Exciting times for dairy farmers and the AI industry around the world as the most anticipated bull line-ups from the December 2022 proof run in the US, UK, Ireland, and Australia are released. It is the time for us to gauge and help dairy farmers pick the best sires that suit their herds and systems. Geno now has many coveted Norwegian Red (NR) young genomic sires available globally by constantly and swiftly adapting to the market needs.
The US proof run
Based on the US “Active” list from the December 2022 CDCB data, Norwegian Red daughter proven sires are still dominating the top spots in the US with the 1st and 4th place bulls on both the US Available Ayrshire Net Merit list and US Available Ayrshire Cheese Merit list.
Roen (252NR11690) still ranks 1st while Ofstad-P (252NR11919) has moved up to 4th place on both Net Merit and Cheese Merit. Norwegian Red sires are known for their excellent traits, most notably for milk solids yields, and daughter fertility. The US December Proof Run result is confirming this by ranking Norwegian Red sires 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for protein yield, and taking all the top 10 spots for daughter pregnancy rate. Overall, Norwegian Red sires occupy 91 out of the top 100 places for daughter pregnancy rate on the US Ayrshire base.
Note: INTERBULL still does not provide proof for genomic selected sires (GS) from the Red Dairy Cattle (RDC) and Ayrshire populations on local bases like the US. However, daughter-proven RDC and Ayrshire sires can provide good information on the likely quality of GS sires available in the US.
The UK proof run
Norwegian Red is still leading in the UK PLI index by securing the #1 spot for daughter-proven sires for PLI. In addition, NR sires occupy the top 5 spots for Fertility Index in the UK.
In the UK Top International Ayrshire and Red Bull list, two top sires are making their marks with Kvalbein (NR25211759) securing the #1 spot and Ofstad-P (252NR11919) securing the 5th position. In the meantime, Ofstad-P’s popular son Hagemoen-P (252NR12114) is ranking well both for fertility index and milk volume.
Ireland
In November 2022, the ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) changed the EBI index introducing the new carbon sub-index accounting for 10% of the total EBI. Where animals that last longer in the herd, have a lower live weight, and have higher levels of fertility will have a lower emissions figure associated with them. There were also changes to the health sub-index.
Norwegian Red genetics took advantage of the new EBI thanks to their superior daughter fertility, lower lightweight when compared to most Holsteins, and great survival over many lactations. Thus, they are also performing well based on the new carbon sub-index.
Norwegian Red is the international breed that placed the highest number of bulls in the top ranks of the official ICBF Dairy Active Bull List. It’s worth mentioning that ICBF ranks bulls based on the EBI and this includes Holstein bulls, Norwegian Red bulls, and almost any other dairy breed and dual-purpose breed.
Roen (252NR11690) has EBI € 306, the best Norwegian Red in the official ranking. Looking at all international bulls born in 2014 Roen is #1 in the rank and when including also Irish bulls (born in 2014) he’s #2 on the list. Roen has tremendous fertility and maintenance sub-indexes. Available also with RedX (Norwegian Red sexed semen) it’s a highly demanded bull in Ireland.
Krovoll (252NR11921) with €282 EBI is also well placed and he’s #1 in the rank among all bulls born in 2016. He has a very high fertility sub-index and a very positive %. Available with RedX he’s also in high demand in Ireland.
Samaagarda-P (252NR11864) is also doing very well in the rank with €EBI 287. He’s #1 in the rank among all bulls (all breeds) born in 2015. In addition, Hustad (252NR11817) ranks high and he’s #3 among all international bulls born in 2015.
Among young genomic bulls, the new Nerby-P (252NR12255) has the highest EBI with an excellent profile for Irish dairy farmers.
Australia BPI
Polled genetics continue to be a strong focus for Australia and New Zealand, and the result from the Australia Good Bulls Guide for Red Breeds in December has highlighted top NR polled sires.
Working closely with our distributor in Australia, it is important to note that Ofstad-P (252NR11919) is still Australia’s top overall sire as he has the top Balanced Performance Index (BPI$) proven Red bull at 341.
The market also acknowledges Roen (252NR11690) and Hustad (252NR11817) for following Ofstad’s success. Roen (252NR11690) is number 2 in Health Weighted Index bull and 8 on BPI$, farmer’s favorite Hustad (252NR11817) also deserves attention for his top-quality semen fertility.
Norwegian Red sires took 1st on the Balanced Performance Index rankings with Ofstad-P (252NR11919) taking the top spot while at the same time securing 1st place in Health Weighed Index with HWI of 313, and 1st place for Sustainability Index of 835.
Looking at the fertility index, NR bulls take all 6 top spots with Midtskog P (252NR11994) at a Daughter Fertility Index of 108, followed by Roen (252NR11690), Maurstad PP (252NR12009) and Kolbu P (252NR11872) all with 107 for Daughter Fertility Index. Maurstad PP has a unique combination of good fertility, polled, and a gestation length 11 days shorter than average.
