“We are excited to launch a beef sire fertility ranking model,” states Keith Heikes, Genex chief operating officer. “This fertility ranking, called PregCheck, evaluates an individual sire’s frozen semen conception rate.”

The new evaluation shows the expected difference in a sire’s conception rate. It uses a 100 base system, meaning a value of 100 is average. Every one-point difference is equivalent to a 1 percent difference in conception rate. For example, if sire A has a value of 102 and sire B has a value of 98, sire A is predicted to average a 4 percent higher conception rate compared to sire B when bred to females with similar reproductive ability.

“Genex members and customers can expect increased conception rates when breeding females to higher PregCheck sires. An increase in conception rate adds up to more A.I. pregnancies and pounds of calf per year,” explains Heikes.

The statistical analysis for the beef sire fertility ranking model was developed by Genex geneticists, who also assisted the cooperative in being the first to the marketplace with an internal dairy sire fertility evaluation. The beef model is identical to the dairy sire fertility evaluation system; however, it is set to a beef base where sires are only compared to other beef sires.

Rankings will be published in the 2015 Beef Genetic Management Guide. As additional sires achieve reliability, their fertility rankings will be updated on the Genex website.  

—From Genex Cooperative Inc. news release