The new index run on 3 December highlights a selection of bulls which are notable for their broad versatility within the herd. CRV offers top-quality bulls with outcross pedigrees, as well as bulls with excellent scores for efficiency, health and lifetime production.
CRV’s winter offering won’t leave farmers out in the cold. A rock-solid selection of bulls lays the foundations for healthy economic results. Many of them are highly versatile, which simplifies bull selection. The breeding figures Better Life Efficiency and Better Life Health are now enriched by integrating the new breeding values for feed intake (Better Life Eficiency) and ketosis (Better life Health). Further explanation of the Better Life figures can be found in the appendix.
Best outcross bulls
The new index run highlights no fewer than four top-quality bulls which are notable for their outcross pedigrees. Koepon General, Big Spell and Delta Vitality all have lineages free of the most widely used bull sires in recent years.
Koepon General (O-Daddy x Jeeves, 298 NVI) is a model of versatility. Apart from an outcross pedigree, this black-and-white InSire Top Bull has excellent scores for both health
(+ 7%) and efficiency (+9%). General combines these scores with very good longevity (+689 days), high fertility (106), claw health (105) and excellent udder health (108). To cap it all, he has a magnificent conformation score (111 total, with 112 for udder). Delivering more than the full package, he is expected to be widely used in many herds.
Big Spell (Bertil x Ramos, 293 NVI) is a black-and-white daughter-tested bull who combines good components (+0.46% fat and +0.19% protein) with great type (113 total, 115 for udder and 110 for legs). Daughters of this Bertil son are also very fertile (106) and boast excellent udder health (107) and efficient production (+7%). Spell comes from a cow family in which good components, longevity and udder quality are firmly established. Spell has a unique lineage in the male line (Bertil x Ramos x Canvas x Julius x Lava).
The daughters of Delta Vitality (Gibor x Ramos, 231 NVI) really show their qualities. They produce lots of milk (+1265 kg) from very healthy udders (106). Their milk production is efficient (+7%) and they have an excellent claw health (104). Vitality is a calving ease bull.
The black-and-white Elagaaster Heath (Diamond x Jordan, 179 NVI) sires daughters that produce very efficient (Better Life Efficiency +8%). They are capable of achieving high lifetime yields, since Heath transmits excellent longevity (+ 587 days) and very good milk production (+897 kg). He is a calving ease bull (105) and he is a specialist on claw health (107). Heath comes out of a cow family in which high lifetime yields and high proteïn levels are firmly anchored.
Both healthy and efficient
As an InSire Top Bull, Delta G-Force (Man-O-Man x Jordan, 288 NVI) was already a very popular black-and-white bull both at home and abroad. His daughters are proving that the farmers who used him early on made the right decision. With excellent milk production (+1041 kg of milk) and good components, G-Force daughters guarantee extremely high fat and protein yields (+115 kg). G-Force takes longevity (+555 days) and, with it, lifetime production to a higher level. In addition, his daughters produce very efficiently (+12%) and he has an excellent score for calving ease (107). Due to his early popularity, the number of daughters of G-Force in his breeding value calculation is already on a high level and will rise quickly.
Poppe Timeless (Aram x Snowman, 311 NVI) is a red-and-white InSire Top Bull and a good bull to use to improve the lifetime production of the herd. He does this by combining high milk production (+1205 kg) with excellent longevity (+750 days). Timeless scores very high for type (115), thanks in part to an excellent score for udder (113) and legs (109) . Timeless passes on good efficiency in milk production (+8% ) and is also a good bull to use to improve udder health (105) and claw health (104).
Black-and-white and red-and-white top for polled trait
Caudumer Powerplay PP RF (Parker P x Magna P, 244 NVI) is a black-and-white InSire bull with the red factor. He is one of the world’s top available bulls passing on the polled condition and is homozygous for this trait. This means that all of his offspring will be polled.
Powerplay also scores well on both Better Life Health (+7%) and Better Life Efficiency (+7%). He is also noted for his high scores for calving ease (112), udder health (107) and fertility (104). With excellent milk production (+758 kg) and longevity (+440 days), Powerplay’s offspring will be capable of high milk yields. Moreover, this trait is firmly established in the Lol cow family of Caudumer Holsteins that Powerplay comes from.
