Don’t delay and Alcove is back…
By Dianna Malcolm
Alcove daughter at Lakeside Dairies. Photo supplied.
The message for New Zealand dairy farmers shopping for bull semen for the next season is clear – get in quick – or risk being disappointed.
The drive is underpinned by a conscious global move towards medium-sized commercial cows that can withstand the push for production – with the strength to compete and get in calf – while not breaking down in the udder or feet and legs. To achieve that, it demands an appreciation of the genetics behind the bulls.
Semex NZ is across the subject for its clients, and it is urging its customers to contact their Semex representatives earlier rather than later.
“I’m now competing with a lot of other countries for the supply of these short-stature, high-component, commercial type bulls because they suit so many operations globally,” Semex NZ’s general manager Ryan Lett said. “The reality is that some of our customers are ordering as early as February in some cases now, so they don’t miss out on specific bulls.
Another reality is that as New Zealand farmers look for more per cow production, it has put a spotlight on conformation (overlooked within Breeding Worth). It makes companies like Semex NZ – which is listening carefully to its commercial clients – relevant and relatable in 2026.
Hi-Horse dam, AOT Deluxe Hi-Lighted EX91-3YR-USA-DOM. Photo supplied.
Alcove returns
A piece of good news for Kiwis is that Semex’s popular Holstein sire, Westcoast Alcove, who was unavailable for the last few seasons, is once again available in conventional semen.
Alcove is the #3 Proven BW bull on the Dairy NZ RAS Holstein Friesian Sire list. Semex NZ has been accessing as much of Alcove as it can, and as New Zealand farmers hear about it, orders are again rolling out the door. Alcove will celebrate his 10th birthday in November.
“Because as the value in genetics becomes more important, we’re seeing that it’s no longer just the bull of the day where people want 500 doses and their main question is what is the average price of the semen? Our clients now want the bulls that will give them what they need for the right blend price.
“And, we enjoy going into a herd and seeing eight or nine-year-old cows that have done six or seven lactations because they have held together and got in-calf.
“It would be nice to see many more of those cows. I saw a Lencrest Blackstone Jersey daughter recently that was eight years old with seven calves, she still looked incredible and she was one of this farm’s best producers. That’s the kind of cows we want in our herds.”
Beyond Hi-Horse. Photo supplied.
New boys on the block
Exciting new sires to join the Semex line-up this year (in the Holsteins) include OCD UPL-ET-New and Beyond Hi-Horse-ET. Those sires offer extreme components, more strength than stature, calving ease, and functional type.
“Those bulls bring a lot of feed efficiency and production in a smaller package,” Ryan said.
OCD UPL-ET-New. Photo supplied.
In the pedigree Holstein market, Walnutlawn PG Lovestory is an exciting young Anahita son and Progenesis Ambrose RC-daughters are calving in and look extremely promising globally.
In the Jersey market, Lencrest Tobefamous has daughters calving in. A young sire with a rich pedigree is Miami Songstar. He comes from the renowned Miami stud of the Philmar Dairy Company (Victoria Australia), and he is recognised for high Balanced Performance Index ratings, elite mammary systems, and A2A2 genetics. His sire is Primus Craze Starlord-ET and his dam is Miami Loki Song. The bull’s granddam comes from another profile Australian herd, Kaarmona Jerseys (the Sprunt family). It’s a combination of deep, proven genetics working in large herds.
Ryan says the increasing interest in conformation is being driven by greater production.
“I would say there ismore interest in functional type, as opposed to high-type. People in general are feeding more, production is going up, and our customers need good udders, correct legs and feet, and rump width.”
Songstar’s dam, Miami Loki Song 7208. Photo supplied.
Semex NZ is staffed by a team of eight full-time area managers that are all cow people with long histories with the company. It also includes a ground force of commission agents. Everyone has one thing in common.
“Our team is passionate about genetics, and we are all working with our clients to improve their genetic gain to help them achieve their breeding goals,” Ryan said.
“We believe genetic decisions are important – they influence your herd’s longevity, production, fertility, general health, and so much more.
“Your herd is one of your biggest assets. It makes sense to pay careful attention to it. It’s also a big subject now with a lot of choices. We’re here to cut through all of that.”
Semex NZ has also continued to evolve into a genetics support network that is about so much more than semen. It not only offers outcross genetics with improved udder and functional traits along with exceptional production.
It also offers a number of other transformative management tools within its sire selection support. It includes SemexWorks – a bull team selection tool – which uses specific on-farm economics, parameters, and breeding objectives to choose a tailormade bull team for that farm.
Miami Songstar. Photo supplied.
Help with choices
OptiMate is Semex NZ’s popular mating programme, which makes individual corrective mating possible, regardless of the herd size.
“We’ve got clients who have been using this service for 20 years and it’s now well and truly evolved,” Ryan said. “In a nutshell, it’s now even simpler for farmers to correctly breed large herds. This service also helps prevent inbreeding, harmful haplotypes (a stretch of DNA that is inherited intact or as a block from a single parent), and recessive genes.
“It can be run using pedigree data – or now – by running herds using their Genomic data from our Elevate Genomic testing service. We are getting even better results, in an easier and more accurate process for our farmers”.
Complete business
Other draws for Semex NZ include its Semexx SexedULTRA semen, calving ease sires, beef-on-dairy matings, A2A2 sires, genomic sires (75% of active AI bulls are genomic – which can increase genetic progress by 2.5 times over traditional progeny testing), and Grazing Pro (sires designed to make management in grazing environments effortless).
Semex has also released its new SemexGO™ sire search App. The free service delivers fast results by breed, traits, and brands in TPI [Total Performance Index] and LPI [Lifetime Production Index].
On the animal health side of the business, Semex champions Immunity+, a robust health index that tests the bull’s response to bacteria and viruses, and transition calcium boluses for fresh cows, who struggle with the drawdown of calcium stores as they move into peak production. Its Methane index is a result of responsible environmental work that started in Canada in 2013.
And, everything is tied together by this relationship-based team that is dedicated to delivering results.
Ryan said, “We’re in the business because we all love cows, and we don’t believe in a ‘one-size fits all’ mentality.”
Belbrook Famous Lulu 2.