Sexed semen team completes rigorous training as new lab gears up for mating

Experts from Brazil, India and the US have been putting the team at CRV’s new sexed semen lab through rigorous training over the last 18 months as they prepare to deliver high quality sexed semen to dairy farmers this coming mating.

CRV has collaborated with Genus IntelliGen® Technologies to bring proven innovative sexed semen technology to New Zealand. The technology is housed within a purpose-built laboratory at CRV’s Bellevue production and logistics facility in the Waikato.

Commissioned in February 2022, the new facility will provide CRV with the capacity to produce sexed semen on a daily basis and therefore tripling its own production capacity, as more dairy farmers look to accelerate the genetic gains and reduce bobby calf numbers.

The new facility is equipped with IntelliGen® Technology, the only commercial laser-ablation¹ semen sexing technology available in key global markets. This cutting-edge technology has successfully inseminated millions of cattle around the world.

Genus Laboratory Manager Amanda Nonato from Brazil spent 6 months in New Zealand facilitating the training. She says after rigorous and intensive training, the lab is now well resourced with more than 8 New Zealand technicians qualified in the intricate sexed semen production process.

“Our team here in New Zealand is employed by Genus to process semen from a selection of CRV’s best New Zealand bulls.

IntelliGen Technology’s process for developing sexed bovine genetics is gentler on the sperm cells than traditional sexed semen processes.

This cutting-edge technology does not subject semen cells to the high pressures, electric currents and shear forces that are used in the traditional sexed semen technology, which reduces stress on the cells as they are processed.

Amanda says the training process has involved Genus’ experienced trainers working closely alongside trainees, observing their technique, and giving them feedback to ensure they consistently produce a high-quality product.

“The IntelliGen sexing process is unique and proprietary. I’m very happy and confident with everything that we have accomplished here in New Zealand. The team is already producing some top-quality results and we will continue to work with them and train any additional new hires.

“New Zealand dairy farmers can maximize their herds’ genetic gain through using CRV sexed semen as we are offering our very best bulls that are leading in Health and Efficiency.”

CRV Operations Manager Andy Medley says it was challenging to set up the new lab with New Zealand’s borders closed due to Covid-19. However, everything is now in place and the lab is already operating 24 hours a day, five days a week.

“The demand for sexed semen from New Zealand dairy farmers continues to grow year on year. The innovative technology we are using at Bellevue means we can provide farmers with a high-quality sexed product to help them maximise their profitability and achieve genetic gains faster and in a more efficient way.”

• The semen is put through a preliminary quality control process to make sure it is viable and motile.
• The cells are then stained and loaded onto the technology platform where we identify the sex skew in the sample.
• A sperm cell containing female DNA is heavier and more dense than male DNA. When cells are passing by detection laser, the software can then detect the difference in DNA content.
• The system will then identify the female cells that we’re interested in and use another laser to inactivate the unwanted cells. The desired cells and the inactivated cells are combined and included in the straw. Cells are prepared with the right buffers for freezing and packaged at the right concentration.
• The straws are then frozen. Each batch must pass stringent quality control criteria and is then ready for transport to customers on farm.

Learn more about the process by watching this video from IntelliGen Technologies.