The latest Hoard's Dairyman bull list has many new names on it. That is in large part due to the accelerated progress being made in genetics these days.
The threshold to even crack the Top 50 Net Merit list rose by $42 for progeny proven Holstein bulls (now $626 versus $584 in December 2013). Likewise, the top bull stretched $29 (from $805 to $834).
The spread was even greater among genomic bulls or those with DNA-only evaluations. To crack the top 50, Holsteins needed to be above $857 NM which was $33 higher than at the end of 2013. The bar on the best bull went up $72 to $1,047. The same trends held for the Cheese and Fluid Merit lists.
The progress wasn't as dramatic in other breeds, but still quite notable.
In Jerseys, the top proven bull moved up $29 to $666 NM, while the top 25 threshold moved up $8. Among genomic-only bulls, the top is now $663 NM, up $21, while the bottom of the top 25 moved up $19 to $571 NM.
More and more A.I. marketers are offering more genomic bulls for breeding when compared to those bulls with milking daughters.
In April 2012, 45 percent of all Holstein and Jersey bulls declared for sale by A.I. centers were genomic bulls . . .or those without daughter records. Just 24 months later, that number soared to 65 percent in the two largest U.S. dairy breeds. Specifically, 1,516 of the Holstein bulls declared active by A.I. were genomic-only bulls - 293 of 445 in the Jersey breed.
Brown Swiss and Ayrshire also have genomic testing available. However, both are relative newcomers compared to Holsteins and Jerseys. As a result, progeny-tested bulls are closer to 50-50 in comparison to younger genomic counterparts.
In Brown Swiss, 48 of the 97 bulls are progeny proven (just one shy of half). In Ayrshires, the number is even greater, 36 of the 65. If past trends are any sign of the future, we anticipate those ratios will change soon.
We continue to maintain separate lists for bulls with milking daughters compared to young bulls with evaluations based only on DNA. As we reported in the March 24, 2014, Hoard's Dairyman Intel, many in the dairy industry believe genomic bulls still have slightly inflated evaluations. Click here to read more.
The Hoard's Dairyman April Bull List will be available to all our readers when our April 25 issue hits the mail later next week. However, you can receive an early copy of the list by clicking here.
Looking specifically at the April 25, 2014, Hoard's Dairyman Bull List, we list the top-ranking bulls for the seven dairy breeds. Holsteins are ranked by Net Merit, Fluid Merit, Cheese Merit, udders, feet and legs, productive life, somatic cell score, pregnancy rate and sire calving ease. Jerseys are ranked by Net Merit and Jersey Performance Index (JPI); Brown Swiss by Progressive Performance Ranking (PPR); Ayrshire, Guernsey, Milking Shorthorn and Red and White by Net Merit. The list includes genomic ranking for Holsteins, Jerseys, Red and Whites, Brown Swiss and Ayrshires.
