Asking Too Much??!!

[afhm]

How do they determine what semen you have shpped in?  Do they open up and read the packing list  and check the tank to see if what is there is suppose to be there?  What about if you had your tank with you on a trip down to the States, do they inventory it and see if it is all approved semen?  Are you restricted on the sires of embryos bought out of Canada as well?  I'm not saying break the law and get the semen you want through the back door, I am just curious how they police things like that.

 

[LT]

We have seen Select Sires Hairy.  After seeing him we decided to flush our Angus donor cow to him.  Thick, structurally correct, tracks well and very moderate.  Should work well, you may want to try him.  Select Sires has some pretty tough standards for testing semen quality. 

 

[cdncowboy]

How do they determine what semen you have shpped in?  Do they open up and read the packing list  and check the tank to see if what is there is suppose to be there?  What about if you had your tank with you on a trip down to the States, do they inventory it and see if it is all approved semen?  Are you restricted on the sires of embryos bought out of Canada as well?  I'm not saying break the law and get the semen you want through the back door, I am just curious how they police things like that.

The semen companies bring most of it up, the bulls have to pass all the same health requirements as if imported live and I believe spend a certain amount of time at stud.  You can import on your own by applying for an import permit, but it has to meet the same criteria as above.  As far as embryos I'm not really up on that, but a few years back a neighbor sent a couple cows south to flush,  the bulls were not cleared for exportable semen so he couldn't bring back the frozen eggs, but he could implant them and bring the recips home 8) 8). Which really makes no sense.  The back door approach is always an option as well.

 

[justintime]

Some of the health rules on both sides of the border have been developed  by bureaucratic idiots. Sorry, but that is exactly what they are. Anyone  who has less than 1 gram of common sense is, in my opinion. an idiot. Washed embryos have been scientifically proven to be sterile and 100% disease free This has been proven in numerous studies, yet it is not possible to bring embryos into Canada produced by a bull who's semen was not exportable to Canada. PEOPLE.. IT SHOULDN'T MATTER... THE EMBRYOS ARE STERILE AND DISEASE FREE!!!!! Sorry for yelling, but I have argued with some of these half wits for years over issues like this, and it falls on deaf ears.

It is the same thing with flushing donors. It is illegal to bring semen into Canada from bulls who have not passed the required tests prior to semen being collected. It is legal. however, for me to take a donor across the border into the US, breed her and bring her back and do the flush in Canada. If I do this, I can keep the embryos here in Canada. Am I the only person who thinks this is total nonsense? I have done this with some donors, gone through all the health test hoops, paid the ridiculous US broker fees, and loaded the donor up when she comes into heat, and taken her across into North Dakota. We have bred her as soon as I get across and spend a few hours visiting with some friends, then breed her again and head back across the border the same day. This is legal and was suggested to me by our federal vet.

The same goes for pregnant recips. I have embryos in the US that I cannot bring into Canada. If I buy some recips and implant the embryos, I can bring all the pregnant ones into Canada, with no questions asked. I have hoped that some day I might see some common sense in some of these regulations, but I am beginning to think it ain't going to happen.
  Some of the US regulations are just as bad. Just recently I heard of an US vet turning a load of cattle  back at the border, simply because the health papers were in a white envelope rather than a brown one. Give me a break!

 

[CAB]

  If you can get Hairy semen, he is a good choice I think. He's clean and will make them moderate size and sound. Brent

 

[oakbar]

My first choice would be Money Man!!  I certainly wouldn't be afraid of Witch Doctor either--he always seems to throw stylish calves and moderate frame size.  I would stick with bulls that have been around a while rather than trying new bulls that we really don't have enough experience with to be sure about their calving ease, etc.  Maybe not as exciting but much more predictable.  It's always shocking to me to see how many new bulls are promoted as "the answer' each year and how few of them are even around 3 years later when their daughters calves are hitting the ground.

 

[J-Beef]

weve had good luck with Naughty Pine and Castle rock

 

[CAB]

  My bad, I agree with Lynn about the calving ease. I forgot that we were breeding heifers. I like the looks of what I have seen out of Joe maybe a tick better than the Money Man's. I also did have some troubles calving Money Man. JMO. Brent

 

[red]

CAB- I didn't have the best BW's w/ MM either but I gave him a 2nd chance. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.
Also, I'd be cautious using Hard Core on heifers. I know they have him listed as an easy calver but his BW EPD's are 3.3 & his calves tend to be big boned. Not a bad thing at all on cows but a little tricky on heifers.

Red

 

[shortyisqueen]

Actually, we're breeding two/three/four year old cows. I just don't want any monsters ruining cows that have raised us some marketable show calves, which is where the calving ease comes in. Calving ease really comes to mind when you get down to this time of the year. It doesn't seem 'right up there' sometimes when you're sorting calves in the fall, as the memory of a disaster calving season has faded away...but it sure is easy to see its importance right now. We had a very good calving season, so that is a sigh of relief!!

As far as bringing semen back across the border, I have never done it, but I believe if you are bringing a tank they will thoroughly check it at the border, and if there's anything fishy, neither you or the tank will be getting back into the country. I know of someone who carried it back by putting it in a coffee thermos, but I'm not that brave. I'd much rather do things by the rules, as silly as some of the rules are!!!

 

[TMJ Show Cattle]

Total Solution is the most under utilized bull in the club calf world. Also some of these guys are forgetting the under used, under valued, consistent DIRTY HAIRY!! ALI/Strictly Bussiness.

 

[justme]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to have to do some more research and see what exactly we have available through some of the other distributors that deal with Canadian sales. I believe there are a few of them that are qualified through Semex at least...We will probably try sampling two or three bulls to see what clicks....If you all think of anything else as calving comes your way, I would love to hear it! Thanks everyone!

(Love that Money Man calf, Justme!)

Here is what he looked like last week at Iowa beef expo.  I'm telling you...I've had great luck with Money Man and if I can get calves like this...I'll keep breeding with him.  I do plan on using mucho on some Total Package heifers and some others.  Semen will be availible soon.

 

[shortyjock89]

That's a pretty darn good pic of him Gidget, almost as good as seeing him in person  .  I was really impressed when I saw him again, he's got a monster butt and lots of hair like a clubby-bred bull, but is sound as a cat!  Money Man is on our short list for making ShorthornPlus/Mainetainer calves this year for sure. 

 

[justme]

hehehe I was so lucky he got an awesome new owner!  Even better he's in my barn right now getting ready to go to Hawkeye soon.  Stay tuned for details on semen! (cow) (clapping)

 

[oakbar]

Mucho Dinero looked really, really good in Des Moines!!  I'm sure you'll do real well with him.  Good luck on your semen collection and if anyone is near Hawkeye, I'd recommend they stop to see him in person.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed!!

 

[cpubarn]

hehehe I was so lucky he got an awesome new owner!  Even better he's in my barn right now getting ready to go to Hawkeye soon.  Stay tuned for details on semen! (cow) (clapping)

Hey, tell us when he gets to Hawkeye.

I was planning to stop by again in a few days....