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An assessment of semen from the Holstein Friesian bull Cloonigney Canning (FR4854) has passed all quality control tests at an independent German laboratory.
As previously reported in the Irish Farmers Journal the bull has had a terrible run, with some farmers reporting zero conception to AI serves.
Laurence Feeney from Progressive Genetics, who marketed the bull along with Munster Bovine, says that the issue with the semen seems to be occurring after insemination and problems could not be detected using existing quality control parameters.
Approximately 5,000 inseminations using the bull were carried out this year
He confirmed that conception rates appear to be “alarmingly low” and expects the final conception rate to be around 10%, but is not surprised that some herds are as low as 0%.
Approximately 5,000 inseminations using the bull were carried out this year.
The January 2018-born bull was used for the first time in autumn 2019 but issues were not detected in time for this spring.
Solution
Feeney says that Progressive Genetics has made contact with all of its customers who have used the bull and are working on finding a solution for those who are affected.
The episode highlights the risks involved in using young genomic bulls and serves as a reminder for farmers to use a large team of genomic bulls to spread the risks involved.
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