Company News

Amid a week of champions at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, one Semex sired daughter stood above others attracting international, mainstream media attention.
Like other famous celebrities featured on CNN and CTV, this famous Braedale Goldwyn daughter now just goes by just one name… “Missy”.
Selling for $1.2 million dollars at the “Morsan Road to the Royal Sale” on Wednesday, November 11, attracted international attention as Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy VG-89-2YR-CAN went down in the record books as the most expensive cow ever sold. But for Holstein enthusiasts worldwide, Missy was already a household name.
“We’ve been working with Missy and the folks at Morsan in Alberta for over a year,” says Semex Sire Analyst Mike West .
“She’s a tremendous individual who really is the complete package for us. She has what all breeders are looking for… She’s from an outstanding cow family, has top-notch genetics and show-winning appeal. We’re looking forward to working with her new owners and further developing her through her sons at Semex.”
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For the second year in a row, Semex veteran proven sire, “Mr. Customer Satisfaction”, 0200JE00303 SHF Centurion Sultan was named Premier Performance Sire at the All-American Jersey Show held in Louisville, Kentucky on November 9, 2009. This year’s edition featured 412 head from many states and provinces across North America. A total of six Sultan offspring placed among the top 10 in their classes, including Milk-N-More Sultan Brynn VG-87-2YR-USA. Brynn was 4th Sr 2 Yr Old in a class of 29 entries and was also chosen Premier Performance Cow of the entire show. Additionally, offspring of Semex’s 0200JE00131 Bridon Remake Comerica, an emerging second crop sire, achieved considerable success in Louisville with four daughters placing in the top 10 in their classes, including the winning Milking Yearling, Hillacres Rhonda Ricotta. Semex type specialist 0200JE00427 Select Scott Minister had numerous daughters place among the top 10 of their classes, including PM Minister Lea, the winning Junior Heifer Calf. Other present and past Semex sires with offspring that placed in the top 10 of their classes include: 0200JE00990 Sunset Canyon RP Militia; 0200JE00323 RJF Big Show; 0200JE00129 Bridon Jamaica; WF Shebull, Elliott’s Renaissance Duke; 0071JE00107 Curtsey Duncan Jude; Valleystream JIS Juno; and Glenholme Counciller who had eight daughters standing in the top 10 of their classes.
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Mark E. Carson BSc. (Agr). MSc., Gencor Herd Reproduction Analyst
When analyzing a herd’s reproductive performance, it’s important to know what heat detection tools are being used to select cows for breeding and then also the subsequent performance of these tools.

Take an example of a herd using a combination of observed heats, electronic activity monitoring and Ovsynch to breed their cows. For this particular herd, the breedings must be categorized as one of the following:

Observed heats
Activity monitored
First service synch
Re-synch

My preference is to categorize first service synch from re-synch cows (timed A.I. used on second breeding or above). This allows me to gain additional insight into the performance of timed A.I. protocol.

Categorizing breedings provides you with two key pieces of information about your herd:

The number of cows being submitted by each tool
What the conception rate is for each method

Having this information helps you make better reproductive decisions by knowing both what tools are working and also what tools need improvement.
For Dairy Comp 305 and Scout users, activating the Breeding Code feature will help categorize and track breeding the performance of each breeding tool. If you’re not tracking how your cows are being submitted for breeding, work with your herd veterinarian or Semex representative to help set up a system to collect this valuable information.
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The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair opened Friday, November 6 with "Royal" fanfare as the show was officially opened Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Charles and Camilla arrived at the fair in a horse-drawn open carriage, greeted by a large, enthusiastic crowd seated in the Coliseum.
The royal couple toured the exhibition, billed as the world's largest indoor agricultural show and international equestrian competition.
Included on their tour was a stop by Semex's Walk of Fame display where the Prince commented on "what a nice display" Semex has while visiting with Semex Sire Analyst Brian Carscadden.

On display at the Royal in Semex's famous Walk of Fame display are daughters by:

0200HO04608 Regancrest-MR Samuelo
0200HO00393 Rietben Tee Off
0200HO05139 Karona Bonair
0200HO03280 Gillette Final Cut
0200HO01861 Jerland Denison
0200HO05191 Kerndtway Howie
0200HO09804 Crockett-Acres Eight
0200HO00113 Cedarwal Spirte
0200HO05239 La Presentation Denzel
0200HO07321 Magor Baroque Allen

If your travel plans are bringing you to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, make sure Semex's Walk of Fame is on your "must see" list!
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Working together with complimentary product lines, Semex and Swissgenetics have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship since establishing their marketing agreement in November 2004. This relationship has led to many successes, as both organizations are passionate supporters of high quality dairy cattle genetics. Effective December 1, 2009, this relationship will be enhanced through an agreement which will have Swissgenetics providing Sire Selection efforts on Semex’s behalf in Europe. As a result, Swissgenetics’ Sire Analyst, Dr. Angelo Pozzatti will begin working with the Semex Genetics Department, and will be responsible for Semex’s European Holstein young sire selection. Well-known throughout Europe, Angelo is a veterinarian who for the past four years has worked in Switzerland for Swissgenetics as an area sales manager, with additional responsibilities for their Brown Swiss program. Beginning in 2009 he has also served as the technical and commercial director for Zorlesco, an AI stud in Italy. Prior to joining Swissgenetics Angelo worked for the Brown Swiss Association of Italy, managing the breed’s classification and judging programs. Angelo is also a well-known judge, officiating at more than 250 shows in 10 countries. Most recently he served as the Associate Judge at this year’s Central National Brown Swiss Show at World Dairy Expo, officiated the Brown Swiss Show at the 2008 International Dairy Week in Australia and the 2005 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Well-accomplished within Europe as well, he has officiated major shows in Verona, Cremona, Paris, Imst, Epinal and Lausanne. “Semex is very fortunate to have Swissgenetics provide a person of Angelo’s calibre to be part of our team sourcing top genetics in Europe,” says Pierre Laliberté, Semex Alliance Senior Vice President, Genetics & Research. “With top cows found all around the world it is essential for Semex to select the best young bulls wherever they are found. Angelo’s solid ... Read More...

Mark E. Carson BSc. (Agr). MSc., Gencor Herd Reproduction Analyst
A difficult calving can effect a cow’s performance throughout the entire lactation. An examination of calving ease performance of first lactation cows from five dairy herds shows the impact it can have on first service conception. Dairy Comp 305 calving ease data provided by DHI was compared with first service conception on first lactation cows.


Calving Difficulty
1st Service Conception Rates
# of First Lactation Cows


Unattended or Easy
38%
195


Hard
22%
64


First lactation cows that had an Unattended or Easy Calving (U or E) were found to have a first service conception of 38%, while cows with a Hard Calving (H) had a conception rate of 22%. From these herds, having a trouble-free calving made the cows twice as likely to get pregnant on the first breeding!
To reduce calving troubles, work to manage body condition scores, age at first calving and appropriate sire selection. Also, make sure you are providing proper assistance to cows that need help at the time of calving. Managing all of these things will help to ensure your cows have a better start and make the most out of their lactations.
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Guelph, Ontario – The Semex Alliance, a leading global genetics company, is announcing that effective January 1, 2010, Semex Alliance will take full responsibility of the Italian market through a new company, Semex Italia, as part of its strategy which concentrates on the main markets in Europe.

Semex has enjoyed a long, successful history with the Italian dairy producers. For decades Italian dairymen have supported and endorsed Semex’s Balanced Breeding philosophy and have enjoyed many successes resulting from its use. Bulls such as Rudolph, James, Lee, Leader, Rubens *RC, September Storm *RC and Buckeye have had a major, positive influence on the Italian dairy population. This newly formed company will allow Semex to continue providing Italian dairymen access to top quality genetics and industry leading services and programs.

For the past five years Canadian Semex, (a subsidiary of Ente Lombardo Potenziamento Zootecnico S.p.A.), and its employees have worked hard in the Italian market. Their dedication and efforts have resulted in strong and mutually beneficial relationships. Semex is extremely thankful for their dedication and efforts, as they have provided outstanding service and high quality products to Semex’s customers.

Semex Italia will continue these positive efforts, further developing business partnerships with Italian dairy producers during a very challenging time in the industry.

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Submitted by: Orsolya Schummer, Operations Manager, Semex Hungary

Génbank-Semex Hungary Ltd. celebrated their 20th anniversary recently on October 8.
Beautiful weather welcomed over 300 guests to the facility. Aamong them were Paul Larmer, Semex Alliance CEO, Sam Mitra, Semex Director International Sales & Business Development (Asia, Middle East & Eastern Europe), Dr. Gordon A. Atkins from the Veterinary University of Calgary, Alberta as well as representatives from the Hungarian breeder associations and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture.
The day featured a Walk of Fame daughter display with daughters of well-known Semex sires Braedale Goldwyn, R-E-W Buckeye, Gillette FBI, Covista Ty, Magor Bolivia Allen and others on display. These daughters depicted Semex's Balanced Breeding philosophy, and underlined the fact that Semex really does work everywhere!
Guests were also treated to a look into the future with genomics and Semex's Genomax™ lineup, highlighting Genomax™ sires and Semex's genomics program.

Following the sire presentation were numerous other presentations regarding the industry's role in the currect global economic situation. Zoltán Veres, CEO of Semex Hungary greeted the audience and briefly summarized the history and the philosophy of the company, described its present position in the market and future plans, underlining that, "Companies don’t make profit. People do."
Balázs Fekete, President of the Hungarian Animal Breeders Association, described the critical situation of the Hungarian dairy industry and drew the attention to the importance of effective cooperation not only of dairy farmers, but also with dairy processors. Paul Larmer gave a presentation on Semex’s position in the global genetic marketplace and summarized the latest results in the field of research and development. Additionally he noted that, "Semex is positioned to be the global choice for the dairyman, ... Read More...

Mark E. Carson BSc. (Agr). MSc., Gencor Herd Reproduction Analyst Here is some really simple math that can be useful in the barn for assessing herd performance. A good thumb rule is 10% of your herd should be calving out each month. That means (at minimum) 10% of your herd needs to be getting pregnant each month. A “hard count” is simply setting a targeted number of pregnancies. The math is really quick and easy to do. If you are milking 30 cows you should be targeting a minimum of 3 to 4 pregnancies per month. If you are milking 300 cows, the goal should be 30 to 40 pregnancies per month. If you are a herd growing in size, you will need to set a slightly higher goal. Keeping this flow of pregnancies rolling through your herd will help keep your milk production more consistent by ensuring a steady continuation of fresh cows entering your herd. During veterinary herd-health visits, check to see if your herd is reaching its goal of at least 10% of cows getting pregnant per month. If less then 10% of your cows are getting pregnant per month, it would be worth investigating your herd’s reproductive performance. As always, work with your veterinarian, nutritionist, Semex representative and other trusted advisors to make sure your herd is reaching its reproductive potential.
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Submitted by: Harry Schuiling, General Manager Semex Holland, Belgium and Denmark Semex scored a huge success at the Danish National Holstein Association (SDM) annual meeting, held on Friday, September 25, 2009. During the morning meeting Chairman Peter Laudsen and General Manager Keld Christensen presented the association members with the annual figures and statistics, followed by an open discussion about the Danish Holstein breed.
Beginning at noon, four farms in the Ribe area opened their doors for every Holstein member and interested person to visit. One of those farms was the 250 head Stortoft Holsteins, owned by Torben Kragh and his family. Together with the Semex Team in Denmark, the Stortoft family presented their entire herd which averages 12,000 kg, their elite individuals and their interesting automatic feeding system.
The Stortoft dairy operation is in an old traditional Danish barn that was retrofitted into a nice, new tie-stall facility, that professionally shows off their cows. The Stortoft herd has been sourcing high quality Canadian genetics for many years, and at the SDM they showcased offspring of Comestar Laurie Sheik as well as other elite Canadian individuals. In all, over 50 animals were prepared for the open house by the Stortoft and Semex Teams, leaving visitors speechless as this sort of presentation was a first in Denmark. Never before had so many people visited a Danish farm with this kind of presentation at the Holstein meetings, and retired Danish AI manager Torben Muller commented that this presentation was “second to none.”
Special thanks to all of those that made this tremendous display possible, including the Semex Embryo Department for their tremendous efforts to so clearly connect the value of Semex and Canadian genetics to the increased quality in a herd. Additionally, we would like to express our great respect and thanks to Torben Kragh and his family, as well as the ... Read More...