Select Sires

Management of Semen Tanks
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio Which Aired Dec. 4, 2003
With Paul Lydolph,
vice-president of
Minnesota Valley Engineering’s Global A.I. products

This week’s Reproductive Moment is with Paul Lydolph, vice-president of Minnesota Valley Engineering’s Global A.I. products. This week we are talking about the semen tank and that is a very key component to all A.I. programs. Paul is here to give his advice on how to handle and manage semen tanks so that semen investments are not unknowingly lost. Paul, can you identify a part of the semen tank that if it is damaged, can lead to significant semen loss.

Well, the major part would be the plastic neck tube and this is the primary insulating component of the semen tank. As you know, the tanks are made of aluminum and they use a plastic neck tube because it will not conduct heat to the outside. Any problems with the plastic neck tube will lose the vacuum, which will cause rapid boil-off and sometimes sweating on the outside of the tank.

Okay, Paul, here is the million-dollar question. What is the normal liquid nitrogen holding time and what can farmers do to maximize that duration?

Well, we design these tanks to last between 16 and 18-weeks in the field, and this seems to be proper for semen distribution and tank refilling. But, during today’s use we find that the farms are a lot bigger and sometimes they are inseminating up to eighty cows a day. This would obviously cause more heat-loss and the normal working duration would go down. I would say in round numbers, most tanks are between 15 and 18-weeks. I have some suggestions that the farmer can do.

First of all, keep the tank on a wooden pallet, or board to avoid tank corrosion, which could cause vacuum seal loss.

Second would be, keep it in a storage area away from drafts and try to have the area as dry as possible. It should be ventilated for liquid nitrogen, however, so you don’t accidentally have a safety problem where nitrogen is displacing the oxygen. Transport the tank as little as possible, and try to avoid large vibrations such as dropping. During the high usage period keep track of the number of times you pull the canisters per day, because that would cause more nitrogen to be used during high usage periods. Look at the quality of the cork. A poor quality cork would be one that is rounded over, or with a lot of cuts on it. And, that would increase your nitrogen losses per day.

The last suggestion is to avoid pulling the canisters completely out of the tank. In the plastic neck zone it is still minus 185 degrees, and if you pulled it all the way out of the tank it would be plus 20. So, you can see that is a 200 degree centigrade differential. So, try to do all of your work within the neck area of the tank.

And, Bill, I’d say if the farmers could keep these things in mind, they would improve their nitrogen performance.

Very helpful Paul, thank you. That is Paul Lydolph, vice-president of Minnesota Valley Engineer’s Global A.I. products.

™Reproductive Solutions is a trademark of Select Sires Inc.

To order product contact:
Select Sires Inc., 11740 U.S. 42 North, Plain City, Ohio 43064 / Phone: (614) 873-4683 Fax: (614) 873-5751