According to Bullsemen.com’s Nick Kirby, these statistics indicate the growing significance of German genetics to the UK dairy farmer and tell just a small part of a larger success story.

“There are now more German-bred Holsteins in the top 100 £PLI than there are bulls from any other single country,” he points out, “and we are now seeing those with UK proofs in the top 10.

“Laudan is a good example, having climbed from 17^th to 2^nd in the latest proof run. He has outstanding reliability, with 20,127 daughters in 6,130 herds globally, and has proved that the performance can be replicated under UK conditions.

“Gibbon-son Gibor is another good example with 8,356 daughters in 3,379 herds globally. He has held his impressive position in the rankings for the second consecutive proof run having been the highest new entry in January 2008.

“Both Laudan and Gibor are typical examples of German Holstein breeding, with very good Lifespan and SCC figures and all the characteristics for breeding cows that will be long-lived and profitable in a modern dairy farming environment. 

“The dairy industry in Germany is substantial with more milk-recorded herds than we have herds in total in the UK. The breeding philosophy was possibly once considered too conservative, but the “no holes” policy of combining a sound balance of type and quality milk production with outstanding management traits is clearly correct for the modern UK dairy farmer.”