Visions graduates are top of their class
Four bulls all graduated in last week’s AHDB Dairy proof run, each having been previously marketed as a genomic young sire and each making an impressive stamp on their introduction to the UK rankings.
Dtr: Lachstone Panter Karean
The Visions young sire testing programme, one of the most robust and successful genomic testing programmes in the UK, has been given a boost this week with the graduation of four new bulls.
The well established programme, operated by Cogent Breeding Ltd, has produced many breed leading bulls that have made a big impact on the dairy industry. The four latest graduates reflect the diversity of the company’s stud and verifies their own reliability as proven sires.
The four bulls all graduated in last week’s AHDB Dairy proof run, each having been previously marketed as a genomic young sire and each making an impressive stamp on their introduction to the UK rankings.
The four bulls are:
Woodmarsh Zsar
(Gerard x Goldwyn x Outside); Ocean-View Zandra family
Zsar has surpassed all genomic expectations. He enters the Cogent proven line-up with 738kg milk, 52kg combined fat and protein and a Type Merit of +1.35 and has impressed sire evaluators with the consistency of his breeding. Daughters have balance, capacity, openness of rib and prolific milk production, as his proof would suggest. A son of the acclaimed all-rounder, Gerard, Zsar descends from the Ocean-View Zandra family.
Texel Beauty Cosmo
(Man-O-Man x Shottle x Outside); Larcrest Cosmopolitan family
Cosmo is another Visions graduate, offering high components (+0.15% fat and +0.03% protein) and ease of management. His daughters’ ability to get back in calf appeals to farmers (Fertility Index +7.5) while their youthfulness, width and mammary conformation have caught the classifiers’ eye. A son of former front-running sire, Man-O-Man, Cosmo comes from the famous Larcrest Cosmopolitan family.
Holbra Panter
(Planet x Goldwyn x Outside); Rabur Outside Pandora family
Panter produces eye-catching progeny with finesse and dairy quality which have earned the bull a Type Merit of +2.68. This places him in third position amongst all UK-proven bulls – a mere 0.05 points behind the internationally renowned Atwood. Legs and feet are Panter’s speciality and he weighs in as the number one UK-proven sire for this trait. In a market in which straight-legged bulls prevail, his daughters’ slight set to the leg will be welcome. Proven again through Visions, this son of Planet descends from Rabur Outside Pandora.
Mr OCD Robust Donatello
(Robust x Planet x Elegant); Rudolph Zip family
Donatello, is internationally proven and ranks amongst the leading Profitable Lifetime Index bulls with a PLI of £494. Transmitting 649kg milk with positive components and over 53kg combined fat and protein, he is ideal for any profit-driven farmer seeking income from milk. With positive daughter fertility and lifespan and an impressive +2.27 for Type Merit, daughters will also have the looks and the ability to last. UK farmers can expect his progeny to continue in the same vein as those in America, where they are easily born, easily managed, and are developing into profitable young cows. Donatello is a son of current international high-flier, Robust, and from the Rudolph Zip family.
“We are delighted with the performance of Cogent’s young Visions sires, as well as the newcomers from our American partners at World Wide Sires,” says Richard Bostock, Cogent’s Progeny Evaluator. “We are particularly pleased to see their consistent performance when compared with their earlier genomic prediction as well as the diversity of breeding patterns offered by this group.
“When bulls of this calibre come through with their daughter proof, it is great news for UK farmers who can use them with confidence, in the knowledge that they have been rigorously progeny tested across a broad spectrum of farming systems in the UK,” he says.
