Sexed semen accounted for over 20% of dairy AI serves in 2024
The use of sexed semen has significantly increased on dairy herds over recent years, visitors to the Ballyhaise’24 – Dairy Open Day heard, with such serves accounting for over 20% of dairy AI in 2024.
Sexed semen, the usage of which has increased 50% in only two years, is one of the key measures dairy farmers can use to increase their genetic gain by intensively selecting which cows are selected to be the dams of future replacements. Additionally, it reduces the reliance on conventional dairy semen which typically results in about 50% dairy male offspring.
When first introduced, some farmers were sceptical about the use of sexed semen due to the lowering of conception rates. However, an analysis over five years of field data from the ICBF shows that the relative performance of sexed semen compared to conventional semen is 92% (Figure 1). This indicates a significant improvement in the technology over the last five years and this improvement has resulted in increased uptake of sexed semen at farm level.
Figure 1: Pregnancy rate for conventional (Conv) and sexed (SS) semen (using raw and adjusted values)
Beef usage
Additionally, the increased uptake of sexed semen has contributed to a rise in the use of beef bulls on the dairy herd resulting in a greater proportion of beef x dairy offspring entering the market, while beef sired calves are also coming earlier in the season.
As shown in figure 2, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of beef inseminations within the dairy herd.
Figure 2: Use of beef semen on dairy females
Indeed, this year marks the first time the number of beef calves born from dairy cows has surpassed the number of dairy calves born from dairy cows during the peak spring calving season, with over 53% of the calves born by April 20 being beef x dairy progeny.
Margaret Kelleher and Anthony Mulligan pictured at the Ballyhaise'24 Dairy Open Day
Furthermore, by using sexed semen, farmers can increase the use of high beef merit semen on dairy cows, leading to calves with higher Commercial Beef Value (CBV). This not only enhances the profit potential for dairy farmers but also benefits beef farmers with calves that have a reduced age to slaughter and require fewer inputs throughout their lifetime.
This article was adapted for use on Teagasc Daily from the paper titled: ‘A modern breeding strategy for high profit dairy farming, written by Margaret Kelleher, Mark Waters and Kevin Dowling, ICBF, and Anthony Mulligan, Teagasc, and published in the Ballyhaise’24 – Dairy Open Day book.