Chiltern Vale Artic has just received a proof and is the first Guernsey bull to break through the +500 GMI barrier.
He is a Glacier son of Wardour RO Fawn 2 Ex 94,who has also regained top spot on GMI in the August proof run (+499), Fawn calved whilst still at Wardour in Dorset in 2001 during the FMD outbreak and was sold with a bunch of calved/in calf heifers to the newly established Chiltern Vale herd of Steven Medlicott’s who replaced his Black and Whites with a Guernsey herd and converted to an Organic system.
The herd manager at Chiltern Vale was Roy Cogman, who had been at Honingham until the herd was dispersed. When Chiltern Vale was sold Roy was given a choice of the herd and picked Fawn as one a select group which travelled with him when he moved to Andover to milk a black and white herd. Fawn produced over 10,000 kgs and classified VG 89 as a second calver and gave birth to Artic.
The wedding of Roy and Wendy’s daughter meant that the Guernsey’s were offered for sale and were bought by Ian Crouch for his Cracker herd at Blandford in Dorset.
Ian showed Fawn at the 2004 Conference show where she stood second to the eventual Champion Trewey Juno 38 and caught the eye of Andrew Hall , then managing the Thornton herd in Cheshire.
He left 14 daughters at Thornton before damaging a foot and was sold, the then Evaluation system could not calculate a PTA for Fawn because of the fact that she kept moving from herd to herd and so Artic although put forward for the GGBP scheme was rejected for “too little information”.
The change to the new system of the Test day model in 2004 , meant that Fawn could now get an evaluation and appeared near the top of the new listings. Unfortunately by this time Artic was not able to enter AI because of his damaged foot.
His proof is as follows :-
+ 431 kgs M + 24.4 kgs F +0.08% F +22.4 kgs P +0.12%P PLI £164 GMI +500
Fawn was seen at Chettle in 2004 by two of the top US breeders who independently recommended a mating to My Day Bliss Banger a Lorry son of the Ex 94 Laeschland Perfect Bliss and produced another son Cracker Banger Boy, who was selected for GGBP in April 07, but then set aside at the October meeting because the “number crunchers” felt there were more bulls selected than would be required.
Banger Boy’s first crop of calves have now been born and share their Grandam’s aggressive appetite which has led to her reaching the GDM ( +5000 kgs of F+P) landmark in her 6th lactation, making the youngest cow ever to have done this.
Fortunately Banger Boy is still available and will probably have semen collected this autumn his GMI has risen to +364, whilst at the same stage Artic was predicted to be +320.