Convincing lead from new number one in young sire rankings

Ebersol has dethroned the longstanding number one bull, Genosource Captain, whose PLI of £959 now earns him second position
Ebersol has dethroned the longstanding number one bull, Genosource Captain, whose PLI of £959 now earns him second position

A brand-new number one Holstein bull takes a convincing lead in the young genomic sire Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking, published today, demonstrating the impressive profit-earning potential of his daughters.

Wilra SSI Faneca Ebersol’s PLI of £1,017 includes outstanding Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for fat (56.4kg and +0.27%), udder health (-29 SCC, -3 Mastitis) and daughter fertility (Fertility Index +11.5), and indicates the origin of much of their commercial advantage.

Like many of the top £PLI sires, Ebersol is expected to produce healthy, easy-care daughters. His sire is Badger SSI Lucia Faneca and his dam, by Pine-Tree Legacy, comes from a prolific cow family which features no less than three descendants in the top 20.

In taking this lead, Ebersol has dethroned the longstanding number one bull, Genosource Captain, whose PLI of £959 now earns him second position.

However, Captain’s transmission of milk production remains amongst the highest in the breed, at 1070kg PTA milk, which he combines with a high Calf Survival at 4.7.

Moving into third place is Denovo 17835 Lennon-P (PLI £955), one of the best bulls for daughter longevity, transmitting an extra 162 days more lifespan than average.

Also passing on excellent daughter fertility (FI +12.6), he has an outstanding HealthyCow index at 298.

Next up are three sons of long-time leader, Genosource Captain. First is DG Peace (PLI £962) who now ranks fourth, and like his sire, transmits high milk (1080kg). However, he tops his sire for protein transmission, with a massive 41.5kg.

DG Space is a new entry in fifth place with a PLI of £942. He’s an outstanding udder health improver (-27 SCC, -3 Mastitis) and a superb overall health transmitter (HealthyCow 301).

Sharing fifth place is UK-bred Cogent Keopon Rocky who also ranked in the top five in the August release.

CherryPenCol HighCloud slips one place to seventh (PLI £933) and is one of the best Lameness Advantage sires in the ranking, with a score of +3.7. He also transmits shorter than average gestation length (-3).

New in eighth place is Pine-Tree GS Cruzer (PLI £929). Another high milk producer (1051kg), his superb digital dermatitis score (+0.9) and breed-leading Feed Advantage (271), help earn him the joint highest EnviroCow score at +4.8.

Maternal half-brother to the number one bull, and ranking ninth is newcomer, Wilra S-S-I Conway Stihl. Displaying fantastic milk quality (+0.32% fat, +0.15% protein), this son of Sandy-Valley R Conway weighs in with a PLI of £926.

Rounding off the top 10 is a bull which featured high in the August run, Peak AltaSeverus, this time earning a PLI of £922. His superb transmission of daughter fertility (+14.8) is the best in the top 20.

Marco Winters, head of animal breeding for AHDB, said: “A glance at this ranking reveals that the breeding industry’s growing emphasis on health and efficiency is reaping rewards.

"Most of the leading young sires offer greater profit potential through their daughters’ better health, longer lifespans and higher feed efficiency – all alongside the production of quality milk."

He added: “I’d urge any producers to check their relationship to their own cows – ideally by using the AHDB Inbreeding Checker – before they select their service sires in order to maintain a diversity of bloodlines.”