Former top 10 sire 'Denovo 20893 Harmony' has edged his way into the number one position in the new young Holstein sire ranking for Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI).
He is one of five sons of Denovo 2776 Leeds in the top 10, published by AHDB, reflecting the heavy use of this high production and health bull as a sire of sons.
The levy organisation's £PLI ranking is where breeders can go to find the Holstein breed’s most outstanding production, health and efficiency bulls for use in their herds.
With a genomic PLI of £928, Denovo 20893 Harmony excels for production, with a Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) of 1109kg milk, 57kg (0.13%) fat and 41.8kg (0.05%) protein, and has an outstanding FeedAdvantage (FAdv) of 300.
This means his daughters are efficient converters of feed into milk and are expected to consume, on average, 300kg less dry matter in one lactation than daughters of a bull with a FeedAdvantage of zero.
Calculated in part from the bull’s DNA and in part from his daughters’ expected smaller size than average (Maintenance Index is -29), this all contributes to their lower carbon footprint, expressed through the bull’s EnviroCow of 5.2 – the best of the Holstein breed.
The new entrant in second place is T-Spruce Denovo Zest, a paternal half-brother of the number one sire.
Zest transmits good udder health (-14 SCC, -1 Mastitis), a high Lameness Advantage (LA) of 2.8 and a PLI of £920. He also has the equal highest Type Merit of the top 20 bulls at 1.24.
Two further Leeds sons fill third and fourth position, the first being the outstanding protein transmitter (42.2kg ptn), Denovo 20723 Columbia, who has been edged down from his former number one position, now with a PLI of £902.
And completing the quartet is fourth-ranking Denovo 20771 Segment, another strong production sire, whose PLI is £901.
New in fifth position is Badger Siemers Day Trip (PLI £895) who transmits exceptional daughter lifespan (+180 days), great udder health (-2 Mastitis) and shorter than average gestation length (-3).
Cogent B Advantage is now in sixth position (PLI £890) and offers exceptional daughter fertility (13.1) and very high overall health, giving him one of the top indexes for HealthyCow of the breed at £251.
Denovo 20668 Hierarchy ranks in seventh place (PLI £879), transmitting very high fat (58kg, +0.25%) as well as good SCC (-18), ahead of newcomer, Badger SSI Elvin Penarol.
This bull’s transmission of high milk solids (+0.28% fat, +0.09% ptn) and exceptional lameness and digital dermatitis (3.4 LA, 0.7 DD) help earn him a PLI of £873.
Rounding off the top 10 are two familiar bulls in the shape of Winstar Reggie (PLI £864) and Bomaz Lambert P (PLI £862).
Reggie transmits exceptional feed efficiency with a FAdv of 280 and a favourable Maintenance Index (-40), while Lambert is the highest milk transmitter in the top 20 at 1281kg milk.
Newcomers to note just outside the top 10 are 11th ranking Cogent B High Pace (PLI £861), predicted to transmit good TB resistance to his daughters; Denovo 20173 Eragon, (ranked 16th; PLI £849) and S-S-I PR Boof Bonser (ranked 19th; PLI £845).
Not to be overlooked is the now prolific sire of sons, Denovo 2776 Leeds, who remains high in the genomic ranking, in equal 23rd position with a PLI of £842 and still amongst the highest milk volume PTAs of the breed at 1339kg milk.
Responding to the ranking, Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB, said: “Those who have already used Leeds may have to dig deeper.
"But as always, they can re-rank bulls on the AHDB website for traits they particularly wish to improve, whether that be fertility, cell count, feed efficiency or any other parameter for which a genetic index is calculated.”
