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up a realistic timetable and plan for success is important. Once semen has been collected, the next step is finding an appropriate storage option. First, to stay viable, semen must always remain stored in a liquid nitrogen container that is prop- erly maintained. This includes times when it is being handled for sales and shipments. With that in mind, it is once again important to work with profes- sionals to handle this for you or to educate yourself on proper handling techniques. Working in the semen industry for many years, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a beef producer mishandle their semen, compromising reproductive success for their opera- tion. If this is your first time handling semen, I would suggest signing up for an artificial insemination clinic. This will allow you to learn cow breeding techniques and a lot of other valuable information on storage and handling. Although some semen should be kept in a personal tank to use for ranch breeding and person-to-person semen sales, I would recommend keeping the bulk of your semen at a collection facility. Most bull studs offer this as an additional, low-cost service. These companies house the semen in large, multi-thousand-unit tanks that are serviced and maintained weekly. This is a good option because even if your personal tank is set up on a route with a semen and nitrogen representative, most only service these tanks every couple months. If you aren’t routinely checking your tank yourself, there’s a significant amount of time between inspections where an issue could occur and your semen inventory could be depleted. That is why keeping large quantities of semen at a collection facil- ity is a great option. You can pick up or ship the semen directly from these facilities as needed. Distribution time. Probably the single-most difficult part of the process because a lot more leg work is required on the owner’s part. In the end, it really comes down to one thing – marketing. No matter if you plan to sell the semen yourself or want to enlist a professional company to handle this for you, you are solely responsible for marketing and promoting the bull. Just as no one will take care of your cattle as well as you will, no one else will market and pro- mote your bull as hard as you do. That is why it is important to have a power- ful and effective marketing strategy in

place. Social media, Santa Gertrudis USA , websites and flyers are all great options and should be utilized. Talking to fellow breeders about the genetic merit of your bull is vital. One major aspect to your market- ing scheme is timing. Making sure you bring the bull to market at the appropri- ate time is key. Timing incorporates the breeding season and popularity of your bull. If he sold this past fall as the high seller and everyone was talking about him, you want to capture the bull’s momentum as soon as possible. This

means collecting high-quality semen as soon as the bull will allow and market- ing the semen during fall and spring breeding. Once you are ready, the actual sale of the semen can happen a couple of ways. To receive 100 percent of the retail price, you can handle all semen sales yourself. This is an effective way to handle the sales if you have the equip- ment necessary for shipping and the time to handle administration. If you

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JANUARY 2020 • WWW.SANTAGERTRUDIS.COM