Company News

Learn more about Immunity+ from Semex's Global Dairy Solutions Coordinator Steve Larmer and be sure to mark your calendars for our upcoming Immunity+ Summer Event being held in Kemptville, Ontario. There is also lots of sire information and details about our Genetic Advisors, the 2018 Dairy Edge Event and
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This designation recognizes staff who demonstrate a commitment to partnering with clients to achieve or exceed their specific genetic goals.

GUELPH, ONTARIO �In 2017 a Genetic Advisor designation was developed to meet the demands of the evolving role EastGen Sales Representatives have in genetic consultation. Recognizing that on-farm results are driven by strong reproductive consultation, genetic advice and new technology, the newly developed title is unique to EastGen.

Genetic Advisors receive this designation following a
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Five years after the introduction of Immunity+®, the revolutionary, award-winning genetic technology that was developed by Dr Bonnie Mallard at the University of Guelph, Semex is taking the next step and bringing it to clients worldwide. With the Elevate program, Semex is now offering a genomic test that ranks and selects cows based on their genetic merit along with their Immunity+ genomic test results!   Immunity+ results speak for themselves with results achieved on large commercial herds comprised of 35,000 cows and 75,000 heifers being analysed for disease reduction. It was found that Immunity+ sired animals had anywhere from 2%-20% less disease, depending on which disease was analysed. 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. Dairy producers worldwide have seen healthier herds as a result of using Immunity+ sires, resulting in less treatment costs, less drug and antibiotic use and less time spent dealing with sick cows. The introduction of Elevate only speeds up the process.   “With Elevate and its Immunity+ genomic test, producers no longer have to guess which cows are their healthiest,” says Gordon Miller, Semex Sr. Vice President, Sales & Business Development. “Instead, they’re able to tailor their breeding program with both genomic information as well as Immunity+ results categorized as high, average or low health. They’re able to make faster genetic progress towards a stronger, more disease resistant herd, reducing losses and drug use. Immunity+ heritability is 30%, similar to that of milk production. We’re excited for herd health gains that can be made by both identifying female health and utilizing Immunity+ sires!”   Currently available in Canada, the US, Germany and the UK, Elevate and its Immunity+ genomic test supplies Semex clients with the same information as other commercially ... Read More...

Effective Electronic Heat Detection - On its surface, electronic heat detection appears to be an easy proposition: all it needs to do is monitor an animal�s
movement. Once the animal displays an increase in activity obviously, she�s in heat. All you need to do is
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Recombinetics has formed an alliance with Semex, a Canadian-based, farmer-owned cattle genetics organization, to implement a precision breeding program that improves animal health and well-being through hornless dairy cattle genetics.
The dehorning of calves is a routine procedure, designed to prevent injuries both to other animals and to handlers. This is uncomfortable for animals and is an unpleasant task for farm personnel. By using precision breeding technology, polled genetics can be reliably introduced into elite dairy lines, eliminating the need to dehorn calves.
Dairy farmers prefer hornless (polled) cattle, but traditional breeding for this trait, more commonly found in certain breeds of beef cattle, is inefficient and reduces productivity. The alliance's objective is to seamlessly integrate the polled trait into high-merit dairy genetics through precision breeding.
The project is being led by Tad Sonstegard, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Acceligen, Recombinetics' agriculture division. Sonstegard states, "The polled trait has been part of bovine genetics for more than 1,000 years, and it has been conventionally bred and selected for in some cattle breeds, but not in most high-merit dairy breeds.  We have proven we can safely introduce the polled trait into any breed of horned dairy cattle with complete precision. This new partnership will provide unique opportunities for dairy farmers and artificial insemination companies to introduce polled genetics without losing genetic diversity or production potential."
Precision breeding uses gene editing to make small adjustments to the genome of an animal to delete, repair, or replace individual elements of DNA. In this case, the cell's natural repair function is used to replace the horned gene with a naturally occurring polled gene. The result is dairy calves that are born naturally hornless, providing a direct benefit to the animals' well-being and ... Read More...

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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