The National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) members report annual units for the categories of domestic sales, export sales, custom collection and imported units for dairy and beef breeds. With 95% of the US AI industry represented by NAAB members, these annual statistics provide an accurate insight of the sales of US bovine semen. Changes were made to the reporting in 2018 so all category comparisons between 2019 and 2020 are directly comparable.
Despite the challenges to the global dairy industry, the US bovine semen industry had another record year as it achieved 69 million total units reported for all categories combined. This exceeded the previous record amount established in 2019 by 7.8 million units representing an overall annual increase of 13%. The total number of dairy units increased by 6% settling in at 50 million units while beef units established a new record reaching 19 million units. Beef as a percentage of total units increased from 23% of the total units in 2019 to 28% in 2020 and the increase in domestic beef units in 2020 exceeded the decline in dairy domestic units confirming the increased sales of beef semen in both beef and dairy breeding programs. Dairy and beef exports along with domestic beef units made significant contributions to the new record.
The domestic dairy units reported for the US declined by 6% or 1.1 million units with a market size of 18.4 million dairy units. This is on top of a 2.3-million-unit decline in 2019. However, domestic beef units sold in the US increased by 1.4 million units representing an increase of 24%. Custom collected dairy units were stable but custom collected beef units increased by 60%.
Even with the extra challenges of reduced international flights, no international travel for most of the year and interruptions to nearly every aspect of the dairy
supply chain and processing, the international demand for US genetics continued to expand. NAAB members were resourceful and like all businesses, utilized electronic communications to reach and expand their international customers. New records were set for both dairy and beef units exported. Just over 29 million units of dairy semen were exported representing an increase of 4 million units for a 15% increase over 2019. Additionally, beef semen exports reached 7 million units for a 31% increase. The top three export markets for total units in 2020 experienced some change with Brazil and China maintaining the top two positions and Russia replacing Mexico for number three.
Changes in management and reproductive practices have resulted in changes to the product mix used in dairy and beef operations around the world. NAAB started collecting supplemental information and plans to release comparative supplemental statistics in 2021. NAAB members value their relationship with domestic and international producers and strive to utilize sound science and technology to deliver top quality products for global breeding programs.
More information about NAAB and its annual statistics can be found on http://www.naab-css.org/
