Foot & mouth disease in East Asia
[30/04/2010]

Climate change in a climate of change
[02/03/2010]

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 - the solutions for Vietnam’s sustainable growth
[02/03/2010]

UK Sheep meat exports pass the £300 million mark in 2009
[02/03/2010]

Certification Updates
[27/02/2010]

Global Food prices up again according to FAO
[08/02/2010]

New logo selected for all EU organic products
[08/02/2010]

EBLEX beef and sheep roadmap to livestock emissions reductions
[08/02/2010]

Outlook Conference diary alert
[08/02/2010]

Record entries for National All Breeds Show promise a spectacle to dispel the February blues
[08/02/2010]

Make a date: British Cattle Conference 24-26 January 2011
[08/02/2010]

A very merry Christmas (and good year) for British pork sales, at home & abroad
[08/02/2010]

Paris in the Springtime
[07/02/2010]

Aberdeen-Angus semen heads for Estonia
[05/02/2010]

Lloyds TSB Agriculture continues sponsorship of Beef Expo in May
[05/02/2010]

British Blue, British Charolais and British Limousin beef semen exports to USA ...... and Denmark
[05/02/2010]

New JSR International Sales Director
[05/02/2010]

Dairy Burke Trophy moves to new National All Breeds Show
[04/02/2010]

New British semen storage and distribution unit opens
[04/02/2010]

JSR in the Ukraine
[08/12/2009]

Spring into Spring - EBLEX export marketing push
[08/12/2009]

New National All Breeds Show 2010
[08/12/2009]

Male sexed Limousin semen - another ‘world first’ for Crawford Brothers
[04/12/2009]

A Sustainable Breeding Future - British Cattle Conference 25-27 January, 2010
[03/12/2009]

Au revoir and bienvenue to Herefords as they head from England to France
[02/12/2009]

Cogent expansion: commitment and optimism for UK cattle genetics’ future
[01/12/2009]

New Genus ABS appointments in Europe and UK
[01/12/2009]

New British owned AI company launched
[01/12/2009]

British Blues join Semenstore.co.uk
[01/12/2009]

Mad for Madison
[23/09/2009]

New British Angus company launched in response
[23/09/2009]

IndAgra-Farm - UK’s livestock breeding sector are there for business!
[23/09/2009]

Where Asia’s feed, livestock and meat industry do business
[21/09/2009]

National Ploughing Championships 2009
[21/09/2009]

Limousin ‘Goldies Terence’ semen exported to Norway, Finland and Australia
[21/09/2009]

Positive signs for English pig sector
[21/09/2009]

Defra minister to open the Dairy Event and Livestock Show
[08/09/2009]

JSR continues global expansion
[02/09/2009]

World record price for a sheep
[31/08/2009]

Cows for Cambodia!
[28/08/2009]

Cutting edge agricultural research under microscope
[26/08/2009]

GB Bulls Open Day and NEW August DVD now available
[25/08/2009]

Portuguese Pig Producers Choose UK Breeding Stock
[25/08/2009]

Picston Shottle celebrates his tenth birthday
[25/08/2009]

Agriscot - the UK's No 1 Farm Business Event
[25/08/2009]

Strong British team at Expointer
[25/08/2009]

The Dairy Event and Livestock Show 2009
[13/08/2009]

A strong technical team helping the British pig industry
[13/08/2009]

BEEF EXPO 2010 is at Hexham
[12/08/2009]

AHDB appoints new EBLEX director
[12/08/2009]

Expointer And 100 Years of Devons in Brazil
[10/08/2009]

New export initiatives for livestock & meat sectors
[27/07/2009]

EBLEX and BPEX relocate to Stoneleigh
[27/07/2009]

News on latest meat sector economics publications & services
[23/07/2009]

Pig campaign wins major international awards
[29/05/2009]

Doors open for lamb exports to United Arab Emirates
[06/04/2009]

World Shorthorn Conference 2010 – A world of opportunity in the home of the breed
[23/03/2009]

Pig export news from ACMC
[23/03/2009]

UK’s Beef and Lamb exports up
[05/03/2009]

Breeding polled cattle made easier
[05/03/2009]

British pork exports hit £160million
[20/02/2009]

Genus expands business in China
[20/02/2009]

'Positive future' for dairy industry
[23/01/2009]

British Limousin Pedigree sales in 2008 exceed £5 million
[15/01/2009]

2008 Archive

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2004 Archive

A British dairy sire has entered the international record books by producing more sexed semen than any other bull in the world. The bull – Crichel Principal – has notched up an incredible 116,000 straws of sexed semen in his lifetime to date, which his owners, Cogent, say puts him far ahead of his nearest rival. He combined this milestone with a celebration of his 13th birthday in April 2008.

Principal’s accomplishment has been achieved through a combination of his own exceptional fertility (at his prime he was producing semen seven days a week); the widespread demand for his daughters both in the UK and world-wide; and the foresight of Cogent, who were the first breeding company in the world to offer sexed semen commercially to the cattle farming industry.

Cogent brought the US-developed technology to their premises in Cheshire in 1998; have undertaken research and development into sexing techniques since that time; and made the product commercially available in 2000. Today, around 30% of all the semen they sell is sexed, with each successful conception giving their customers a 90% chance of producing a female calf. As such, they have retained their position as a world leader, offering semen sexing services to other breeding companies and to other countries as well as directly to their own customers.

“This technology is exceptionally important to the farming industry, because of the enormous demand for heifers to enter the dairy herd, stemming in turn from the growing international demand for dairy produce; and the negligible value of dairy bull calves,” remarks Hugh Pocock, sales and genetics manager with Cogent. “There are welfare issues associated with producing unwanted bull calves, and animal welfare organisations are firmly in favour of this technology.”

Crichel Principal himself was one of the first bulls to produce daughters resulting from the sexing process and now has an estimated 50,000 on the ground world-wide. “Farmers who have used him find his daughters to be extremely efficient milk-producing cows,” says Mr Pocock. “They also have great legs, feet and locomotion and particularly good health and fitness. “He also has some exceptional sons, including Dalbytop Phil, currently one of our best-selling bulls.”

Principal was bred in Dorset by dairy farmer Tim Harding. For conformation the bull is classified EX95 – one of the highest scores available – and he has a Profitable Lifetime Index of £147, reflecting his commercial relevance and balanced proof. This still ranks him in the top 100 PLI list of all available Holstein bulls, despite his advancing years. Conventional semen is still available although it is no longer put through the sexing process. For more info see www.cogentuk.com [29/04/2008]