Hi,
It’s mid-October and this is always a time of year I enjoy – watching the new season’s bulls begin to get their daughter proof. This year it’s the turn of the 23-codes. Most of the Sire Proving Scheme herds have had at least one herd test (if not two), and this information is now flowing through into the RAS List and updating after every AE run. Bear in mind, though, that TOP scores for the daughters of these bulls will still be feeding into a bull’s ‘proof’ and will potentially change the values for traits like Udder Overall as more daughters go through the TOP process.
There is often a large amount of hype around these new graduates by the various companies, who vigorously extoll the bull’s virtues and BW as being the ‘next big thing’. We’ve actually published an article on our website about this very topic (One Swallow doesn’t make Spring). The crux of the article is this: stay the course! Don’t get sucked in by the hype surrounding a bull’s early proof from a limited number of daughters with a limited amount of production and TOP data behind them; lactation persistency and decent udders are what help pay the bills. Genetics is a long-term game, so why would you risk the potential for
a) substandard production and
b) poor udders for a handful of heifer calves on the ground one year early?
It doesn’t make sense.
23-code bulls on my radar
Friesian
- The RAS list for Friesians continues to be dominated by overseas genetics, with those bulls holding 5 out of the top 10 spots. As to be expected, their Udder Overall BV’s are far superior to that of the NZ bulls. In fact, the average Udder Overall BV of the NZ-bred bulls in that top 10 is only 0.19! The best NZ-bred bull in the current top 10 is 122952 Lucifer from Matriarch Genetics, with an Udder Overall of 0.73. Lucifer has been a consistent performer over the last 12 months, and it’s nice to see his 3YO daughters continuing to do the business this season.
- There are a couple of 23-code NZ bulls who have caught my eye between numbers 11-20 on the RAS List, but the jury’s out about their ability to produce over a whole season. Certainly no concerns from me about their udders (0.77 and 1.08 respectively), but there are some red flags around their LWT and Capacity BV’s that could play a significant role in their lactation persistency (especially if we experience an El-Nino weather pattern this summer).
XB
- One bull stands out early on in the peace for the 23-code graduates – 523001 Salvation. Salvation is an F8J8 bull weighing 530kg and stacking 94kg of combined F+P into that frame. That level of production is also supported by an Udder Overall of 1.08. Even though his Udder Overall figure is based on having only 23 TOP-inspected daughters so far, it would take some exceptionally poor results from future daughters to shift that downwards to a level where you’d cross him off the list. The challenge for Salvation will be to maintain that level of early production as we head into seed head emergence and declining pasture quality later in the year.
- This time last season we unearthed 522036 Beastie from #17 on the RAS List, based on his exceptional Capacity and Rump Width BV’s, as well as his early-season Udder Overall score. He then proceeded to shoot to #2 on the RAS List by the end of November, and stay inside the Top 5 for the remainder of the season. Based on the early TOP scores for the 23-code graduates, I can’t see anything replicating Beastie’s meteoric rise; certainly not when you also take Udder Overall into account.
Jersey
- The breed everyone loves to hate on! Small Jerseys tend to dominate the RAS List because of how their BW is calculated, and this year is no exception. Every year I live in hope of seeing another 314004 Floyd or 321538 Hallmark, but sadly those sorts of bulls don’t tend to come along very often (or get bought by AB companies).
- There are some handy bulls on BW from the 23-code graduates in the Top 10 for Jerseys, but all of them are small (460kg, 445kg, and 450kg respectively). Most farmers who entertain the concept of using Jersey in their herds want a BIG Jersey bull, not something small and frail that blows away in a strong breeze! Sadly, this seems to be falling on deaf ears at an industry level.
- What makes the Jersey breed even more challenging is that none of the overseas-bred bulls have managed to crack the RAS List yet; not in the same way overseas-bred Friesians have. This narrows down farmers’ choices to homegrown bulls only.
- 321951 Castro is currently sitting atop the RAS List for Jerseys. Like his Matriarch counterpart 122952 Lucifer, Casto has been a consistent performer over the last 12 months. He’s filled a spot for us this season as an ‘All-rounder’ in our Jersey herds, and I think it would take an exceptionally strong performance by any of the 23-code graduates to knock him off his perch (bearing in mind that Castro weighs 20-30kg more than the aforementioned 23-codes, which will be impinging on his BW due to how liveweight is account for in BW, i.e. as a negative value)
Looking back on the NOTAM I wrote this time last year, the word I used to sum up the current state of the RAS List was ‘indifferent’. Nothing much has changed in 12 months! Each of the breeds seems to have a couple of good 23-code graduates, but then no supporting cast.
What hurts the most is when I look at the substandard Udder Overall scores of some those bulls in the Top 10 (particularly in the NZ-bred Friesian space), I know that those bulls have been used extensively in fresh semen ‘teams’ over the last two years. Those genetics are now in farmers herds for the duration of that animal’s life.
I think our strategy going forward is to start believing in Santa again and ask him for better bulls next year! All the very best for mating.
Mark and Louise Benns, and Abby Ross
- Mark: 027 270 2403 or mark@yourwingman.co.nz
- Abby: 027 946 4626 or abby@yourwingman.co.nz