Frequently Asked Questions
Sexed Semen
How much will sexed semen cost?
At this point we are not sure of production costs, equipment investments, staffing etc. Therefore it is very difficult to determine what the farm gate price will be. It is fair to say that it will be significantly more because we sort only the female cells (50% at best) and it takes much longer to produce one straw of sexed semen compared to normal frozen semen processing methods.
Is sexed semen modified at all in the production process?
No, the X (female) and Y (male) cells are sorted from each other. Otherwise the semen is in its natural state.
What experience does CRV AmBreed have with sexed semen production?
CRV AmBreed is part of the international breeding company CRV that has used this technology successfully internationally amongst CRV AmBreed’s sister companies since 2005.
How effective in conception rates is sexed semen compared to the products we use today?
Overseas data has shown that conception rates are 10-15% lower in cows, where as in virgin heifers the difference is minimal. CRV AmBreed wants to evaluate this under New Zealand conditions first.
What technology is presently being evaluated by CRV AmBreed?
The CRV group of companies, which includes CRV AmBreed, works together with Sexing Technologies which holds the license.
The production method described is flow separation. This is currently the only proven method for semen sexing. There are always advances in technologies, however today this is the only proven commercially viable technology.
How accurate is the sorting of cells during the production process?
This is known as the purity level within a particular sample. To be most effective a straw of sexed semen must be greater than 90% to be given a pass on its purity. A traditional straw of semen is commonly 50% / 50% split of X and Y cells.
How does sexed semen fit in the New Zealand market?
CRV AmBreed is planning to initiate a field trial and evaluate this technology, to determine if it would be cost effective to introduce sexed semen on New Zealand genetics for the New Zealand dairy market.
Why would you use sexed semen compared to traditional semen?
By guaranteeing female progeny farmers will be able to target only higher genetic merit cows for mating to provide replacements and still guarantee required numbers.
There is a worldwide shortage of female progeny especially in the Friesian breed and it would be to breed female progeny to supply this burgeoning market that such an opportunity offers offering a very good return on investment.
For matings of which it is clear no progeny will be kept from, semen guaranteeing a bull calf can be used.
Genomic Selection
What is genomic selection?
It is the combination of current technology with knowledge about an animal’s DNA to predict the genetic value of an animal with greater reliability.
What value does this have for New Zealand dairy farmers?
The implementation of Genomic Selection in the breeding programme of CRV AmBreed will result in faster genetic progress, especially for traits related to fitness: fertility, health and longevity. The use of resulting bulls will accelerate the increase in farm profitability.
How reliable is this technology?
With traditional methods the reliability of young sires is around 35%. With the utilization of Genomic Selection this can be increased to 60-65% already at birth of a bull. In comparison a sire graduating based on a progeny test would have a reliability of around 75% for production traits.
It presently takes four years for a young sire to graduate using normal progeny testing programs. It takes another 4 years to add second crop information to a bull’s proof.
Will CRV AmBreed still be progeny testing young sires?
The efficiency of breeding programmes will be improved using Genomic Selection as there will be more confidence in the genetic merit of each bull taken into progeny test. CRV AmBreed aims for using Genomic Selection for the 2008 young bull team. However it is too early to say how our progeny testing program will be affected. Into the future there might be the opportunity to use teams of genomic-selected young bulls and increase genetic gain even more.
How much will a straw of semen cost having used Genomic selection?
The biggest cost for Genomic selection is DNA profiling of the bulls and the technology is highly knowledge intensive. These costs will change when the technology improves. The impact on semen price is not clear.
