Progenesis Wimbledon, a high milk quality bull, makes his debut taking pole position in the new proven Holstein ranking on Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI).

The new sire list, published by AHDB Dairy, show this Bomaz AltaRobson son boasts a PLI of £754 based on early daughter information revealing standout features to be Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) of +0.34% fat and +0.18% protein, combined with a good Lameness Advantage at +2.5 and daughter Fertility Index of +9.

Climbing one place since the previous ranking is Peak AltaZarek (PLI £750), which has the best Lameness Advantage in the top 20 at +3, predicting fewer lameness cases amongst his daughters. AltaZarek also transmits good udder health (-3 Mastitis). His sire is the former No 1 and long-term high-ranking Bomaz AltaTopshot, which still features in the top 20, with 99% reliability and 1216 UK milking daughters in his production proof.

Another former No 1 bull appears in third, in the shape of Westcoast Yamaska, now with a PLI of £748. With 413 UK daughters contributing to his production proof, he excels for protein transmission, at 37kg and +0.16%.

Rising up the rankings to claim fourth position, Leaninghouse Helix transmits excellent udder health (-27 SCC, -3 Mastitis), Fertility Index (+11.1) and Lameness Advantage (+2.6), giving a superb score for HealthyCow of £253.

In fifth is Welcome Silver Griff. He features excellent milk quality, with 57.5kg (+0.26%) fat and 35.5kg (+0.09%) protein, helping him earn a good EnviroCow score of 3.6, while his PLI is £726.

Sixth ranking ABS Crimson (PLI £722) boasts the same high EnviroCow, with plenty of quality milk, good TB resistance and a strong Calf Survival Index (+2.8) buoying his environmental credentials.

The next three places are occupied by new entrants to the top 10, two of which have PLIs of £722, on a par with Crimson’s in sixth position.

The first is Denovo 8084 Entity, a former No 1 genomic young sire, that ranks alongside Bomaz AltaCabot, which has the best Maintenance Index in the top 20 (-16) and a good FeedAdvantage of 181.

The final new entrant is the ninth ranking Mr Farnear Helix Twitch, which features favourable calving ease (0.8), a FeedAdvantage of +97 and a PLI of £720.

Rounding off the top 10 is the high daughter fertility sire (FI +10.9), S-S-I PR Renegade, whose PLI is £707.

“Although their £PLIs are inevitably lower than those of the leading young sires, some of these slightly earlier generation bulls have hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of UK daughters and many more around the world,” says Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB.

“With high reliabilities and proven breeding patterns, there’s no reason why they can’t continue to have a valuable place in producers’ breeding programmes,” said Mr Winters.