NZ dairy farmers will next season have ready access to fresh sexed semen and embryos following successful on‐farm trials by breeding companies reports voxy.co.nz.
Thanks to an agreement between US‐based Sexing Technologies, AgResearch and the Waikato Innovation Park , the technology became available this season to artificial breeding and embryo companies to offer farmers fresh sorted semen and embryos for the first time in NZ. Liberty Genetics and Animal Breeding Services (ABS) initiated a trial to evaluate the use of sexed semen in the dairy industry. 4600 inseminations were carried out in the 2009 spring mating period and further trial work is planned. Results from the trial are promising and Liberty Genetics Managing Director, David Hayman, says, "There have been valuable lessons learnt through the trial process, particularly with regards to what is required to achieve acceptable conception rates with sexed semen." ABS is implementing the use of sexed semen in embryo production and can see several promising applications.
The technology provides farmers with the opportunity to accelerate the rate of genetic advancement of their herds. Semen‐sexing technology gives farmers the ability to demand female semen from the best bulls for the top 25% of their herd and get enough replacements from the very best genetics. The outcome of this being a heifer calf from a known sire X dam combination will contribute significantly to productivity and profitability. This also offers the ability to tighten the calf rearing period. The technology also has enormous potential for bull beef farming. Dairy farmers looking to take advantage of sex sorted semen should inquire through their artificial breeding service provider.
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