New wave of genomic bulls offers chance to make genetic leap
A new wave of high calibre Holstein bulls has just hit the UK market as breeding company, Dairy Daughters, launches its strongest and most modern offering of young genomic sires.
Man-O-Man son already available
Perhaps the most coveted of the group will be a son of Man-O-Man, a bull in such international demand that he is beyond the reach of most Holstein breeders.
His young son, Mr Goldenoaks Magnus, not only brings Man-O-Man into the realms of the everyday breeder, but also has both Shottle and Morty on the maternal side of his pedigree. His genomic PLI (Profitable Lifetime Index) of £210 therefore comes as no surprise, which reflects his outstanding PTA (Predicted Transmitting Ability) for milk production, including high components, good health and highly desirable type. His type index in the USA of 3.31 converts to 2.17 on the UK base, while in the USA, his TPI (Total Performance Index) of 2371 is well within the top 20 of all American young sires.
"Magnus brings the unusual prospect of high type - including more than two points for mammary - with Oman bloodlines in a combination which will appeal to a wide range of breeders," says Alison Lovell from Dairy Daughters. "His linear profile shows stature and width with deep bodies and openness of rib – all of the components demanded by the big league type breeders."
Long daughter lifespan Oman grandson out of a Goldwyn
Another coveted pedigree comes in the shape of Ladys-Manor RD Grafeeti, again a young sire with a thoroughly modern pedigree. A son of Freddie (himself a son of Oman) and from the family that produced the number four genomic TPI sire, Shamrock, this bull also excels on a UK base for PLI at £203; and in the USA on GTPI at 2316.
Also excelling for type but with moderate stature and outstanding predicted daughter lifespans (0.7), he has three generations of Excellent cows behind him, including his Goldwyn-sired dam, and is already being used as a sire of sons.
Thoroughly modern pedigree
Perhaps the most modern pedigree of the group comes in the shape of Siemers Atwood Allthat, a young 2010-born bull whose own sire – GW Atwood - still only has a genomic proof. Offering a high components PTA and outstanding type transmission (3.48 points in the USA converting to 2.83 in the UK) Allthat descends from three generations of 18,000kg milk, high component dams. With both Goldwyn and Oman in his grandparent generation, he will have both breeder and commercial appeal.
A new cross-section of bloodlines
Another modern pedigree yet with no Oman or Goldwyn bloodlines comes in the shape of Windy-Knoll-View Pacesetter, a son of Time. Time himself is a son of Regancrest-HHF Mac and is another sire with a genomic proof. With Outside and Rudolph on the maternal side of his pedigree, Pacesetter himself is said to be one of the ’fanciest animals in the barn’. Again with high type credentials, he has all the qualities for daughter longevity, reflected in his Lifespan Index of 0.6.
Red Holstein with unique maternal line
Bred to satisfy breeder demand and with a unique female line to his pedigree, Melarry Destry Doug-Red is the final bull of the group. With an EX90 Classic dam and a VG88 Marmax grandam, Doug-Red’s high health and high type credentials will make his daughters a pleasure to have on the farm.
Making the genetic leap
"Using young genomic sires can offer a significant genetic advantage over the current generation of proven bulls, and although there are slightly higher risks involved, there are big potential gains," says Alison Lovell.
"However, genomic evaluations are gaining increasing industry acceptance as more and more bulls are meeting expectations, and breeders have a one-off opportunity to really get ahead of the game," she says.
"Genomic proofs are here to stay but this generation offers the biggest genetic leap the industry will ever experience. We are now at least a generation ahead of where we would have been without genomic evaluations, so I would urge breeders to take advantage of the bloodlines that catch their eye.
"Reliabilities of all of these bulls are around 60 percent, so while no one would advocate breeding more than a small proportion of the herd to these young bulls, they certainly offer the prospect of some outstanding genetic results.
"Prices within this group start at £15, so I’d recommend breeders take up these genetics while they are so affordable."
