Irish dairy producers will get their long desired semen sorting lab when global sexed semen technology leader and innovator Sexing Technologies opens its first facility in Ireland in November.

Two leading Irish A.I. companies, Dovea Genetics and Eurogene AI Services have committed to produce sex sorted semen at the new facility.

“This lab will give local dairy and beef producers access to the global gold standard in sex sorted semen, our SexedULTRA 4M® semen, which is more than 90 percent gender accurate and achieves conception rates comparable to conventional semen,” said Juan Moreno, Sexing Technologies CEO.

The lab will be located at Teagasc’s Moorepark Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, located just north of Fermoy in County Cork. Teagasc is Ireland’s agriculture and food development authority.

“This lab represents a turning point for Ireland’s dairy and beef industries,” said Stephen Butler, Reproductive Physiologist at Teagasc. “We are delighted that Sexing Technologies is coming to Ireland to offer this leading technology to our A.I. industry and, ultimately, to our dairy and beef producers.”

Sexed semen generates faster genetic improvement in cattle herds by allowing producers to breed their best cows and heifers to genetically elite sires and create their next generation replacements. Producers who utilise genomic testing can more easily identify their top genetic merit animals, which they can breed with sexed semen, and their animals with lesser genetic merit can be bred with beef semen to produce a beef calf that will generate added income.