The top of the Holstein young sire rankings remains stable, with the same four bulls leading as in December, showcasing all the essential traits for modern dairy systems.
Particularly notable are their transmission of low maintenance costs, light environmental impact and high weights of milk solids.
Alongside the four leaders comes new interest from twelve young bulls making their debut in the top twenty, AHDB's rankings show.
Holding on to his number one position is Denovo 20893 Harmony, one of the four Denovo 2776 Leeds sons which take the lead.
Harmony’s Predicted Transmitting Abilities typify the breeding pattern of his sire, with standout PTAs for milk and protein yields (1121kg and 41.2kg respectively), which are achieved by very efficient, smaller daughters (-28 Maintenance).
This makes him the breed leader for Feed Advantage (290) as well as the best EnviroCow bull at +5.0.
Harmony’s Profitable Lifetime Index of £881 takes in the routine annual base adjustment, implemented by AHDB this April, which has reduced PLI figures by £56 points on average for Holsteins.
Stablemate, Denovo 20723 Columbia now ranks second (PLI £876) (up from third place) with equally strong production ratings and stronger udder health (-16 SCC, -2 Mastitis).
And T-Spruce Denovo Zest, also by Leeds, ranks third (down from second), with a PLI of £870. Denovo 20771 Segment is the final of the four Leeds sons in the top 20 and has a PLI of £855.
In fifth place is the first new entry, Progenesis Preston (Sheepster x Jalapeno). Preston is a high protein transmitter (40.7kg, +0.10%), which he combines with a Type Merit of 1.13.
Denovo 22192 Sector-P (Pine-Tree Adventure x Winstar Mendel-P) in sixth (PLI £846) is also new since December and is the highest weight of fat transmitter of the breed at an incredible 61.3kg (+0.28%). Sector is a maternal half-brother to Segment, in fourth.
In seventh place is Badger Siemers Day Trip (PLI £845) who has the best Lifespan Index in the top 20 at 165 extra days, and breeds efficient, smaller cows with good SCC (-19) and a high HealthyCow rating of £202.
This means that £202-worth of the financial savings this bull passes on to each daughter in their lifetimes is due to their better fertility and health.
Even better for udder health in eighth is new entrant, Badger SSI GMPLN Mugwort with -24 SCC and -2 Mastitis.
This son of Cherrypencol Gameplan transmits high fat (+0.33%) and has an impressive Lameness Advantage of 4.6. This package also gives him a PLI of £836.
Denovo 20747 Hype is also new on the list and ranks ninth, with a PLI of £832. He is a maternal half-brother to the number one ranked bull, Harmony, and is sired by Denovo 3927 Myriad-P.
Rounding off the top 10 is Badger SSI Elvin Penarol with strong fat transmission (54.4kg, +0.29%) and low maintenance costs (-23) along with strong improvements to lameness (3.6).
Marco Winters, head of animal genetics at AHDB said: “This selection of young, genomic sires has something for every progressive breeder who earns an income from milk production.
"These bulls won’t just transmit the genes to improve their daughters’ milk production, health and welfare, but they will improve their environmental credentials too.
“With the top bulls ranked on £PLI also scoring exceptionally well for EnviroCow, the daughters they breed should make further inroads into the feed conversion efficiency and environmental credentials.”
