Company News

EastGen’s dedicated nitrogen delivery team has been providing a reliable nitrogen delivery service to customers in Eastern, Central, Western and Southern
Ontario since early 2012. Over 2100 customers and approximately 2500 tanks are
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First offered in December 2012, Semex's exclusive Immunity+ lineup continues to expand in April 2018, offering dairymen worldwide the  sires they need to breed healthier and more profitable herds.  Proven on farm, recent research concludes that Immunity+ is the key to the future of herd health. In North America, over 30 herds comprising ~35,000 cows and ~75,000 heifers were analyzed for disease reductions (Larmer et al., 2017). It was found that Immunity+ sired animals had anywhere from 2-20% less disease (depending on which disease was analyzed). The most significant reductions in this dataset were found in the traits with the biggest economic impacts, including a 20% reduction in cow mortality among the Immunity+ sired animals. Reductions in disease incidence have also been shown in herds across Europe, South America and Asia.  One of the keys to Immunity+'s effectiveness is its high heritability. By testing the direct immune response capabilities of sires, much of the environmental variation is removed, leaving only the genetic component of disease resistance.  At 30%, the heritability of Immunity+ is similar to that of milk production, a trait that has seen enormous genetic progress leading to a 13% increase in per cow milk production in the last 10 years.  In April, Semex's Immunity+ lineup is stronger than ever! Visit www.semex.com for the full lineup.                         
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Lots of exciting additions for our Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey and Jersey breeders to use this round.
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9 new additions to our Holstein line-up including Canada's new #1 Conformation sire Walnutlawn Solomon, 3 new Sexed Ultra sires, 4 new Genomax sires which includes heterozygous and homozygous polled sires. You'll want to also check out our new 20 for 20 promotion, and our exciting A2A2 Special. Lots for everyone this round!
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As the bovine genetics industry continues to change, Semex also continues its growth trajectory. We're focused on our people, our strategy and our genetic solutions. We believe that people are the cornerstone of our success and we're pleased to announce the following promotions from within:
Semex is pleased to announce Michael Hurst has been named Director, USA Sales & Business Development. Most recently, Michael has been the Senior Sales Manager for Semex in the US, working closely with the sales team since his return to Semex in 2016. In this business unit leadership role, Michael will report directly to Gordon Miller, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Business Development.   Concurrently, Paul Krueger has been appointed to the new position of Vice President, Global Key Account & Solutions Strategy. Key to Semex's global growth, Paul will provide leadership and direction within Semex's key growth drivers. He will work closely with Semex's Business Unit Management Team, being responsible for key account strategy and management, our global IVF strategy, Immunity+® program management as well as strategizing and managing Semex's Solutions Suite to our global clients. 
"We're extremely excited to have Michael assume full management of our US Sales Team and for Paul to take on this new global role," says Gordon Miller, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Business Development. "Semex is proud to develop our leaders from within and we look forward to their continued contributions. Both gentlemen have the hands-on experience working with dairymen and our sales teams that make them ideal to deliver the industry's most innovative solutions to our clients."
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"Our hearts are heavy with the news of Bert Stewart's passing," says Paul Larmer, Semex Chief Executive Officer. "Bert was an international icon, promoting Canadian genetics everywhere dairy cattle could be found. To Canada, he was beloved by generations of dairy cattle enthusiasts. He was a consummate promoter of youth, being a coach and mentor to anyone that wanted to wear white pants or judge a show! At Semex, he was an influential mentor to many, many current and past employees, myself included. We were proud to have him be our representative on the Canadian 4-H Council and serve as their President. To say he will be missed is an understatement. Instead, we will honour him through our corporate and personal commitments to youth, in Canada and worldwide. Godspeed Bert, you have taught us well.”

Pictured above is Bert Stewart (right) with Semex legend Lowell Lindsay (left) at the 1989 Royal Winter Fair. 

 

Please find the obituary for Bertram Graham Hunter Stewart Below: 

Peacefully, at the Groves Memorial Hospital In Fergus, Ontario at the age of 85, surrounded by family, Bertram G. H. Stewart, beloved husband of the late of Hazel Stewart(201 I) of Elora, formerly of Hornby, Ontario and loving father of their four children, Paul, Lynne (Jim Moore), Donna (Tom Dotson), and Kelly French & Jason French. Proud grandfather, of Kristen (Scott Greenhill) & Adam (Erin) Dotson; Brian (Kim), Brent (Laura) & David (Alex) Moore, and Connor & Blaire French. He was blessed with great-grandchildren, Caden Greenhill, Evelyn Moore, Porter Moore and Andrew Dotson. 

 

Bertram was the seventh child of Ernie and Jennie Stewart of Better. Mourning his loss are his brothers Henry (Jean), Murray (Marnie), and his sister Dorothy (Lorne Paisley-deceased) He was predeceased by his brothers Andrew (Adele), R.J. (Betty-June), Hillard (Marguerite) and his sister lsobel (Elmer Russell). He was a loved ... Read More...

Semex is pleased to announce that Dr. Mehdi Sargolzaei was promoted to the position of Senior Geneticist at Semex, effective January 1, 2018.   Reporting to Dr. Michael Lohuis, Semex Vice President, Research & Innovation, Dr. Sargolzaei continues working with Semex's Genetics Research Team, expanding his responsibilities to include genomics project management and platform development.     Dr. Sargolzaei is extremely familiar to the Semex family, having first joined Semex's Research & Development Team at Boviteq in June 2009 as a Research Genomicist. In January 2014, he joined Semex's Genetic Team as Research Genomicist.   "We are excited to have Dr. Sargolzaei take a leadership role in Semex's genetic and genomic programs," says Lohuis. "Mehdi brings a wealth of experience in genomic evaluations, imputation and software development that will enable Semex to provide an even greater array of products and services to the global cattle breeding industry."   An accomplished geneticist with a Ph.D. in Animal Breeding & Genetics from Niigata University in Japan, an M.Sc. in Animal Breeding & Genetics from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, and a B.Sc. in Animal Science from Sistan & Baluchestan University, Iran, Sargolzaei's extensive career began as a Research Assistant, National Animal Science Research Institute, Karaj, Iran. He later joined the University of Guelph, Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock in 2006 as a Research Associate. In this position, he developed several statistical methods and software tools, including 'FImpute' and 'snp1101', aiming at analyzing large scale genomic data encountered in livestock populations. The driving force behind his software developments has been a keen interest in applying newer statistical methods and advanced programming techniques for analyzing big genomic data.   He has authored/coauthored 65 peer ... Read More...

By Dr Steven Larmer, Semex Dairy Solutions Coordinator  In 2012 Semex launched the Immunity+® sire line, a group of sires selected to create cows that will be more resistant and resilient to disease challenges faced every day by commercial cows. The question is, how does Immunity+ work and what does having better immunity really mean? Answering this question is not simple. It can be a lack of clear information. Here lies an important role for vets, feed advisors and hoof trimmers. Also, there seems to be a tunnel vision among farmers and advisors that stops them from seeing the shortcomings of the barns. Thirdly, fear of investing money and time will be involved, even though good management doesn't have to cost more than bad management. Here also lies a task for advisors: ideally they can not only provide the right information, but they can also help clients change.   The immune system of all animals is complex, and there are many factors that impact how an animal is able to respond to different disease challenges. There are several branches to the immune system. The two branches of the immune system most important for resistance and resilience to disease are the innate and adaptive immune systems.    The innate immune system is responsible for detecting any threat to the individual and initiating an immune response. The adaptive immune system is then responsible for determining the best response depending on the specific pathogen that has invaded the cow. Going a little deeper there are two separate components of the adaptive immune system. The antibody mediated adaptive immune response, or AMIR, is responsible for responding primarily to bacteria. Bacteria generally cause the more common on farm diseases, usually the ones that can be more easily treated. These include diseases such as mastitis, metritis, and digital dermatitis. Cell mediated adaptive immune response, or CMIR, on the other hand is primarily responsible for ... Read More...

EastGen has added close to 20 exciting new bucks to our extensive line-up this past fall which included our first La Mancha and Nubian bucks. Check out our new 43 page buck line-up catalogue for
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EastGen's annual 4-H Challenge and Showcase dates are set. EastGen is dedicated to the future of the dairy industry through our unparalleled
commitment to youth through programs like our immensely respected 4-H EastGen Challenges and EastGen Showcases. Mark your calendars and don't miss out!

For 4-H youth ages 14-21.
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