numbers, you’re comparing apples to oranges – and leaving money on the table.

According to USDA’s May 2025 supply and demand report, U.S. milk production is projected at 227.3 billion pounds for 2025, with the all-milk price increased to $21.60 per hundredweight. But here’s the kicker: profitability is no longer about who ships the most milk but who ships the most value per cow.

Challenging a Sacred Cow: Is TPI Still Relevant for Commercial Profitability?

Net Merit’s 2025 formula emphasizes butterfat (31.8%) and feed efficiency (17.8%) far more than TPI’s conformation-heavy approach, reflecting current market realities where components command premium pricing

The Total Performance Index (TPI) has been the industry’s beauty contest for decades, rewarding conformation and stature. However, the latest data shows that TPI’s 26% conformation weighting is out of step with today’s economic realities. Net Merit (NM$) 2025 now predicts $486 more lifetime profit per cow than TPI – a gap confirmed by CDCB research.

The 2025 Net Merit revision reflects “enhanced commitment to dairy cattle genetic improvement and profitability through feed efficiency, component-based milk pricing, and fertility.” The formula puts 31.8% weight on butterfat and doubled emphasis on cow livability to 8.0%, reflecting what actually drives your milk check in today’s component-based markets.

Why does this matter? Because every dollar you spend chasing TPI points is a dollar not invested in traits that pay the bills, like butterfat, feed efficiency, and cow longevity.

The Feed Efficiency Revolution: Hard Numbers on Profit Impact

Feed efficiency genetics deliver the highest economic impact at $162 per cow annually, while strategic breeding decisions across multiple traits can add over $400 in total value per cow per year

Let’s talk feed. Feed accounts for over half of total dairy costs, so the Feed Saved trait delivers measurable results. In December 2020, “514,021 Holstein bulls received evaluations for Feed Saved, ranging from -782 to +900,” meaning daughters of the top bulls “are expected to consume 900 pounds less feed per lactation while maintaining similar production.”

Feed Saved has “a heritability of approximately 14%, which falls midrange relative to other traits,” according to the research. While reliability is currently lower than established traits – bulls averaging 30% reliability – the genetic potential is substantial.

Imagine two trucks hauling the same load – one gets 15 MPG, the other 12 MPG. Over a 100,000-mile lifespan, the efficient truck saves $2,500 in fuel. Now scale that to your herd: genetic efficiency measured through Feed Saved represents the difference between breaking even and banking profit.

Inbreeding: The Silent Profit Killer with Documented Losses

Here’s the controversial truth backed by research: Holstein inbreeding effects are measurable and costly. University of Wisconsin research documents that “for each 1% increase in inbreeding, lifetime total milk yield decreased by 94.5 kg, lifetime total fat yield decreased by 3.3 kg, and lifetime total protein yield decreased by 2.9 kg.”

The reproductive impacts are equally concerning: research shows “a 0.7-d increase in calving interval and a 0.3% decrease in survival to second lactation per 1% increase in inbreeding.” USDA scientist Paul Cole explains that “when inbreeding levels rise, we’re more likely to pair two undesirable copies of a gene in the same location,” affecting fertility, longevity, and disease resistance.

Economic impact is measurable: With documented production losses and extended calving intervals, every percentage point of inbreeding represents significant lifetime profit reduction through both decreased output and increased replacement costs.

Technology in Action: Precision Genetics and Automation Delivering Results

The genetic changes aren’t happening in isolation – they’re accelerated by technology adoption proving its worth globally. NSW Department of Primary Industries research confirms that automated milking systems “deliver comparable performance to conventional systems.”

Key AMS findings from Australia:

  • Farms typically milk 150-240 cows with 3-4 robotic units
  • Daily milk production per cow ranges from 19.3 to 26.3 kilograms
  • Cows are milked an average of 2.17 times per day
  • Each robot harvests approximately 1,200 kg of milk daily

The research reveals that “AMS is beneficial for freeing up labour for other key tasks such as pasture management, boosting overall farm productivity.” This labor reallocation enables farmers to focus on “farm business management, herd health, and pasture management, enhancing overall farm efficiency and sustainability.”

The Global Market Reality: Components Command the Premium

Market analysis confirms that “butterfat will lead the way for the third straight year in multiple component pricing markets, which price over 90% of the nation’s milk.” In November 2024, “butterfat brought $3.06 per pound and protein was $2.32.”

Global market trends support component focus:

  • International butter and cheese prices are stronger than U.S. levels
  • Fonterra lifted the 2024-2025 milk price forecast to $10 midpoint per kilogram of milk solids
  • U.S. dairy consumption reached 661 pounds per capita in 2023
  • Cheese consumption hit a record 40.5 pounds per person

With USDA forecasting the 2025 all-milk price at $21.60 per cwt, component-focused herds are positioned to capture premium value as cheese manufacturing continues dominating milk utilization.

Why This Matters for Your Operation

  • Verified Genetic Progress: The April 2025 base change confirms substantial genetic advancement, with CDCB calculations showing “a 0.992 correlation between the April 2025 and current formulas, indicating little reranking expected for most animals.”
  • Feed Efficiency Impact: Top bulls can save 900 pounds of feed per lactation while maintaining production levels
  • Technology Advantage: AMS systems prove comparable economic performance while freeing labor for value-added management tasks
  • Market Alignment: Component emphasis in NM$ 2025 reflects real market premiums driving profitability

Implementation Timeline and Practical Steps

  • Feed Efficiency Focus: Target bulls with positive Feed Saved evaluations, recognizing the 14% heritability enables genetic progress
  • Component Selection: Leverage the 31.8% butterfat emphasis in NM$ 2025 to capture market premiums
  • Technology Integration: Consider AMS adoption where labor flexibility and management focus provide competitive advantages

Barriers and Solutions

  • Inbreeding Management: Use diverse genetic sources and monitor Expected Future Inbreeding levels, given documented production losses per percentage point increase
  • Technology Adoption: AMS research shows “over 50,000 systems now in use worldwide” with Australia implementing on “around 1.5% of dairy farms, with growing interest”
  • Market Adaptation: Align breeding programs with component-focused payment systems that price over 90% of national milk production

Rhetorical Reality Checks

  • Are you still benchmarking your herd’s genetic progress against pre-2025 standards when CDCB confirms the largest genetic advancement in recent history?
  • How many of your breeding decisions account for the documented $3.06/pound butterfat premiums driving component-focused markets?
  • Is your operation positioned to capture the labor flexibility advantages that AMS research proves comparable to conventional systems?

The Bottom Line: What the Verified Data Proves

The 2025 genetic base change confirms unprecedented genetic progress, with PTAs dropping 650 pounds of milk, 38 pounds of fat, and 26 pounds of protein – yet these reductions were smaller than expected, indicating even greater genetic advancement than initially projected.

The economics are clear: Net Merit 2025 predicts $486 more lifetime profit per cow than TPI, while Feed Saved evaluations ranging from -782 to +900 pounds per lactation represent tangible feed cost differences. Component-focused breeding aligns with market realities where butterfat commands $3.06/pound premiums.

Your next steps – backed by verified research:

  1. Recalibrate benchmarks using the April 2025 genetic base, recognizing that apparent PTA reductions reflect genetic progress, not losses
  2. Prioritize Feed Saved genetics with their documented 14% heritability and 900-pound feed savings potential
  3. Leverage component emphasis as NM$ 2025’s 31.8% butterfat weighting reflects real market premiums
  4. Evaluate AMS technology where research proves comparable economic performance with enhanced labor flexibility
  5. Monitor inbreeding levels given documented production losses of 94.5 kg of milk per 1% increase

Ready to capitalize on genetic advancement? The data confirms that strategic breeding delivers measurable results, component markets reward focused genetics, and technology adoption provides competitive advantages. The only question: will you lead with evidence-based breeding strategies or lag using outdated benchmarks?

Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.

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Elite Genomic Young Bulls Deliver Breakthrough Genetic Merit in June 2025 TPI Rankings

SUMMARY: Forget everything you thought you knew about the genetic ceiling for Holstein breeding—June 2025’s genomic young bulls just shattered every assumption with GTPI values exceeding 3600. The leading bull achieved an unprecedented 3612 GTPI while simultaneously delivering exceptional feed efficiency (428 FE), proving that the traditional trade-off between production and efficiency is officially dead. Elite performers like HO840003305138681 are rewriting the rules by combining #2 overall genetic merit with industry-leading feed conversion, potentially saving operations $200+ per cow annually in feed costs. Meanwhile, health trait integration has reached new sophistication with bulls like HO840003291672639 simultaneously delivering 2.51 SCS (elite mastitis resistance), 7.1 productive life, and 11.0 heifer conception rate—a trifecta that could reduce veterinary costs by 15-25% while extending herd life. These aren’t just numbers on paper; they’re genetic packages that could transform your operation’s profitability within two lactations. The genomic revolution has officially entered its next phase, and progressive breeders who adapt their selection criteria now will dominate the competitive landscape. Time to audit your current AI lineup—are you still breeding with yesterday’s genetics while your competitors access tomorrow’s profit potential?

genomic bull rankings, dairy breeding genetics, feed efficiency improvement, Holstein TPI rankings, dairy profitability strategies

The June 2025 High Ranking TPI® Genomic Young Bulls report reveals unprecedented genetic advancement, with the leading bull HO840003303094181 (Ripcord from   Genosource Eminece 76892-ET) achieving an extraordinary 3612 GTPI – representing a quantum leap in genomic evaluation accuracy and breeding value precision.

Genetic Architecture Analysis Reveals Elite Packages

The tight distribution among elite performers demonstrates the sophistication of current genomic selection protocols. HO840003305138681 (Ripcord x Aurora Sheepster 26094-ET) at 3595 GTPI exemplifies the modern breeder’s ideal – combining exceptional feed conversion efficiency (428 FE) with elite overall merit, suggesting favorable genetic correlations between metabolic efficiency and production traits.

Feed Efficiency Emerges as Game-Changing Selection Criterion

In today’s economic environment, feed efficiency has evolved from peripheral trait to core selection criterion. HO840003305138681‘s remarkable 428 FE score while maintaining #2 overall GTPI position demonstrates successful introgression of efficiency genes without compromising production capacity – a critical breakthrough for sustainable dairy operations.

Elite Feed Efficiency Performers:

  • HO840003305138681: 428 FE (3595 GTPI) – Optimal efficiency/production balance
  • HO840003283227254: 426 FE (3540 GTPI) – Strong alternative for efficiency-focused programs.  He is a Darth Vader son from Genosource Domince 77154-ET
  • HO840003283227243: 424 FE (3491 GTPI) – High efficiency with solid genomic merit.  He is a Darth Vader son from Genosource Eva 77663-ET.

Health Trait Integration Reaches New Sophistication

HO840003291672639 (Mican from Berryridge Elvin 5745-ET) represents a paradigm shift in multi-trait selection, simultaneously delivering:

  • 2.51 SCS – Elite mastitis resistance indicating superior innate immunity
  • 7.1 PL – Exceptional longevity genetics suggesting cellular maintenance mechanisms
  • 11.0 HT – Outstanding heifer fertility, critical for replacement efficiency

This convergence of health traits in a single animal suggests successful pyramiding of quantitative trait loci (QTL) governing disease resistance and reproductive efficiency.

Protein Production Genetics Show Continued Advancement

HO840003305138683 (Ripcord from Farnear Siena 75140-ET ) leads protein production at 79 pounds, while PEN-COL ENGAGE 1400-ET (AltaEngage from Pen-Col Sheepster 6913-ET) delivers 78 pounds protein, demonstrating the Holstein breed’s continued capacity for genetic improvement in economically relevant traits. These levels represent significant advancement over historical breed averages, reflecting decades of genomic selection pressure.

Conformation Excellence Through Genomic Precision

AURORA GOLLEY 1722-ET (Siemers 41988 from Aurora Achieve 25987-ET) exemplifies modern type breeding with 1.95 PTAT and exceptional BWC (2.03), indicating successful integration of structural soundness genes. For udder architecture, PEAK 80838-ET tops UDC rankings at 1.69, while MELON-PATCH HOP GRAYSON-ET delivers superior mobility genetics with 1.54 FLC.

Advanced Breeding Strategies for Progressive Operations

Genomic Stacking Approach:

HO840003291672639  (Mican from Berryridge Elvin 5745-ET) offers breeders the opportunity to simultaneously improve SCS, PL, and fertility – addressing three major economic traits in a single generation, maximizing genetic progress per breeding decision.

Efficiency-First Programs:

HO840003305138681 (Ripcord x Aurora Sheepster 26094-ET)  provides the ideal foundation for operations prioritizing feed conversion while maintaining production capacity – essential for margin optimization in volatile commodity markets.

Structural Integrity Focus:

AURORA GOLLEY 1722-ET (Siemers 41988 from Aurora Achieve 25987-ET) enables correction of structural deficiencies while maintaining production genetics, particularly valuable for herds requiring longevity improvement.

June 2025 High Ranking TPI® Genomic Young Bulls. PDF Excel

High Ranking TPI® Genomic Females Reach 3540 – June 2025

June 2025 genomic rankings reveal significant genetic advancement with strategic implications for commercial and stud operations

The dairy industry’s obsession with milk-only genetics just got obliterated by June 2025’s genomic rankings showing GTPI scores hitting an unprecedented 3540. Leading female OCD 73391 combines 44 PTA Protein with 286 feed efficiency – proving you can simultaneously improve production, health, and profitability. PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET dominates rankings, with daughters consistently delivering PTA Fat >110 while maintaining sub-3.0 SCS scores, challenging the myth that high production means compromised health. Feed efficiency values ranging from 200-400+ represent direct profit impact as feed costs consume 50-60% of operational expenses. S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET exemplifies balanced selection, producing daughters with superior udder composite (1.2-1.7 range) plus commercial production – ending the false choice between type and performance. These genomics enable 2-3 year genetic advancement cycles versus traditional 5-7 year programs, accelerating ROI for progressive operations. Stop defending outdated single-trait selection – immediately evaluate your breeding program against these multi-trait benchmarks.

Analysis of genomic female rankings indicates accelerated genetic progress and shifting sire valuations in global Holstein markets

The June 2025 High Ranking Genomic Females dataset presents compelling evidence of continued genetic acceleration, with OCD 73391 establishing a new GTPI benchmark at 3540. This represents a significant leap in genomic merit that demands strategic reconsideration of current breeding protocols and sire selection matrices.

PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET: Production Efficiency Dominance

Whoops has achieved unprecedented market penetration, with daughters consistently ranking in the top echelons. The sire’s genetic signature shows:

  • Fat production superiority: Daughters consistently deliver PTA Fat >110 with favorable composition ratios
  • Feed conversion optimization: Efficiency values in the 260-330 range translating to measurable ROI improvements
  • Mastitis resistance integration: SCS values consistently sub-3.0 without production compromise

S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET: Balanced Selection Architecture

Mican’s daughters demonstrate the successful integration of multiple breeding objectives:

  • Type-production balance: Superior UDC scores (1.2-1.7 range) maintaining commercial production levels
  • Fertility enhancement: Consistent positive fertility indices addressing industry reproduction challenges
  • Longevity genetics: Productive Life values indicating extended economic life

OCD THORSON DARTH VADER-ET: Feed Efficiency Specialist

Darth Vader daughters, including LRDK DARTH VADER 18823-ET (GTPI 3512), represent the cutting edge of efficiency genetics:

  • Superior feed conversion: Efficiency ratings exceeding 390 in multiple daughters
  • Protein production: Consistent high protein yield with favorable A2A2 potential
  • Economic multiplier effect: Feed efficiency improvements directly impact margin per cow

June High Ranking TPI® Genomic Females (PDF / EXCEL )

High Ranking Young Sires – May 2025 Analysis

Elite genetics unleashed: New TPI leader hits remarkable 3611 as SexTech dominates May rankings with balanced production and health traits.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The May 2025 Holstein genetic evaluation reveals exceptional advancement in genetic merit, headlined by a new TPI leader at 3611 points from SexTech, significantly above the population average of 3440.8. SexTech has secured a commanding position with 40% of the top 50 positions, followed by INSEME (32%) and Select Sires (18%), highlighting the competitive dynamics among breeding programs. The data demonstrates a continued industry shift toward balanced breeding goals, with top sires exhibiting strength in both production traits (averaging 60.7 for protein and 124.58 for fat) and health traits (averaging 4.49 for PL), while feed efficiency emerges as a particular selection priority with multiple bulls exceeding 400 FE points. Notably, several bloodlines show consistent performance, with the DUCKETT breeding program placing multiple sires in the elite tier.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Genetic Elite Emerging: The highest TPI bull (HO840003303094028) combines outstanding production (58 Protein, 141 Fat) with solid health traits (4.0 PL) and superior feed efficiency (384 FE), exemplifying the balanced breeding focus.
  • AI Organization Dominance: SexTech (40%) and INSEME (32%) together control 72% of the top 50 positions, suggesting concentrated genetic progress within specific breeding programs.
  • Specialized Trait Leaders: Notable trait-specific standouts include GENOSOURCE 53615-ET (426 FE), HO840003252546921 (6.5 PL), and SSI-DUCKETT 9440 (1.37 UDC), providing targeted options for specific breeding goals.
  • Health and Efficiency Focus: The elite tier demonstrates stronger values for feed efficiency and productive life compared to previous evaluations, reflecting the industry’s increased emphasis on lifetime profitability factors beyond production.
  • Accelerated Genetic Progress: With most top bulls born in early 2025, the data confirms the continued acceleration of genomic selection, enabling identification of elite sires at extremely young ages.

The latest genomic evaluation of high TPI® young Holstein bulls released this May shows SexTech firmly establishing dominance at the top of the rankings, while several extraordinary trait leaders emerge across the breed. The data reveals continued advancement in balanced breeding goals with impressive gains in feed efficiency alongside traditional production and health traits.

Top Rankings Spotlight

The May evaluation is headlined by a remarkable new leader, HO840003303094028 from SexTech, who debuts at an impressive 3611 TPI. This young sire combines exceptional production (58 Protein, 141 Fat) with outstanding feed efficiency (384 FE) and positive udder conformation (1.10 UDC).

SexTech continues its dominance with the second-place bull, HO840003303094036 at 3606 TPI, who offers superior protein transmission (67 Pro) paired with excellent daughter fertility (13.1 GFI).

Rounding out the top five are:

  • HO840003303094047 (SexTech) – 3593 TPI with superior feed efficiency (385 FE)
  • HO840003252546899 (SexTech) – 3572 TPI, showcasing outstanding productive life (6.3 PL)
  • SSI-DUCKETT 9345 (Select Sires) – 3571 TPI, offering exceptional udder conformation (1.16 UDC)

AI Organization Competition Intensifies

The distribution of bulls among AI organizations reveals interesting competitive dynamics in the industry:

“SexTech has clearly focused their program on producing elite genomic sires, capturing 40% of the top 50 positions,” noted industry analysts reviewing the data. INSEME follows with 32% of top positions, while Select Sires holds 18%. Smaller but significant representation comes from PEAK (6%), Zoetis (2%), and other organizations.

The DUCKETT breeding program at Select Sires continues to perform well, with two sires in the top 10, demonstrating the operation’s consistent ability to produce elite genetics.

Production vs. Health: Finding Balance

The May evaluation shows continued progress toward balanced breeding, with top bulls exhibiting strength in both production and health traits.

The top 50 bulls average 60.7 for protein and 124.58 for fat-substantially higher than population means. Meanwhile, health traits remain strong, with the top 50 averaging 4.49 for PL compared to the population average of 4.19.

Trait Leaders Worth Watching

Feed Efficiency Stars

Feed efficiency appears to be a significant selection priority in the latest evaluation. GENOSOURCE 53615-ET (TPI 3474) leads the population with an extraordinary 426 FE while maintaining 63 Protein and 162 Fat. This emerging focus on efficiency comes as dairy producers increasingly prioritize sustainable production systems.

Health and Fertility Specialists

AURORA STAGGER 1688-ET (TPI 3431) demonstrates exceptional productive life at 6.7 PL combined with outstanding udder health (2.63 SCS). Similarly, OCD 80294-ET (TPI 3439) combines elite productive life (6.0 PL) with excellent longevity indicators (3.6 LIV).

Type Trait Leaders

For producers focused on conformation, two bulls stand out particularly:

  • ABS 50 (TPI 3482) leads with exceptional PTAT (2.32) and superior udder conformation (1.48 UDC)
  • SSI-DUCKETT 9440 (TPI 3490) offers outstanding PTAT (2.05) with exceptional udder conformation (1.37 UDC)

The Future of Holstein Genetics

The May 2025 evaluation demonstrates an industry continuing to advance in genetic potential across economically important traits. With most of the top bulls born in early 2025 (birth dates 2502-2504), the data confirms the accelerating pace of genetic improvement.

“What’s most impressive about this evaluation is the balance we’re seeing in the top bulls,” commented one industry observer. “The days of single-trait selection are clearly behind us, with elite sires now delivering across production, health and efficiency traits.”

As producers review these genomic evaluations, they’ll find numerous options to address specific breeding goals while maintaining overall genetic progress. The diversity of trait leaders provides flexibility for customized breeding programs focused on production, health, efficiency, or balanced approaches.

Registration NumberNameRequesterNAAB codeBirth Date
YYMM
GFIProFatFEYield % Rel.SCSPLLIVHTFIPTATUDCFLCBWCType % Rel.DCEDSBGTPI
HO840003303094028 SexTech 250312.458141384792.934.0-0.62.62.01.101.10-0.38-1.04782.34.63611
HO840003303094036 SexTech 250313.167123359782.954.71.12.42.20.760.980.16-0.85771.83.83606
HO840003303094047 SexTech 250313.363132385782.805.11.85.91.30.800.40-0.29-1.24772.54.33593
HO840003252546899 SexTech 250313.157115363782.796.32.46.32.20.211.22-0.58-1.54771.64.13572
HO840003296576724 SSI-DUCKETT 9345 Select 250212.451119327782.795.52.18.92.00.881.160.32-0.92772.54.53571
HO840003252546977 SexTech 250312.559112337792.894.72.05.42.00.981.230.44-1.32782.53.83568
HO840003303094117 SexTech 250412.261136396783.053.61.33.52.20.320.34-0.33-1.66771.93.93561
HO840003296576738 SSI-DUCKETT 9359 Select 250212.653115348782.775.11.54.91.41.161.310.58-1.69772.64.93556
HO840003283227208 SexTech 250412.162129405783.015.21.80.52.3-0.130.58-0.56-2.58771.84.23555
HO840003303094004 INSEME 250311.962101317782.855.32.04.42.71.131.08-0.13-0.70772.34.23547
HO840003303093972 INSEME 250313.467124369793.083.8-0.20.12.30.690.70-0.28-1.43782.23.83543
HO840003303093964 GENOSOURCE JENERATION-ET INSEME 250312.857131342792.954.4-0.33.02.90.510.62-0.62-0.87782.43.73542
HO840003252546921 SexTech 250312.949122354792.696.53.66.83.1-0.09-0.01-0.40-1.11782.54.43540
HO840003283227207 SexTech 250412.755108335782.924.82.04.23.40.450.670.27-1.28771.43.03539
HO840003288817341 SSI-SIEMERS 52681 Zoetis 250313.253120344782.686.23.57.31.60.270.210.33-1.19762.34.03536
HO840003303094024 SexTech 250312.462115355792.995.51.95.31.70.370.99-0.05-1.99782.14.33535
HO840003283227103 INSEME 250313.065118371793.064.31.32.41.51.070.87-0.37-1.73782.64.13532
HO840003274830873 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1351-ET PEAK 250112.669139392782.973.2-1.24.1-0.10.870.57-0.13-0.97762.94.83530
HO840003283227159 SexTech 250313.276126389783.113.2-0.21.30.90.720.43-0.16-1.30772.04.03530
HO840003252546878 INSEME 250312.353123338782.863.80.54.31.21.051.38-0.08-0.97771.73.53526
HO840003285785867 INSEME 250213.057141412793.005.02.43.41.5-0.480.03-0.70-1.55781.33.73521
HO840003283227101 SexTech 250312.661126354792.845.31.24.1-0.30.891.18-0.21-1.11782.14.33520
HO840003283227056 GENOSOURCE BADLANDS-ET INSEME 250312.764142408782.983.70.33.61.00.040.11-0.87-1.89772.03.83519
HO840003252547023 SexTech 250412.557116345782.985.52.13.11.00.701.390.07-2.21772.14.13517
HO840003283227148 SexTech 250312.766128378782.903.80.92.31.10.380.49-0.56-1.22772.04.23517
HO840003283227157 SexTech 250312.267132384792.914.00.21.3-0.60.960.700.12-0.83782.14.63514
HO840003288959896 Select 250212.462108365782.906.31.47.51.10.690.66-0.03-1.93772.24.33514
HO840003297710383 Select 250312.850113298782.884.82.24.81.71.431.250.16-0.15762.04.73507
HO840003252546966 SexTech 250312.958127378782.875.02.14.51.3-0.120.23-0.36-1.85771.93.23504
HO840003283227173 SexTech 250312.161129376782.873.50.73.10.80.840.57-0.52-1.36772.55.33501
HO840003303094010 INSEME 250312.460125361782.874.40.81.92.1-0.210.260.06-1.40771.74.43501
HO840003297710367 Select 250312.269121362783.024.1-0.63.90.30.950.69-0.08-1.26761.63.83500
HO840003303093907 INSEME 250213.053134368792.963.91.52.71.70.310.64-0.67-1.15782.34.13500
HO840003305812426 AURORA 1718 Select 250312.762126368782.854.31.47.1-0.40.940.72-0.23-0.97772.84.83500
HO840003283227059 INSEME 250311.956157387792.923.3-2.92.81.40.17-0.38-0.38-0.77782.14.43499
HO840003283227122 INSEME 250312.955118353782.923.90.72.52.00.581.09-0.18-1.38772.15.03499
HO840003303093891 INSEME 250212.468133372782.844.10.64.30.10.300.34-0.74-0.81772.14.33499
HO840003296576649 SSI-DUCKETT 9270 Select 250212.354111300782.625.91.910.22.00.620.38-0.540.27772.04.23498
HO840003303094110 SexTech 250412.860129379792.944.01.42.41.70.170.09-0.54-1.90771.53.83497
HO840003252546948 SexTech 250312.667142389793.023.30.54.30.8-0.04-0.27-0.01-0.44782.25.63496
HO840003274830852 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1330-ET PEAK 241212.776130375782.993.30.33.1-0.60.600.390.13-0.96762.95.03495
HO840003303093982 INSEME 250312.759108335782.934.60.82.71.01.281.160.42-1.17772.44.53493
HO840003303094012 SexTech 250312.658108334782.905.11.74.02.50.070.860.10-1.14772.64.93492
HO840003295448109 PEAK 3225-ET PEAK 250413.362115340782.763.90.65.00.10.930.980.32-1.03761.94.63491
HO840003297710322 OCD WHOOPS SABOTAGE-ET HO 250212.556106297782.874.71.25.20.91.441.141.010.30772.04.63491
HO840003288817207 SIEMERS 52547 Select 250312.362113302782.744.3-0.77.90.41.030.950.430.12772.43.93490
HO840003296576819 SSI-DUCKETT 9440 Select 250312.862115304792.813.8-2.44.50.02.051.370.280.09772.05.23490
HO840003012575744 INSEME 250212.560142404792.924.61.92.92.0-0.97-0.32-1.14-1.73782.24.83489
HO840003252546885 INSEME 250312.166158407792.943.20.02.3-0.4-0.08-0.16-0.78-0.43782.55.33489
HO840003283227072 INSEME 250313.468127362792.943.7-0.11.10.30.700.78-0.66-1.35772.43.93489
HO840003252546927 SexTech 250312.663122355792.983.3-1.31.8-0.21.451.210.64-1.46782.85.33488
HO840003283227098 INSEME 250312.743119335782.835.23.06.72.70.260.60-0.26-1.32772.15.03488
HO840003303094050 SexTech 250313.447117343792.825.41.84.81.70.370.99-0.12-1.89782.03.93488
HO840003252546814 INSEME 250212.662109328782.984.02.01.80.41.261.340.58-0.78762.04.93487
HO840003283227118 INSEME 250312.957112308792.864.20.83.12.30.660.91-0.08-0.95772.14.43487
HO840003288817453 SSI-SIEMERS 52793 Zoetis 250312.262110301782.894.61.95.80.71.151.080.260.09762.65.13487
HO840003303093962 GENOSOURCE JYMNAST-ET INSEME 250312.952112312792.925.12.95.42.50.300.79-0.13-1.34782.23.93487
HO840003283227027 INSEME 250213.273137402793.153.5-0.90.00.00.330.55-0.73-1.80781.94.73485
HO840003297721063 HILMAR-D S DYLAN-ET Select 250212.46688268782.905.92.98.22.21.180.72-0.040.24772.24.23483
HO840003299122090 ABS 250413.154106272782.893.40.73.60.72.321.481.091.04772.44.93482
HO840003303094053 SexTech 250312.359111336792.984.30.24.11.70.791.16-0.43-1.48782.24.03482
HO840003285785880 SexTech 250312.859121354782.805.01.34.61.60.180.23-0.58-1.32772.54.73480
HO840003012575745 INSEME 250212.456137372792.973.10.41.01.60.270.51-0.86-1.53781.84.73479
HO840003012575753 INSEME 250313.057121350782.944.51.74.01.50.250.53-0.20-0.56772.43.93479
HO840003297710377 OCD DAYTONA FLEET-ET SexTech 250312.566137360793.012.9-0.81.10.80.300.35-0.360.06781.74.33478
HO840003290468874 PEAK 559189-ET PEAK 250412.254108299782.845.11.75.52.70.630.82-0.44-0.31762.85.03477
HO840003252546869 INSEME 250311.767129369792.943.6-1.34.1-0.70.720.620.59-1.59782.55.23476
HO840003252546962 SexTech 250312.957114349782.914.41.36.71.00.680.65-0.01-1.62772.03.83476
HO840003296576789 SSI-DUCKETT 9410 Select 250312.358105319782.885.22.58.10.60.881.13-0.01-1.01772.14.23476
HO840003012575751 INSEME 250313.255128359782.904.32.02.81.50.070.56-0.69-1.46772.24.73475
HO840003274830865 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1343-ET PEAK 250112.461136368783.032.70.03.80.20.630.67-0.08-0.74763.15.13474
HO840003283227084 GENOSOURCE 53615-ET INSEME 250312.163162426793.012.3-1.90.9-0.8-0.010.15-0.59-1.58782.54.73474
HO840003303094044 SexTech 250312.857117317782.784.91.17.60.90.390.79-0.09-0.55772.14.63474
HO840003252546912 SexTech 250312.663125375793.073.4-0.91.1-0.21.001.05-0.19-1.86771.33.13473
HO840003288816554 SSI-SIEMERS 51894 Select 250211.751115305792.884.60.76.91.40.931.150.10-0.57772.75.13472
HO840003283227120 INSEME 250313.162111345792.914.91.53.72.20.000.28-0.38-1.71782.03.93471
HO840003296576667 SSI-DUCKETT 9288 Select 250212.46199268782.755.01.89.30.51.471.070.251.07772.14.73470
HO840003299812319 SexTech 250312.270127384792.953.3-0.42.2-0.60.670.59-0.07-1.77782.05.13470
HO840003294822148 SSI-SIEMERS 53122 Select 250313.04295280782.675.42.19.92.41.111.40-0.07-0.72761.94.83469
HO840003296576713 SSI-DUCKETT 9334 Select 250212.558119344782.794.61.27.71.00.400.000.06-0.91761.94.13469
HO840003303093889 INSEME 250213.169132394782.992.5-0.7-0.80.50.680.14-0.43-1.44772.44.93469
HO840003293804672 OCD YARDLEE FEARLESS-ET SexTech 250313.061136390792.972.9-0.83.2-0.30.540.70-0.41-1.18772.14.13468
HO840003288959991 T-SPRUCE 55432 Select 250312.348116278782.784.21.55.61.11.260.741.050.77762.44.63467
HO840003252547035 SexTech 250412.646122341782.884.32.64.40.70.751.19-0.28-1.13771.84.13466
HO840003290468829 PEAK 559144-ET PEAK 250313.158111337772.864.00.54.80.60.790.800.65-2.05761.74.13466
HO840003303093977 INSEME 250312.858122352792.954.30.74.31.30.340.69-0.52-1.82782.34.93466
HO840003303094035 SexTech 250313.148131356792.804.32.03.50.70.190.78-0.42-1.57781.94.23466
HO840003252547042 SexTech 250412.256116333782.945.21.44.11.20.240.85-0.01-1.51772.24.03465
HO840003283227070 GENOSOURCE 53601-ET INSEME 250312.858144379792.864.0-1.03.80.7-0.18-0.09-0.54-1.52782.14.53465
HO840003283227096 INSEME 250312.650114335792.915.12.33.92.50.070.55-0.40-1.33782.03.33465
HO840003288817140 SIEMERS 52480 Select 250312.446127298782.814.11.29.50.70.820.640.460.54771.94.23465
HO840003288817238 SSI-SIEMERS 52578 Select 250313.057110299782.704.80.35.4-0.11.431.360.13-0.03762.85.13465
HO840003294618711 KINGR 1151 Select 250312.558136388782.923.40.42.4-0.40.700.410.02-1.25762.74.83465
HO840003012575755 SexTech 250312.755123343782.914.11.63.51.40.190.70-0.41-1.31772.14.33464
HO840003283227117 INSEME 250312.765129393782.903.90.70.51.0-0.370.01-0.35-1.40772.74.13464
HO840003296334418 SIMPLE-DREAMS 9179 Select 250311.736106263782.665.52.310.02.21.290.720.760.17772.14.33464
HO840003296576791 SSI-DUCKETT 9412 Select 250312.255115325782.705.51.110.20.50.680.54-0.15-0.55773.15.13464
HO840003283227074 GENOSOURCE 53605-ET INSEME 250313.258129377792.964.01.22.21.20.120.14-0.42-1.51782.24.13463
HO840003283227180 SexTech 250313.245138352792.784.81.76.50.50.100.62-0.73-1.48781.84.23463
HO840003293804701 OCD DAYTONA LOQUACIOUS-ET SexTech 250312.860102302792.915.72.03.62.10.290.630.03-1.32781.53.43463
HO840003296157529 SexTech 250313.162120342792.863.90.35.20.30.530.91-0.52-0.86771.94.23463
HO840003303093997 INSEME 250312.363116347792.814.71.53.11.20.040.57-0.75-1.56782.24.53462
HO840003299812257 OCD MICAN LANDMAN-ET Select 250312.370127390782.982.9-2.72.1-0.90.970.93-0.02-1.24773.15.23461
HO840003303094092 SexTech 250412.356124343782.894.51.45.40.70.360.42-0.12-1.05771.84.03461
HO840003303094127 SexTech 250412.549131346793.063.50.40.12.00.420.79-0.12-1.20782.54.53461
HO840003288817388 SIEMERS 52728 Select 250312.367108312783.033.0-0.62.8-0.11.601.330.50-0.50761.83.93460
HO840003296576709 SSI-DUCKETT 9330 Select 250212.45999284782.725.32.06.61.10.940.750.460.08762.84.53460
HO840003252546781 INSEME 250212.454111271782.754.51.38.71.21.090.540.161.01771.73.93458
HO840003252546887 INSEME 250313.260112346803.004.01.0-0.31.00.650.880.45-1.77781.94.13458
HO840003288959942 Select 250313.45195291782.795.72.68.81.00.861.630.15-0.86772.24.73458
HO840003302943963 PEAK 80708-ET PEAK 250313.070106323782.854.71.38.1-0.20.700.610.43-0.42762.75.33458
HO840003283227130 INSEME 250312.565141417783.182.2-1.1-1.90.30.370.43-0.72-2.08772.04.03457
HO840003293804700 OCD BULDZR BAFFLE-ET Select 250311.742107270782.735.43.18.51.70.860.800.85-0.47772.54.43457
HO840003252546777 INSEME 250212.262130337782.973.0-0.36.5-0.10.760.65-0.04-0.81772.84.73456
HO840003252546919 SexTech 250312.657112348782.923.80.60.02.40.060.610.15-1.78772.34.53456
HO840003288816717 SSI-SIEMERS 52057 Select 250211.864114314782.844.11.25.9-0.10.990.740.190.20762.55.03456
HO840003295063335 LRDK DARTH VADER 18805-ET SexTech 250312.858124362783.054.1-0.35.10.20.390.940.15-2.09772.04.33456
HO840003299812293 OCD MORRIS LEOPARD-ET SexTech 250312.151122372792.984.81.20.01.10.240.820.19-2.93772.34.53456
HO840003303093956 GENOSOURCE 86167-ET INSEME 250312.459127350792.943.10.73.00.70.500.62-0.35-1.03782.44.23456
HO840003303094055 SexTech 250412.347117301792.634.82.46.31.00.750.81-0.29-1.11772.74.53456
HO840003283227055 GENOSOURCE 53586-ET INSEME 250313.557131366792.984.30.63.90.90.090.44-0.78-1.60782.14.03455
HO840003286461969 TTM MIRKO 689-ET Select 250312.565112319782.933.40.14.4-0.21.390.680.910.34762.44.73455
HO840003288959922 Select 250311.85694261782.914.21.26.01.51.721.110.750.04761.93.63455
HO840003290468806 PEAK 559121-ET PEAK 250312.244125306782.783.90.36.01.10.960.970.14-0.76762.94.83455
HO840003272937312 COOKIECUTTER WHOOP 92625-ET HO 250312.446112302782.824.71.34.72.00.840.770.31-0.18762.44.63454
HO840003297710285 OCD STAGGER LIXORA-ET Select 250212.56197274782.754.30.16.31.61.470.85-0.060.89772.04.83454
HO840003299982867 BOMAZ 4955 Select 250313.07183289792.895.41.96.71.30.990.400.47-0.57771.32.53454
HO840003303094009 INSEME 250313.460133390782.883.7-0.21.7-0.80.670.80-0.72-1.69772.24.23454
HO840003296576796 SSI-DUCKETT 9417 Select 250312.543107275782.704.41.58.61.41.431.220.08-0.02772.64.53453
HO840003302943906 PEAK 80651-ET PEAK 250312.758120328782.893.4-0.33.90.21.151.000.18-0.32762.75.23453
HO840003303024367 CHERRY ACRES 7008 M 1473-ET PEAK 250213.153137356782.883.31.85.1-0.20.390.480.15-0.61763.15.23452
HO840003012575762 SexTech 250312.946119311782.904.51.53.22.40.460.72-0.21-1.20772.44.53451
HO840003252546985 SexTech 250312.754111337792.895.11.23.71.70.110.65-0.02-2.26781.73.73451
HO840003286698749 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 7955-ET PEAK 250312.361121320782.933.60.35.40.80.460.670.20-0.89762.75.43451
HO840003274830864 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1342-ET PEAK 250112.362124359782.903.81.14.60.90.07-0.03-0.31-0.63761.93.83450
HO840003286698736 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 7942-ET PEAK 250311.964122370782.913.3-0.45.10.00.600.37-0.01-1.48762.34.53450
HO840003252546918 SexTech 250312.751119344792.964.00.62.20.01.091.390.35-2.16782.44.83449
HO840003274830892 PEN-COL OVER THE TOP-ET PEAK 250312.376124362782.912.9-0.32.4-0.60.440.140.35-1.36763.05.33449
HO840003283227048 GENOSOURCE 53579-ET INSEME 250312.462141416792.924.60.33.2-0.1-0.270.06-1.31-2.50782.25.13449
HO840003285538695 KINGS-RANSOM WHOOP 51245-ET HO 250312.655100293782.784.60.57.31.61.010.870.27-0.18772.34.83449
HO840003283227047 GENOSOURCE 53578-ET INSEME 250313.158121346792.934.92.01.61.00.200.70-0.72-0.97782.24.73448
HO840003293804682 OCD WONDERBOY CARNEGIE-ET Select 250312.556114322783.025.22.15.50.80.570.320.75-0.52762.03.73448
HO840003295448100 PEAK 3216-ET PEAK 250312.750118325782.884.11.66.71.60.390.58-0.11-0.46762.04.53448
HO840003283227113 INSEME 250312.955119352792.995.63.23.41.2-0.180.43-0.09-2.18782.14.83447
HO840003299812333 SexTech 250412.772137409793.192.2-1.0-0.7-1.60.660.620.15-1.57781.74.13447
HO840003303093992 INSEME 250312.261131373793.003.90.4-0.70.50.190.56-0.63-1.07782.04.33447
HO840003012575749 INSEME 250313.263133384793.012.90.00.9-0.20.770.55-0.82-1.68782.34.53446
HO840003285538680 KINGS-RANSOM WHOOP 51230-ET HO 250212.455104287783.013.91.16.01.91.040.840.36-0.10772.23.63446
HO840003295448096 PEAK 3212-ET PEAK 250313.059117350782.893.81.14.30.70.490.430.02-1.46761.94.43446
HO840003286392162 AOT 30901 ET GenVis 250312.450106309782.904.61.05.61.11.071.330.11-0.85772.64.43445
HO840003297710290 OAKFIELD WHOOPS RIOT-ET HO 250211.654119321802.874.41.56.60.60.710.410.39-0.55782.54.83445
HO840003252546827 INSEME 250212.253112330782.944.21.23.40.90.661.210.02-1.52772.04.33444
HO840003283227060 GENOSOURCE 53591-ET INSEME 250312.459109346782.904.20.92.51.60.210.78-0.58-1.47772.03.53444
HO840003283227126 INSEME 250311.259103325782.804.10.93.82.40.350.72-0.82-1.25772.14.73444
HO840003283227052 GENOSOURCE 53583-ET INSEME 250312.861123373783.033.40.91.91.00.270.32-0.30-1.66772.34.43443
HO840003290468766 PEAK 559081-ET PEAK 250312.753122305782.904.10.55.60.30.870.900.53-0.30762.65.23443
HO840003303094049 SexTech 250313.540124308792.854.62.24.12.70.160.57-0.80-0.83781.63.33443
HO840003283240453 PEAK 30578-ET PEAK 250312.954106314782.685.22.08.11.20.470.48-0.26-0.93762.04.63442
HO840003295063300 SexTech 250312.560149402783.092.1-1.03.4-1.10.350.41-0.07-2.23772.74.33442
HO840003296576678 SSI-DUCKETT 9299 Select 250212.06393269782.725.31.48.90.61.130.810.060.78772.03.53442
HO840003296576843 SSI-DUCKETT 9464 Select 250312.64099271782.855.03.46.93.50.750.570.21-0.73762.03.73442
HO840003288959999 Select 250412.363118339782.694.60.57.8-0.70.410.210.23-0.49762.34.03441
HO840003303094051 SexTech 250313.352109315792.905.22.13.22.00.030.97-0.48-1.33781.73.73441
HO840003283227102 INSEME 250312.570123363792.923.5-0.80.30.30.390.30-0.79-0.70772.13.43440
HO840003286461953 TTM HOWLAND 673-ET Select 250212.547113285782.714.61.27.4-0.10.971.450.45-0.47762.34.33440
HO840003288817237 SSI-SIEMERS 52577 Select 250312.55390267782.835.42.08.01.70.911.290.34-0.50762.54.03440
HO840003274830907 PEN-COL ENGAGE 1385-ET PEAK 250412.955110305782.914.93.77.81.50.380.200.09-0.42762.44.53439
HO840003283227119 INSEME 250312.856124361782.963.40.41.71.30.220.57-0.32-1.64772.35.03439
HO840003288817102 SSI-SIEMERS 52442 Select 250212.45798293782.854.91.78.31.40.890.660.27-0.92762.34.53439
HO840003288817383 SSI-SIEMERS 52723 Select 250312.468119311782.893.40.57.20.00.860.300.100.65763.15.73439
HO840003290468859 PEAK 559174-ET PEAK 250413.556123336782.933.00.24.90.20.781.01-0.19-0.90762.24.73439
HO840003293804756 SexTech 250412.650113302792.885.11.54.11.60.410.650.11-0.90781.83.33439
HO840003299812327 OCD 80294-ET PEAK 250312.450100269782.866.03.68.02.40.56-0.051.000.40762.14.33439
HO840003300539002 WITTENBERG 731 Select 250311.967112307782.833.7-0.69.9-0.81.150.780.270.47772.45.03439
HO840003283226987 INSEME 250212.356143361792.933.2-0.20.81.6-0.09-0.20-0.74-0.77782.95.23438
HO840003288959954 Select 250313.156102273782.825.01.76.31.40.910.400.821.08772.04.33438
HO840003283227088 GENOSOURCE 53619-ET INSEME 250312.861115313792.913.3-0.10.21.10.990.51-0.010.31771.93.53437
HO840003288816716 SSI-SIEMERS 52056 Select 250212.661108312782.754.10.35.6-0.91.341.040.480.35762.24.43437
HO840003290468823 PEAK 559138-ET PEAK 250312.856124332782.913.1-1.43.11.30.540.610.06-0.41762.65.23437
HO840003294822155 SIEMERS 53129 Select 250312.45397272782.735.32.15.61.21.290.720.48-0.16762.14.33437
HO840003303093984 INSEME 250312.148118317782.923.40.12.82.40.540.76-0.45-1.03772.23.53437
HO840003303094043 SexTech 250313.750106311793.005.22.13.22.10.461.03-0.46-1.21781.63.13437
HO840003299812316 OCD 80283-ET PEAK 250312.458112296782.853.4-0.24.81.01.120.690.390.47762.65.23436
HO840003302943923 PEAK 80668-ET PEAK 250311.852110309782.803.20.36.60.90.660.970.56-0.28762.03.93436
HO840003252546841 INSEME 250311.957117320792.874.31.24.10.80.350.250.65-0.09782.04.53435
HO840003274830908 PEN-COL ENGAGE 1386-ET PEAK 250412.764113345782.845.01.76.60.30.100.190.00-1.09762.45.13435
HO840003288817330 SSI-SIEMERS 52670 Select 250312.450122318782.833.8-0.17.70.00.950.660.43-0.25761.83.83435
HO840003296799271 WINSTAR 6346-ET PEAK 250212.654107306782.634.92.39.40.00.780.480.52-0.23762.54.83435
HO840003297719896 HILMAR STAGGER 24222-ET HO 250212.75890267782.825.62.67.61.51.200.640.170.27772.13.93435
HO840003300538997 WITTENBERG 726 Select 250211.962115312782.923.70.14.9-0.91.270.940.570.16772.13.73435
HO840003283227152 SexTech 250313.159137385793.003.40.12.1-0.90.340.74-0.59-1.94782.13.83434
HO840003288817213 SSI-SIEMERS 52553 Select 250312.46299316782.884.20.73.80.41.351.050.19-1.51772.54.83434
HO840003296157579 GenVis 250411.964129351793.042.7-1.20.40.20.700.260.22-0.38782.03.73434
HO840003299812298 OCD 80265-ET PEAK 250312.361122342782.922.7-0.63.2-0.41.031.05-0.01-1.12763.05.03434
HO840003299982869 BOMAZ 4957 Select 250312.956116365782.904.51.46.1-0.50.710.90-0.16-1.94772.44.73434
HO840003012575767 SexTech 250412.771134368783.011.7-1.6-0.8-1.61.290.72-0.120.53772.64.73433
HO840003290468809 PEAK 559124-ET PEAK 250311.951130325782.832.4-1.85.3-0.31.391.040.280.55763.15.63433
HO840003293770503 ABS 250312.944115306782.774.20.69.80.90.670.630.85-0.27772.34.43433
HO840003302943912 PEAK 80657-ET PEAK 250312.858112317782.823.80.97.20.60.580.550.38-0.39762.45.23433
HO840003290468796 PEAK 559111-ET PEAK 250313.058120326782.703.80.26.40.30.620.33-0.16-0.26762.75.13432
HO840003296157406 OCD STAGGER LYRIC-ET Select 250212.04291266782.795.72.48.91.71.181.690.08-0.20772.34.53432
HO840003299122038 DENOVO 24177 ERNEST-ET ABS 250312.049113317782.915.02.47.50.80.820.71-0.02-1.31762.34.83432
HO840003303094040 SexTech 250313.650104301792.796.53.43.53.1-0.360.47-1.13-1.25781.73.43432
HO840003283227114 INSEME 250312.358133370792.973.80.12.60.10.090.52-0.61-1.77782.04.33431
HO840003291039878 AURORA STAGGER 1688-ET Select 250212.05670198782.636.72.813.31.71.200.960.931.07771.53.33431
HO840003299121941 DENOVO 24080 WESTON-ET ABS 250212.352113324782.844.92.75.7-0.20.940.390.68-0.35762.03.63431
HO840003299812267 OCD 80234-ET PEAK 250312.757124369782.863.1-1.12.20.40.360.89-0.23-2.08763.05.43431
HO840003283227115 INSEME 250312.564101304782.955.21.76.11.20.530.500.00-1.09772.34.63430
HO840003288817425 SSI-SIEMERS 52765 Select 250311.856108283782.894.43.38.80.01.110.950.280.27762.55.33430
HO840003296576822 SSI-DUCKETT 9443 Select 250312.155102268782.834.82.56.50.91.270.700.630.73762.65.43430
HO840003297710340 OCD YARDLEE FUGITIVE-ET SexTech 250312.358120327792.844.2-0.43.70.60.680.60-0.62-0.04772.04.13430
HO840003303094103 SexTech 250413.565110357782.875.03.65.51.1-0.500.00-0.65-1.70772.14.33430
HO840003252547038 SexTech 250411.848140371782.912.8-2.23.5-0.30.950.93-0.54-1.76772.14.83429
HO840003283227134 INSEME 250312.078128362792.962.2-1.7-0.8-0.30.470.21-0.66-0.04782.54.43429
HO840003302943858 PEAK 80603-ET PEAK 250312.458125338782.743.10.55.50.00.530.46-0.360.08762.45.13429
HO840003283227092 INSEME 250312.655106313783.044.11.63.92.40.380.71-0.11-1.27772.24.73428
HO840003290468075 PEAK 558390-ET PEAK 250313.056108304782.754.71.36.41.00.400.260.380.19762.23.53428
HO840003294618701 KINGS-RANSOM HIKE ON 1141-ET Semex 250312.477120357783.151.2-1.72.0-0.61.280.340.56-0.20772.45.23428
HO840003299812223 OCD WHOOPS LEONARDO-ET HO 250212.256104312782.914.50.23.21.90.670.820.04-0.69772.55.33428
HO840003252547014 SexTech 250412.346128358782.943.30.8-0.11.00.280.92-0.14-1.64771.84.23427
HO840003295853976 Select 250412.262101295782.834.20.75.70.11.130.770.70-0.03762.14.33427
HO840003299812255 OCD YARDLEE FLAMETHROWER-ET SexTech 250312.940118315792.804.91.32.82.10.631.10-0.96-1.12772.65.03427
HO840003303094121 SexTech 250412.141127331792.903.71.11.42.10.390.80-0.41-1.05782.85.03427
HO840003303094107 SexTech 250412.953123342782.805.42.65.10.30.230.26-0.76-0.96771.74.33426
HO840003252546979 SexTech 250312.349108295792.883.40.02.30.51.331.670.69-0.30782.64.83425
HO840003290468781 PEAK 559096-ET PEAK 250312.955118320782.824.62.08.21.8-0.13-0.08-0.74-0.51761.94.43425
HO840003290468872 PEAK 559187-ET PEAK 250412.655127322782.972.2-0.23.3-0.61.281.140.590.06762.95.53425
HO840003294822057 SSI-SIEMERS 53031 Zoetis 250312.843106308782.735.62.37.81.70.180.560.41-1.72762.14.33425
HO840003299812244 OCD YARDLEE FREEZEFRAME-ET SexTech 250312.854118319792.804.1-0.46.30.80.520.79-0.74-0.98772.13.83425
HO840003283227151 SexTech 250313.049109309782.863.71.13.01.50.961.04-0.29-0.88772.14.03424
HO840003297710374 Select 250312.45393282782.676.11.59.70.70.621.020.35-0.83772.04.43424
HO840003299812336 SexTech 250412.556129345793.053.4-0.1-0.30.20.790.720.16-0.65782.45.13424
HO840003302943978 PEAK 80723-ET PEAK 250411.755102294782.763.81.54.91.70.850.80-0.12-0.70762.55.63424
HO840003294822111 SSI-SIEMERS 53085 Select 250313.44495274782.714.80.97.22.10.861.130.24-0.64761.54.03423
HO840003296576740 SSI-DUCKETT 9361 Select 250212.36999313783.002.7-1.13.70.81.211.130.00-0.41772.94.83423
HO840003297721068 HILMAR 1634 Select 250211.55695261782.644.81.19.61.50.830.590.410.41772.15.73423
HO840003274830859 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1337-ET PEAK 250112.766123346783.012.60.02.9-0.60.850.660.01-0.71762.74.63422
HO840003283227144 INSEME 250313.361109331783.033.91.30.41.70.470.37-0.07-1.23772.04.23422
HO840003283227160 SexTech 250312.762135391792.873.4-1.12.6-1.60.540.90-0.95-2.08782.34.93422
HO840003283227170 SexTech 250312.452111326792.904.5-0.25.61.50.150.84-0.19-2.06782.03.73422
HO840003288817445 SSI-SIEMERS 52785 Zoetis 250311.55990291782.924.71.45.82.40.700.79-0.22-0.62762.14.43422
HO840003294822078 SSI-SIEMERS 53052 Zoetis 250312.446112304782.745.44.76.92.0-0.21-0.04-0.03-0.22762.14.03422
HO840003252547017 SexTech 250312.756105331782.874.60.85.21.60.290.420.04-1.97772.24.43421
HO840003272937334 COOKIECUTTER 92647-ET PEAK 250412.865109346782.962.3-0.21.60.31.101.00-0.38-1.38762.14.63421
HO840003283240448 PEAK 30573-ET PEAK 250312.955117304782.724.30.66.90.60.710.48-0.290.33762.35.83421
HO840003288817349 SSI-SIEMERS 52689 Zoetis 250312.847108310782.755.42.66.81.8-0.010.400.23-1.26762.54.93421
HO840003288817466 SIEMERS 52806 Zoetis 250312.46887274782.764.3-0.64.71.30.840.690.71-0.31771.94.33421
HO840003283227075 GENOSOURCE 53606-ET INSEME 250311.863104316782.893.9-0.33.4-0.30.961.180.78-1.20772.25.43420
HO840003294822132 SIEMERS 53106 Select 250312.244113287782.942.8-0.11.71.91.100.910.86-0.12762.23.33420
HO840003296576641 SSI-DUCKETT 9262 Select 250213.150114289792.713.5-2.62.00.91.481.080.110.13782.04.83420
HO840003252546743 INSEME 250212.154115310792.914.20.14.41.60.580.50-0.27-1.01772.54.63419
HO840003274830863 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1341-ET PEAK 250112.665124361782.983.20.42.5-0.60.550.49-0.08-1.11762.84.73419
HO840003285785871 INSEME 250212.751102306792.785.21.85.41.20.510.94-0.18-1.30772.04.23419
HO840003296576686 SSI-DUCKETT 9307 Select 250211.951111303782.624.52.19.3-0.81.020.820.09-0.69772.44.03419
HO840003296576760 SSI-DUCKETT 9381 Select 250311.951116277782.743.4-1.05.00.81.350.98-0.160.39772.25.13419
HO840003012575746 INSEME 250212.261121344792.943.31.21.11.20.320.22-0.79-1.06781.94.63418
HO840003272937305 Select 250312.248101266782.705.01.87.00.41.211.200.840.05773.35.43418
HO840003290468798 PEAK 559113-ET PEAK 250311.950118293782.744.50.59.8-0.20.880.90-0.06-0.38762.94.53418
HO840003302943880 PEAK 80625-ET PEAK 250312.153106296782.674.71.27.91.10.460.340.23-0.20762.24.53418
HO840003288860652 ABS 250312.549109295782.973.6-0.66.62.40.660.680.07-0.39762.03.93417
HO840003299967633 ABS 250312.164107343782.964.10.62.8-0.20.810.780.00-1.13772.03.63417
HO840003302943879 PEAK 80624-ET PEAK 250313.252119330782.833.31.45.60.10.870.83-0.19-0.09762.45.43417
HO840003303093976 INSEME 250312.754124349792.983.90.23.81.30.290.35-0.55-1.37782.65.03417
HO840003303094033 SexTech 250312.258115348782.963.80.40.51.00.230.430.21-1.53771.73.93417
HO840003303094084 SexTech 250412.25494300792.854.60.93.32.90.280.68-0.20-1.32781.73.83417
HO840003303094132 SexTech 250413.264121384792.964.20.91.30.5-0.01-0.03-0.51-1.77772.74.23417
HO840003283227107 INSEME 250312.755112275792.833.90.64.31.80.660.54-0.640.31772.43.13416
HO840003285785874 SexTech 250312.750116317792.963.90.13.31.60.500.88-0.20-0.73792.04.73416
HO840003288817263 SSI-SIEMERS 52603 Select 250313.25197264782.685.21.87.51.60.930.310.500.09761.84.13416
HO840003288847376 Select 250312.549103277782.704.92.37.00.71.060.970.200.00773.25.03416
HO840003294822059 SIEMERS 53033 Zoetis 250312.33898233782.795.42.48.42.81.080.780.470.35762.44.23416
HO840003294822146 SIEMERS 53120 Select 250312.548102298782.754.82.56.11.70.520.660.07-1.15762.04.83416
HO840003303093947 INSEME 250311.850107323782.914.02.03.21.80.630.58-0.18-1.22771.64.03416
HO840003293770506 ABS 50 WAKIKI-ET ABS 250312.143100282782.815.41.66.03.30.250.59-0.35-0.80761.83.63415
HO840003302943891 PEAK 80636-ET PEAK 250312.857114337782.873.20.25.01.50.500.42-0.66-0.53762.45.13415
HO840003303094032 SexTech 250312.651110346782.746.02.55.81.1-0.180.31-0.64-2.16771.54.23415
HOUSA000145780078 MELON-PATCH GNT GRANT-ET Select 250112.147114312782.914.0-0.24.3-0.11.111.400.69-1.31772.24.43415
HO840003252547048 SexTech 250413.052107317792.964.91.23.21.10.581.19-0.56-1.31781.63.73414
HO840003274830909 PEN-COL ENGAGE 1387-ET PEAK 250412.660115343782.914.82.06.61.8-0.57-0.510.08-1.25762.54.93414
HO840003299122046 DENOVO 24185 OXIDIZE-ET ABS 250312.750124353782.894.41.26.50.7-0.050.37-0.29-1.47762.34.53414
HO840003305218469 Select 250312.847108316782.794.11.95.71.50.560.540.01-0.94762.23.93414
HO840003283227066 INSEME 250311.662134366793.042.2-2.7-1.2-1.20.910.880.34-0.97782.04.23413
HO840003283227127 INSEME 250312.54496281792.885.03.33.32.80.500.800.25-1.29782.13.83413
HO840003283227187 SexTech 250412.057110332783.094.01.40.12.10.250.37-0.10-2.30771.83.63413
HO840003286461738 MIDAS-TOUCH WHOOPS 1878-ET HO 250212.25098297782.705.61.87.91.10.450.910.00-0.66772.64.53413
HO840003293804654 SexTech 250312.538146349792.883.90.34.91.2-0.050.41-1.17-1.11771.94.43413
HO840003297710283 OCD KINGDOM LASVEGAS-ET Select 250212.852103300782.775.01.18.10.10.781.230.09-1.27772.24.73413
HO840003299812237 OCD GOLLEY RAMROD-ET Select 250312.450126317782.813.51.29.20.70.40-0.06-0.180.66772.03.83413
HO840003299982873 BOMAZ HI-LEVEL 4961-ET Semex 250313.150100289782.993.91.74.11.01.141.081.08-0.53771.44.53412
HO840003252546884 INSEME 250312.560106327792.953.90.92.11.50.170.53-0.15-1.60781.73.53411
HO840003252547030 SexTech 250412.242127323782.963.50.53.10.31.171.13-0.22-0.94771.94.33411
HO840003290468828 PEAK 559143-ET PEAK 250313.35099298782.785.41.49.01.20.670.680.09-1.48762.44.33411
HO840003299967631 ABS 250313.352107332782.924.72.63.62.3-0.140.16-0.09-1.70761.84.23411
HO840003252546753 INSEME 250212.653101316792.965.41.43.51.80.210.830.03-2.40781.94.63410
HO840003286698751 PEN-COL MAKEOVER 7957-ET PEAK 250312.258117320782.773.20.46.9-0.70.740.690.45-0.69762.55.23410
HO840003288816739 SSI-SIEMERS 52079 Select 250311.953109264782.853.81.66.50.31.241.080.420.85762.95.33410
HO840003288817419 SSI-SIEMERS 52759 Select 250311.75895279782.854.71.45.02.40.330.72-0.24-0.34762.44.83410
HO840003288959910 Select 250212.15496294782.944.40.92.00.61.251.650.40-1.31762.54.73410
HO840003299812302 OCD 80269-ET PEAK 250312.448105277782.796.13.67.51.10.310.320.730.13762.14.63410
HO840003302943905 PEAK 80650-ET PEAK 250312.859105274782.843.8-1.55.71.50.910.91-0.120.69763.15.23410
HO840003288817409 SSI-SIEMERS 52749 Select 250312.33591236782.585.81.78.82.50.950.980.71-0.01772.54.13409
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HO840003296157589 OCD 25589-ET PEAK 250412.754111282782.794.11.65.40.10.860.630.251.35762.14.43397
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High-Ranking TPI Genomic Holstein Females – May 2025 Analysis

May 2025’s elite Holstein genomic females reveal OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET as a genetic powerhouse, while feed efficiency and balanced traits redefine dairy breeding priorities.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The May 2025 analysis of high-GTPI Holstein females highlights OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET as the premier sire, with 12 daughters averaging 3492 GTPI – the highest genetic merit transmission. PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET dominates representation (24 daughters), reflecting reliable trait transmission. Key trends include a 463-point feed efficiency ceiling, sustained health trait improvements (SCS ≤3.0 in 78% of elites), and strategic emphasis on moderate-sized, high-component producers. While 62% of the top 50 females trace to just five sires, emerging lines like GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET show promise with single-daughter excellence. The data underscores industry success in balancing production gains with functional longevity metrics.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Sire Supremacy: OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET delivers both quality (3492 avg GTPI) and quantity (12 daughters), outperforming higher-volume sires
  • Efficiency Revolution: Feed efficiency scores reach 463 (+35% vs 2024 benchmarks), prioritizing sustainable production
  • Health-First Breeding: 82% of top females maintain sub-3.0 SCS alongside positive fertility indexes, defying historical yield-health tradeoffs
  • Genetic Concentration Risk: 58% of elite genomic females originate from 3 sire lines, necessitating proactive diversity management
  • Component Optimization: Fat yield leads genetic progress (+153 lbs PTAF in top animal) while maintaining protein percentages

The May 2025 list of high-ranking genomic Holstein females showcases the elite genetic potential in the dairy industry. This analysis examines the key sires influencing these top genomic females and identifies important genetic trends that can guide breeding decisions. The data reveal distinct patterns in sire representation, genetic merit, and trait profiles that warrant attention from progressive dairy producers.

Top Individual Performers

The elite genomic females in May 2025 demonstrate exceptional genetic merit, with GTPI values reaching as high as 3623. The top individual, OCD RIPCORD ZENITH-ET (GTPI 3623), exemplifies the remarkable genetic potential available through modern genomic selection. This heifer combines outstanding production potential (PTAP 70, PTAF 153) with impressive feed efficiency (463) while maintaining favorable health traits.

Among the top five genomic females, we observe the significant influence of two particular sires: OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET and PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET, each with two daughters in this elite group. S-S-I ROSEMARY 6127 9344-ET (GTPI 3603) stands out with a balanced profile featuring strong health and fertility traits, while demonstrating exceptional udder conformation (UDC 1.41).

The top genomic females consistently display above-average values for production traits while maintaining favorable health and fertility traits. This suggests successful selection for balanced breeding that avoids sacrificing functional traits for production potential.

Sire Influence Analysis

Dominant Sires by Daughter Count

The distribution of sires represented in this elite genomic list provides valuable insights into genetic influence within the Holstein breed. The data reveals several key sires with substantial impact:

  1. PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET leads with 24 daughters averaging 3443.5 GTPI, demonstrating both prolific representation and high genetic merit.
  2. PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET follows with 20 daughters averaging 3407.7 GTPI.
  3. S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET contributes 19 daughters with an average GTPI of 3430.2, showing strong consistency in genetic transmission.
  4. BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET has 16 daughters averaging 3414.6 GTPI.

This distribution pattern indicates that certain genetic lines are disproportionately contributing to the elite tier of the Holstein population. The consistent performance of daughters from these sires suggests reliable genetic transmission for key economic traits.

Exceptional Genetic Merit Transmission

When examining sires based on their daughters’ average GTPI values, a different hierarchy emerges:

  1. OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET stands out with 12 daughters averaging an exceptional 3492.3 GTPI, positioning it as an elite genetic transmitter.
  2. GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET shows promise with one daughter at 3492.0 GTPI, though sample size limits definitive conclusions.
  3. PEAK PRIMERO-ET demonstrates high genetic merit with two daughters averaging 3473.5 GTPI.

OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET deserves particular attention as it achieves both significant representation (12 daughters) and the highest average GTPI. This combination of quantity and quality suggests it may be an especially valuable sire for breeding programs focused on genetic advancement.

Statistical Performance Analysis

The overall GTPI statistics provide context for evaluating these elite females:

  • Mean GTPI: 3427.4
  • Median GTPI: 3415.0
  • Standard deviation: 41.8
  • Maximum GTPI: 3623.0
  • Minimum GTPI: 3381.0

The threshold for “high achiever” sires (mean + 1 standard deviation) was calculated at 3469.2 GTPI. Only three sires had daughters averaging above this threshold: OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET, GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET, and PEAK PRIMERO-ET, highlighting their exceptional genetic contribution.

Key Trait Patterns

Production Traits

The elite genomic females demonstrate strong production genetics, particularly for fat yield. Many top individuals show PTAF values exceeding 120 pounds, with the highest reaching 153 pounds (OCD RIPCORD ZENITH-ET). This reflects the industry’s continued emphasis on component production, especially fat yield and percentage.

Interestingly, these high-ranking females maintain relatively balanced component profiles. The top heifers show positive protein and fat percentage values, indicating selection pressure for improved component production without sacrificing volume. This aligns with milk pricing systems that reward component-rich milk.

Feed Efficiency and Health Traits

A notable trend is the emphasis on feed efficiency, with most top individuals showing feed efficiency values above 300, and elite animals exceeding 400. This reflects the industry’s growing focus on efficiency metrics as feed costs represent a significant expense in dairy operations.

Health and fertility traits show positive trends among these elite females. The Health Trait index values are predominantly positive, with many top individuals showing values above 5.0, indicating robust genetic potential for disease resistance. Somatic Cell Score values generally fall below 3.0, suggesting strong genetic resistance to mastitis.

Conformation Traits

The elite genomic females show moderate emphasis on conformation traits. While PTAT values vary considerably, there’s a clear preference for positive udder composite (UDC) values, with many top individuals exceeding 1.0. This reflects the continued importance of udder structure for longevity and functional productivity.

Body Weight Composite (BWC) values trend negatively among many top individuals, suggesting selection pressure toward moderate-sized, efficient animals rather than larger-framed individuals. This aligns with industry movement toward efficiency and sustainability.

Emerging Breeding Trends

Several important breeding trends emerge from the analysis of this elite group:

  1. Balanced Selection Emphasis: The top genomic females demonstrate balanced genetic profiles rather than extreme values in single traits. This suggests successful implementation of selection indices that properly weight economic importance across multiple traits.
  2. Efficiency Focus: Strong feed efficiency values and moderate body size indicate increased selection pressure for efficient production systems that maximize output while minimizing inputs.
  3. Sire Line Concentration: The influence of a relatively small number of elite sires suggests potential narrowing of the genetic base at the highest levels. While this accelerates genetic progress, it warrants monitoring for inbreeding management.
  4. Health and Fertility Maintenance: Despite strong production genetics, these elite females maintain favorable health and fertility values, demonstrating successful selection for comprehensive economic merit rather than production alone.

The Bottom Line

The May 2025 high-ranking genomic Holstein females showcase remarkable genetic progress and provide valuable insights for breeding decisions. OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET emerges as a particularly influential sire, combining significant daughter representation and exceptional average genetic merit. PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET demonstrates impressive prolificacy with the most daughters in the elite group.

For dairy producers seeking genetic advancement, these data suggest several strategic approaches:

  1. Consider daughters of proven elite sires like OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET and PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET for potential breeding stock.
  2. Monitor emerging sires with limited but promising daughters, such as GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET.
  3. Focus selection on balanced traits that maintain health and fertility while advancing production and efficiency.
  4. Implement inbreeding management strategies as the genetic base narrows at elite levels.

This analysis demonstrates the remarkable genetic potential available through genomic selection while highlighting the importance of balanced trait selection for sustainable genetic advancement in Holstein breeding programs.

Birth Date PROTEIN FAT FeedYieldHealth
Trait
Fert. IndexType
Rel.
Registration NumberNameYYMMGFISire’s NamePTAPTA% PTAPTA%Eff. % Rel.SCSPLLIVPTATUDCFLCBWCDCEDSBGTPI
HO840003293804645OCD RIPCORD ZENITH-ET 250313.1OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 70-0.041530.18463793.064.81.20.30.70.200.45-0.72-2.47782.04.43623
HO840003296576723S-S-I ROSEMARY 6127 9344-ET 250212.9WILRA S-S-I F ROSEMARY-ET 700.101190.23337782.914.41.14.20.41.841.410.930.16763.05.33603
HO840003274830890PEN-COL MAKEOVER GLISEN-ET 250213.2PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 640.121400.37365782.954.01.85.71.40.380.490.44-0.55762.54.83591
HO840003303093879GENOSOURCE MARTHA 86090-ET 250213.2OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 620.031290.22405793.034.31.92.32.10.280.90-0.81-2.69782.14.13567
HO840003274830891PEN-COL MAKEOVER GLITTER-ET 250313.0PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 800.051420.21412782.972.9-1.73.5-1.21.100.420.22-1.20763.04.83557
HO840003289279210GENOSOURCE MONICA 85609-ET 250213.2OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 720.061320.22390793.043.70.30.80.60.370.46-0.25-1.43782.03.93524
HO840003281848185FIT CORBIN 6249 WINONA-ET 250312.1S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 550.051130.22308782.844.82.05.81.31.441.250.38-0.21772.95.73521
HO840003297720007HILMAR MICAN 24333-ET 250313.1S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 750.071260.20374782.833.0-1.24.3-1.51.440.610.66-0.22772.44.93511
HO840003303093877GENOSOURCE MARYJO 86088-ET 250213.3OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 500.051250.29351792.934.41.22.93.50.290.52-0.95-1.53782.24.03510
HO840003293804588OCD PRIMERO RAVEN 73192-ET 250212.7PEAK PRIMERO-ET 600.131260.35340782.813.50.06.9-1.01.751.000.810.14762.94.93509
HO840003287657440ADAWAY GOLLEY 4181-ET 250312.3BEYOND SHPSTR GOLLEY-ET 510.071220.30302782.894.31.85.00.31.701.340.710.56772.85.33503
HO840003274830901PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1379-ET 250312.4PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 700.091370.28373782.992.5-1.04.60.00.730.260.20-0.31763.04.83501
HO840003296576711BEYOND KARL 41312 9332-ET 250213.3BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 460.10930.26242792.525.2-0.49.51.81.821.940.301.16771.74.03500
HO840003293804677OCD RIPCORD LEGIT 73281-ET 250313.1OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 660.021460.25407793.143.60.6-0.50.8-0.010.20-0.98-1.63781.94.23496
HO840003295063254LRDK ENDURANCE 18724-ET 250212.2GENOSOURCE ENDURANCE-ET 610.121440.40397782.794.0-1.06.3-0.90.290.30-0.24-1.78772.34.33492
HO840003296020013 250313.1S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 680.08990.14297782.764.90.39.20.61.270.870.20-0.23761.84.63488
HO840003289279188GENOSOURCE MONET 85587-ET 250214.0OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 66-0.011320.16423793.064.51.5-0.60.30.030.27-0.52-2.46781.74.43485
HO840003297710282OCD MAKEOVE BAILEY 98422-ET 250212.3PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 660.111230.28343782.822.7-1.47.0-0.50.810.880.64-0.47762.84.43481
HO840003296576747S-S-I KINGDOM 5980 9368-ET 250212.6OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 580.04990.15306782.884.92.25.61.71.040.840.29-0.50772.13.53479
HO840003304675174COOKIECUTTER MIC HYLAXIS-ET 250311.9S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 490.141080.35317782.755.21.38.51.70.500.900.34-1.55762.24.53476
HO840003293804688 250312.6BEYOND SHEEPSTER DONALD-ET 520.111140.32301782.734.72.38.20.11.380.780.520.10762.24.33475
HO840003295083828AURORA GIANT 27821-ET 250212.3BEYOND LETCHWORTH GIANT-ET 580.071210.27324782.923.60.26.00.01.350.670.70-0.09771.83.93475
HO840003299812062OCD SANBORN LEGIT 80029-ET 250112.8OCD HAYK SANBORN-ET 610.021380.24382793.033.80.12.21.20.230.04-0.62-1.36782.34.93475
HO840003255652949ABS MR JENNA 7327-ET 250312.3T-SPRUCE DNVO JACKPOT-ET 610.081130.23296783.052.9-1.34.70.51.760.991.200.23761.53.83472
HO840003274830896PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1374-ET 250313.3PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 760.061250.18365783.062.70.63.5-0.20.590.37-0.08-0.94762.84.83471
HO840003296576679S-S-I KINGDOM 5980 9300-ET 250212.3OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 410.111150.37305782.795.22.79.61.70.960.700.05-0.19772.14.23470
HO840003274830899PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1377-ET 250312.0PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 620.031190.19347783.013.80.93.81.00.640.520.17-1.16762.44.63469
HO840003303093875GENOSOURCE EVERLY 86086-ET 250212.5OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 590.071230.26371782.854.61.44.61.2-0.070.44-0.81-1.72772.04.63469
HO840003304675249COOKIECUTTER HILEV HOAG-ET 250413.0BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET 450.091200.35294782.784.51.87.4-0.11.630.980.87-0.17771.54.53469
HO840003274830878PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1356-ET 250312.8PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 750.071240.20357782.863.5-0.44.2-0.60.570.32-0.150.06762.74.83466
HO840003303093967GENOSOURCE RIPCORD 86178-ET 250313.6OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 610.071220.25348782.824.52.75.31.40.26-0.25-0.50-0.84772.44.83466
HO840003296019875 250312.5OCD HAYK STAGGER-ET 610.081010.19303782.825.82.03.71.50.740.440.52-0.21772.24.53465
HO840003289279193GENOSOURCE RIPCORD 85592-ET 250213.4OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 640.001320.18389793.023.7-0.21.60.20.270.62-0.69-2.03782.14.63463
HO840003296576810S-S-I KINGDOM 6127 9431-ET 250312.4OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 610.07890.13276782.865.32.45.71.51.001.160.74-0.37772.24.63463
HO840003293804597OCD KINGDOM LIANA 73201-ET 250213.1OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 570.101130.27325782.964.40.65.31.20.770.750.17-0.79771.94.23461
HO840003286335089BACON-HILL WHOOPS KASKO-ET 250213.1PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 510.101040.27297782.924.92.76.01.60.971.120.32-0.56772.45.03459
HO840003287941877KINGS-RANSOM WHOOP DIDIT-ET 250313.1PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 420.111070.34266782.795.12.58.82.21.050.820.510.56761.94.63459
HO840003296576683WILRA SSI STAGGER 9304-ET 250213.4OCD HAYK STAGGER-ET 450.101150.34299782.804.81.88.20.90.931.040.160.09771.63.83459
HO840003255652942ABS MR JOSIE 7320-ET 250212.1T-SPRUCE DNVO JACKPOT-ET 570.051060.19278782.883.5-1.26.30.01.721.321.44-0.12761.53.93458
HO840003296157573OCD MICAN RAE 25573-ET 250312.2S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 650.041200.19343792.844.0-0.41.8-0.91.340.920.00-0.48782.64.63457
HO840003304675255COOKIECUTTER LEV HORATIA-ET 250412.5BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET 450.091050.29268782.744.41.48.50.71.711.310.720.44771.94.13457
HO840003293804622OCD GOLLEY FRANCES 73226-ET 250212.8BEYOND SHPSTR GOLLEY-ET 500.131090.34276782.734.40.17.11.41.361.17-0.120.89772.55.03455
HO840003296019827 250212.5S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 640.05830.08299782.965.41.47.30.61.501.320.79-1.11772.14.23455
HO840003274830894PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1372-ET 250312.6PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 650.071260.25351782.972.6-0.83.0-0.41.010.800.30-0.61762.75.23454
HO840003289279196GENOSOURCE BREE 85595 P 250212.4GENOSOURCE KING P-ET 520.051210.27345782.844.41.34.20.70.380.82-0.29-0.87771.73.93453
HO840003299812046OCD RADICAL LIANA 80013-ET 250112.4OCD FUGLEMAN RADICAL-ET 660.031110.14355792.834.60.92.20.00.740.78-0.39-1.50782.14.73453
HO840003286698735PEN-COL MAKEOVER 7941-ET 250312.5PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 670.071310.26360783.052.4-0.53.7-0.60.930.740.10-1.01763.05.93452
HO840003287133326 250212.4SIEMERS CWAY PACE 36945-ET 580.091020.23292793.013.20.03.41.21.321.331.04-0.09782.34.33451
HO840003296576680S-S-I KINGDOM 5980 9301-ET 250212.9OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 500.091050.27280782.755.02.37.71.40.801.08-0.070.28772.44.13451
HO840003295063293LRDK DARTH VADER 18763-ET 250312.1OCD THORSON DARTH VADER-ET 560.041390.30382782.864.20.24.6-1.40.510.69-0.07-1.92772.65.23450
HO840003303093908GENOSOURCE RIPCORD 86119-ET 250213.5OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 660.051180.19356783.023.2-0.62.51.30.510.49-0.63-1.08771.94.23449
HO840003296576737WILRA S-S-I KINGDOM 9358-ET 250212.9OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 460.071090.27307782.735.01.79.01.11.051.02-0.42-0.68772.24.53448
HO840003272862297PEAK 801394-ET 250312.6WILRA SSI ESQUIRE CHUCK-ET 540.131160.34314782.784.61.93.21.30.620.340.07-0.54762.04.73447
HO840003274830900PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1378-ET 250312.4PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 600.041200.22326782.993.01.14.61.30.500.550.09-0.65762.85.63446
HO840003303093886GENOSOURCE RIPCORD 86097-ET 250213.6OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 650.061220.22370782.893.20.62.00.00.640.40-0.20-0.93772.54.83446
HO840003296576777WILRA S-S-I EEYORE 9398-ET 250313.0OCD SHEEPSTER EEYORE-ET 490.11930.25255782.655.83.28.71.60.961.150.370.23763.15.43443
HO840003296019925T-SPPRUCE 25666 250312.5S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 610.02930.08287782.914.4-0.53.71.91.101.190.30-0.27772.25.03440
HO840003296019883 250312.5OCD HAYK STAGGER-ET 590.07820.12255782.745.82.46.12.50.810.480.780.29772.04.43439
HO840003293804608OCD PRIMERO RAVEN 73212-ET 250212.8PEAK PRIMERO-ET 540.111180.32315782.823.70.95.4-0.71.521.010.64-0.17763.35.63438
HO840003295089709ARMSON SHEEPSTER 7525-ET 250112.0OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER-ET 550.14980.28295792.994.21.53.01.41.101.100.99-0.89782.14.53437
HO840003296019909 250312.8S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 530.051100.22340782.854.90.76.70.50.590.710.46-2.22762.54.43437
HO840003297692487RUANN KARL NORAIN-52389-ET 250113.5BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 710.051070.12337792.893.60.02.6-0.11.330.60-0.23-0.05782.64.83437
HO840003298083630SDG-PH 8108 GIANT 8784-ET 250312.0BEYOND LETCHWORTH GIANT-ET 480.061310.33332792.913.60.65.7-0.61.260.830.50-0.69772.75.33437
HO840003302285835LADYS-MANOR KNGDM ODDITY-ET 250312.4OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 480.101070.30300792.753.80.26.7-0.11.591.640.13-0.66782.23.73437
HO840003296019978 250312.7WET ELVIN MIRKO-ET 460.131130.37286782.714.41.46.61.50.920.310.510.59762.14.03436
HO840003299812169OCD MAKEOVER LIANA 80136-ET 250212.8PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 630.031290.22351783.042.1-1.53.0-0.60.970.930.20-1.13761.85.03436
HO840003297710299OCD SANBOR LADYBUG 98439-ET 250212.7OCD HAYK SANBORN-ET 530.051020.19276792.745.80.97.22.00.650.56-0.190.25782.24.33435
HO840003287133339 250312.0OCD TROOPER SHEEPSTER-ET 620.081180.25305793.003.90.05.70.30.970.400.550.40782.64.83432
HO840003289279166GENOSOURCE KING 85565-ET 250212.5GENOSOURCE KING P-ET 460.031220.27341792.865.13.34.91.6-0.120.55-0.81-1.58782.14.73432
HO840003298978786 250212.9PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 530.081140.27311782.884.02.35.90.40.880.630.31-0.15762.14.03432
HO840003296576758S-S-I LOATZER 6175 9379-ET 250312.8ADAWAY KAHN LOATZER-ET 490.091050.28278782.933.61.14.91.91.121.180.510.35772.55.53430
HO840003296576811S-S-I KINGDOM 6127 9432-ET 250312.5OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 530.061020.20284782.914.53.05.00.71.251.180.37-0.09772.84.73430
HO840003297692524RUANN KARL NORAIN-52426-ET 250112.4BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 610.061120.21310792.892.5-0.51.80.91.480.550.140.30782.44.43430
HO840003274830880PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1358-ET 250313.1PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 580.091390.35363782.992.30.21.5-0.60.490.470.31-1.02762.85.03428
HO840003296020022 250412.5WET ELVIN MIRKO-ET 530.111090.29269782.853.72.14.40.81.230.571.171.09772.44.63428
HO840003303093957GENOSOURCE MELL 86168 P-ET 250312.8GENOSOURCE KING P-ET 460.051140.26337792.925.02.73.52.4-0.080.070.25-1.69782.03.93428
HO840003303024413CHERRY-ACRES 6676 M 1519-ET 250312.6PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 590.071100.22309782.764.61.47.60.60.050.60-0.02-1.04762.44.13427
HOUSA000145777443WA-DEL KARL LORIE-ET 250212.6BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 590.101180.28322782.833.70.63.60.50.880.58-0.370.33773.05.13427
HOUSA000145777591WA-DEL KINGDOM LADANA-ET 250113.1OCD KAHN KINGDOM-ET 540.131190.35318782.883.91.24.80.10.720.81-0.10-0.02772.33.33427
HO840003287568138 250312.2BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET 550.081090.25303782.695.21.89.70.50.420.230.11-0.73771.64.33426
HO840003296576717BEYOND KARL 41312 9338-ET 250213.7BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 510.12860.23240792.576.11.79.02.40.850.91-0.161.02772.25.13426
HO840003296576721BEYOND KARL 41312 9342-ET 250213.6BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 440.11940.28242792.535.21.88.80.71.411.480.500.44771.94.83426
HO840003297692708RUANN KARL NORAIN-52610-ET 250212.7BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 590.061050.18297792.783.6-0.34.4-0.21.891.00-0.040.23781.83.93426
HO840003303093955GENOSOURCE KING 86166-ET 250312.4GENOSOURCE KING P-ET 570.031100.17345782.865.13.04.31.5-0.130.26-0.58-2.34772.34.43426
HO840003293804513OCD MAKEOV FRANCES 73117-ET 250112.8PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 520.101080.29307782.823.4-0.27.11.00.901.160.04-0.71762.64.93425
HO840003296576756WILRA SSI ROSEMARY 9377-ET 250312.9WILRA S-S-I F ROSEMARY-ET 550.061050.20284782.765.12.07.00.70.710.910.040.05762.75.23425
HO840003300564324MAJR 767 GIANT 108-ET 250312.7BEYOND LETCHWORTH GIANT-ET 370.101210.41297792.783.0-0.35.90.61.591.160.400.08781.93.73425
HO840003292174092DENOVO ENCOURAGE 7758-ET 250213.7DENOVO 21054 ENCOURAGE-ET 560.051050.19318782.784.42.02.10.60.880.310.55-0.51761.73.23424
HO840003292174099DENOVO WHOOPS 7765-ET 250312.3PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 430.071050.27303782.815.22.710.91.10.480.750.39-1.36762.03.53424
HO840003296157423OCD WHOOPS LIANA 25423-ET 250212.9PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 550.061050.21287782.984.21.34.41.20.930.840.44-0.62771.83.73424
HO840003286698730CHERRY-ACRES 925 W 7936-ET 250312.9PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 510.061200.28333782.893.81.13.30.70.480.540.41-0.43772.24.53423
HO840003295083841AURORA HOWLAND 27834-ET 250212.3AURORA HOWLAND-P-ET 500.121080.32275792.744.31.18.5-0.91.491.600.380.05772.34.23423
HO840003303024390CHERRY-ACRES 6698 M 1496-ET 250212.7PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 680.081080.19328783.033.31.53.50.30.580.590.33-1.09762.34.53423
HO840003296152840 250212.8BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 550.01790.04258792.645.70.36.61.71.541.090.14-0.64772.04.13422
HO840003287941853KINGS-RANSOM WHOOP FLAIR-ET 250312.3PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 500.081090.27268782.923.80.36.80.41.681.260.680.62772.55.33421
HO840003296020036 250412.0WET ELVIN MIRKO-ET 420.121100.37267782.694.52.17.91.01.070.760.660.10762.54.63421
HO840003293928993 250213.5DENOVO 21054 ENCOURAGE-ET 510.111080.30306782.874.62.55.51.50.360.090.91-0.66762.14.03420
HO840003300676219WOODCREST DARTH VADR MUSTB 250213.3OCD THORSON DARTH VADER-ET 660.041160.17348793.042.8-1.62.0-0.61.081.20-0.23-1.27772.34.03419
HO840003304675254COOKIECUTTER GIANT HORIZON 250412.7BEYOND LETCHWORTH GIANT-ET 380.091120.35282782.694.71.16.40.41.501.180.17-0.04771.53.93419
HO840003290935042 250312.8BEYOND FIGARO KNACK-ET 440.151170.42292792.882.6-0.34.91.51.400.910.190.12772.04.83418
HO840003292174250DENOVO WHOOPS 7916-ET 250413.1PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 490.121050.31267782.874.42.47.31.21.130.710.610.99772.54.93416
HO840003274830870PEN-COL MAKEOVER 1348-ET 250213.1PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 570.041220.24335782.993.21.44.5-0.30.870.570.32-0.98762.65.03415
HO840003289279200GENOSOURCE JACI 85599 P-ET 250212.1GENOSOURCE KING P-ET 470.081060.28300792.774.71.96.01.10.711.07-0.21-1.32782.34.73415
HO840003296019957 250312.7WET ELVIN MIRKO-ET 470.131260.42277782.843.40.23.90.70.940.341.091.30772.34.53415
HO840003296576754WILRA SSI ROSEMARY 9375-ET 250212.3WILRA S-S-I F ROSEMARY-ET 490.051050.22267782.735.21.16.41.40.790.840.290.33762.95.53415
HO840003296576836S-S-I ROSEMARY 6175 9457-ET 250312.4WILRA S-S-I F ROSEMARY-ET 570.061040.20303782.804.42.06.90.11.040.760.40-0.44763.05.93414
HO840003304675087COOKIECUTTER EEYOR IRATE-ET 250213.0OCD SHEEPSTER EEYORE-ET 480.09850.20247782.675.71.88.21.81.191.180.380.15773.14.73414
HO840003287568159 250412.9BEYOND HI-LEVEL-ET 620.111190.29319782.823.60.85.8-1.81.250.790.31-0.13771.95.03413
HO840003293804669OCD DONALD RAVEN 73273-ET 250312.3BEYOND SHEEPSTER DONALD-ET 520.071080.24267782.813.61.45.40.11.490.890.810.69762.44.33413
HO840003296576775BEYOND MICAN 5421 9396-ET 250313.6S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 580.061060.20296792.934.0-1.23.00.21.371.140.59-0.37772.04.83413
HO840003293804670OCD MICAN LIANA 73274-ET 250312.4S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 550.03960.14265782.844.80.15.31.11.290.890.77-0.50772.34.63412
HO840003296576812S-S-I EEYORE 6189 9433-ET 250312.5OCD SHEEPSTER EEYORE-ET 430.091010.29268782.764.42.26.91.11.131.320.180.17772.34.03411
HO840003292174183DENOVO WHOOPS 7849-ET 250312.8PEN-COL WHOOPS-ET 600.001030.10309782.875.11.85.60.30.790.310.31-0.34761.44.33410
HO840003295063270LRDK DARTH VADER 18740-ET 250312.6OCD THORSON DARTH VADER-ET 550.001250.20344783.033.2-1.62.4-0.81.081.22-0.01-1.81772.23.63410
HO840003304675162 250312.3S-S-I SHEEPSTER MICAN-ET 650.05990.13301782.714.4-0.93.6-0.10.981.300.09-0.70773.06.53410
HO840003270397936 250313.1WILRA S-S-I F ROSEMARY-ET 520.121080.31298782.853.91.05.41.00.791.12-0.29-0.24762.84.93409
HO840003292174188DENOVO BRUIN 7854-ET 250313.5GENOSOURCE BRUIN-ET 550.061300.30352782.854.41.15.30.2-0.16-0.380.05-0.81771.73.73409
HO840003296334429SDG-PH 8002 HOWLAND 9190-ET 250313.0AURORA HOWLAND-P-ET 540.081080.25287782.844.41.87.00.51.060.590.010.18771.74.63409
HO840003297692622RUANN SHETE NORAIN-52524-ET 250212.0T-SPRUCE LW SHETEK-ET 650.061170.20331792.952.1-1.22.0-0.41.580.70-0.19-0.09772.54.73409
HO840003303093901GENOSOURCE RIPCORD 86112-ET 250212.6OCD THORSON RIPCORD-ET 630.051030.14323783.034.72.33.63.1-0.34-0.33-0.33-1.45772.64.63409
HO840003281848173 250212.4PEAK ALTAMAKEOVER-ET 610.051180.21325782.913.0-0.15.60.30.350.650.03-1.31763.05.23408
HOUSA000145777461WA-DEL KARL LEXIA-ET 250213.4BERRYRIDGE SSI KARL-ET 530.05870.14250782.745.00.14.21.51.351.230.63-0.15772.44.53407
HO840003304675144COOKIECUTTER HI-NOTE 16087 250313.8BEYOND HI-NOTE-ET 410.04980.22255782.824.6-0.75.02.01.351.170.82-0.10771.44.03406
HO840003290935030 250212.5BEYOND FIGARO KNACK-ET 410.131090.38267792.732.6-0.73.92.01.211.130.21-0.04771.84.13405
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April 2025 Global Holstein Evaluations: New Leaders Emerge as Genetic Progress Accelerates Worldwide

Historic US genetic base shift meets global polled revolution in April 2025 Holstein rankings – discover new leaders reshaping dairy genetics.

The April 2025 genetic evaluations for Holstein cattle have arrived, revealing significant movements across major dairy breeding nations. These latest rankings showcase remarkable genetic progress, with several standout performers emerging across genomic and proven categories. Balance remains a key theme, with top bulls demonstrating impressive credentials for production, health, and conformation traits, while reliability enhancements provide breeders with greater confidence in their selection decisions.

US Holstein Evaluations: Historic Genetic Base Change Reshapes the Landscape

The April 2025 US Holstein evaluations represent a watershed moment in dairy genetics with the implementation of the most significant genetic base change in history. This five-year recalibration has reset values to 2020-born cows, resulting in dramatic numerical shifts across all trait categories while generally maintaining the relative positions of elite bulls.

These changes are substantial, with production PTAs for Holsteins decreasing by approximately 750 lbs of milk, 45 lbs of fat, and 30 lbs of protein. Despite these numerical reductions, elite bulls like GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN maintain their dominant positions through relative genetic merit rather than absolute values.

RIPCORD leads with an impressive 3537 TPI in the genomic TPI rankings, maintaining his December 2024 #1 position. He’s followed closely by newcomers ABAY (3526) and JZ (3506), with DARTH VADR (3504) and WATCHMAN (3499) rounding out the top five. These elite bulls showcase exceptional genetic balance across production, health, and conformation traits.

DARTH VADR tops the Net Merit rankings at $1270 for commercial producers focused on profitability, followed by RIPCORD ($1239) and ENDURANCE ($1222). These economic powerhouses combine exceptional production with strong health traits, demonstrating that the new economic indices prioritize component values and longevity.

The base change has also highlighted the impact of accelerated inbreeding, with Holstein PTA shifts amplified by 28% higher inbreeding rates since 2015. This raises important considerations for genetic diversity management as breeders navigate the new evaluation landscape.

One notable aspect of the April evaluations is that calving traits remain in flux until August, pending recalculations. Breeders are advised to avoid major decisions in this category until the fall update provides more stable data.

The Red & White segment continues its rapid advancement with several bulls exceeding 3200 TPI. Papaya-Red leads with a TPI of 3285 and exceptional type values, followed by Morris-Red (3216 TPI) and Pegasus-Red (3162 TPI), demonstrating that colored genetics no longer require sacrificing genetic merit.

For breeders navigating these changes, the key recommendation is to focus on relative rankings rather than absolute numbers, recalibrate selection thresholds to account for the base change and maintain a balanced approach to trait selection that aligns with specific breeding objectives.

Canadian Evaluations Showcase Balanced Genetic Progress

The Canadian April 2025 evaluations reveal impressive gains across genomic and daughter-proven Holstein sire lists. OCD MONKEY leads the GLPI Genomic Bulls list with an outstanding GLPI of 4079, showcasing exceptional production traits (+1267 kg Milk, +134 kg Fat, +74 kg Protein) alongside strong conformation scores (Mammary System +11, Dairy Strength +12).

PROGENESIS IMPULSE follows closely at 4078 GLPI, excelling particularly in fat production (+132 kg) and daughter fertility. The top five are rounded out by ADAWAY BEYOND FITNESS (4062), OCD MILAN (4059), and PROGENESIS MELNIK (4038), all demonstrating the balanced breeding approach favored in the Canadian system.

On the daughter-proven side, S-S-I PR RENEGADE maintains his dominance with an LPI of 3850, supported by outstanding production (+1154 kg Milk, +98 kg Fat, +67 kg Protein) and impressive feet and legs (+14). Data from 1509 daughters across 457 herds bolster his reliability.

The conformation-focused lists reveal WALNUTLAWN PG BRIGHTSTAR leading the Genomic Bulls with an exceptional score of +20, while BLONDIN ENERGY tops the daughter-proven conformation specialists with a score of +17, excelling particularly in the mammary system (+13) and feet and legs (+13).

Notable newcomers include FRAHOLME VEC TRITON-PP, ranking 30th with a GLPI of 3952. This polled sire offers exceptional production credentials (+940 kg Milk, +105 kg Fat, +63 kg Protein) and impressive component deviations (+0.58% fat and +0.25% protein).

Canadian breeders have multiple options for genetic improvement across all trait categories. The April evaluations demonstrate the industry’s continued commitment to balanced genetic progress that enhances production efficiency and cow longevity.

German Holstein Evaluations Revolutionized by Single-Step Method

The April 2025 German Holstein evaluations introduce a fundamental shift in breeding value estimation by implementing the Single-Step method. This approach represents a significant advancement over the previous multi-step methodology, processing all available information simultaneously for more accurate genetic predictions.

In the Black & White genomic rankings, Picard’ son Pennywise tops the list with an impressive +165 RZG, showing a notable 4-point improvement since December. Real Syn’ son Rise Up follows closely at +164 RZG, with several outstanding bulls sharing third position at +162 RZG: Pirelli, Argentum, Pick Up, Alaska, Vino P *RC, and Topchamp.

The Red & White genomic rankings showcase the growing influence of polled genetics, with Cardiff P leading at +162 RZG. Three exceptional sires, Maksim P, Schach, and Malaga Red, share the second position at +161 RZG, further demonstrating the competitive performance of polled genetics.

Ginger continues to lead with 148 RZG among proven sires, showing a 3-point improvement from December. The top five proven sires all demonstrated positive movement, including Safari Red (142 RZG, +2), Ghost Red (140 RZG, +2), Sandro P (140 RZG, +1), and Symbol Red (139 RZG, +2).

Dr. Christin Schmidtmann from Vit explains the significance: “The switch to Single-Step is a significant step forward for German Holstein breeding and enables even better breeding for high-production and healthy dairy cows.” This enhanced reliability translates to more stable breeding values, more accurate predictions for functional traits, and more significant potential for genetic progress at both herd and population levels.

Swiss Holstein Rankings Show Significant Shifts

The Swiss Holstein evaluations for April 2025 reveal substantial movement among both proven and genomic sires. In the proven rankings, since December evaluations, Sous-Moron BOSTON has emerged as the standout performer with a remarkable +80-point jump in the Total Performance Index (TPI). His combination of production efficiency and improved daughter fertility makes him an ideal choice for commercial operations focused on profitability.

“BOSTON’s combination of production efficiency and improved daughter fertility metrics positions him as an ideal choice for commercial dairy operations focused on profitability,” notes the Swiss Holstein Association’s evaluation director.

Cookiecutter HADLEY continues to impress with his exceptional longevity transmission, climbing three positions while demonstrating improved protein components. His daughters’ performance confirms his ability to produce productive cows even in challenging commercial environments. Swissgen ENRICO and EMPIRE have also made notable advances, with ENRICO distinguished by superior protein transmission (+70 TPI points since December) and EMPIRE showing remarkable improvements in health trait indexes.

The genomic young sire list witnessed even more dramatic shifts, with TGD-Holstein BEAUTYMAN debuting near the top. This young sire combines elite production potential with exceptional conformation scores that have caught the attention of progressive breeders. Several sons of Cookiecutter HADLEY have also entered the genomic rankings, suggesting his genetic influence will extend well into the next generation.

The April 2025 Swiss evaluations highlight several key trends: increased focus on longevity, enhanced protein efficiency, advancements in udder health, and a more balanced breeding approach than in previous years. These genetic advancements align perfectly with the industry’s sustainability goals. Swiss Holstein Association officials note that cows with enhanced longevity, improved health, and efficient production represent the ideal profile for environmentally conscious dairy production.

Global Genetic Trends Across Borders

Several consistent patterns are emerging in the April 2025 evaluations across multiple countries. The balanced breeding approach continues to gain momentum globally, with elite bulls demonstrating impressive credentials that span production, conformation, and functional traits.

Polled genetics are making remarkable inroads into the highest rankings worldwide. In Canada, polled sires like FRAHOLME VEC TRITON-PP have entered elite genomic lists, offering exceptional production credentials (+940 kg Milk, +105 kg Fat, +63 kg Protein) alongside impressive component deviations (+0.58% fat and +0.25% protein). Similarly, Germany’s Red & White genomic rankings are now dominated by polled genetics, with Cardiff P leading at +162 RZG and other polled sires like Maksim P sharing second position at +161 RZG.

Enhanced reliability in genomic evaluations represents another global advancement, with Germany’s implementation of the Single-Step method representing a revolutionary change in breeding value estimation. This approach simultaneously processes all available information—pedigree, phenotypes, and genotypes—in one comprehensive calculation, delivering substantial improvements in reliability, particularly for functional traits where increases of up to 14% are expected.

Health and fitness traits continue to receive increased emphasis across all evaluation systems. Top bulls worldwide demonstrate improved metrics for daughter fertility, productive life, and udder health, reflecting the industry’s recognition that longevity and health directly impact lifetime profitability.

Implications for Global Dairy Breeders

The April 2025 genetic evaluations provide dairy breeders worldwide with valuable insights for making informed breeding decisions. Several key takeaways emerge from this global analysis:

First, the balanced breeding focus continues to gain momentum across all evaluation systems. Top bulls worldwide demonstrate strong credentials in production, conformation, and health traits, reflecting the industry’s movement away from single-trait selection toward a more holistic approach.

Second, polled genetics have achieved elite status across multiple countries. These welfare-friendly genetics allow breeders to incorporate polled traits without sacrificing genetic progress in economically essential characteristics, as evidenced by the performance of bulls like Cardiff P in Germany and FRAHOLME VEC TRITON-PP in Canada.

Third, health and longevity traits remain critical selection criteria worldwide. Enhanced focus on fitness traits is evident across all evaluation systems, with top bulls demonstrating improved metrics for daughter fertility, productive life, and udder health. This reflects the industry’s recognition that longevity directly impacts lifetime profitability.

Fourth, production efficiency increasingly emphasizes components rather than volume alone. Bulls combining high component yields with positive deviations are particularly valued, reflecting the industry’s focus on component-based payment systems. Swiss evaluations especially highlight improved protein percentages as a priority, with top bulls demonstrating the ability to transmit enhanced components without sacrificing volume.

Finally, enhanced reliability improves confidence in breeding decisions. Advancements in evaluation methodologies, particularly Germany’s Single-Step approach, deliver more reliable breeding values that enable more precise selection decisions. This is especially valuable for functional traits that traditionally had lower reliability values.

Conclusion

The April 2025 global Holstein evaluations demonstrate remarkable genetic progress across multiple countries and trait categories. The consistency in breeding goals across nations reflects the global dairy industry’s shared commitment to developing more efficient, healthy, and profitable cows.

For progressive dairy breeders, these evaluations offer numerous opportunities to enhance herd genetics across multiple trait categories. The balance between production, conformation, and health traits evident in top bulls provides options for addressing specific herd needs while maintaining progress in overall genetic merit.

As reliability continues to improve and polled, genetics reach elite status; breeders have greater confidence than ever in their selection decisions. The continued genetic advancement demonstrated in these April 2025 evaluations highlights the global dairy industry’s commitment to breeding more sustainable, efficient, and profitable cows for future generations.
Key Takeaways:

  • US base change resets expectations: -750 lb milk PTAs demand focus on relative rankings over absolute values.
  • Polled genetics reach elite status: Top Canadian/German bulls prove welfare traits no longer sacrifice performance.
  • Germany’s Single-Step revolution: 14% reliability gains for health traits redefine precision breeding.
  • Balanced breeding dominates: Leading sires globally combine production merit with improved fertility and longevity.
  • Commercial sustainability focus: Swiss evaluations prioritize protein efficiency and udder health for eco-conscious herds.

Executive Summary:

The April 2025 global Holstein evaluations reveal transformative shifts across key breeding nations. The US implemented its largest-ever genetic base adjustment, recalibrating PTAs while maintaining elite bulls’ dominance. Canada showcased balanced progress through sires excelling in production, conformation, and fertility. Germany introduced a groundbreaking Single-Step evaluation method, boosting reliability for health traits. Switzerland saw dramatic TPI jumps for commercial-focused sires, while polled genetics broke into elite tiers globally. Advancements in genomic reliability and emphasis on longevity-driven breeding underscore a unified industry push toward sustainable, efficient cows.

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April 2025 US Holstein Evaluations: Genetic Base Change Reshuffles Rankings While Elite Bulls Hold Strong

Historic genetic reset slashes PTA values 20%+ while elite bulls maintain rankings – decoding April 2025’s dairy breeding revolution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The April 2025 Holstein evaluations reveal the largest genetic base change in hitstory, resetting values to 2020-born cows and slashing production PTAs (Holsteins: -750 lbs milk, -45 lbs fat, -30 lbs protein). While numerical values drop dramatically, elite bulls like GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN-ET maintain dominance through relative genetic merit. The update exposes accelerated progress but heightens inbreeding impacts, requiring revised selection thresholds for sexed/beef semen strategies. Calving traits remain in flux until August pending recalculations, while updated Net Merit indices prioritize component value and longevity. Breeders must reinterpret absolute values through this new lens to maintain genetic momentum.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Recalibrate Expectations: Holstein PTAs decrease 750 lbs milk/45 lbs fat – compare percentiles, not absolutes
  • Elite Stability: Top GTPI bulls like RIPCORD (3537) and DARTH VADR (3504) maintain rankings despite base change
  • Economic Rebalance: New NM$ weights fat +13%, feed efficiency +41%, livability +100%
  • Inbreeding Alert: Holstein PTA shifts amplified by 28% higher inbreeding rates since 2015
  • Pending Data: Calving traits delayed until August – avoid major decisions in this category until fall
April 2025 Holstein evaluations, genetic base change impact, top dairy bulls 2025, dairy cattle genomics, breeding value trends

The April 2025 genetic evaluations for Holstein cattle reveal a transformed landscape after implementing a significant genetic base change. This five-year recalibration has significantly adjusted trait values across all categories while generally maintaining the relative elite status of top bulls. Despite numerical shifts, RIPCORD and other key sires demonstrate remarkable genetic consistency at the pinnacle of the rankings.

Key Findings and Impact of Base Change

The April 2025 genetic base change has fundamentally reshaped numerical values across all Holstein evaluations. While TPI values generally increased, production traits show significant numerical decreases despite no actual change in genetic merit. This recalibration represents a statistical reset rather than a genetic potential reduction.

Comparing specific bulls highlights the magnitude of these changes. GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN-ET maintained his elite status with a TPI of 3441G (up from 3336 in December), yet his milk production value decreased from 2542 to 1872 (-670 pounds). Similarly, his PTAT dropped from 1.11 to 0.28, UDC from 1.65 to 0.83, and Productive Life from 5.0 to 3.7. These adjustments reflect the new genetic baseline rather than diminished capabilities.

The base change emphasizes more balanced trait profiles than individual categories’ extremes. Most notably, some bulls maintained or improved their rankings despite these numerical adjustments, while others experienced significant position changes despite gaining absolute TPI points.

GTPI Leaders: Elite Bulls Maintain Dominance

The genomic TPI rankings show remarkable stability at the top despite the base change. RIPCORD leads with an impressive 3537 TPI, maintaining his December 2024 #1 position. He’s followed closely by ABAY (3526), JZ (3506), DARTH VADR (3504), and WATCHMAN (3499).

These elite bulls showcase exceptional genetic balance across all trait categories:

  • RIPCORD combines outstanding milk production (1496) with excellent fat (126) and protein (62) values
  • ABAY excels in component percentages with 0.34% fat and 0.11% protein
  • DARTH VADR stands out with the highest milk production (2228) among the top TPI bulls
  • WATCHMAN balances strong production with exceptional health traits (Health Index: 8.7)

On the proven side, GENOSOURCE CAPTAIN-ET maintains its #1 position with 3441G TPI, followed by SDG CAP GARZA-ET at 3418. STGEN COWEN THORSON-ET emerged at #3 with 3389, demonstrating the continued strength of established bloodlines.

Net Merit Champions: Economic Efficiency Leaders

DARTH VADR tops the Net Merit rankings at $1270 for commercial producers focused on profitability, followed by RIPCORD ($1239) and ENDURANCE ($1222). These economic powerhouses combine exceptional production with strong health traits:

  • DARTH VADR’s outstanding milk production (2228) comes with excellent component values (145 fat, 69 protein)
  • ENDURANCE offers superior component percentages (0.35% fat) while maintaining solid milk production
  • RIPCORD demonstrates exceptional balance with a Productive Life of 4.5 and a Fertility Index of 1.7

The top Net Merit bulls correlate strongly with high TPI values, indicating that economic efficiency and overall genetic merit align well in the April 2025 evaluations.

Type Specialists: Conformation Excellence

Breeders emphasizing conformation will find STORY ARC leading with a remarkable 3.88 PTAT, followed by SHG LEGO (3.83) and ADMIRE (3.71). These conformation specialists generally show:

  • Exceptional udder composite scores, with STORY ARC at 2.74 UDC
  • Strong feet and leg composites, with SHG LEGO at 2.22 FLC
  • Lower TPI and Net Merit values compared to production leaders

For breeders seeking a balance between type and economics, STARPOWER RC offers an excellent compromise, with a PTAT of 3.08 while maintaining a competitive TPI (3137) and positive Net Merit ($445). PALDWYN (TPI: 3085, PTAT: 3.12) provides another strong option, combining type with overall genetic merit.

Red & White Genetics: Colored Genetics Advance

The Red & White segment continues its rapid advancement with several bulls exceeding 3200 TPI. Papaya-Red leads with a TPI of 3285 and exceptional type values (1.99), followed by Morris-Red (3216 TPI, $1005 Net Merit) and Pegasus-Red (3162 TPI).

Key strengths among the R&W leaders include:

  • Morris-Red’s impressive milk production (1499) and strong Net Merit ($1005)
  • Pegasus-Red’s exceptional health traits (Health Index 9.4)
  • Parbie-Red’s balanced profile (TPI 3144) with strong type (1.63)

The top Red & White bulls demonstrate that colored genetics no longer require sacrificing genetic merit, with several bulls approaching the performance of the mainstream black and white leaders.

Notable Movements and Newcomers

The April 2025 evaluations brought several significant ranking changes and new entrants:

  • ABAY and JZ debuted near the top of the GTPI list with 3526 and 3506 TPI, respectively
  • GENOSOURCE CAP LEVOY-ET entered the top 10 at #9 (3257)
  • RMD-DOTTERER SSI GAMEDAY-ET TR climbed into the top 10 (3253)
  • PLAIN-KNOLL RENEGAD TROOPER TR dropped from #3 to #8 despite gaining 75 TPI points
  • GENOSOURCE CAPN MCGUIRE-ET TE fell dramatically from #5 to #43 (3160)
  • DELICIOUS H-NOON TAMPA-ET TR TE dropped from #9 to #49 (3153)

Several newcomers in the Red & White category made impressive debuts, including Papaya-Red and Parbie-Red, demonstrating continued progress in red genetics.

Genetic Diversity Considerations

The April 2025 list reveals significant concentration within certain sire lines, with multiple “CAP” prefix bulls (CAPTAIN sons) occupying top positions. This concentration demonstrates the rapid genetic progress possible with genomic selection but raises potential inbreeding concerns.

Similarly, the prevalence of RIPCORD, DARTH VADR, and other elite sires across multiple categories indicates a concentration of genetic influence. While these bulls offer exceptional genetic merit, their widespread use could decrease genetic diversity if not managed carefully.

Practical Recommendations for Breeders

Understanding the Base Change

The base change adjustment has recalibrated all genetic values to reflect current population genetics. When comparing April 2025 values to previous evaluations, remember that numerical differences are largely due to this statistical reset rather than accurate genetic shifts. Focus on relative rankings rather than absolute numbers.

Recalibrating Selection Thresholds

If you previously selected bulls above specific minimum values (e.g., Net Merit > $1000), adjust these thresholds to account for the base change. Consider using percentile ranks rather than absolute values when making selections.

Balanced Trait Selection

The April 2025 evaluations favor bulls with more balanced genetic profiles. RIPCORD and DARTH VADR exemplify this balance with high values across production, health, and conformation categories. Consider using selection indexes that match your operation’s specific goals rather than focusing on individual traits.

Managing Genetic Diversity

Maintaining genetic diversity is crucial, especially with a significant concentration in certain sire lines. Consider using bulls from diverse genetic backgrounds when appropriate, and utilize inbreeding management tools available through your genetic supplier. Red carrier bulls can introduce genetic diversity and the red gene into your herd.

Looking Beyond Numbers

While genetic evaluations provide valuable data, consider other factors like daughter performance, reliability, and genetic diversity in your breeding decisions. Consult with genetic advisors to interpret the new evaluations in the context of your specific breeding objectives.

The Bottom Line

The April 2025 Holstein evaluations represent a significant recalibration through the implementation of a new genetic base. While numerical changes may initially seem confusing, they provide a more accurate reflection of current genetic levels in the Holstein population.

Despite these adjustments, elite bulls maintain their positions of prominence, with RIPCORD, DARTH VADR, ABAY, and JZ leading the way. The emergence of new talent and continued progress in red genetics provide exciting opportunities for breeders to advance their herds.

By understanding the base change impact and focusing on relative rankings rather than absolute values, dairy producers can effectively navigate these changes and continue making genetic progress in production efficiency, health, and conformation. As always, balance selection decisions with specific breeding goals to maximize the benefits of these new evaluations.

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April 2025 Sire Evaluations: Scandinavian Holstein Rankings Reveal New Leaders

The April 2025 genetic evaluations for Scandinavian Holstein bulls have been released, showcasing significant movements in both proven and genomic sire categories. This evaluation period brings several notable changes to the Nordic Total Merit (NTM) rankings, with emerging stars and consistent performers shaping the landscape of Holstein genetics.

Proven Sire Rankings

PEAK RAINOW-ET has solidified his position at the top of the proven sire list with an impressive NTM of 38, showing continued improvement from his December 2024 evaluation. His exceptional profile combines high milk yield (+127) with outstanding daughter fertility (+119) and strong udder health (+99), making him a balanced choice for breeders focused on both production and fitness traits.

The episode has emerged as a newcomer to the elite rankings, securing the second position with an NTM of 35. His exceptional yield scores (+138), coupled with good growth (+115) and solid general health (+109), demonstrate the continued emphasis on production efficiency in the Scandinavian breeding program.

Metro rounds out the top three proven sires with an NTM of 30. Although his December evaluation showed a slight decline, he maintained strong yield (+133) and good udder health (+106) metrics.

Genomic Sire Highlights

In the genomic rankings, VH Crown leads the pack with an outstanding NTM of 42. This showcases exceptional milk yield potential (+145) combined with strong fertility (+121) and robust longevity (+112). This represents a 2-point improvement since the December evaluations, further cementing his position as the genomic leader.

GAGA-ET follows in second place with an NTM of 40, demonstrating particular strength in protein yield (+125) along with good udder health (+110) and productive life (+108) scores.

VH Gatsby completes the top three genomic sires with an NTM of 39, offering breeders a balanced profile with strong conformation traits and fertility improvements.

Emerging Trends

The April 2025 evaluations highlight several key trends in Scandinavian Holstein breeding:

  1. Production traits dominate the rankings, with exceptional milk yield scores becoming increasingly common among top bulls. Many leading sires show yield scores above +125, reflecting the industry’s continued focus on production efficiency.
  2. Fertility remains a critical selection criterion, with top bulls like PEAK RAINOW-ET (+119) and VH Crown (+121) demonstrating that high production can be achieved without sacrificing reproductive performance.
  3. Genomic reliability values show steady improvement, with reliability scores averaging above 70%, indicating increased confidence in genomic predictions for future performance.
  4. The gap between proven and genomic evaluations continues to narrow, with genomic sires like VH Crown showing NTM values that exceed even the top proven bulls by 4 points.

As dairy producers analyze these April 2025 evaluations, the data suggests a continued emphasis on balanced breeding goals that combine production efficiency with functional traits. The strong performance of newcomers and established sires indicates healthy genetic progress in the Scandinavian Holstein population.

Genetic Revolution: How Record-Breaking Milk Components Are Reshaping Dairy’s Future

U.S. dairy’s genetic revolution: Butterfat & protein smash century-old records as genomics redefine milk’s DNA. Are your herds future-ready?

The U.S. dairy industry is experiencing an unprecedented transformation as genetic improvements drive historic gains in milk components. While milk production remains flat, butterfat and protein levels are climbing at record rates, creating extraordinary value for producers and processors alike. This genetic revolution is perfectly timed to meet growing demand as $8 billion in new processing capacity comes online through 2027.

The Component Surge: Breaking Records at Breakneck Speed

The numbers tell a compelling story that every dairy producer should consider. Butterfat has posted its fourth consecutive annual record when evaluating data over a century. In 2021, milkfat broke through the symbolic 4% ceiling, surpassing a record that had stood since the end of World War II. By 2024, butterfat levels charged even higher to average 4.23% nationally.

Protein hasn’t been left behind, with new consecutive yearly records posted from 2016 to 2024. The 2024 milk marketing year finished with an average protein content of 3.29%—a remarkable jump from the 3.04% level recorded just two decades ago in 2004.

These gains are particularly noteworthy because they’ve decoupled from overall milk volume trends. From 2001 to 2010, milk volume, butterfat, and protein production improved at similar rates, ranging from 13.8% to 15.4%. Since then, however, the metrics have diverged dramatically:

Production MetricGrowth 2011-2024
Milk Volume15.9%
Protein23.6%
Butterfat30.2%

This divergence is occurring at a critical moment, as U.S. milk production has stalled. The country experienced its first back-to-back years of declining production since the 1960s, with output falling by -0.04% and -0.23% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, following minimal growth of 0.07% in 2022.

The Genomic Game-Changer: How DNA Testing Revolutionized Breeding

The driving force behind this component revolution is unquestionably genomics—a technology that has fundamentally altered dairy cattle breeding. Genomic testing allows producers to compare an individual animal’s DNA to the overall population, revealing about 70% of a young calf’s genetic potential before she matures into a cow.

“The dairy cow has become the most studied domestic animal on the planet,” explains Dr. John Cole, research lead at USDA-AGIL. “Humans and laboratory mice are the only species with larger genetic datasets than dairy cows. However, those species don’t have a comprehensive phenotypic dataset in dairy cattle. That dataset drives accuracy for genomic predictions.”

The adoption of genomic testing has grown exponentially since its introduction. After the technology was released to the dairy industry in 2009, it took seven years to genotype the first million dairy males and females. As producer confidence in the system grew, testing ramped up dramatically—the industry reached 5 million tests by March 2021 and surpassed the 10 million mark in December 2024. 66% of these tests have been conducted on U.S. dairy cattle, with the remaining 34% from 72 other countries.

This widespread adoption of genomic testing has fundamentally altered the balance between genetics and management as drivers of production improvements:

  • 1957-1980s: Management factors (nutrition, housing, health) were the primary force behind productivity gains
  • 1980-2000: Management and genetics contributed roughly equally to production improvements
  • 2000-2009: Genetics began overtaking management as the primary driver
  • 2015: Genetics contributed over 60% to improvements in milk production
  • 2022: Genetics accounted for over 70% of production gains

The April 2025 Genetic Reset: What Every Producer Needs to Know

The U.S. dairy industry will experience its most significant genetic recalibration in decades. On April 1, 2025, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) will implement simultaneous updates to lifetime merit indices and shift all genetic evaluations to a 2020-born cow base.

This dual adjustment—the first combined overhaul since 2015—aims to reflect the 28% faster genetic progress in key traits while aligning economic weightings with today’s market realities and sustainability pressures.

Resetting the Genetic Compass

CDCB adjusts its genetic evaluations every five years to account for industry progress—comparable to upgrading a smartphone’s operating system. The 2025 shift compares all animals against cows born in 2020 rather than 2015, creating these projected PTA adjustments:

TraitHolsteinJerseyAyrshire
Milk (lbs)-750-380-550
Fat (lbs)-45-20-28
Protein (lbs)-30-15-18

“Think of it like resetting an odometer after driving 100,000 miles,” explains Dr. Cole. “The numbers get smaller, but the vehicle’s capability hasn’t changed.”

One can examine the pace of genetic base changes to appreciate the scale of genetic improvement. In 2025, the Holstein base will roll back 51 pounds for butterfat and 36 pounds for protein. This represents a dramatic acceleration compared to earlier periods—in 2015, the Holstein base rolled back just 17 pounds for butterfat and 12 pounds for protein.

The Jersey breed, which, along with Holsteins and their crosses, makes up over 95% of the U.S. dairy cow population, has shown similar genetic progress. The April 2025 genetic evaluations reveal a 20-pound base change for butterfat and a 15-pound rollback for protein in Jerseys.

Merit Index Overhaul

Simultaneously, the revised Net Merit $ (NM$) formula now prioritizes:

  • Butterfat (↑13% weighting): Reflects cheese demand driving fat prices to $3.20/lb
  • Feed Efficiency (↑41% combined impact): Addresses $300/ton feed costs
  • Livability (↑100%): Responds to cull values exceeding $1,800/head

“We’re essentially giving fertility traits a 20% promotion and putting milk volume on performance improvement plans,” notes CDCB Chair Amy Hazel.

The updated Lifetime Merit Indices include adjustments to the economic weights of individual traits, with an increased emphasis on feed efficiency, milk component pricing, and fertility. For instance, the weight for fat in NM$ has increased from 28.6 to 31.8, while the weight for protein decreased from 19.6 to 13. These changes reflect evolving market demands and research advancements.

Regional Strategies: How Different Dairy Areas Are Leveraging Genetics

The genetic revolution has played out differently across America’s dairy landscape, with distinct regional approaches to production improvement. Economists have identified notable differences between “traditional” dairy states in the Midwest and Northeast, with small herd sizes and a long history of dairy production, and “modern” dairy states, primarily in the West, with large herds where the dairy sector has only recently reached its current scale.

Traditional vs. Modern Production Approaches

While each region contributes roughly equal shares to total U.S. milk production, their growth strategies differ. Traditional dairy states have focused primarily on increasing milk yield through genetic and management improvements. In contrast, modern dairy states have grown production by increasing milk yield and total cow numbers.

The contrast in herd size is stark—Western states have substantially larger herds, with nearly all averaging above 1,000 cows per operation. Traditional dairy states in the Midwest and Northeast have much smaller herds but have been catching up in productivity. In 2000, modern dairy states had a significant yield advantage of 1,721 pounds per cow versus 1,473 pounds in traditional states. By 2022, this gap had narrowed to less than 100 pounds (2,070 versus 1,984 pounds per cow).

Convergence in Yield Improvement

This convergence in productivity coincides with the introduction of genomic testing, suggesting that traditional dairy states have embraced genetics as their primary growth strategy. Unable to expand cow numbers due to land constraints, zoning regulations, and environmental concerns, these states have invested heavily in genetics, enhanced milking technology, and improved management practices.

As cow numbers across the country begin to level off, modern dairy states may follow the lead of traditional regions by focusing more intensively on yield improvements rather than herd expansion. This mirrors a broader trend in U.S. agriculture, where productivity gains increasingly drive output growth rather than expanding production areas.

The Economics of Components: Why This Matters to Your Bottom Line

The shift toward higher-component milk is creating significant economic value throughout the dairy supply chain. With over 80% of the U.S. milk supply going into manufactured dairy products that rely on butterfat and protein content, these genetic gains are perfectly aligned with market demands.

“Selecting animals for highly heritable traits and having a market incentive to do so has formed a strong foundation for dairy producers to develop their herds to produce more butterfat and protein.”

The U.S. milk pricing system, which pays premiums for components, has created powerful incentives for producers to select for these traits. These market signals have spurred innovations in breeding technology beyond genomic testing:

  • Gender-sorted semen: By 2024, 61% of all dairy semen sold in the U.S. came from this category, giving rise to the strategy described by some farmers as “sexed semen on the best and beef semen on the rest.”
  • Embryo technology: More recently, dairy farmers have begun creating conventional and in vitro fertilized embryos from elite females, further accelerating genetic progress

The surge in milk components comes at a strategic time for the industry, with $8 billion in new dairy processing capacity scheduled to come online through 2027. This expansion heavily focuses on cheese, butter, and other manufactured products that yield from components rather than fluid volume.

Accelerating Technologies: What’s Driving the Next Wave of Genetic Progress

The 2025 genetic reset paves the way for even more advanced selection tools:

  • Rumen Microbiome PTAs (expected by 2028): Linking microbial profiles to feed conversion efficiency
  • Methane Emission Indexes: Responding to potential EPA enteric fermentation regulations
  • Heat Tolerance Updates: Critical as 73% of U.S. counties face higher heat stress days

These emerging technologies will further enhance producers’ ability to select economically important traits while addressing sustainability concerns.

The Bottom Line: Positioning Your Herd for Future Success

April’s genetic overhaul serves as both a progress report and crystal ball—validating two decades of genomic advances while redirecting selection pressure toward tomorrow’s profitability drivers. As dairy economist Chris Wolf notes, “The cows we’ll milk in 2035 are being designed today through these evaluations.”

Producers who realign breeding strategies with NM$ 2025’s economic reality—where every 1 lb of fat equals 2.3 kg of protein in revenue—position themselves to thrive in dairy’s next era. Here’s what forward-thinking producers should consider:

  1. Recalibrate sire selection thresholds: What was once +2000 NM$ becomes approximately +1300 NM$ after the base change
  2. Focus on component ratios: The economic value of fat relative to protein continues to increase
  3. Prioritize feed efficiency: With high feed costs, efficient feed conversion to components becomes increasingly important.
  4. Don’t ignore fertility and health traits: The revised indices emphasize these economically important traits.

The question of how high butterfat and protein percentages can ultimately go remains open. Industry experts believe there is still untapped potential as dairy farmers continue to leverage genetics programs to select component traits.

The genetic revolution in U.S. dairy production represents one of the most successful applications of genomic science in agriculture. Unprecedented gains in milk components are transforming dairy production and processing economics, creating new opportunities throughout the supply chain. While milk volume has plateaued, the continued improvements in butterfat and protein composition ensure the industry can meet the growing demand for manufactured dairy products.

As genomic testing becomes even more widespread and breeding strategies continue to evolve, the U.S. dairy industry is positioned to maintain its leadership in genetic improvement. Whether through traditional family farms in the Midwest focusing on component yield or large Western operations balancing yield and scale, producers across the country are embracing genetics as the key to future profitability and sustainability in an increasingly competitive global dairy market.

The dairy industry’s genetic revolution is far from over—it’s just getting started.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Component production now outpaces milk volume (+30% butterfat growth vs. +16% milk since 2011)
  • Genomics drive 70% of gains – 10M cattle tested globally, transforming breeding decisions
  • 2025 genetic reset prioritizes feed efficiency (+41% weighting) and fat value ($3.20/lb market reality)
  • Regional strategies diverge: Small herds optimize genetics, large operations balance yield + scale
  • Emerging tools (rumen microbiome PTAs, methane indexes) will shape 2030s’ herds

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The U.S. dairy industry is achieving unprecedented butterfat (4.23%) and protein (3.29%) levels through genomic breakthroughs, with genetics now driving 70% of production gains. As milk volumes stagnate, component-focused breeding strategies align perfectly with $8B in new processing capacity for cheese and butter. The 2025 genetic base reset accelerates progress, while regional approaches (traditional herds optimizing yield vs. modern operations balancing scale) showcase adaptation. With feed efficiency and sustainability traits gaining priority in updated merit indices, producers leveraging advanced technologies like sexed semen and embryo transfer position themselves to capitalize on dairy’s component-driven future.

Read more:

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Join over 30,000 successful dairy professionals who rely on Bullvine Daily for their competitive edge. Delivered directly to your inbox each week, our exclusive industry insights help you make smarter decisions while saving precious hours every week. Never miss critical updates on milk production trends, breakthrough technologies, and profit-boosting strategies that top producers are already implementing. Subscribe now to transform your dairy operation’s efficiency and profitability—your future success is just one click away.

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