Bulls Face Redundancy

THE average dairy bull has a lot less work to do this year. With more dairy cows than ever before being artificially inseminated the role of the bull has become redundant on some farms.

The dairy industry is growing and demand for cows bred by top AI sires has outstripped demand, says LIC Genetics general manager Peter Gatley.

Many farmers put most of their herd to AI and then use a bull to take care of the rest, but with cow prices exceeding $2000, many had simply carried on with AI, he said.

This season showed the biggest increase in artificial insemination since LIC first offered the service more than 50 years ago.

“The dairy industry is going through a growth phase, one we expect to continue for some time,” he said.

“It takes three years from mating until the new replacement animal starts milking, and then we’ll have to breed even more to replace the cows that farmers are currently retaining to meet the shortfall.”

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