The April sire evaluations are ready for your review. We have created lists for all seven breeds. In the Holsteins, the Top 100 bulls for Net Merit are listed. All bulls must be in the top 40 percentile for Net Merit to be listed in the top lists for Fluid Merit, Cheese Merit, udders, feet and legs, productive life, somatic cell score, pregnancy rate, conception rate, and sire calving ease.
We also have a Top 50 ranking for actively marketed Holstein young sires with genomic tests. We compiled a similar list for the Top 25 Jerseys. This is a logical addition to the bull list as more breeders are using genomic young bulls. We published the progeny tested and genomic lists side by side so breeders can make direct comparisons. Bulls with genomic-only evaluations are not eligible for other trait lists.
In Holsteins, the Top 100 progeny-test proven bulls range from 776 to 480 compared to 755 to 455 in December; when looking at the Top 50, the range is 776 to 535. Meanwhile, bulls on the Top 50 genomic list range from 936 to 726 compared to 869 to 640 just four months ago.
In the Jersey breed, we also ranked the Top 25 JPI (Jersey Performance Index) bulls. In the Brown Swiss, we ranked bulls on PPR (The Progressive Performance Ranking) since the breed is no longer ranking bulls on Net Merit. If you would like more information on that decision, check the August 10 issue on page 515.
In the Red and Whites, we listed the Top 10 Red bulls and the Top 10 Red Carrier bulls by Net Merit. We made similar Top 10 lists for the Guernseys and Ayrshires. The Top 3 Milking Shorthorns are ranked by Net Merit since only three active bulls had positive Net Merit evaluations.
