Six new Holstein sires have stormed into AHDB’s top 10 Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking, proving their daughters deliver big gains in health, fertility, and production.
These Holstein bulls have moved up from the genomic young bull list and now show, through their daughters, strong potential to enhance health, fertility, and production efficiency across UK dairy herds.
The top four spots are held by newcomers, with OCD Trooper Sheepster leading the pack. Sheepster boasts a PLI of £779, backed by strong Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for production (47.8kg fat, 35.7kg protein) and a notable lifespan increase of +113 days.
In second place is Peak AltaSeverus (PLI £757), recognised for exceptional daughter fertility (+12.8) and an impressive ability to reduce somatic cell counts and mastitis incidence (-25 SCC, -1 Mastitis).
SDG-PH Delux Dominance ranks third with a PLI of £741, offering benefits such as a short gestation length (-4 days) and improved calf survival (+2.8).
Fourth position is taken by the high-fat transmitter Winstar Maserati (PLI £728), who also delivers a strong daughter Fertility Index (+9.6), contributing to an excellent HealthyCow rating of £215.
Former long-term leader Genosource Captain remains a strong contender in fifth place (PLI £723), highly rated for feed cost-saving traits including Maintenance (-28) and Feed Advantage (+255), with over 2,000 UK milking daughters now included in his production proof.
Plain-Knoll Renegad Trooper, sire of the new number one bull, holds sixth place (PLI £715) and tops the top 20 for lifespan (+174 days).
Seventh and eighth places go to two further new graduates: Progenesis Wesson (PLI £712) and Denovo 17579 GIP (PLI £701). Both excel in Maintenance (-25), ranking among the best daughter-proven sires for production efficiency through reduced feed costs.
Rounding off the top 10 are Denovo 16767 Pinedale and Winstar Graziano, tied at PLI £698. Pinedale is notable for outstanding milk components (+0.48% fat, +0.21% protein), while Graziano stands out for udder health (-24 SCC, -1 Mastitis).
Marco Winters, head of animal genetics at AHDB, said: “The six new graduates in the top 10 already have around 7,000 heifers registered in UK milk-recorded herds, with some now milking.
"Their proven £PLI values deviate by just one point on average from their earlier genomic predictions, highlighting the reliability of genomics and the clear advantage for producers who use genomic bulls early.”
