Sire Conception Rate (SCR)
Sire Conception Rate (SCR) is the official semen fertility evaluation in the United States and the only way to compare bull fertility across the industry.
Using SCR Information
- The breed average for Sire Conception Rate is 0 and SCR values are expressed as plus or minus deviations from that average.
- For example, a bull with a SCR value of +2.0 is expected to improve conception rates (CR) by 2% compared to an average sire. Therefore, this bull is predicted to have a 32% CR in a herd that normally averages 30%.
- Keep in mind that sires ranking a point in either direction of 0 are considered average, and only bulls scoring +2.0 or greater should be considered outstanding fertility sires.
- In order to receive a SCR evaluation, a bull must have a minimum of 100 breeding’s in the past 12 months in at least 10 herds. Newly released proven sires and very young genomic bulls often don’t have an SCR figure for their first active proof period because of this requirement. This is no reflection on the fertility of those bulls – they simply do not have enough data to include in the calculation.
- The Industry average for SCR in December 2015 is +0.53. Nearly two points separate the highest and lowest AI companies for SCR.
- There is a value of £2 per point of SCR per dose
SCR Evaluation Model
- SCR data was first published in 2008. SCR evaluations are calculated by the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), the same organization that is responsible for the official U.S. genetic and genomic evaluations.
- SCR evaluations utilize an extensive database with data on more than 57 million breedings. The size of the database contributes to the accuracy of this model. The December 2015 evaluation relied on information on 18 million breedings from more than 5 million cows.