Company News

Date: Tue, March 19, 2019 Time:9:30 AM – 3:30 PM ADT Location Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame, 51 Hooper Lane, Petitcodiac, NB E4Z 0B4  CLICK HERE for more details.
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That semen tank sitting in the corner of the barn office or vet room
generally goes unnoticed except for the times you are pulling out a
dose of semen from one of
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As we flip the calendar to a fresh new year, we're excited to share our youth event dates for 2019 with you.
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As more robotic barns appear across the industry, the demand for
cows and heifers that have been bred for an automated milking
environment is on the rise, with some breeders
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Semex is saddened to announce that its 12th Millionaire Sire, 0200HO00402 Mainstream Manifold, has passed away.

Manifold was from a strong cow family known for production and was backed by eight generations of VG or EX dams. He combined this strong maternal line at Mainstream Holsteins in Washington, with type strength and desirable health and fertility traits to be one of the most predictable sires in Semex’s lineup for nearly a decade.

A truly unfaltering sire, Manifold debuted as the #20 TPI sire in August 2009. As time  passed, he only gained strength as he added daughters reaching the coveted Millionaire Status in April 2014 when he was also the breed’s #12 TPI and #6 LPI sire.

With over 73,000 daughters in his production proof in December 2018, Manifold continued to be one of the most popular O Man sons of our time, offering solid production, great components and a breed leading 3.9% Sire Calving Ease.

"Manifold was a truly exceptional bull and was a great example of our commitment to providing healthy, long-lasting cows to our clients,” says Brad Sayles, Chief Operating Officer. “And, he was a stand-out among O Man sons. He really did it all, being a Millionaire and selling to all corners of the world. We’re fortunate to have a limited quantity of Manifold semen still available, allowing dairymen to continue using this profitable and popular Millionaire Sire.”

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The Top-10 New Product Award Competition is conducted annually by the International Agri-Center®, in conjunction with World Ag Expo® (WAE). Nominations are submitted by WAE exhibitors and judged by farmers, ranchers and industry professionals. This year, Semex’s Elevate™ Female Immunity Test is one of the Top-10 winners and will be recognized at the show held February 12-14 in Tulare, California!

Launched on December 4, 2012, Immunity+ was billed as an industry first – an exclusive product that would dramatically change the way dairymen developed their own breeding strategies and managed herd health. With Elevate, its female genomic testing program, Semex offers a genomic test that ranks and selects cows for both their Immunity+ genomic results and their genetic merit!

With Elevate and the Immunity+ genomic test, there’s no more guess work as to which cows will better resist disease. Armed with both genomic information and Immunity+ results, producers are able to make faster genetic progress towards a stronger, more disease resistant herd, reducing losses and drug use. Immunity+ heritability is 30%, similar to that of milk production. Semex is excited to be the only AI company to deliver uncompromised herd health gains that can be made by identifying both female immune response and utilizing Immunity+ sires.

"With Elevate and its Immunity+ genomic test, producers no longer have to guess which cows are their healthiest," says Gordon Miller, Semex Sr. Vice President, Sales & Business Development. "Instead, they're able to tailor their breeding program with both genomic information as well as Immunity+ results categorized as high, average or low health. They make faster genetic progress towards a stronger, more disease resistant herd, reducing losses and drug use. Immunity+ heritability is 30%, similar to that of milk production. We're ... Read More...

Immunity+ disease-resistant genetics now represents 37% of Semex dairy sales. What started as a research project more than 20 years ago, before Semex was established, has indeed changed the game.
Semex Geneticist and Business Analyst Dr. Steven Larmer believes there are many reasons for the growth of Immunity+, but the ultimate measure of the genetic program's success is the confidence dairy producers have in its ability to improve the health of their herd.
Recently, research work with the University of Guelph has put a dollar value on the return producers can expect from their Immunity+ investment. These studies show Immunity+ sired daughters show less disease, saving dairymen $72 per cow, from birth to the end of first lactation.
BENEFITTING FROM HIGH IMMUNITY Larmer says measuring financial payback is important but when he talks to producers it's obvious that Immunity+ has an event greater impact. High immune response means cows get sick less often, they are more productive and more profitable. Ultimately, no farmer wants to deal with sick cows. You can spend your time on the farm doing other things that are much more productive and satisfying.
Many producers point to fewer cases of mastitis and less lameness when describing Immunity+ benefits, but Larmer believes it's the total package that gives this technology an edge. "Overall, we try to not focus too much on the individual health event. The big difference with Immunity+ is we're selecting cows that are going to be resistant to any disease that comes their way," explains Larmer. "We really focus on how the whole immune system works, and making sure an animal's entire immune system is robust, and effective."
When animals have strong immune systems, farmers will see a positive impact on every disease present on a dairy operation, not only the most common ones like mastitis and lameness, notes Larmer. It's also important to understand that health ... Read More...

In December, Semex is proud to announce it now has 264 reasons to use Immunity+! “We’re excited about our Immunity+ lineup,” says Semex’s Paul Krueger, VP, Global Key Account & Solutions Strategy. “We now have 264 sires that have been tested to be Immunity+. This is your fastest, best option to breed a healthier herd. And, with this many choices, we know Semex has the Holstein, Jersey or Ayrshire bull that will meet your genetic criteria.”   Dr. Steven Larmer, Semex Geneticist & Business Analyst concurs, “Despite all of the improvements made with dairy animal husbandry there continues to be worse health performance. When all else is equal, the thing that's going to differ between two cows on your dairy is, 'how strong is their immune system? How able are they going to be to respond to that challenge?' Because no matter how well-managed a dairy is, every cow is going to encounter both bacterial and viral pathogens almost every day," Larmer says. Launched on December 4, 2012, Immunity+ was billed as an industry first – an exclusive product that would dramatically change the way dairymen developed their own breeding strategies and managed herd health. Six years later, dairymen worldwide are seeing the results. A study of Semex sired animals from 35 commercial dairies in 2017 showed improvements in a number of areas on about 30,000 cows and 75,000 heifers tested. The reductions were seen in eight health incidences, with the most significant being a 20% reduction in mortality and 17% reduction in persistent mastitis. The improvements in immune response would have resulted in $72,330 savings for herds milking 1,000 cows during one lactation period. In December, Semex is proud to offer 264 Immunity+ sires including: 41 Holstein sires over +2600 GTPI 14 Holstein sires over +800 NM$ 46 Jersey Immunity+ sires 11 Ayrshire Immunity+ sires As Semex’s lineups grow, 200 code Genomax™ sires remain a global brand of choice. Highlights in December ... Read More...

Profitable cattle never go out of style and that is why our first new addition, Claynook Denim, will be sure to resonate with many of our breeders. Breeders want problem-free, healthy cattle that are made to stand the test of time. They want sires which offer solid component improvement and can be used safely in both their cow and heifer herds without concern for calving issues and
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The newly-proven sire Guimo JAMIE is our lone Jersey addition this round. The A2A2 designated Jamie is a Matt son from Guimo Dynamic Joyce EX-94-2E who is the former #1 GLPI cow in Canada. Joyce is one of the many outstanding
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