US Holstein Highlights – August 2017 – 7 Sires that remove the need for luck in your breeding program

Ask anyone who has ever bred cows for a living what it takes to be successful and they will tell you that you need some luck to have success. But, with the introduction of genomic and advanced breeding programs, there certainly has become less need for luck and more need for doing your homework. The challenge is that not everyone has the time to do the homework required to remove luck from the equation. That is why The Bullvine has done the analysis for you and highlights the following seven sires.

Proven Sires

No question the best way to remove just plain luck is to use sires with the highest reliabilities. That means using well proven sires that have already shown they have what it takes to produce great sons and daughters.

Mr Mogul DELTA 1427

DELTA

Mr Mogul DELTA 1427-ET TC TY
Mogul x Robust x Planet
203HO01468

Debuting in the coveted #1 spot on the official proven TPI list is Delta. Delta is a Mogul from the WINDSOR-MANOR RUD ZIP-ET 3E 95 GMD DOM family. He is over 75 TPI points higher than the next highest sire. In fact Delta’s numbers are so high he would even rank in the top ten of all sires over 1 year of age. Delta offers extreme health and fertility traits with solid type and strong production. Breeders who are looking for tall framey two-year-olds may not want to use Delta, but he does offer significant udder improvement, specifically rear udder height and attachments and also solid feet and legs that make him worth taking a second look at. Delta will need to be protected on his body depth and overall stature. Delta is among the breed leaders for productive life. (Read more: The 16 Sires Available in 2015 That Every Dairy Breeder Should Be Looking At & Mr Mogul Delta 1427).

JOSUPER

Uecker Supersire Josuper
029HO17553
Supersire x Beacon x Jango

This Supersire son has been on our radar for some time now, The 16 Sires from the April 2014 Genetic Evaluations That Stand Out and, as we evaluated him more and more, he just kept coming to the top, The 16 Sires Available in 2015 That Every Dairy Breeder Should Be Looking At. So it’s no surprise to us, now that he is a proven sire, that he has delivered on that promise debuting at #3 on the top proven sire list. With 7 of the top 10 sires being Mogul sons, there are certainly some concerns about inbreeding, when selecting from the top proven sires. Josuper is a top 10 TPI sire that offers a little different pedigree. With over 3,000 lbs. of milk combined with 195 lbs. of fat and protein, there is no question that JOSUPER will give you a high production kick when needed. While his type evaluation is very functional, there are a couple of areas to protect him on, including his rump angle and the set of his rear legs.

RUBICON

EDG Rubicon
Mogul x Robust x Planet
151HO00681

Debuting as the #4 proven sire is RUBICON. Although Rubicon’s sire stack (Mogul x Robust x Planet) contains many heavily used sires, his CM$ 885 and gTPI 2723 stand out, with moderate ratings for stature (0.94) and strength (1.05). PTAT 1.75, UC 1.44, FLC 2.30 and PL 6.9 say that his daughters are trouble free cattle. Breeders desiring medium framed cattle with all other traits well above average should look up Rubicon. Though it seems, as we predicted back in March 2014, Rubican has been a better producer of top females than males. (Read more: The 10 Outlier Sires that will Accelerate Your Genetic Gain the Fastest)

SILVER

Seagull-Bay Silver
Mogul x Snowman x Planet
029HO17573

Rounding out the sires debuting in the top 10 at #8 is SILVER, the Mogul nephew to Supersire, who himself now stands at #11 on the proven sire list and is the #1 sire at 99% rel. Like Supersire, Silver has the ability to leave extreme production. He ranks among the top proven sires in the breed with Milk (+1572), Fat (+91), Protein (+60), Type (+2.33), and Udders (+2.60). Silver has delivered on the genomic promise that first caught our eye back in 2014. (Read more: The 10 Outlier Sires that will Accelerate Your Genetic Gain the Fastest)

Genomic Sires

While the top two sires over one year of age for TPI remain the same in Pinnacle and Cavalier, here are some other notable sires to watch for.

REDROCK

Redrock-View Klutch
Jedi x Kingboy x Numero Uno
551HO03501

With a sire stack of Jedi from a Kingboy and then a Numero Uno, it’s no surprise that REDROCK excels in his component tests. With over 1500 lbs. of milk and positive component test, REDROCK has a combined +134 pounds of fat and protein. Hence his high cheese merit index of +986 and a net merit of +954. Combine that with a +10.1 productive life and +4.0 DPR and REDROCK daughters should last a long time, in most herd environments. Add to that, the fact that he is A2A2 and from the Kamps-Hollow Altitude family, and there are lots of reasons to get excited about this sire. The typical REDROCK daughter should be average stature with great udders and strong feet and legs. They should have solid frames but will need to be protected on their chest width and loin strength. Given his sire stack, it’s no surprise that Redrock also should prove to be an equally top performer as a sire of sons and top females.

DELTA-WORTH

Butz-Hill Delta-Worth
Delta x Supersire x Shamrock
551HO03415

While Delta-Worth does not come from a pedigree that would stand out to many breeders, since the only notable proven sire coming from this family is Wilra Shamrock Reason a +2213 TPI proven Shamrock son at Genex, it’s Delta-Worth’s numbers that are just too extreme to overlook. He is +1027 NM +2873 TPI, a combined 163 lbs. of fat and protein, all with a +2.31 udder composite and +9.2 productive life. Expect the typical DELTA-WORTH daughter to be a great producer with strong components. This should make him attractive with those producers selling for cheese markets. His daughters should last a long time in the herd, given his high PL, low SCS and high Cow Livability figures. While, overall, they will score well for conformation, with strong udder traits, he may not be the ideal robot sire as they are projected to have short, close rear teats that may make it harder for some robots. Delta-Worth will need to be protected on his foot angle but should have good bone quality. Daughters will not be tall deep bodied cows but should be extremely efficient milk producers. They will make their owners money. (Read more: SHE AIN’T PRETTY – SHE JUST MILKS THAT WAY!) NM$ will make him a popular sire of sons, as he gets a significant DNA contribution from his paternal line. This is something that, in our analysis, has proven to be a strong predictor of future ability. (Read more: Why Braedale Goldwyn Wasn’t a Great Sire of Sons).

HUMBLENKIND

Cookiecutter Humblenkind
Modesty x Epic x Man-O-Man
007HO12993

For those looking for something with more type, there is HUMBLENKIND. However, there is nothing humble about this sire’s numbers. He is over 125 lbs. of combined fat and protein with over 2.80 on all his type composites, with strong fertility and conception numbers. From the great Cookiecutter Gld Holler cow family, this sire has it all. His daughters should be average stature with great udders and solid feet and legs. He will need to be protected on his body depth and overall width.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

There is no question that there will always be some element of luck when it comes to dairy breeding. That is, at least until they further develop gene analysis and editing, but that is a whole different story. (Read more: Gene Editing – Is It The End of Dairy Breeding?) The introduction of genomics is certainly changing the risk factor and shortening genetic intervals. The challenge these days is that, with so many sires landing so close together for TPI and NM$, which ones are the real deal and which ones are just chaff. That is what we love doing here at the Bullvine is sorting through it all to help sort the pretenders from the contenders.

US Holstein Genetic Evaluations