Sexed semen use in Ireland is on track to surpass 400,000 straws this year, according to Teagasc. Speaking at Moorepark 2025, Laurence Shalloo, head of animal and grassland research told dairy farmers that just four years ago only around 40,000 sexed semen straws were used nationally.

“Huge progress is being made and in terms of the beef merit of the calves coming from the dairy herd – the CBV is now increasing at €5/year,” Shalloo said.

However, Teagasc has said that another 100,000 sexed semen straws need to be used to generate enough dairy replacement heifers to maintain current cow numbers.

“The increase in sexed semen has been rapid, but not rapid enough to sustain the number of heifer calves required. There’s been a shrinkage in heifer generating capacity by about 50,000 and we’re seeing that now in the availability of heifers in the national herd,” Teagasc’s Conor Hogan said.