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17.8.15

Take the current when it serves

Last year, I sent Clydevale Informer Panda VG89 off to the vet for in vitro embryo work. Sixteen embryos were produced from a handful of sires and 10 went in late 2014. The pregnancy rate was very good with six calves being produced since 29 August. Despite using sexed semen, two calves were bulls, and one heifer didn't make it. In the seven years since buying Panda there hadn't been much growth in the family and these three heifers by GUTHRIE and GOLD CHIP have doubled my population of daughters. Panda is due to calve soon and I'm very keen to see that this fourth lactation consolidates her impressive production record, as well as adding a point to her classification.

Semagen DVD Susanna
More embryo work is in the pipeline for one of my earliest investments as well as one of the recent additions. Elm Banks Shottle Plum VG87 has impressed in production over the years, but a loose fore-attachment and only one daughter out of six calves meant that something needed to be done quickly to give me some chance of realising her breeding potential. She will be flushed to sexed GLAUCO and JEANLU FIX in the coming week. Her flush buddy is Ingoldale Bonair Susie VG86 using sexed GUTHRIE and LEMUST. I'm banking on the two bulls introducing a good deal of milk to Susie's line without removing any of its conformation traits.

Semagen DVD Susanna, whose photo you can see above, is the third calf out of Susie and the first since we bought her from the Gilmores. Susanna is a very fancy heifer, which surprises me a little bit seeing as her sire is only rated 8 for conformation; a little high in her pins, but a lovely straight top-line, pretty good strength and stature are eye-catching at this early stage.

You might remember the trio of FEVER daughters imported from Italy out of a grand-daughter to the amazing Go-Farm Juror Painky, one of which I sold at the 2014 IDW Semex Sale. Semagen Fever Gala calved a couple of days ago with one of Panda's embryos. Her sister, Gabriella, also calved with a heifer by Semagen Jasper Jorj, a local son of Castel James Jolie.

Semagen Fever Gala just calved
Semagen Fever Gabriella (full sister to Gala) springing