Australian Holstein legend DELSANTO passed away recently aged 12 years from heart failure.
DELSANTO was one of the oldest bulls in active service at Genetics Australia.
DELSANTO was one of a number of INFORMER sons at Genetics Australia and was renowned for siring cows with tremendous strength, capacity and milk components with medium stature and in this respect, he is a complete contrast to many of the imported sires available today.
His genetics have stood the test of time and he still ranks in the top 1% of the population for BPI, TWI, HWI and is in the top 2% for udders.
He currently has just short of 2500 daughters in his production proof and is set to add many more over the next few years. His semen has been exported internationally to the USA, Europe, New Zealand, Latin America and South Africa.
DELSANTO was bred by Ian and Peter Willcocks of Manna Farm Holsteins and comes from their outstanding “D” family. His dam, grand-dam and great grand-dam are great examples of the “Australian Cow” and his great grand-dam, Manna Farm Apollo Dee is a former Australian Cow of the Year.
DELSANTO’s legacy is already being felt through a number of sons including rising star PICOLA. PICOLA is the sire of a dozen or so sons at Genetics Australia and next year there will be great grand-sons of DELSANTO included in our genomic young sire line up.
The impact of DELSANTO and his unique mix of genetics will be felt for years through his descendants. He will be remembered as a great sire of the “Australian kind of cow”.