New breed indexes for Jersey, Friesian, Ayrshire and other breeds

A new number one Jersey bull, JX Sunset Canyon Got Maid (5), has graduated into the Jersey breed ranking from his AHDB Dairy genomic young sire prediction. Got Maid has an impressive Profitable Lifetime Index of £550 and is a breed leader for production potential, boasting 795kg milk and a combined 68.9kg fat and protein. His Type Merit is 1.1.

Got Maid edges former number one, Danish VJ Tudvad, into second position. Tudvad’s figures stay largely unchanged (PLI £517) and he remains the breed leader for udder health (-28 SCC, -4 Mastitis) and has strong daughter fertility (+9.8) and lifespan (+137 days).

Positions three to five remain unchanged and are occupied by Danish VJ Raastrup Hihl Gislev (PLI £473), CDF Irwin Steve (PLI £465) and Danish VJ Blanke Jason Janko (PLI £464). Gislev has the better daughter fertility (+5.6) and SCC ratings (-21) of the three, with Steve showing the breed’s best weight of fat (+46.4kg). Janko performs well for protein percent (+0.14) and daughter lifespan (+118 days).

British Friesian stand rock solid with Lakemead Jingle retaining the number one position he earned in the last proof run, with a PLI which remains almost unchanged at £486. His equally impressive production figures at 619kg milk and 20.6kg protein make him one of the best of the breed’s proven sires. Jingle also shows strong conformation at +1.81 Type Merit.

Beaufort Karactacus ranks second (PLI £474) and has good calf survival ratings at +5, while rating even better for survival traits is fourth placed Catlane Cromwell, who has the highest cow lifespan on the list (+158 days) as well as breed-topping calf survival (+6.8).

Completing the top five are the two long-time stable mates, Catlane Caleb and Catlane Chad, now with 406 and 1299 UK daughters contributing to their production figures respectively. Their PLIs are £464 and £392.

Amongst the Ayrshires, VR Nivalan Fimbe Faabeli holds on to the top spot with a PLI of £645. He transmits high protein (+25.5kg), favourable udder health (-16 SCC, -3 Mastitis) and good lifespan (+115 days).

UK-bred Rosehill Manderville, now has 138 UK daughters and moves up two places to second, with a PLI of £549. His high fat transmission (+33.3kg, +0.24%) makes him an attractive option for those looking to increase fat.

VR Gunnarstorp Backen Gobel now ranks third with excellent daughter Lifespan Index (+158 days) and daughter fertility (+12.1). His PLI is £541.

The best daughter fertility rating however is for fourth placed VR Alatalon Flame Fenton at +15.4. His PLI is £536.

The final place in the top five goes to VR Kuusian Valpas Vimpula. This bull transmits more milk and protein kg than any other bull on the Ayrshire list at 822kg and +28.1kg respectively. Vimpula has a PLI of £509.

Other dairy breed indexes are published on line (dairy.ahdb.org.uk), where the Montbeliarde, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Shorthorn and Fleckvieh are all represented.

“It’s very important to use the UK equivalent indexes when choosing a bull, regardless of breed, as only then can UK breeders obtain a genuine comparison of their transmitting ability against all other bulls of that breed,” says Fern Pearston, genetics manager for AHDB Dairy.

“Without this comparison, it’s impossible to compare a bull from one country against another, and impossible to know which bulls would be most suited to any herd,” she says.