Double R Ranch
Well-known member
Hey all!
So we've always been exclusive to Select Sires. No other reps were willing to come regularly. Have never ordered semen online before. Only direct from our SS rep who came to the ranch and delivered nitrogen, supplies and whatever semen I ordered.
Our rep recently retired, new rep is less than helpful or efficient and select sires is now charging an arm and a leg for nitrogen so it's time to do some changes.
I'm now getting my tank filled via a semi local nitrogen dealer which is much cheaper than Select and seems to be working well enough.
So onto the semen and supplies issues I'm facing.
Breeding season has just ended for us so I'm trying to get it all figured out now so there's no rushing or issues next season.
How easy/hard is it to order online?
Are there any sales (holiday discounts etc) I should keep an eye out for?
When is the "best" time to order as I'm sure there is a busy season for semen companies. How smoothly is it ordering online and what expenses will I need to expect.
What companies do y'all recommend for online ordering?
I've always gone by what my rep sees from sires and have never really figured out the EPD thing. For some reason just can't grasp it. Not too confident in EPD's either as I've used recommended young bulls with "great" epds and had huge calves and poor growers. I only use proven bulls since making that mistake a few times.
Also nervous about branching out away from select sires but all the bulls seem to pretty much be related and I'm having more issues these days getting fresh bulls that aren't related to my cattle.
We're fighting some bad feet (culling hard for that) and not very impressive rears on our last few years of calves. Also having some really high rear ends lately.
Where do you get your breeding supplies? Cidr's, patches, sheaths, lube etc.
Suggestions? Recommendations? Maybe an easy way to learn EPD's? What should I expect in all of this?
Will be looking for both BLK angus heifer bulls and cow bulls.
Thanks in advance!
So we've always been exclusive to Select Sires. No other reps were willing to come regularly. Have never ordered semen online before. Only direct from our SS rep who came to the ranch and delivered nitrogen, supplies and whatever semen I ordered.
Our rep recently retired, new rep is less than helpful or efficient and select sires is now charging an arm and a leg for nitrogen so it's time to do some changes.
I'm now getting my tank filled via a semi local nitrogen dealer which is much cheaper than Select and seems to be working well enough.
So onto the semen and supplies issues I'm facing.
Breeding season has just ended for us so I'm trying to get it all figured out now so there's no rushing or issues next season.
How easy/hard is it to order online?
Are there any sales (holiday discounts etc) I should keep an eye out for?
When is the "best" time to order as I'm sure there is a busy season for semen companies. How smoothly is it ordering online and what expenses will I need to expect.
What companies do y'all recommend for online ordering?
I've always gone by what my rep sees from sires and have never really figured out the EPD thing. For some reason just can't grasp it. Not too confident in EPD's either as I've used recommended young bulls with "great" epds and had huge calves and poor growers. I only use proven bulls since making that mistake a few times.
Also nervous about branching out away from select sires but all the bulls seem to pretty much be related and I'm having more issues these days getting fresh bulls that aren't related to my cattle.
We're fighting some bad feet (culling hard for that) and not very impressive rears on our last few years of calves. Also having some really high rear ends lately.
Where do you get your breeding supplies? Cidr's, patches, sheaths, lube etc.
Suggestions? Recommendations? Maybe an easy way to learn EPD's? What should I expect in all of this?
Will be looking for both BLK angus heifer bulls and cow bulls.
Thanks in advance!