Pierre

Export – sire profile:

Seven years on and one of AmBreed’s finest and most successful Holstein-Friesian bulls is still a popular sire by choice with dairy farmers, now casting his influential bloodlines even deeper into the New Zealand dairy herd via the success of his sons.

The proven power of Top Deck KO Pierre is currently realised by 23,184 daughters in 2,586 herds across the country (May 2008), with his progeny now also making their mark overseas, particularly in Australia where Pierre has proved an attractive outcross to Donor bloodlines, and currently holds the 11th spot on their APR overall index for Holsteins.

Pierre entered AmBreed’s progeny test program in 1999 via the company’s joint venture scheme with the New Zealand Holstein-Friesian Association. Since being introduced to the domestic market as a Spring Forward (early graduate) bull in 2002 his popularity has soared with farmers. And it hasn’t been hard to see why. With 78 and 43 daughters in his first-crop production and type proofs respectively (2003) his daughters gained appeal for their high protein and components, combined with exceptional udders and farmer likeability.

Five years on and over 23,000 (production) and 1844 (type) daughters later Pierre still holds a respectable 54kg protein, has nearly doubled his farmer opinion and milking speed breeding values, and still ranks 10th in the breed for NZMI (New Zealand Merit Index). He scores above breed average for virtually all production and type traits, with his strengths continuing to be components (3.7% protein, 4.5% fat), farmer opinion, and all udder scores, belonging to the small but elite group of bulls in the country that score +1.0 or more for udder overall (breed average 0.42). Pierre matches best with capacious cows, and does require some protection for SCC (somatic cell count).

Knockout son

Pierre’s pedigree marked him for success from the outset. His Dutch sire Etazon Knockout was a bull sorely under-used in New Zealand. Soon after this Mascot son’s transmitting ability to sire exceptional uddered, high producing daughters under our pasture system was realised his semen became limited and the bull later died. Fortunately a limited number of Knockout sons were proven, but it was Pierre who rose to the top to continue the Knockout legacy.

On the other side of the pedigree is an exceptional cow family that has also gone on to make a big impact on the national dairy herd through its sons.  Pierre’s dam Kapawai Mstplan Praire VG89 is the matriarch of a very successful cow family from the now dispersed Kapawai stud of Fyfe and Kris Campbell, Winton, Southland. From a family known for high components Praire produced 397kg P 3.98% and 458kg F 4.56% at 6 yrs. Behind Praire (sired by Nowerland Bell Masterplan) is an EX daughter of Australian Valiant son Elmer (or ‘Vale’).

Four years prior to the Kapawai dispersal in 2000 the Campbells instigated the ‘Top Deck’ syndicate, taking six high profile cows from Kapawai and embarking on an extensive flushing program. Praire was part of this and it was from here that Top Deck KO Pierre was born. Another instrumental flush proved to be that of Jimtown to Praire, giving rise to proven sires Posh, Proud and bull mother Pamper. From here the family’s influence has blossomed, but Pierre has remained the cream.

AmBreed expects total semen sales for Pierre to exceed 500,000 doses this year, with domestic demand rising again since his second-crop daughters came to milk in 2007. Still an excellent semen producer Pierre is now exported to over 14 countries with second calvers already in some, such as Australia where Pierre has enjoyed enormous success. And earlier this year a 3 yr-old Pierre daughter fetched the season’s highest price for a Holstein in New Zealand, selling for $21,000.

Now it is not only his daughters but also his sons that are further enhancing Pierre’s reputation. He is currently represented at AmBreed by sires Flamboyant, Pamment and Beacon along with several bulls in waiting who will ensure the Pierre influence will continue well into the future.