Aaron Henderson, US Jersey Specialist

In the USA and around the world low milk prices, plummeting equity and lingering high feed costs have left many dairy operators taking a hard look at all costs associated with their businesses, knowing that to be profitable today you have to be more than just efficient.

Cows once worth $2500 US or more are now being sold across the country for $1000 US or less, and springers are now valued at half of what they were once selling for… many times bringing less than $1200 US.

Tough conversations are happening in offices and around dinner tables every day in an effort to increase profitability, whether they’re milking 50 or 5,000 cows.

One of those conversations is whether or not it is worthwhile to pay a premium price for sorted semen, and the added value of producing your own replacements.

Each dairy’s situation is a slightlydifferent, but for Aardema Dairies in southern Idaho, the extra dollars spent is one cost they’re not willing to sacrifice.

The Aardema family along with their General Manager Jeff Wendler, and herd managers John Andersen and Jordan Leak continue to sort through
pedigrees and proofs to find bulls to meet their criteria to use in their herds to make top genetic heifer replacements.

This sifting and winnowing process includes using Semex’s SEMEXX™, gender selected semen.

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