SEX-SORTED semen for BEEF?

[K-SHIRES]

Sex - sorted semen is gaining acceptance in the dairy industry, with Holstein and Jersy sires available now. Are any Beef producers using this technology ? Is Product available?

For those of you that AI BEEF, what are your thoughts on using this on your operation?

 

[dun]

Talked to a dairyan yesterday baout it. He uses Semen from Semex, and Select Sires, not sure who else. He din;t mention who the sexed semen was from but the information he was given was 20% conception and only used on virgin heifers, $80 a unit. With those conception rates it won;t be used very much around here. When the percentage comes up even if the price goes up a little he'll consider using it.
For beef, if the concetion rate can equal unsexed and the price is in the $80 range it may get some use, but I don;t think it would every be particularly common useage.

dun

 

[certherfbeef]

If the conception rate goes up a good bit I can see the steer jocks around here using it pretty heavy. I'll even bet that they would be using it in a flush or two.

 

[cypressfarms]

I'm waiting for the day when the world's finest bulls pre-sexed semen are used to fertilize the world's finest eggs.

Then you just need a good recip.

I think that this is closer than we may realize. Then the worry would be diversity of the gene pool.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Haven't heard prices or conception rates - but supposed to be 80% of one sex. (expect 80% heifers or 80% bulls from sexed semen). They're not talking 100% sexed.

 

[certherfbeef]

Haven't heard prices or conception rates - but supposed to be 80% of one sex. (expect 80% heifers or 80% bulls from sexed semen). They're not talking 100% sexed.

80% is still better than 50% if you have a market for steers.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I'm waiting for the day when the world's finest bulls pre-sexed semen are used to fertilize the world's finest eggs.

Then you just need a good recip.

I think that this is closer than we may realize. Then the worry would be diversity of the gene pool.

Thats a trainwreck looking for a spot to happen, we will be more screwed up than Angus genetics in every breed or the dairy industry.

 

[djwalker]

Genetic Resource International has a few beef bulls available. I don't know the exact price of the semen, but I thinksemen will cost about $50-100 more than a unsorted straw from the bull in question. More information on cost may be available from companies that have sorted sperm for sale.

Conception rates in beef cattle appear to be similar, roughly 10% lower as compared to unsexed semen. However, the trade off is about 90% sex selection accuracy.

I think application of this technology on a beef operation depends on the operation. If you have a HUGE price advantage for producing one sex versus the other, it may be worth it. But for most general commercial beef producers, the cost is probably prohibitive, at least for now.

For my money, I would only use it on elite embryo donor cows where bulls or heifers from that bloodline are worth a lot or if I was producing embryos in an incubator, where I could fertilize hundreds of eggs with one straw of semen. One other thing to keep in mind is that the sexed straws are packaged at lower concentrations than unsexed straws, so that may affect how it is used.

Josh

 

[jersey lilly]

Genetic Resources International
22575 SH6 South
Navasota, Texas 77868
936.870.3960 ofc.
936.870.3963 fax


This company sexes beef semen. I haven't used it, but talked to them and they do both sexed semen and embryos.

 

[topsquar]

how can they sex semen??? dont you mean sexed embryo's? when the semen fertilises the egg it then becomes an embryo, that embryo then develops, at a stage in the embryo's development you can then sex it,? how do you sex semen this thread does'nt make sence, can someone educate me on this. :roll: :roll:

 

[dun]

how can they sex semen??? dont you mean sexed embryo's? when the semen fertilises the egg it then becomes an embryo, that embryo then develops, at a stage in the embryo's development you can then sex it,? how do you sex semen this thread does'nt make sence, can someone educate me on this. :roll: :roll:

There are X and Y sperm cells. They separate out the two different types.

Here's a little more information
http://www.colostate.edu/dept/aes/Pubs/ ... eidel.html

 

[jersey lilly]

Yeap Dun's right, they can determine whether a sperm is X or Y. Females (cows) only carry the X Chromosome. So if you go and buy nothin but Y sperms to AI your cows with, then you'll have all bulls, if you buy all X sperms you'll have all heifers.

 

[K-SHIRES]

The mass(or weight) of male and female sperms are just enough different that they can separate(sort) the two using a very precise centrifuge. the companies doing this are talking 88-90% accuracy using this technology. Probably be primarily used by Holstein dairy farmers to produce more heifers.

 

[Beef11]

Normal semen is packed at 20-50 million sperm cells typically. Sexed semen boasts 2 million with lower than average motility. Sexed semen is not recomended for cows and conception numbers are hazy and hard to get real verifiable data?

 

[lgfarms]

I have also been told by semen rep tha the really popular bulls are not currently being collected for sexed semen. He says it's only done in Texas right now and they will not ship those bulls down there because of concerns with blue tongue, etc. Could be hot air?