Select Sires is excited to announce the availability of gender SELECTed™ SexedULTRA™ 4M semen with twice as many sperm cells as gender SELECTed SexedULTRA on a limited number of sires after the April sire summary.
Over the years, collaborative research efforts between Sexing Technologies and Select Sires have focused on improving sperm survival throughout the process of sex sorting including this new product that contains 4 million cells per straw. Research conducted through Select Sires’ Program for Fertility Advancement™ (PFA™) indicated that there was an improvement (5 to 6 percentage points on average) in conception rate with the use of gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M semen compared to gender SELECTed SexedULTRA, relative to the herds and bulls represented in the study.
“Our research continues to show significant differences in conception rates between conventional semen and both 2 million and 4 million cell sexed semen products,” explains Todd Kranz, Select Sires Inc. chief development officer.
Conception rates with any semen product can vary due to bull differences as well as herd management and environment. The distinguishing difference in fertility is influenced by that variation in addition to the number of inseminations. Unless hundreds of units of semen are used per bull, the true difference in fertility may not be observed.
Select Sires will continue to offer gender SELECTed SexedULTRA in addition to gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M, but no sire will have both products available. In some cases, one full brother will be available in gender SELECTed SexedULTRA with another offered in gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M, giving customers the opportunity to take advantage of the same genetics as different products. Some sires that are available gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M will not have conventional semen available. Sires with gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M semen will be identified with a 509 stud code, while gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M sires in the GenerVations product line will have a 559 stud code. Sires available in gender SELECTed SexedULTRA 4M will be listed in the April 2017 sire directories and identified on the Select Sires website.
Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires Inc., is North America’s largest A.I. organization and is comprised of nine farmer-owned and -controlled cooperatives. As the industry leader, it provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying dairy and beef producers with North America’s best genetics at a reasonable price.
