While sexed semen is not a new technology in the beef industry, it is maturing and finding its place in the toolbox of progressive cattle producers. Early versions of sexed semen presented fertility concerns or an unacceptable gender skew rate that was not effective for a broad spectrum of producers. However, as with all new technologies, sexed semen has continued to evolve and improve. Today, sexed semen is available on a wide selection of sires and performs at a fertility level encouraging the most skeptical operators to give it a try. With thoughtful management, sexed semen can be successfully incorporated into fixed-time artificial insemination (A.I.) programs.
Our contemporaries in the dairy industry have evolved to using female sexed semen to create replacements and implementing male sexed beef semen to make a more valuable byproduct. Ultimately, the choice to use sexed semen is about the ability to more precisely control the outcome of every mating.
Who hasn’t said, “I’d love to have a daughter of that cow” or wished for more steers to sell when opening your calf check?
Sexed semen gives you the power to create both of those outcomes. Whether it’s in a small herd, seedstock or commercial scenario, sexed semen allows you to make more of your most valuable product from your limited resources. Sexed semen can easily swing the gender skew of your calf crop to 60% or more of your desired calf sex. Take a moment and think about the impact of having an additional 10% or more of your most valuable product from essentially the same resources and inputs. The following are examples of the creative ways producers are leveraging genetic selection tools and sexed semen to reach their strategic objectives.
Creating more marketable bull calves
For many seedstock producers, particularly west of the Mississippi River, the most valuable calf they can create each year is a marketable bull calf. For them, the value difference between a bull and a heifer is in the thousands of dollars. Most producers operate in an environment of constrained resources, making it difficult, if not impossible, to increase cow herd capacity. Sexed semen is a tool with the power to generate a higher proportion of the annual calf crop as bulls, from the same base cow herd and feed resources.
Depending on estrus synchronization and heat detection implemented, producers can easily achieve a 60% to 65% male calf crop by incorporating sexed semen on a portion of the cows at first service. For producers willing to heat detect and rebreed with male sexed semen, the skew can be even more pronounced. Ultimately, the production of bulls should be balanced with the need for quality replacement heifers, but there is certainly room to manipulate the gender skew without detriment to replacement female selection.
Generating more steer calves
Like seedstock producers, the most valuable calf to hit the ground every spring for many commercial cow-calf operations is male. Factor in price per pound and the added weight of steers at weaning, and you’ll likely find that the total value difference between steer and heifer calves today is at an all-time high. With judicious use of male sexed semen in a fixed-time A.I. program, producers can reasonably swing the distribution of the total calf crop to another 10% to 15% steers. For some producers, the additional proportion of steers may help them reach the tipping point to create a full semi-load lot of steer calves and help them capture even larger price premiums.
For most producers, the prospect of creating a higher percentage of male calves born to virgin heifers would be a mixed blessing. While the added performance of steer calves would certainly be welcomed, the knowledge that the average bull calf is born heavier might raise some concerns about calving difficulty in heifers. That said, the number of highly proven bulls with exceptional Calving Ease Direct and low Birth Weight expected progeny differences (EPDs), coupled with explosive performance, is better than ever. Progressive producers are leveraging male sexed semen from sires like these to reliably generate easily born male calves that still have exceptional growth potential.
The most valuable application of sexed semen
Perhaps the most valuable application of sexed semen is in the precise creation of replacement females. Imagine creating your replacement heifers precisely from the right cows in your herd. Then, imagine all those replacement heifers being born on essentially the first day of the calving season. Female sexed semen gives you the power to do just that, compounding the impact of retaining early-born heifers with genetic selection for fertility and longevity.
When you can predict a female outcome with greater than 90% accuracy, you can laser focus your genetic selection toward creating a replacement female with the genetic and phenotypic makeup best suited to your production system. Depending on your expected replacement rate, this can easily be accomplished by inseminating less than 60% of your cows and heifers with female sexed semen. This opens up the remainder of your matings (both A.I. and natural service) to be more focused on performance and end-product merit.
A successful outcome with sexed semen is not to be taken for granted, but with thoughtful planning and strategic use, it can be a powerful tool. Research has shown that sexed semen is used most efficiently in females that have displayed estrus at the time of insemination. In fixed-time A.I., this means sexed semen should ideally only be used in cows that have shown heat by the time of insemination. Estrus detection aids – patches, tail paint or electronic heat detection – can make the process of identifying the right candidates clear and simple. Consider using estrus synchronization protocols with high estrus response rates such as 7&7 Synch to increase the number of females eligible for sexed semen.
Split-time A.I. protocols also increase the percentage of females displaying estrus by the time of breeding. If you can heat detect and breed cows, target the insemination window between 16 and 22 hours after the onset of estrus for best results. Finally, stacking the deck for fertility by using sexed semen in mature females who are in good body condition with adequate time post-calving can help ensure a positive outcome.
Today’s sexed semen quality and availability are inspiring progressive cattle producers to rethink its application. In a world of increasing production costs and limited availability of grazing land, sexed semen is another tool in your belt to help you more efficiently utilize the resources at hand.
Whether you are new to the concept or revisiting the idea, I would encourage everyone to consider how sexed semen might help you generate a calf crop more tailored to your marketing and replacement female needs.
