Stable-mates share Friesian hotspot
Amongst the Profitable Lifetime Index rankings for the Frisian breed, it is two Catlane bulls which emerge as joint front-runners, as Catlane Caleb and Catlane Chad each has a PLI of £373.
Amongst the Profitable Lifetime Index rankings for the Friesian breed, it is two Catlane bulls which emerge as joint front-runners, as Catlane Caleb and Catlane Chad each has a PLI of £373.
Although originating from the same Christine family, their closer pedigrees are quite different, as are their breeding patterns. Caleb is the highest milk components Friesian available with 0.3% fat and 0.14% protein and he also transmits good daughter fertility. In contrast, Chad transmits the highest weight of fat and protein in the Friesian breed, but has breed average daughter fertility.
New in number three position is Deangate Quaich (PLI £293) who displays a good all-round production and fitness profile. He is a Centurion son from a Hylke dam.
The familiar appearances of Winnoch Umpire (PLI £286) and Raheenarran BCG Sochar (PLI £282) complete the top five.
Jerseys
The Jersey ranking is dominated by Danish breeding, led by Danish VJ Link, with a PLI of £467. His high daughter Fertility Index (+10.5) combined with solid production puts him ahead of second ranked Danish VJ Hilario. Hilario makes a new appearance in the top five thanks to improvements in his Lifespan Index (+0.3) while his daughter Fertility Index is +9.4 and overall PLI is £446. Danish DJ Holmer moves into third place while Danish DJ Lix rises through the ranking with additional UK daughters in his evaluations to earn a PLI of £390. In fifth is the high reliability and widely used Q Zik (PLI £357).
Ayrshires
There is little change in the Ayrshire rankings with long-term front-runner, Gunnarstorp retaining his top position. He adds a handful of UK daughters for the first time and now has a PLI of £502.
He owes this to a strong combination of production, fitness and type. In second place is Pell Pers (PLI £462) and climbing into the top three is VR Gunnarstorp Backen Gobel with a PLI of £447.
As his name suggests, he is a son of the number one sire. His gains are largely due to a further improvement to his already high daughter Fertility Index, to make him the breed leader at +15.4.
Other breeds
New leader for the Montbeliarde ranking is Diderot (PLI £329), while Huray retains his number one spot in the Brown Swiss rankings (PLI £431). The top Guernsey Merit Index sire is De Garis Bettys Bertie (GMI 379) and Skyhigh Oscar leads the Shorthorn breed (PLI £400). Finally, the leading Fleckvieh bull is Ricki (PLI £288).
Comparison across breeds
“As always, it’s important to remember that the £PLI and its components should not be compared directly between breeds,” says Marco Winters, AHDB Dairy head of genetics. “The figures for each breed are calculated to relate to that breed average, so comparing figures across breeds would be both meaningless and potentially misleading.
“AHDB Dairy supplies specific conversion formulae for those who want to compare one breed with another for cross-breeding purposes,” he says. “Alternatively, those on a grazing-based, spring-calving system may prefer to use the Spring Calving Index (£SCI) which ranks bulls of all dairy breeds on the same list.”
For more information on conversion formulae, please email Andrew.Dodd@ahdb.org.uk.
