Pushing the boundaries of the AI industry, Dovea Genetics is leading the charge with a steadfast commitment to provide new breeding initiatives to improve fertility in beef and dairy herds.
Besides a commitment to offering the very best genetics available to its customers, Dovea Genetics has also moved in the direction of having joint breeding programmes with beef producer groups (Irish Angus Producer Group & Hereford Prime), and having new initiatives aiming to increase conception rates and fertility in Irish beef and dairy herds.
Partnership with Hereford Prime and Irish Angus Producer Group
Beef producer groups Irish Hereford Prime and Certified Irish Angus have partnered with Dovea Genetics to offer new Hereford and Angus sires that will be available for the coming 2024 breeding season.
As part of the breed improvement programmes for each breed, bulls have been selectively chosen to meet the market demands with short gestation, easy calving and carcass weight being the focus.
The priority is also to have a quality bull that is phenotypically correct and an excellent example of the breed, with the aim of transferring these traits to their progeny, while benefitting breeders, rearers and finishers in the process.
Testament to the quality of sires available from Dovea Genetics, the company has seen huge growth in demand for high quality dairy beef sires.
The Angus and Hereford breeds have seen the biggest increase in demand from dairy farmers and it is expected that demand will continue to grow for these breeds in the coming breeding seasons.
Dovea are proud to be able to offer suitable dairy beef sires for the various types of breeding females in each unique dairy system.
They can offer some of the highest index sires available, with the added benefit of having quality bulls in the flesh that will go on to breed quality progeny.
In the last number of years, new Hereford and Angus sires were introduced which have proven to be very successful as dairy beef sires and across pedigree and commercial suckler herds.
Some of the notable sires include Skehanore Fruitful (HE7545) and Drumcrow Tribesman (AA8172).
Sexed semen
Dovea Genetics are delighted to be able to offer sexed semen from each sire which can give breeders the opportunity to breed the desired sex of calf.
Both Dovea and the producer groups eagerly anticipate the first calves from new sires that were introduced in 2023.
Calves are expected from our two polled sires in the coming spring, Chestnutpoll 1 Star 45 (HE8547) and Ringfort 1 Carlos (HE8935).
Irish Hereford Prime expect progeny off the dairy herd to be very saleable and hope that the progeny outperforms their indices and excel on their on farm and slaughter performance.
Also, as part of the Certified Irish Angus Elite Breed Improvement programme pedigree breeders were encouraged to use Drumcrow Tribesman sexed semen.
This has proved to be very successful with many excellent quality pedigree calves born over the last few months of 2023 and the programme is continuing into 2024 thanks to its success.
Breeding initiatives
Throughout 2023, the teams in each group have continued to work in finding and selecting sires that are suitable for the markets.
This has resulted in a new sire being added to each of the Irish Hereford Prime and Certified Irish Angus bull portfolios in Dovea Genetics.
An excellent example of the breed and with a super index to match, Fellfort V Rodger 1584 (AA9775) has been purchased and will enter the stud at Dovea Genetics soon.
With a DBI of €172 and a calving difficulty of only 1.9% on dairy cows it is hoped that he will meet the demands of dairy farmers countrywide.
Dovea Genetics and Irish Hereford Prime also like to source the best genetics available and are delighted to announce the purchase of a new polled Hereford, Awbegpoll 1 Fisher (HE9777).
He has a super DBI of €152 which will leave him as the number one Hereford sire available on Dairy Beef Index.
It is hoped that his progeny will be easily born and will have exceptional performance and weight gains just like their sire. The new bulls will be available through your area representative or Dovea Genetics AI Technician.
Triple range technology
Building upon the resounding success of Dovea Genetics Triple Range in 2022 and 2023.
On its initial launch there was excellent farmer uptake and huge product satisfaction. Farmers witnessed increased conception leading to tighter calving patterns and more problem breeders incalf within their 12-week breeding window.
Sales of our triple range grew further in 2023 due to new and existing triple range customers showing great satisfaction with the effectiveness of the product.
The Triple Range has garnered overwhelming praise from farmer success stories in both Ireland and numerous large international customers, thanks to its ability to enhance conception rates by pooling sperm, aiding in achieving compact calving patterns and increasing pregnancy rates on problem breeders.
Thanks to a noticeable increase in conception rates from breeders who have used Dovea’s Triple Mixes in 2023, some dairy herds will be using only Triple Mix Semen as the beef sire of choice for their dairy females selected for beef mating for 2024.
For the 2024 breeding season, Dovea’s Triple Range has been expanded to encompass seven different products, including three new mixed breed mixes.
Now, the pioneering AI station takes it a step further by introducing mixed breed ranges, allowing farmers to identify the sire of each calf without the need for genotyping.
The full range caters for most demands which include easy calving short gestation mixes, mixes with superior carcass bulls and from various breeds also.
Latest additions to the Triple Range lineup include:
XM1004 – Rathlyon Olaf (BB8226), Skehanore Fruitful (HE7545) & Keirsbeath Karma (AA4638)
XM1007 – Skehanore Fruitful (HE7545) & Keirsbeath Karma (AA4638)
XM1001 – Ringfort 1 Carlos (HE8935) & Kealkil Stockman (AA7188)
Dovea Genetics will be part of an exciting field research trial by the University of Limerick (UL) to assess and test heterospermic semen.
Revolutionary collaboration with Spermvital
After a very successful trial period in 2023, Dovea Genetics are delighted to be expanding the fertility solution portfolio with the SpermVital technology for the 2024 season.
Dovea have been working with the trailblazing Norwegian biotechnology company, SpermVital in producing the revolutionary product for the Irish market since spring 2023 and have been very pleased to hear the high levels of farmer satisfaction with the product.
The game-changing technology developed by SpermVital doubles the lifespan of semen inside the uterus, extending the window of opportunity for insemination and significantly boosting the chances of successful fertilization.
The product has been developed and tested in many other countries across Europe and has proven itself in being a product that can help to achieve more pregnancies and give more flexibility during the breeding season.
The technology has been developed in Norway over the last decade and significant research has been done into establishing the efficacy of the product.
Research that was conducted in Austria in the years of 2015-2019, showed that there was a 6% higher non-return rate (NRR) in heifers and a 4.4% higher NRR rate on cows on first serves.
On second and subsequent serves there was a very significant increase of 8.5% in the NRR of females on the trial.
In a similar trial in Germany, the ability to inseminate cows earlier was examined when using SpermVital technology in comparison to conventional technology.
The results showed an 8.3% higher NRR in the females when using SpermVital compared to conventional straws.
For Irish farmers striving for on a compact calving period, utilizing the SpermVital technology can be used to aid in the success of their breeding season and to help achieve improved pregnancy rates.
The technology can be used across the herd but is especially useful and effective for certain situations such as:
- There have been excellent reports from breeders who have used SpermVital semen after the synchronisation of cows and heifers;
- SpermVital semen lasts for up to 48 hours in the uterus which allows for insemination to occur during standing heat or earlier than if using the AM:PM rule;
- Taking the evening off away from farm is possible if using the product as the female can be inseminated in the morning and you can be at ease knowing she has the same chance of conceiving when compared to waiting for an evening insemination;
- It can be difficult to establish whether cows with weak signs of heat are still in standing heat or not so again, using a permVital dose will give you a better chance of conception;
- If the cow was towards the end of her heat and a conventional straw was given later, she may have ovulated before the semen was present and there is a poorer chance of conception in this case;
- The same principle can be applied for repeat breeders as SpermVital allows for the presence of fertile sperm cells throughout the entirety of the heat cycle, regardless of early or late ovulation;
- With an impressive longevity of up to 48 hours inside the uterus, SpermVital semen offers unparalleled flexibility.
It is hoped that the efficacy of the product will continue to be seen throughout the 2024 breeding season and that the SpermVital product will be strategically used in many herds this season to help to get more cows and heifers in calf sooner.
For the 2024 season there are both dairy and beef sires available with the technology which can give both sectors options for the upcoming breeding season.
Bulls that are available can be found in our directories, online or by contacting any of the Dovea Genetics team.
To see Dovea’s 2024 directories (dairy, coloured breeds, dairy beef or beef), or to see further inflation please click here.
Alternatively, call Dovea 0504-21755.
