Australian Holstein semen exported to Japan
Ladino Park Talent has become the first Australian Holstein sire to have semen exported to Japan in more than a decade.
The 3500-dose shipment is the result of more than five years of negotiations between government and industry associations in both Australia and Japan.
Semex Pty Ltd General Manager, Jim Conroy, said the shipment was yet another milestone in what has been a truly stellar career for the 10-year-old sire.
“Talent graduated as the No. 1 Type and Udder sire in Australia in February 2003 and then in Canada six months later,” he said.
“In doing so, he became the first Australian Holstein sire to be marketed throughout the world via the Semex Alliance.
“To date, more than 800,000 doses of his semen have been sold in 40 different countries over the past five years.
“Last year, he became Semex’s highest-selling sire in the world and this demand is continuing to soar on the strength of the performance of his tens of thousands of second-crop daughters.
“Talent demonstrates an excellent balance of production, type and management ease – the complete package needed for profitable dairy production, no matter where you are in the world.
“He remains at or near the top of the rankings in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Holland, England, Spain and Italy.
“To get access to Japan, which is arguably the most discerning market in the world, is yet another endorsement of the quality of this sire.”
Semex Administration Manager, Karen Phillips, who supervised the export, said the process wasn’t overly difficult – just time-consuming.
“Japan’s requirements are no more stringent than other countries – but because it has not been done for many years, it took five years to re-establish a health protocol,” she said.
“All the parties, including Biosecurity Australia, AQIS and the Australian Registered Cattle Breeders Association, worked very hard to achieve a positive outcome.
“We are very proud to have been associated with achieving this milestone.”
The semen was imported by Nosawa and Company, a Japanese trading house that has imported large volumes of heifers and feedstuff from Australia over the years.
Company principal, Shinichiro Nosawa, has been internationally recognised for his contribution to genetic improvement within the Japanese dairy industry.
His many achievements include the development of a model dairy farm in Hokkaido to showcase North American technology.
The Japanese dairy industry comprises about 26,500 farms, each milking about 60 head. Average production is about 7,700 litres per cow.
Ladino Park Talent was bred by Max Hardes of Ladino Park Holsteins, Aberdeen, NSW, using imported embryos.
By a twist of coincidence, the sire has a number of full sisters in both Australia and New Zealand.
The Semex Alliance opted to sample Talent in its Australian and Canadian progeny testing programs on the strength of his remarkable pedigree.
He is a son of the legendary Maughlin Storm and from Markwell Leader Rose EX91-2E, the Kinglea Leader daughter of the world-famous Stookey Elm Park Blackrose*RC EX-7E USA.
Ladino Park Talent has spent all of his working life at Total Livestock Genetics, a major independent semen and embryo collection centre based at Camperdown, Victoria.
Established in 1989, TLG provides collection and export services for a number of major artificial breeding organisations operating in Australia.
The organisation is also a recognised leader in advanced breeding technologies, such as IVF, embryo sexing and embryo splitting.
Semex Pty Ltd is the exclusive Australian distributor of livestock genetics marketed by the Semex Alliance, the world’s largest artificial breeding organisation.
