The Art of Manufacturing Bull Semen

Day in and day out, you grab your tweezers, open the tank, pluck out an A.I. semen straw and place it in the water bath (or wrap it in a paper towel and put it in your pocket). But, did you ever think what it took to get that A.I. straw to your tank? As Glen Gilbert, Genex Vice President of Production, explains, it all starts in the factory …

A bull basically has a sperm factory that never takes a break. It constantly produces sperm 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It does not take time off for holidays or bad weather, although weather can impact how the factory performs. A bull’s health, his body condition, nutritional status, age and his environment can impact the factory too.

The Semen Assembly Line

The “assembly line” production process takes about 10 weeks to produce a sperm capable of fertilizing an egg. It’s a complex process in which cells divide to reduce their chromosomes (amount of DNA) by half, dramatically change their shape and grow a tail capable of motion. Any imperfection in the process, such as breaks in the strands of DNA, results in a defective sperm that won’t be fertile.

Semen production is a 10-week "assembly line" process.



A Climate Controlled Factory
The thermostat in the factory is set to maintain the temperature at 4 degrees below body temperature. If the factory runs hotter, the sperm is defective. To help ensure quality sperm, males are equipped with a sophisticated “air conditioner” that works to maintain the proper temperature. Features of that air conditioner include a large number of sweat glands along the surface of the bull’s scrotum, the ability to raise or lower the factory depending on the outside temperature and a system where warm arteriole blood coming from the body is cooled at the top of the scrotum by cooler blood returning from the testis. In over-conditioned bulls, fat deposits in the top of the scrotum interfere with this cooling mechanism and result in a factory that is too warm.

Of course, things such as hot summer temperatures or illness with fever can overwhelm the factory’s cooling capacity and result in defective sperm too. Even brief heat blasts lasting only a few days can impair normal semen production for several months. In other words, a bull with “good quality” semen one day can have a change in quality the following day.


The sperm factory has a sophisticated
"air conditioner" to maintain proper temps.

Sperm Quality Characteristics

Sperm need to be able to swim, have an adequate energy supply, be able to move up through the uterus into the oviduct, attach to the lining of the oviduct and wait for a signal from the female that her ova will soon be passing by. Then, the sperm needs to have enough energy to pull away from the lining of the oviduct by becoming hyper-motile, possess the necessary membrane structure that can attach to the ova and have the enzymes necessary to digest its way through the covering of the egg. Finally, the sperm needs to have the right complement of DNA that will combine with the ova’s DNA to create an embryo. Once inside, its DNA must be fully functional and not have any lethal genetic defects.


For effective cattle artificial insemination,
sperm need to be able to swim.

Every bull will produce some sperm that have flaws. Some sperm can’t swim. Some don’t have adequate energy stored. Some have faulty membranes, and some don’t have properly packaged DNA. Any one of these flaws causes that individual sperm to be useless. However, as long as enough of the entire population has the necessary traits, a bull’s semen will be fertile when deposited at the right time and the right place in a female’s reproductive tract.

Collectively these necessary physical characteristics of a population of sperm are referred to as “semen quality.” Each collection arriving in a Genex laboratory is screened to ensure it has sufficient numbers of sperm with those quality characteristics. If an ejaculate does not have adequate quality, it ends up outside in the dumpster.

Production Protocols

Collections that pass the initial screening tests proceed to the next steps - adding preservation media and freezing. Following the protocols precisely for preservation and freezing is important in order to yield an adequate number of normal sperm per straw after freezing and because each part of the process (preservation media, how its added, ratio of semen to extension media, rate of temp change, etc.) can influence others.

Quality Control Commitment

From the time a bull leaves his stall to go to the collection arena until his semen comes out of the freezer no less than 56 distinct steps are carefully carried out and monitored. Throughout the process, Genex production staff work by the motto, “If there’s any doubt, throw it out.”



At Genex, sperm quality is checked again and again.
Staff follow a "if there's any doubt, throw it out" motto.

That motto and the laboratory staff’s work doesn’t end when the semen is frozen in liquid nitrogen. Instead, straws from each batch are thawed and again inspected in the laboratory to ensure an adequate number of quality sperm survived the freezing process.



The batches that are deemed “good quality” are sent off to Genex reps around the country who deliver the semen straws to your farm. So tomorrow, while that A.I. semen straw is thawing in warm water for at least 40 seconds (or in your pocket for 2-3 minutes), think about what it took to get that straw to your tank.

Meet Our Credit and Accounts Receivable Department-Part 2

This is part two of a two-part series. Take a look at part one.

By: Brooke Handy, Public Relations Coordinator, CRI 

Welcome back to our series featuring the Credit and AR department! We hope you’re just as excited to meet more of the delightful ladies who work hard to keep things running smoothly here at CRI Headquarters in Shawano, Wisconsin.

I recently spent some time with our Credit and AR department and noticed they all have one thing in common: they enjoy working with the farmers and ranchers who make up the Genex members and customers (it’s a common theme here at Genex!). Their number one priority is to keep accounts current so members and customers can continue raising quality dairy and beef cattle, and we can keep doing business with them. Read on to learn a little more about these lovely ladies!

Jacque Mogendi loves talking to members and customers every day. She is constantly learning new things about agriculture and enjoys hearing about the different farming and ranching operations. Jacque is originally from Tanzania, but her family moved many times for her father’s job. They eventually moved to the U.S. 15 years ago, and she attributes her passion for travel to her childhood. While she loves to explore new places, she prefers to stay north to avoid the heat. Outside of work, Jacque keeps busy raising her three children and camping with her family.

Sandy Nemetz can process about 1,000 checks on a busy day. Her favorite part of the day is working directly with our members and customers to ensure their checks are accurate before she deposits them. In her free time, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens and hanging out with her three grandkids. She is a passionate fan of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers and enjoys cheering them on from the comfort of her living room. According to Sandy, she might be thrown out of the stadium if she actually attended the games! (I’m sure all you die hard sports fans can relate.)

Vicky Sprenger began her career 43 years ago with Genex predecessor Midwest Breeders. Since then, she has witnessed many evolutions and mergers to what makes up Genex today. She enjoys the daily challenges that arise in the Accounts Receivable department and working to find solutions (gotta love her ‘go getter’ attitude). Vicky is also a big fan of the Green Bay Packers. She and her husband are season ticket holders and have attended Packer games since 1973. She is actively involved with her local snowmobiling club and grooming club which helps ensure the trails are maintained from year to year.

Kathy Pieper likes to keep busy, which is not a problem in her position. Her main responsibility is maintaining the address book. Kathy spends most of her day setting up new member and customer accounts and updating the current ones. She likes to keep busy out of the office as well. She and her husband spend their free time looking after their large garden and flower beds, visiting their four grandchildren or vacationing at their cottage.

Shaina Oakley works with Kathy to maintain customer and member accounts. She enjoys the repetitive aspect of her job as she enters account information into the database. Shaina spends her free time keeping up with her three kids. Right now, her family is preparing for her daughter’s first year and stepson’s last year showing hogs at the Shawano County Fair.

Next time you call into the Credit and AR department, you’ll be able to put a face to the name (and maybe even strike up a conversation about their favorite hobbies). If you have any questions pertaining to your account, give Customer Service a call at 1-888-333-1783 and ask for the Credit department.

Meet Our Credit and Accounts Receivable Department

(Part one of a two-part series)

By: Brooke Handy, Public Relations Coordinator, CRI

If you have ever had a question about your account or a bill, chances are one of the ladies in the Credit and Accounts Receivable (AR) department answered your phone call. Each day they work hard to keep things running smoothly at CRI Headquarters in Shawano, Wisconsin.

I recently spent some time with our Credit and AR department and noticed they all have one thing in common: they enjoy working with the farmers and ranchers who make up the Genex members and customers (it’s a common theme here at Genex!). Their number one priority is to keep accounts current so members and customers can continue raising quality dairy and beef cattle, and we can keep doing business with them. Read on to learn a little more about these lovely ladies!

Kris Vomastic started working for Genex as a Customer Service Representative about 25 years ago, but these days she oversees the Credit and AR department. She keeps busy working with members and customers to keep their accounts on track and troubleshooting any discrepancies (what a lifesaver!). When she’s not in her office, Kris can be found at the Belle Plaine Community Center where she is the town clerk for about 1,900 residents or chasing after her 12 grandkids.

Patti Kane’s favorite part of her job is getting to know each farmer or rancher and learning more about their operations. “They go through floods, droughts and fires in their barn and they just keep going. They’re very resilient,” says Patti. (We like to think our AR department is resilient as well. They work day in and day out to keep members’ and customers’ accounts current. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it!) Her ties to the dairy industry run deep. Patti’s grandfather was a dairy farmer, and her father was Vice President at Morning Glory Farms Cooperative in Shawano, until he retired in 1991. In fact, his office was located on the same property where CRI Headquarters sits today!

Tami Zuleger loves problem solving. According to Tami, working with members and customers to find a solution to any problems that arise is the best part of her day. After work you’ll find her running after her daughter who participates in sports and 4-H. I’m sure none of you parents can relate to that (sarcasm completely intended). They are currently preparing for the 2016 Shawano County Fair where her daughter shows rabbits and visual arts projects (high-five to Tami’s daughter for being active in agriculture and her community). Tami also serves on the executive committee in Shawano that is working to start a Boys and Girls Club.

Pam Egge mainly works with the liquid nitrogen service agreements and cancellations, but lends a hand wherever it is needed. She’s pretty much a jack of all trades in the Credit department. Pam and her husband are the ultimate team and the epitome of work hard, play hard. When she’s not at the office she can be found helping him install seamless gutter systems (if you’re in the local area and need new gutters, you know who to call). In their free time, they are devoted snowmobilers and recently purchased a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Next time you call into the Credit and AR department, you’ll be able to put a face to the name (and maybe even strike up a conversation about their favorite hobbies). If you have any questions pertaining to your account, give Customer Service a call at 1-888-333-1783 and ask for the Credit department. Be sure to stay tuned for the part two of our series featuring the Credit and AR department! 

Simplified Jersey Breed Registry

By Leah James, Dairy Marketing Manager, Genex Recent decisions by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) board have made deciphering Jersey registrations easier. With the March 2016 board action, the AJCA simplified the registration recording process. The two major changes are the incorporation of Generation Count and Breed Base Representation (BBR). Generation Count Under the new Generation Count system, you will no longer see OA, PR and GR or J-levels on papers. Instead, there will be a straight numeric counting system following the animals full registered name representing the point at which the animal was first recorded in the AJCA herd book. This new system starts with a ‘1’ designation and moves through a ‘6’ before no designation is needed on a pedigree.  The graph below lays out how generation counts will be handled for resulting offspring of generational sires. The general rule of thumb is to add one count to the dam’s generational level. Breed Base Representation (BBR) The Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) has distributed Breed Base Representation (BBR) values to the respective breed associations. The disclosure and publication of these values is up to the individual breed associations. AJCA is the only breed association that has chosen to publish BBR values at this time. In very simplified terms, BBR is a reference number (up to 100) of an individual’s relation to a known (genotyped) reference population. Because the base population is always changing, growing and adding new data points, it is the CDCB’s policy that a BBR of 94 or greater will be reported as 100. Under the new system, a sire needs to have a BBR of 83 to be listed on the AJCA active reports. 100% of our active sires meet this requirement. Once again, this is ONLY a reference number and should be used as such. *Please note these Generation Count and BBR changes can potentially affect a few of our active sire’s ability to be recognized by the AJCA registration standards. Any sire that does not meet these standards will be clearly designated in the sire catalog and in any marketing materials with a UR (Un-registered) suffix following the given short name.  For more detailed information, check out the  AJCA  fact sheet.

2016 Argentina and Brazil Beef Tour

Our new International Business Specialist, Kasey Haars, had only been on the job for a couple of weeks when we sent her along on the Argentina and Brazil beef tour. She learned a lot, made some new connections and filed this report.

I had the opportunity to assist with the Cooperative Resources International (CRI) Argentina and Brazil beef tour. This tour began in Kansas City, Missouri, weaved through Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota and ended in North Dakota. Fifty individuals from all areas of the cattle industry in both countries attended, all coming together to learn about a common interest. 

The first tour began by heading to Tiffany Cattle Company. This 10,000 head stock yard customizes in custom feeding cattle. This family-run operation gave us the opportunity to see how a large stock yard with many employees is run. 

Rations and the importance of each ingredient was also discussed in detail at Tiffany Cattle Company. 

At our second stop, Badger Creek Cattle in Emporia, Kansas, tour participants viewed several bulls.

The next day was spent at Mushrush Red Angus in Strong City, Kansas. Daniel Mushrush was able to explain to the group in Spanish (much to the group's delight) that he and his father run the operation together. There are currently four generations of  the Mushrush family on the farm, and they plan for it to stay family owned and operated.

Tour participants were eager to watch as a few animals were run through the chute.

After a free day in Manhattan, Kansas, Monday was spent at Kansas State University. There we were able to see their pastures containing native grasses, view bulls and listen to presentations. 

The day's presentations covered a department overview, what’s new in beef genetics, evaluating cattle feet and legs, and a review of their embryo transfer and A.I. breeding program. 

Cattle viewing is always a highlight of these tours.

On Tuesday we visited Janssen Angus in Earlham, Iowa. We were able to tour this farm's beautiful pastures, learn about their grazing practices and view bulls used in Argentine breeding programs.

Cow and calves at Janssen Angus

We departed bright and early on Wednesday in route to Mohnen Angus in White Lake, South Dakota where we were again treated to pasture walks containing great looking bulls and Genex progeny.  

Tours allow participants to get up close looks at bulls and progeny.

Thursday we began our journey in North Dakota by visiting Ellingson Angus in Anthony, North Dakota, where we heard about how the Ellingson family grew their ranch to what it is today. 

Many times tour participants get to meet not only the ranch's cattle, but their family as well.

After lunch we headed over to Strommen Ranch in Fort Rice, North Dakota. At Strommen Ranch we learned how the family grew the ranch from a bull and cow they received as a wedding present. This stop showed the Argentines and Brazilians how they use rotational grazing for as many months of the year as possible. 

Tour participants also got to look at cows and calves while at the Strommen Ranch.

Our final stop of the trip was at Schaff Angus Valley. We spent the stop looking at Genex bulls, as well as understading how a large operation successfully manages their herd. 

Michael Sleeper, CRI AVP of International Marketing translates for the group.

The group and I learned a great deal about beef cattle management, enjoyed a lot a fabulous U.S. steak, and walked away from the tour with a better understanding of the CRI and Genex genetic philosophy.