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will maxwell Profile
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Ex96

Registered: 06-2003
Location: Augher
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Re: Re:


quote:

Moorcastle wrote:

We had 50% on selected cows last year, not doing as many this year because we had a mega run of heifer calves from conventional semen this winter, maybe not a bad complaint but when you have 60 cows and 55 females not in milk in the current climate they can fairly eat into your milk cheque. Again high SCR rates need looked at before deciding on sexed semen, high fine for cows, lower heifers only for the best chances of pregnancies, obviously don't breed high scc, lame or low energy/ketotic/acidotic cows to sexed for best results.



Do you not think that with the majority of dairy farmers using more beef on dairy because of the milk price at the moment, there is a potential market next year for more dairy heifers?

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Please Sir, I want some more, cos as we all know 'every little helps'!
17/4/2016, 22:52 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
Moorcastle Profile
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EX94

Registered: 11-2010
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Re:


Honestly.... no
Last year I noticed a major increase in dairy semen being used. Some farmers may need replacements bought in, some farmers may still be expanding, some may be had a clear out due to tuberculosis and need to restock but the question is, if milk prices continue to fall, the price of stock will be cheap too, there will be plenty of animals out there for the commercial farmer at affordable prices.
18/4/2016, 0:21 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
Moorcastle Profile
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EX94

Registered: 11-2010
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Re:


Many more farmers turning to sexed semen to keep a closed herd and not buy in replacements, most men doing this tho do sweep with a beef bull/ai, some farms are going this route due to nitrates as well and others to get a future block calving pattern tightened up again.
18/4/2016, 0:32 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
mckeague Profile
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Ex 97 2E

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Re: Sexed semen conception rates????


do you not think that the risk with poorer conception rates is detrimental in a block calving scenario, Moorcastle?

I agree with your points on how it should be used and we have got fairly good results in the past, but also poor results - the type of spring we get seems to have a large bearing on conception rates.

not planning on using sexed again because we find if we get enough cows in calf early to dairy bulls we generally have enough heifer calves on the ground. And thankfully herd fertility seems to be improving so we are getting 70-75% of cows in calf to dairy.

A few beef bred calves at the end of the calving season is good for cashflow

I've just ensured we have the worst run of bull calves ever next year haven't I!! emoticon

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Reproduction drives production
20/4/2016, 10:17 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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EX94

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Re:


Anyone could argue yes and no to block calving and sexed semen usage. Environment, management, semen preparation and nutrition are so variable. But for an example..

Say a 100 head spring calving cows are due in February to start, technically it is your most fertile cows due first, say they held to first or second service 9 month's ago, well if they transition well, don't get any infection, stay in positive energy, surely they are worth a shot of sexed semen at first or second heat. By time remainder of herd calves in, say end of April, those cows that calved in at the start will have probably had a service or two by now. Say June, those first cows could/should have been pregnancy scanned, that would give you a good guide as to how many pregnancies to sexed you have, and knowing that, then if you calve your animals in at 2 years old you know your going to have a block batch of heifers coming in the future, and it allows you to use more beef for cash flow and out of season heifer calves, and if you use triple mix beef, your later cows in theory should go in calf sooner and tighten the block period up. But again attention to detail, always ask yourself... is the cow clean, is she in positive energy? Has she sore feet? Has she had mastitis or a high cell count? Body condition good enough? All these wee things can add up to poor conception rates with any semen, sexed or not, but if the management and environment factors are fine... your good to go.

Last edited by Moorcastle, 20/4/2016, 19:46
20/4/2016, 19:44 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
mckeague Profile
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Ex 97 2E

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Re:


All very valid points Moorcastle

What I see here in ROI is that the block spring calving herds with the best fertility don't use or don't need to use sexed to have enough heifers on the ground (in my discussion group anyway, but trend seems nationwide).

However I would like to bet that if the conception rates with sexed were on a par with conventional semen, a lot of these farms would used sexed provided they could get the best bulls available, which given our population size here is quite difficult - the best bulls for a grass based system have such a demand for conventional that it doesn't pay to send them off to be sexed.

Who wouldn't want to have their 20 - 25 (100 cow herd) replacements born in February and the remainder of the herd get beef, its win win

Is triple mix beef proven to give higher conception rates? What breeds are generally used and are they all going to be short gestation breeds?

Have used an angus bull and Blue last season, angus were dropping 10 days early, blues carrying on average 4 days - that makes a big difference to calving interval

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Reproduction drives production
21/4/2016, 10:43 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
Moorcastle Profile
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EX94

Registered: 11-2010
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Re:


Don't get me wrong a lot of farms do have good runs of heifer calf rates with conventional, not being big headed but between mid December and end of January I had 23 calves born, 18 heifer calves, 13 of which to conventional semen, 3 to a stock bull and 2 to sexed semen(a second and third calver)

If the fertility is good and you'd want the 20-25 block heifer calves and the rest beef surely that's a no brainer to try it

Triple mix beef is advertised as a fertility resource, 3 different breeds in 1 straw compete to fertilise the egg, general chat up here would be if Hereford is in the straw it usually wins, good swimmers

Availability of sexed semen not too much of an issue these days, yes totally agree, some companies may not sex their most popular bulls due to supply and demand, other companies will do, sometimes price may be questioned, but if you compare what isn't "hot" and available sexed, to what fits your criteria and is available sexed 10 maybe 15 euro a straw at the time would not be dear, plus sire conception rates, they say a bull +3.0 will save you £2 per point so £6 in total, obviously that's saved as less cows are repeating less straws used etc.

Last edited by Moorcastle, 21/4/2016, 15:33
21/4/2016, 11:54 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
mckeague Profile
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Ex 97 2E

Registered: 06-2003
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Re:


You've hit the proverbial nail on the head there Moorcastle - fitting the criteria - sadly very very few bulls in this country that have sexed semen actually fit that criteria

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Reproduction drives production
21/4/2016, 12:10 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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EX94

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Re:


Brewmaster and Grafeeti are available in the roi through wws as far as I'm aware, and both are sexed, they fit grazing systems
21/4/2016, 15:47 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 
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Ex 97 2E

Registered: 06-2003
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Re:


Brewmaster is €55 on his Fertility Sub-Index, I wouldn't entertain anything less than €140. He is also negative for protein %, I could never use a bull that will breed daughters whose milk would be worth less than the base price -that's financial suicide!!

Grafeeti is even lower for Fertility Sub-Index and also a negative on protein %, couldn't use him either

We possibly have a different view on what type of bull fits a grazing system!!

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Reproduction drives production
22/4/2016, 21:24 Link to this post PM via Email   PM via Forum
 


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