Sales of sexed dairy semen have jumped on the year from 32% in March 2019 to more than 50%, 12 months later, with beef semen sales now up to almost 48%.

The figures from a survey of GB semen companies in the year to March 2020, point to the growth in demand for sexed dairy semen, thought in part to be due to improvements in success rates and more competitive prices relative to conventional semen. Increasing scrutiny and rules around dairy bull calves have also encouraged sales of sexed semen.

Sales of beef semen have also improved which ties in with the increased use of sexed dairy semen – with fewer cows needed to provide replacement heifers, more cows can be serviced with beef semen for a more profitable beef calf.

The survey results have been used to make crude estimates of the share of each type of calf born, with the proportion of beef calves having risen from about a quarter of all calves born in 2012 to nearly half in the latest year. During the same time, dairy bulls have gone from a third to just 15%.

While there has been a notable shift in heifers coming from conventional to sexed dairy semen, the overall share of heifers has also changed, with estimates declining from 41% to 37% of calves born over the last eight years.

The overall size of the dairy herd is declining long-term, meaning fewer heifers are needed to act as replacements. However, increased milk yields over the same period have counterbalanced the effect of a smaller milking herd on milk production.