USE sexed semen to make better animals, not more of them.
This was the message from Semex general manager Jim Conroy following his recent visit to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Canada.
Warning there was no point "overproducing" heifers for the sake of it, he said sexed semen in the wrong hands had the potential to damage the Australian dairy industry.
He said the stark reality of overproducing was highlighted during a meeting of 15 Semex representatives during the fair.
"My equivalent from the US said that the best sale opportunity that a US dairyman had today for his 16-week-old pedigree Holstein heifers is for them to be bought by a feedlot owner to be fattened and killed," Mr Conroy said.
"That is the consequence of 1.5 million doses of sexed semen being used in the US.
"While sexed semen is an opportunity and a wonderful product, it can also lead to problems - and we all know that over production is never a good scene."
Semex sexed-semen sales equate to less than 1 per cent of its business, according to Mr Conroy. Doses range from $35 to $90, compared to traditional semen which mostly sells from $12 to $40.
National Herd Improvement Association general manager Carol Millar said 33,500 units of sexed semen were imported into Australia in the 12 months to June. She said this was astonishing considering none was imported four years ago.
"It has been a long held dream for people to use sexed semen, particularly since AI started," Ms Millar said. "Now that it has come along there is a lot of interest in it."
Echoing Mr Conroy's view about overproduction, Ms Millar said breeders needed to ensure they used sexed semen for genetic and herd improvement, not to increase in numbers.
She said if the growth in use continued at the present rate, there could be problem with oversupply of heifers within the next 10 years.
