Sire profile:
OVERDRIVE – In top gear!
It has been the latest race waiting to happen for the Holstein-Friesian breed in New Zealand – that of which new sire from the exciting field of O-Man sons graduating this season via progeny test would get the checkered flag. And what a race! With the great international commercial sire O-Bee Manfred Justice, known as ‘O-Man’, largely under-used by New Zealand dairy farmers due to his cost and availability, attention was turned to his sons to do the job. And with high race expectations the turnout has not disappointed.
One bull in particular has hit the track in top gear for CRV Ambreed - Oakura Oman Overdrive. He encompasses everything O-Man has become world famous for with his exceptional herd management traits alongside super high production. But drop this into a New Zealand cow family with extreme type, udders, production, and longevity and the result is Overdrive, a dynamic new outcross for many kiwi farmers!
Overdrive has a New Zealand Merit Index (NZMI) of 230 and Breeding Worth (BW) 154/78% reliability based on 61 daughters milking in 31 herds. His NZMI ranks him the highest CRV Ambreed Holstein-Friesian graduate for 2010, and whilst his BW is modest (due to siring larger cattle and liveweight being a negative trait) the rest of this bull’s profile can hardly be faulted. Add to this some impressive Breeding Values (BVs) which put him amongst the breed’s elite for certain traits, and it’s not hard to see why he heads the field.
Overdrive daughters love to milk with all shed traits well above average, protein BV 43kg, and a milk BV 1424 litres amongst the breed’s best, testament to this. Overdrive also significantly lowers somatic cell count BV -0.06, his daughter fertility BV 4.5 is well above average, his longevity BV 415 exceptional, and his calving difficulty rating comfortably below average, all commercial trademarks of his O-Man heritage.
But it’s when you consider the impressive package these Overdrive daughters come in that you realize the full potential of this exciting new bull. With 38 daughters so far in his type proof Overdrive is siring large capacious cows with superb udders, as well as having the unique ability to lower pins. His capacity BV 0.75, udder overall BV 1.13 and dairy conformation BV 0.93 all put him amongst the breed’s best for these traits. His liveweight BV 106 will be the only deterrent for some farmers, however there is no doubt the Overdrives will prove their worth in any supplemented pasture or high input production system.
Original kiwi flavour
Examining the maternal line behind Overdrive reveals a cow family from the Oakura stud bred from scratch by Southland breeders Glen and Cherie Taylor. With a predominantly ‘kiwi’ flavour and a dash of overseas bloodlines the family exhibits tremendous longevity, production and type, with superb shed temperament, and epitomises the Oakura approach to breeding superior udders, capacity and production to suit their 300 cow, 120ha medium input farm.
Overdrive’s dam Oakura Pal Reba S3F (sired by Paladium) is classified EX3 and still milking strongly in their Winton herd. Behind her is an exceptional Stardom EX2 cow completing 12 lactations, in turn out of a VG86 President cow. One more generation back is the original ‘R’ cow from the herd first purchased by Glen and Cherie in the early 1990s when they moved south.
Despite being identified early as a bull mother Reba comes from a cow family that is renowned for throwing heifers. Glen comments that the ‘R’ family would now comprise 25% of the registered content of their Oakura herd, and adds that this is entirely from natural births. Reba is the only family member that has been flushed, and only over one season. This makes the emergence of Overdrive an even more special occurrence!
SRB Oakura Pres Ravish VG86
(s. Tangimati AP President)
↓
SRC Oakura Stardom Renae EX2
(s. Hanoverhill Stardom)
↓
Oakura Pal Reba S3F EX3
(s. Valden Curious Paladium)
↓
Oakura Oman Overdrive
(O-Bee Manfred Justice-ET)
Indexes and Breeding Values quoted as per AE run 6/3/2010
