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One aspect the article does not fully address is why so many dairy farmers are using artificial insemination instead of bulls. Partly it's slightly enhanced mil

One aspect the article does not fully address is why so many dairy farmers are using artificial insemination instead of bulls. Partly it's slightly enhanced milk production, but a bigger reason is the availability of sexed semen, allowing farmers to breed roughly 95% heifer calves instead of 50%. This is a big deal for a dairy farm's finances because a cow is much more valuable than a steer. https://www.agweb.com/article/how-it-works-sex-sorted-semen-NAA-university-news-release https://www.agweb.com/article/how-it-works-sex-sorted-semen-... https://www.beefmagazine.com/genetics/0601-sexed-semen-economic-sense https://www.beefmagazine.com/genetics/0601-sexed-semen-econo... It's also a somewhat controversial practice. https://hoards.com/blog-24477-sexed-semen-an-asset-or-a-problem.html https://hoards.com/blog-24477-sexed-semen-an-asset-or-a-prob...

dbcurtis 7y ago
Ha. The number 1 reason AI is popular with dairy farmers? Dairy bulls are more dangerous than you can imagine. Holstein bulls, especially, have a bad, bad, attitude. 2000 pounds of territorial nastiness. Unrepentant killers. Plus, you are working with the cows twice a day, so it is easy to tell when they are in heat. Contrast with the Aberdeen Angus beef cattle that my father bred. Beef bulls are, for whatever reason, fairly mellow. I would walk through the bull lot regularly. Now, I would always keep an eye on the bulls, and calculate how fast I could run to the fence and jump over, but I never received worse than the evil eye and a snorting hoof-stamp. A Holstein would have crushed me 3 times over by then. Also, beef cows generally are left to their own devices out in the pasture, so tracking when they are in heat is challenging making AI much less practical.
- bariumbitmap 7y ago
  That's a good point. I'd also say that Holstein cows are pretty scary; a cow can flip from "this human is fine" to "I'm going to protect my calf by trampling this human to death" with barely any warning. Factors like floor material also matter. On wet concrete, work boots have decent traction but bull hooves don't, so a bull with a nose ring is a little bit less of a threat. On dirt or dry manure, though, watch out.
  - Falling3 7y ago
    > "I'm going to protect my calf by trampling this human to death" Knowing what we do to their calves, I can't say I blame them. They have every reason to try and protect their calves from us.
coryfklein 7y ago
This BLOWS my mind. We have machines that are sorting bull semen PER CELL based on the increased mass of the XX DNA vs XY DNA?! I never would have guessed that this is even possible, let alone that we're already doing it. From your first link: > For sex sorted semen, the ability to shift the gender ratio of a calf crop comes from the fact that gender is determined by the sperm cell that fertilizes the egg. Sperm cells that result in a heifer calf (XX) have more DNA than sperm cells that result in a bull calf (XY). > Of the several attempts to find ways to sort XX and XY sperm cells, the only method proven to be commercially viable is flow cytometry. Before going through the flow cytometer (sorting machine), a fluorescent dye is incorporated into the DNA of the sperm cells. They pass through the sorting machine in drops of liquid containing a single sperm cell per droplet. The machine detects the amount of florescence each cell emits; an XX sperm cell will have more florescence than an XY. A positive or negative charge is applied to the droplet depending on the type of sperm cell in it. Then, the machine can sort them into different collection tubes, based on the charge on the droplet, as it moves through a magnetic field.
tectec 7y ago
This is not true. Artificial insemination was widely used long before sexed semen was available.
- bariumbitmap 7y ago
  I guess it depends on what you mean by "widely used", but all I'm claiming is that sexed semen has had a big economic impact on the industry and helped convince more farmers to adopt artificial insemination. It's not easy to find and correctly interpret solid numbers on this topic, but the USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) survey appears to support a substantial increase in both artificial insemination (for both cows and heifers) and sexed semen (for heifers) between 2007 and 2014. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/monitoring-and-surveillance/nahms/nahms_dairy_studies https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/monit... From the 2007 report: > Although it has been possible to sex and sort semen since the 1980s, the use of sexed semen is still not a common practice. The sorting process is extremely slow, can damage the semen, and greatly reduces the overall semen counts. Consequently, compared with unsexed semen, sexed semen costs more and contains fewer viable sperm per straw, leading to a lower conception rate. Because heifers are generally more fertile, it is recommended that sexed semen be used only in virgin heifers. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy07/Dairy07_dr_PartIV_1.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa... > Artificial insemination (AI) to natural estrus was used for first-service breeding for the majority of heifers on 57.1 percent of operations and the majority of cows on 54.7 percent of operations during the previous 12 months. Natural service (use of bulls for breeding) was the second most common practice used at first service for the majority of heifers and cows (33.2 and 21.7 percent of operations, respectively). > For operations with pregnancies conceived via AI during the previous 12 months, sexed semen was used to inseminate 11.4 percent of heifers and 3.5 percent of cows. Because sexed semen costs more and contains fewer viable sperm per straw than unsexed semen, it is recommended that sexed semen be used only in heifers, which generally are more fertile than cows. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy07/Dairy07_is_ReprodPrac.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa... From the 2014 report: > The highest percentage of operations (89.3 percent) used AI for breeding. AI was used exclusively on 43.7 percent of operations. Timed AI programs were used to manage heifer and cow reproduction on 34.9 and 55.5 percent of operations, respectively. For operations that used a timed AI program, more than two-thirds (68.6 percent) had used the program for 9 years or more. > A higher percentage of operations used sexed semen in heifers than in cows (41.1 and 18.6 percent, respectively). > About one-third of heifers (32.5 percent) were bred using sexed semen compared with only 3.4 percent of cows. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy14/Dairy14_dr_PartIII.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa...

dbcurtis 7y ago

Ha. The number 1 reason AI is popular with dairy farmers? Dairy bulls are more dangerous than you can imagine. Holstein bulls, especially, have a bad, bad, attitude. 2000 pounds of territorial nastiness. Unrepentant killers. Plus, you are working with the cows twice a day, so it is easy to tell when they are in heat. Contrast with the Aberdeen Angus beef cattle that my father bred. Beef bulls are, for whatever reason, fairly mellow. I would walk through the bull lot regularly. Now, I would always keep an eye on the bulls, and calculate how fast I could run to the fence and jump over, but I never received worse than the evil eye and a snorting hoof-stamp. A Holstein would have crushed me 3 times over by then. Also, beef cows generally are left to their own devices out in the pasture, so tracking when they are in heat is challenging making AI much less practical.

bariumbitmap 7y ago
That's a good point. I'd also say that Holstein cows are pretty scary; a cow can flip from "this human is fine" to "I'm going to protect my calf by trampling this human to death" with barely any warning. Factors like floor material also matter. On wet concrete, work boots have decent traction but bull hooves don't, so a bull with a nose ring is a little bit less of a threat. On dirt or dry manure, though, watch out.
- Falling3 7y ago
  > "I'm going to protect my calf by trampling this human to death" Knowing what we do to their calves, I can't say I blame them. They have every reason to try and protect their calves from us.

coryfklein 7y ago

This BLOWS my mind. We have machines that are sorting bull semen PER CELL based on the increased mass of the XX DNA vs XY DNA?! I never would have guessed that this is even possible, let alone that we're already doing it. From your first link: > For sex sorted semen, the ability to shift the gender ratio of a calf crop comes from the fact that gender is determined by the sperm cell that fertilizes the egg. Sperm cells that result in a heifer calf (XX) have more DNA than sperm cells that result in a bull calf (XY). > Of the several attempts to find ways to sort XX and XY sperm cells, the only method proven to be commercially viable is flow cytometry. Before going through the flow cytometer (sorting machine), a fluorescent dye is incorporated into the DNA of the sperm cells. They pass through the sorting machine in drops of liquid containing a single sperm cell per droplet. The machine detects the amount of florescence each cell emits; an XX sperm cell will have more florescence than an XY. A positive or negative charge is applied to the droplet depending on the type of sperm cell in it. Then, the machine can sort them into different collection tubes, based on the charge on the droplet, as it moves through a magnetic field.

tectec 7y ago

This is not true. Artificial insemination was widely used long before sexed semen was available.

bariumbitmap 7y ago
I guess it depends on what you mean by "widely used", but all I'm claiming is that sexed semen has had a big economic impact on the industry and helped convince more farmers to adopt artificial insemination. It's not easy to find and correctly interpret solid numbers on this topic, but the USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) survey appears to support a substantial increase in both artificial insemination (for both cows and heifers) and sexed semen (for heifers) between 2007 and 2014. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/monitoring-and-surveillance/nahms/nahms_dairy_studies https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/monit... From the 2007 report: > Although it has been possible to sex and sort semen since the 1980s, the use of sexed semen is still not a common practice. The sorting process is extremely slow, can damage the semen, and greatly reduces the overall semen counts. Consequently, compared with unsexed semen, sexed semen costs more and contains fewer viable sperm per straw, leading to a lower conception rate. Because heifers are generally more fertile, it is recommended that sexed semen be used only in virgin heifers. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy07/Dairy07_dr_PartIV_1.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa... > Artificial insemination (AI) to natural estrus was used for first-service breeding for the majority of heifers on 57.1 percent of operations and the majority of cows on 54.7 percent of operations during the previous 12 months. Natural service (use of bulls for breeding) was the second most common practice used at first service for the majority of heifers and cows (33.2 and 21.7 percent of operations, respectively). > For operations with pregnancies conceived via AI during the previous 12 months, sexed semen was used to inseminate 11.4 percent of heifers and 3.5 percent of cows. Because sexed semen costs more and contains fewer viable sperm per straw than unsexed semen, it is recommended that sexed semen be used only in heifers, which generally are more fertile than cows. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy07/Dairy07_is_ReprodPrac.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa... From the 2014 report: > The highest percentage of operations (89.3 percent) used AI for breeding. AI was used exclusively on 43.7 percent of operations. Timed AI programs were used to manage heifer and cow reproduction on 34.9 and 55.5 percent of operations, respectively. For operations that used a timed AI program, more than two-thirds (68.6 percent) had used the program for 9 years or more. > A higher percentage of operations used sexed semen in heifers than in cows (41.1 and 18.6 percent, respectively). > About one-third of heifers (32.5 percent) were bred using sexed semen compared with only 3.4 percent of cows. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/dairy14/Dairy14_dr_PartIII.pdf https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloa...