The World's source for Bovine Genetics
COBA/Select Sires Breaks Records


COBA Board
COBA/Select Sires Board of Directors

Columbus, Ohio — For the sixth year in a row, COBA/Select Sires broke all previous sales records, selling approximately 1.3 million units of semen and gross dollar sales totaling more than $13 million. With net profits hitting more than $1.2 million, COBA/Select Sires will return patronage of 10.7 percent of semen purchases to member/owner/customers, according to Bernie Heisner, general manager.

COBA/Select Sires, an artificial insemination cooperative owned and controlled by farmers, provides artificial insemination and reproductive services to dairy and beef farmers. It has more than 2,000 bulls of six dairy and 14 beef breeds. COBA started in 1946 as a result of merging Northeast Ohio Breeding Association and Western Ohio Breeders Association. In 1965, COBA was one of four cooperatives going together to form Select Sires, which has grown to become one of the most successful and respected organizations of its kind. Now, 38 years later, COBA/Select Sires has 100 employees and 2,641 cooperative members/customers.

To help balance dairy farmers’ difficult financial times, COBA/Select Sires’ directors asked for a milk-price-relief special. The program was implemented February through May of this year, and anything on the dairy sire lineup was offered to customers at a 60-percent discount on a cash-only basis.

"The May 2003 sire proof information from USDA brought most satisfying information as Select Sires graduated six new, proven Holstein sires and all were in the top 50 of the Holstein breed based on a Total Performance Index," Heisner said. Among them was the new No. 1 Holstein bull in the world, 7H6417 O-Bee MANfred Justice-ET and 8-7H6349 Hidden-View BEST. It is expected that 7H6417 O MAN and 7H6349 BEST will be two of the most-sought-after bulls in the world in the coming months.

"Dairymen who are looking for long-lived, highly profitable cows have the greatest source for such genetics though Select Sires," Heisner said. "If they want knowledgeable service and caring employees to assist them with their reproductive concerns, COBA/Select Sires people have shown they can interact with owners, veterinarians and farm employees to get cattle pregnant in the most efficient way."

COBA/Select Sires is located at 1224 Alton Darby Creek Road, Columbus, Ohio 43228 and is open 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. For more information call (614) 878-5333.





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