Proof Positive for Advance

Over the past year, Alta has been introducing US dairy customers to the superiority of the Advance semen straw. An information campaign, focused on educating producers, provided the rationale. A new insemination gun was designed to make the transition easier and now with each passing month more and more customers are switching to Advance. Still, for many others, despite the wealth of research data that supports the slimmer designed straw’s superiority; there is a desire to see conclusive field data from typical US dairy settings before making a commitment to change. Now that data is available.

Alta’s Advantage herds were a logical first group to convert to the Advance semen straw because of their on-going commitment to sampling tomorrow’s proven Alta leaders. They have chosen to work with Alta and in return expect leadership on these types of issues. Many of these herds are also using Dairy Comp 305 to manage their cow information, including reproductive performance. Data from 68 herds provided 52,680 qualifying young sire inseminations, dating back to January 1^st 2001, of which ½ cc straw inseminations outnumbered Advance straws by a margin of 3:1.

Here’s how the qualifying data was evaluated: 1) if another breeding occurs – not pregnant 2) if cow has been checked open and recorded as such in Dairy Comp 305 – not pregnant 3) if cow has been checked pregnant and recorded as such in Dairy Comp 305 – pregnant. Inseminations not followed by a vet check or another breeding were not included.

Comparative results between ½ cc and Advance semen straws

Semen Package	No. of Inseminations	Success Rate
½ cc Straws	39,699 Inseminations	26.85% Conception Rate
Advance Straws	12,981 Inseminations	27.64% Conception Rate

- young sire inseminations since Jan 2001 from 68 Alta Advantage herds

With large numbers of inseminations the Advance semen straw still generated nearly a 1% advantage in conception and a 3% relative advantage over the traditional ½ cc straw. To fully understand the results, however, it’s important to reflect on where young sire semen typically gets used: the very worst situations. If ever there were a severe test under the harshest of conditions to prove superiority for the Advance straw, this is undoubtedly it. Young sire semen is used on the most difficult breeding situations, reflected by the comparative conception rates achieved with proven semen in the same herds: 92,955 inseminations 37.69%. It’s also important to point out that conception rate data is very different from non-return rate data. Non-return rate statistics incorrectly assume all cows not re-bred to be pregnant. Conception rate data by comparison relies on a confirmed pregnancy check.

The results here analyze real life situations on US dairy farms in a variety of geographical locales. With large numbers of inseminations, the study provides a reliable comparison between the two semen package types and confers a statistically significant advantage to the Advance straw. Ongoing analysis will continue as more data accumulates. In particular, a comparison on proven sire semen needs to be made. Other analyses could focus on comparative success rates exclusively for1^st inseminations, or perhaps just on heifer matings, to establish if under ideal circumstances the performance difference is magnified. Another analysis could compare success rate differences between ½ and Advance straws for individual sires over a 12-month period. In the meantime, if these results already have you convinced, why not contact your Alta rep today!