Cork bull top of the dairy pops for 2019
A bull bred at the Teagasc Next Generation Herd has topped the ICBF’s top dairy bull rankings for 2019, reports
AHolstein bull bred by Teagasc in Co Cork was the leading choice of farmers to breed highyielding dairy progeny in 2019.
Nextgen PHC Eimer
557 (FR2460), a son of Currihevern Rudolph (PHC), recorded 42,703 services to take first place on the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) 2019 top dairy bull listings released last week.
The bull was bred in the Teagasc Next Generation herd at the Teagasc Kilworth farm in Moorepark,
The five-year-old has an EBI of €298, and was bred out of the herd dam Nextgen HZO Eimer, which has an EBI of €199 and yielded 8,079kg of milk in her fourth lactation at 3.99pc fat and 3.6pc protein in 382 days.
The traits of the bloodline are +0.17pc for protein, with excellent health index over a long profitable life, with the progeny proving popular with breeders.
A second bull from the Next Generation herd came in at number eight on the listings. Nextgen YKG Candy 593 (FR2385) was used for 14,437 services during 2019. He has an EBI of €174 and is recommended for breeding low-maintenance progeny, with short gestation and good fertility.
The second most used bull in 2019 was Diamond Anton (FR2239) at 42,561 services.
He was bred by Fabian Jacob, of Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny and has an EBI of €260.
His dam, Diamond GFO Aine, produced 8,795kg of milk at 3.64pc fat and 3.59pc protein in her fourth lactation over 355 days and has yielded 35,019kg at 3.84pc fat and 3.52 pc protein over five lactations.
The highest EBI bull on the listings for 2019 usage was another Co Kilkennybred bull, Ballygown Albert, from Seamus Knox’s herd in Piltown.
‘Super star’
He is described as an ‘elite’ of the breed and a ‘superstar’ for solids with his dam ‘Lucy’ having yielded 1,169kg fat and 881kg protein at 5.31pc fat and 4.0pc protein over three lactations.
The bulls went through the Dairy Gene Ireland programme, highlighting its success for testing and getting these young highgenetic-merit bulls onto the active list for widespread use.
An ICBF spokesperson said the top 10 bulls as a team have “an average EBI of €250 between them, with an average milk sub-index of €87, and on the fertility sub-index, they have a team average of €105”.
“As a team they have a good balance between milk and fertility. Fertility is crucial
In the genes:
The dam of the ICBF’s 2019 top ranking bull – Nextgen PHC Eimer 557 – has yielded 8,079kg of milk in her fourth lactation; (left) Diamond GFO Aine, the dam of Diamond Anton, the second most used bull in 2019 in a grass-based system as we need a compact calving season to match the grass growth curve to produce as much milk as possible from grass.”