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Brazilian cattle breeders can now determine the gender of calves with 85 percent accuracy using sexed semen technology, a development manager at ABS has said ahead of the 91st ExpoZebu event in Minas Gerais.
Paula Vangie, speaking to News Central TV from Uberaba, said the technology allows farmers to select for female calves with high precision, a significant advantage for dairy production.
She explained that a specialised team checks genomic evaluations to determine how the offspring of selected animals will perform. The best animals are chosen, and their semen is collected, frozen and sold both in Brazil and internationally.
Vangie said Brazil offers two types of semen. Conventional semen gives a 50 percent chance of producing a male or female calf. The more advanced sexed semen, which uses sex cell technology, gives an 85 percent chance of producing a female calf.
“We have in Brazil, we have conventional semen, which you don’t know if the calf is going to be a male or female, has a 50% chance of having both of them. And we also have sexed semen. So, we have that technology,” she said.
“There is a technology called the sex cell technology and they sex the semen. So, you have a chance, 85% chance of having a female calf. Very good,” Vangie added.
She also noted that Brazil is growing rapidly in the field of embryo technology. Unlike semen technology, which selects only the father, embryo technology selects both the father and the mother.
ExpoZebu, now in its 91st edition, is one of the world’s largest cattle breeding exhibitions. It showcases advances in genetics, reproduction technology and herd management.
