Springhaven Biddy 162 EX90 (pictured), owned by Robert Troy Jnr. from Newtownshandrum, Co. Cork, is the top EBI cow in the country with an EBI of €382.40. She is a Holstein cow currently in her 10th lactation with an average calving interval of 367 days. As well as having an EBI of €382 she also has an average lifetime production of 50,573kgs milk, 4.20% Fat and 3.48% Protein. She is sired by Bagworth Zander Keet (BWZ).
Interestingly, the top three cows are all from different dairy breeds. Second on the list is a Swedish Red cow owned by James Lynch, Cappagh, Co. Waterford with an EBI of €381.91. This cow is also on her 10th lactation. She is sired by Backgard (BGX). Third on the list is an 8th lactation Jersey cow with an EBI of €379 owned by James Murphy, Whitechurch, Co. Cork. This cow is sired by Mitchells Likabull SJ3 (MKU).
Unsurprisingly, the listing included 46 entries from Mooreparks ‘Next Geneation Herd’, a Teagasc herd established in 2012 to evaluate EBI genomic selection. This herd gives a forward view of where the national herd will be 10 years from now.
Other herds that feature strongly include; David Lonergan, Ballyduff, Co. Waterford with 43 cows, Kieran Hearne, Carrick-On-Suir, Co. Waterford, Shane Maxwell, Lismore, Co. Waterford, and Pat Ryan, Cappagh, Co. Waterford with 39 cows each. Table 1 below displays the Top 11 herds.
The sires most prominent on the list include Hazael Eminence Dano-ET (HZO) with 135 daughters. O-BEE MANFRED JUSTICE ET TV TL (OJI) with 131 daughters and Caldwells JORDANAIRE (CWJ) with 99. The top 10 represented sires are shown in the table below.
In total there are 157 cows with an EBI greater than €300. There are 786 cows genotyped which makes up about 40% of all cows listed. Of the 2,000 cows on the list there are 115 classified VG or EX. The average EBI of the Top 2,000 cows is €270 with €72 coming from the Milk Sub-Index and €160 from the Fertility Sub-Index. They have an average parity of 5.2 lactations. The list contains 10 different breeds including Ayrshire, Friesian, Holstein, Jersey, Montbelliarde, MRI/MRY, Norwegian Red, Rotbunte, Danish Red and Swedish Red.
The Top 2,000 cows cand be found in the Genetic Evaluation – Dairy Results page, or click on the following link to download the file directly – Top 2000 Cows on EBI
Check to see if any of your cows make the list!