Jerseys and Ayrshires witness a change up in the April genetic evaluations, published by AHDB, whilst Friesians fairly remain unchanged.
Jersey
Danish-bred VJ NR Hauggaard Nibali Nibiru, takes the new No.1 ranking, with an impressive udder health improver (-22 SCC, -2 Mastitis) and climbs six places, with a PLI of £462.
Runner up goes to VJ Groenbjerg Lobo Lobster, with Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for fat and protein of +0.37% and +0.26% respectively. He has a PLI of £431 and 137 UK daughters contributing to his production figures, also earning an outstanding daughter Fertility Index of 14.0.
A joint third place went to, VJ Kibsgaard Jocko Jojo (PLI £425), graduating for the first time on to the proven bull list and confirming his earlier genomic predictions. He is the highest HealthyCow bull in the top five.
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Equalling that was JX River Valley Chief, and is by far the highest yield transmitter on the Jersey list, with 853kg milk and 63.6kg fat plus protein, again with a PLI of £425.
Another new entrant, VJ Ulvsbjerg Giant Giga, has graduated from the genomic ranking and completes four Scandinavian bulls in the top five. He earns a PLI of £403 and has the best score for lowering cell counts on the list, at SCC -29.
Ayrshire
Edging his way up from second place in December, VR Venom, was crowned the top spot among the Ayrshires.
His PLI now exceeds £500 for the first time and despite an annual base change, weighing in at £513. This is thanks to additional UK daughters (there are now 159) which help earn his high fat PTA (+0.23%) and good health credentials, including a Fertility Index of 16.9.
The longstanding VR Vilano has been edged down into second position with a PLI of £428, sharing this score with new entrant, the UK-bred Whinnow Origin.
Although Origin only has a limited number of milking daughters, they are enough to graduate him to the proven list. They show great milk potential and help earn him PTAs of 671kg milk and 62.2kg fat plus protein.
Taking fourth place was Tontine Astorwell (PLI £420), and is another high production UK-born sire (622kg milk) with good SCCs, at -11.
VR Solvarp Hjuve Hosea now rounds off the top five with a similar SCC (-11) and good daughter Lifespan Index (+76 days), earning a PLI of £408.
Friesian
A largely unchanged Friesian list sees Bloemplaat Hoeve Ewoud retain first place with a PLI of £318.
Again remaining in second position was Inch Hearty (PLI £281), now with 102 daughters, and a strong Lifespan Index (110). He also has the highest Type Merit in the top five, at 1.74.
A new entrant in third spot is Goonhilly Seb, whose high protein transmission (15kg, +0.10%) helps earn him a PLI of £279.
Catlane Cromwell remains in fourth position (PLI £256), and has the highest HealthyCow index of the top five (£176).
Rounding off the top five is the popular Lakemead Jingle, now with 2334 UK milking daughters and further improving his high milk transmission (386kg). His PLI is £254.
Other breeds
Other dairy breed indexes are published online (ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/dairy-breeding-and-genetics), where the Montbéliarde, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Shorthorn and Fleckvieh are all represented.
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