GENETICS Australia has both the best Holstein and Jersey bulls proven in Australia.
It is the first time in a number of years the Bacchus Marsh genetics company has topped the Australian Breeding Values charts for both Holstein and Jersey bulls at the same time.
Genetics Australia”s Holstein bull Calister Maebull topped the Australian-proven Holstein rankings with a Balanced Performance Index of 323.
It displaced World Wide Sires” bull Coastal-View Mookie, which topped the ABVs in April.
Genetics Australia”s Jersey bull All Lynns Valentino Irwin took top spot of the Australian proven sires, displacing Sunset Canyon David, which dominated the Jersey charts for a number of ABV runs.
DataGene”s group leader of genetics and delivery Michelle Axford said Sunset Canyon David was excluded from the ABV list because it had died and its semen was no longer available.
The future for Genetics Australia looks promising in Jersey ranks, with the young genomic bull rankings for the breed placing Douggan top of the list, with a BPI of 276.
Genetics Australia chief executive Anthony Shelly was pleased the genetics co-operative had the top bulls in the August rankings.
‘It”s the dream of any genetics company to have the top proven bulls for the top two breeds,’ Mr Shelly said.
‘No doubt it will assist not just the co-operative but the farmer members who use those bulls.’
Maebull has a 96 per cent reliability for production. Mr Shelly said the August ABVs also ranked the bull in the top 1 per cent for the breed for key indices such as health, type and mastitis resistance.
‘The BPI rankings are well regarded by the industry and farmers,’ he said.
‘Farmers want to use the best available genetics, so they will continue to use more of Maebull”s semen in the years ahead.’
ABS bull Boghill Glamour Persuade topped the young genomic Holstein bulls list with a BPI of 404.
The highest ranked Australian genomic Holstein bulls were Superdave and Endgame, owned by Genetics Australia, with BPIs of 376 and 375, respectively.
In the Australian and international proven bulls ranks, Cookiecutter Harper took top spot with a BPI of 376.
Harper is owned by ABS. It was followed on the list by De Su 12128 Tailor, with a BPI of 356 and IGH Verify with 349.
In the Australian red breeds list, Viking Genetics” bull Vikrtokyo topped the rankings with a BPI of 300.
Ms Axford said it used to be common for Australian farmers to have a minimum threshold BPI of 200, but there were now 263 Holstein bulls with BPIs of more than 300.
She said local farmers should use the Australian proven list for guidance when selecting bulls.
‘The Australian-proven list is the gold plated version list in terms of reliability,’ she said.
‘It has the genomic information as well as the information from cows milking in Australia.’
Ms Axford encouraged farmers to use the Good Bulls Guide and phone app to help them make their choice.
Article courtesy of The Weekly Times – 21/08/2019
