# How much money is there in selling straws/doing A.I?



## Pronking Publius (Mar 29, 2012)

I've been having trouble finding buck services in my area for my three 8 month-old does. I wasn't really looking at owning a buck considering I only have three does, but after asking a fairly well-known farm whether they had any bucks for sale or lease, they let me know they have a proven buck for sale, and he looks pretty amazing! It's not what I was initially looking for, but it looks like a rare opportunity. I'm trying to justify the fair amount of money they are asking for him since I only have three does, and as a result am thinking of purchasing him to use not only with my does, but to have him collected and to sell straws of semen as well. I know the up-front costs on A.I. supplies such as a nitrogen tank can be quite a bit, but after those costs, what I'm more so wondering is how much it costs to get those bucks collected and when they are collected, on average, how many straws a buck commonly will produce. I'm also wondering if these collections are usually only done by experts or how common it is for the farmer to do them. Stuff like that. In short, I'm trying to get a handle on how much potential money there is, if I can successfully market them, in selling straws from a really great buck. Anyone have any experience with this?


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Does he have any show titles? That would likely help people determine whether he'd be desired as a stud.


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## Pronking Publius (Mar 29, 2012)

From the sellers website I did see that he has at least one Res. Champion Lamancha Buck reward. Having shown other livestock, I know it depends a great deal on how big the shows are and on the competition...all blue ribbons are not created equal. But I did see that much about his awards.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

You aren't giving us much to go on here, so I would say *in general*
a buck like you are talking about has already done his job for this
year and is not in there plans for next year, so they are trying to
get rid of him. That *doesn't* mean he's not a good buck. But it
doesn't mean he's worth collecting either. Just for starters, I'd ask
them if they have had him collected. If they say "no" ask them 
why not? I lurk on a couple of Dairy goat e-mail lists and $35 a
straw is about average. I bet they come down on the per straw
price for say like 10 straws. I know Boer people do. That is for
what they claim are very nice bucks. 

We have no idea what your money situation is or what they are asking
for the buck, but this is a fairly ambitious plan you have here. I think
I would consider the collection and sale of semen thing a "maybe down
the road thing", if you know what I mean. I'd ask myself, "if I buy
this buck and use him this year and next year, can I sell him for close
to what I bought him for? If the answer is "for sure yes" then I don't
see how you can go wrong. I'd try to get them down on price though.
This is a tough time of year to sell a buck and they know it.


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## Pronking Publius (Mar 29, 2012)

Tenacross,

The seller I'm working with did tell me that she is planning on having him collected at the end of this month, at which time she is planning to sell him. That was part of the reason for my inquiry into the subject, and it certainly bodes well for what she thinks of the buck if she is in fact having him collected. 

I know I didn't give you the asking price, but that was because that doesn't necessarily dictate the quality of an animal. There's just so much information that goes into pricing a buck that I kind of figured I'd forgo the particulars for the moment. The buck isn't thousands of dollars, but its more than reserving a registered breeding to your average doe since he's proven.

I've seen the price of straws and they seem to range from 15-35 each. The thing that I didn't really know however is what it costs to have someone "collect" those straws, and if that duty is usually reserved only for professionals or if it is a common task for breeders to do themselves. I'm also as of yet unaware of how many straws, on average, a single collection will produce. Those two unknowns would certainly give me a good idea, again, assuming I have the buyers, of how much profit there might be in such a venture since I would then be able to figure out how much goes into getting a particular amount of straws PRIOR to selling them. Any info on that from anyone reading this would be great! And thank you Tenacross for the input.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I'd like to know as well for our future bucks.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Here's an example of a buck collection I found on a google search.

Bio-genics http://www.biogenicsltd.com/index.html will be at my farm in Texico,
Illinois on the 31st of October for buck collection. We still have space for a
few bucks. There collection fees are $200 for 30 straw (minimum) and $4.25 for
each additional straw. Don and Teresa Wade have decades of experience with
caprine semen collection. All breeds are welcome. You can also have your buck
collected and marketed by Bio-genics.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

If you have him collected the best way to sell the semen is through Bio Genics, Superior Semen Works, etc. Selling it yourself can be difficult because you have to have a shipper to be able to send the semen to people who live far away. Shippers typically run about $800. Bio Genics will put your buck on their website with the description that you give them and will sell it for you. They of course take a certain percentage for commission and I think they charge per month to store it. Most bucks on Bio Genics cost at least $20 per straw. The main problem I can see with you is that if the seller is having him collected they would basically be your competition, especially if they sell any of his semen. I think you can make some money on semen, but unless he is a nationally known buck people won't be lining up to buy his semen right away. You may have only a few sales a year, or you might sell all of it. Really depends on how well-known this guy is.

You could probably make some money off of him, at least to start paying his feed if you offer him at stud. If you couldn't find one to use, I'm sure a lot of other people couldn't either.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

Good link Tenacross. I want 10 straws of that *RRD Rapid Fire R880 NRC-04*! $155 a straw, 4 crosses to Magnum.*
*


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

GTAllen said:


> Good link Tenacross. I want 10 straws of that *RRD Rapid Fire R880 NRC-04*!$155 a straw, 4 crosses to Magnum.


 I wouldn't pay that for that buck. Not that he's a bad buck, but that's high and I'd rather look for a younger buck that had show success recently for cheaper. As for buying Boer semen, I would reccomend contacting the actual buck owners and see if you can buy directly from them. Cut out the middle man like Biogenics and Superior Semen Works. I have delt with Able Acres and they do come down in price if you buy 10 straws and the shipping and payment service was outstanding. The semen worked too.


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