17/01/08
Ten bulls in the top 40 ranked by £PLI in the January 2008
proof run gives Bullsemen.com double the offering of top quality
sires of any other supplier and confirms the company’s meteoric
rise from newcomers to leading player in UK cattle genetics in
just 15 months.
Astried, daughter of the Bullsemen.com Gibor who is an outstanding
new entry in the January 2008 bull proofs.
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The latest official figures incorporate Holstein UK’s new
Type Merit system – with increased emphasis on longevity,
udder health and profitability – and according to Bullsemen.com
managing director Nick Kirby this is a significant factor in his
company’s impressive showing.
“Our policy is to select and supply bulls that offer outstanding
lifetime value for the modern commercial dairy farmer and this
is now reflected in the new PLI system,” he said. “We
also apply a stringent minimum standards approach in our sire selection,
so producers choosing from the Bullsemen.com stud can be confident
that there are no compromises and no negative traits are inherited
alongside their priority areas of improvement.”
Two sires from Bullsemen.com especially illustrate the positive
impact of the improved PLI system, and both have outstanding reliability
in their proofs.
Laudan is being re-introduced, now with 15,560 daughters in 5,029
herds following a big addition of second crop daughters, and has
a PLI of £179, up from £129, with a Type Merit of 2.2
(up from 1.58). His lifespan has climbed from +0.3 to +0.6; he
is -12 for SCC; and he has outstanding daughter fertility at +2.3
(against a breed average of -3).
Bullsemen.com also has a new entry, Gibor, who has shown consistent
improvement throughout his proofs, and now – with 7,131 daughters
in 3,013 herds – he has taken a significant leap in PLI from £130
to £189. Again his progress is a reflection of how the new
PLI benefits the commercial producer, with lifespan at +0.6, SCC
at -21, and milk at +526kg. He is also outstandingly fertile at
+3.5, again with very high reliability.
Other bulls from Bullsemen.com to show marked improvements include
Jackpot and Jesfa, both shooting up to over +3 for Type Merit.
V. Eaton, now with 9,553 daughters in 3,266 herds, is another to
benefit from the positive changes to the Type Merit System, climbing
to +2.37 from +1.85.
“The single most important message that dairy farmers should
take from this proof run is that it is feasible to apply minimum
standards to your breeding policy, and that there is no need to
compromise,” concluded Nick Kirby. “There are 172 bulls
available with a PLI of £130 or above, and I would then select
bulls from within this pool that are at least +1 for Type Merit
and +200kg for milk; thereafter, I would insist on bulls that are
positive for legs and feet and also for udder composites. There
are a lot of great bulls available at very fair prices that meet
these minimum standards criteria, so herd improvement is more affordable
than it’s ever been.”
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