Projected Calves by Sire & Semen Type for All Dairies

This widget is only available on Company Dashboards. To add this widget, please contact VAS Support to have this widget made available for your company. After the widget is added, check the box for it under the Herd category in the Page Customization options.

To view this widget on your Company Dashboard, your user account must be assigned to a Role with Dashboard View permissions. See Edit Dairy User Permissions and Manage Dairy Roles for more information.

The Projected Calves by Sire & Semen Type company widget identifies the expected number of calves to be born in all company dairies by sire and semen type, as well as a projected Replacement Heifer count for 7 to 8 months. This information helps to plan for Replacement Heifers that will be added to your herd by month. It also allows you to analyze parentage information for your calves. This widget is only available on Company Dashboards.

Reference the following to understand the data in this widget.

Semen Type: Identifies the type of semen used to conceive the calf. Available types are:

  • Sexed: Semen that has been analyzed and sorted based on the X/Y chromosome in the individual sperm cells. For dairy cows, this type of semen has mostly X-chromosome sperm cells to increase the likelihood of producing heifer calves. 90% of calves conceived with sexed semen are expected to be heifers, and are included in the projected number of Replacement Heifers.
  • Unsexed: Semen that has not been sorted based on the X/Y chromosome in the sperm cells. 45% of calves conceived with unsexed semen are expected to be heifers, and are included in the projected number of Replacement Heifers.
  • Unknown: Semen for which the bull NAABClosed National Association of Animal Breeders. www.naab-css.org code was not specified. VAS recommends using the NAAB code whenever possible for more robust data analysis, including improved Replacement Heifer projections. 45% of calves conceived with unknown semen are expected to be heifers, and are included in the projected number of Replacement Heifers.
  • Beef: Semen produced by a beef bull. Beef semen is a lower-cost option and may provide additional advantages, including improved conception rates and lower calf birth weight for calving ease. Heifer and bull calves with a beef sire are designated for beef production and are not included in the projected number of Replacement Heifers.

Replacement Heifers: Identifies the expected number of heifer calves to be added to the herd for milk production. This count includes calves conceived with sexed, unsexed, and unknown semen.

This value is a calculation that incorporates the much higher chance of conceiving heifer calves using sexed semen. The calculation is:

Replacement Heifers = (sexed semen calves * 0.90) + (unsexed semen calves * 0.45) + (unknown semen calves * 0.45)

  • For instance, if you are projected to have 18 sexed calves, 231 unsexed calves, and 8 unknown calves, the Replacement Heifers calculation is: (18 * 0.90 = 16) + (231 * 0.45 = 104) + (8 * 0.45 = 4) = 124

Calves with beef sires are not included in this calculation.

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