Family Farm Friday #11: Bull Semen and Bonding

"...she's trying hard, to fit in in some city....How 'bout them cowgirls..." ~George Strait

For my city friends, yes, you read the title right. I know you are all in shock and have no idea why I would ever title a blog -- or anything else, for that matter -- bull semen. Allow me to explain.

It's very common for cattle ranchers to utilize artificial insemination ("AI") to breed their cows. AI lets a rancher buy straws of semen from a bull that he could never afford to own, and might never see in person. So ranchers order their straws of semen, which are kept in liquid nitrogen tanks (see below). Then when their cows are ready, they breed the cow with the semen in the straws.

This technology is a great thing for agriculture in general, but I think it's really great for small ranchers. AI makes it possible for the small, family rancher in the middle of nowhere to get genetics from the best, most expensive bull in the world. These small ranchers would never be able to afford to own a bull like this. But because of AI, they can buy the semen from the bull, breed their own cow, and raise calves that have the great genetics. If they are lucky, they can raise a great bull for themselves out of their own cow. This is how we are going to keep improving the quality of beef in America.


One of my favorite parts of AI is trying to pick out which bull's semen you want to buy. There are so many considerations that you have to consider---genotypically (meaning their genetics, their epds--which are sort of like their stats) and phenotypically (meaning what they look like themselves). You have to consider birthweight to decide which cows you want to breed them to. You need to think about what the weaknesses might be with your own cow herd that you need to try to correct. You need to think about structure and muscle and weaning weight. There really is an art to it.

Last weekend, my brother and I were both home at my parents' house. My mom caught a moment of this analysis on the camera. Here we are, all gathered around the computer analyzing what bulls we might want to buy semen from this year. You want to take a look? Click here for one of the most popular websites. See what you think. Which one is your favorite? Now imagine that you had your own cows and got to actually breed them to your favorite one.....it's a pretty cool thing! FYI--I'm intrigued by Dirty Hairy 2. Little brother likes True Blood. Dad likes Missisippi Stud.


There's nothing like a little family bonding over bull semen. I love being an ag girl!