Why aren’t more farmers using artificial insemination to reduce the number of bobby calves?

Last updated 17/01/2024

Artificial insemination with sexed semen is being used on many dairy farms to increase the number of heifers born (female calves). It is still yet to be widely adopted due to a number of disadvantages of this technology.

The advantage of using sexed semen is that 90% of calves conceived are female. An increasing number of farmers are strategically using sexed semen for their most fertile cows in order to reduce the number of bobby calves (mostly male calves) produced.

Although the technology is continually improving, some disadvantages remain. These include:

Lower fertility – the process of sorting semen damages sperm, resulting in lower conception rates.

Limited genetic choices – sexed semen is only available for a limited number of bulls, which limits access to specific traits or the ability to reduce inbreeding.

Too many female calves – only a certain number of heifers are needed to maintain a herd. It can be difficult to find buyers for surplus female calves.

If all farms only used sexed semen, too many heifers would be born each year resulting in an unsustainable oversupply.

Find out about what happens to male calves.

Find out why farmers use artificial insemination.