Fluke

Export – sire profile:

He is a Holstein-Friesian sire that might never have been. Now marketed by AmBreed the very likeable ‘commercial farmer’s dream’ Ngaio Hugo Fluke is not the product of any formal progeny test program and was initially marketed by the breeding company Liberty Genetics, a company specialising in lower cost unproven bulls.

Housed at AmBreed, when Fluke’s first in-milk daughters indicated a potential graduate was in the making in late 2005 AmBreed took over his marketing, and in partnership with Liberty, began promoting him as a proven sire in 2006.

Not being part of a Progeny Test program meant daughter numbers in Fluke’s initial proof were low despite the widespread use he had received as a low cost sire, being particularly popular in large herd operations. His first production proof was based on 33 daughters in 10 herds in early 2006 when catalogued with Traits Other than Production (TOP) data trickling in as herds with daughters were identified. Over the following two seasons his proof has increased to 108 daughters in 29 herds, with 42 daughters TOP.

Despite this, uptake was quick on this sire, with farmer likeability proving a powerful marketing tool. Fluke’s popularity was based around his siring predominantly black, moderate sized cattle that were great shed cows with good udders and high fertility. He also was a ‘dual index’ bull, ranking extremely high on both NZMI (New Zealand Merit Index), and BW (Breeding Worth).

Fluke’s second crop daughters are expected in 2009, but until then the bull is showing every sign of solidifying his ‘farmer likeability’ as more daughters are added to his proof and his ‘commercial’ traits steadily climb. His current NZMI of 288 ranks him in the top 5 Holstein Friesians, and BW 256 in the top 20. Fluke’s production breeding values of 1326 litres milk, 3.7%, 50kg protein, and 4.7%, 60kg fat are currently matched with an exceptional figure for Fertility BV 2.3 (breed average being –1.0), and well above average scores for Farmer Opinion 0.63, and Udder Overall .71. Daughters continue to be above average for all shed traits, and slightly below average for stature, with all other type traits and Somatic Cell Count matching breed average. To round off his commercial ‘flavour’ Fluke can also be used as a calving ease sire, scoring slightly below average for this trait.

The last bull calf!

When examining Fluke’s background there is certainly some irony in the emergence of this sire. Bred by the long established Ngaio Holstein-Friesian stud of Jim and Elizabeth Montgomerie, Hamilton, he was the last bull calf kept before the stud closed their doors and dispersed in 2003. His registered name of ‘Fluke’ (meaning coincidence, or stroke of luck) has since caused much amusement for his breeders with his subsequent climb to fame! Jim recalls trying to develop young bulls for progeny test over his career with varying success, and remembers the bull calf Fluke initially not grabbing the attention of any AB organisations until Liberty Genetics was approached.

Fluke’s breeding is predominately New Zealand bloodlines. His popular sire, SRB Collins Royal Hugo is 95% NZ whilst his Skelton dam descends via a Turepo Gold Bryce cow, from two lines of the highly influential Athol Famous Prefect. Jim recalls Fluke’s dam, Ngaio Skelton Flake EX, as being “a cowman’s delight – the first cow onto the platform, a fast milker with perfect temperament. She sold at our dispersal for a rather modest $2000.”

Since the stud’s dispersal, Jim and Elizabeth’s son now milks on the family farm, with of course many Fluke daughters in his herd. Jim watches these with interest commenting that, “Bovine improvement is an intriguing business. It will be interesting to see if this sire has a small part to play.”

Fluke continues to be a prominent sire for AmBreed with his sales now exceeding 200,000 straws and climbing. His semen is now exported to 10 countries with the first overseas in-milk daughters expected early 2009 in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Fiji and South Africa. Fluke’s first genomically selected sons will be sampled this year in AmBreed’s 2008 inSire FastForward Progeny Test program.