BRITISH FRIESIAN FRIESIANS CONTINUE TO PROGRESS Completing the top
fi ve, Blackisle Benloyal (Rocket 3 x Pegasus) whose pedigree goes back to Hunday Bertha, is the best type bull available at 3.12 with 2.77 udders and 2.45 feet and legs. He also is a positive fertility sire at 3.6 and is +0.4 Lifespan and £271 £PLI with 228 daughters.
The new £PLI has also incorporated a base change, which has seen milk adjusted by -132kgs, fat by -5.7kgs and protein by -3.6kgs. Despite this, the top British Friesians are offering excellent production PTA’s with only fi ve of the top 20 bulls a negative for milk, and all of those transmit positive components. Half of the top 20 also
offer excellent fertility and with the gap
ollowing the August proof run, there is a new breed leader for the British Friesians in the form of Langley Evolution (Hylke x Pegasus). He’s up three places and has a £PLI of £373, the new calculations for that index rewarding bulls whose daughters excel in good milk solids, fi tness traits and fertility. Evolution transmits positive milk components, a +6.7 fertility index and -16 SCC, based on 291 daughters. Type Merit is 1.83 with 1.65 udders and the desirability of his medium-sized daughters is also refl ected in the new index. With a £PLI of £357, Irish bred Raheenarran BCG Sochar (Glen Albyn x Hylke) moves into second and is another with excellent milk components, at +0.21% fat and +0.15% protein. He is also a cell count improver at -16 and very easy calving. Catlane Caleb (Corsair x Crescendo) also transmits sold milk components and calving ease (£333), while in fourth Winnoch Umpire (Rio x Doraman) from the Penguin family is the second highest milk bull in the top ten and with 101 daughters, transmits +3.7 fertility and -17 cells and £281 £PLI.
F
between British Friesians and Holsteins increasing from 9 to14, the breed development over the
last decade or so is paying dividends in producing a fertile cow. She is also living longer with the previous lifespan gap 0.1. The Friesian, therefore, is capable of breeding fertile cattle that stay around in the herd longer, can milk off of grass, are hardy and have a bull calf value. There is no doubt that the new indexes have highlighted the best attributes of the breed and this has helped increase semen sales both at home and abroad, as well as offering something for the cross-breeding enthusiasts who want to keep their cattle black and white.
For those on a low-cost spring calving system the new £SCI index can be used to identify easy-care animals with excellent fertility and milk components. While the Jersey does well due to its high levels of fat and protein and low bodyweight, the Friesian breed scores exceptionally well in the fertility index ranking with all the top seven and 26 of the top 50 bulls all British Friesian. It is headed by Deangate Quentin at a massive 21.3, which equates to his daughters getting in calf almost 11 days faster than a bull with an index of zero. The popularity of British Friesians in offering farmers a balanced animal is refl ected in the exciting crop of young bulls that are available. The list is topped by Inch Number One (Osbert x Glen Albyn) with a £PLI of £401 based on his pedigree index. All of the top six young bulls ranked on £PLI are by different sires, giving the breeder plenty of choice. They are sired by Osbert, Winnoch Umpire, Rearsby Black Gem, Deangate Tarquin, Piet Adema 186 and Lakemead Randolf. All of the top ten young sires are positive for milk and fat percentage with just one a small minus for protein.
THE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2014 85
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