Introduction

Dovea Genetics is a co-operative organisation owned by dairy co-operatives and is based just outside the town of Thurles in Co. Tipperary.  The company specialises in the provision of an A.I. technician service, semen sales and training services.  There is a bull stud containing approximately 70 bulls between beef and dairy bulls and a 500 acre farm surrounding the AI stud which incorporates a tillage enterprise of Spring cereals combined with a 100 cow suckler herd. 

A.I. Service

The core area of the A.I. technician service is in the counties of Tipperary, Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford.  There are also technicians nationwide operating under the Dovea A.I. licence.  We are currently recruiting A.I. technicians nationwide so if interested in joining our progressive company contact the Dovea office for more details.

Semen Sales

There is a network of sixteen area representatives covering the twenty six counties (see map in the Contact Us section of the website).  The area representatives will deliver to your DIY flask or we can deliver to your nearest AI station. The different  area representatives  also offer free breeding advice on the best bulls for your production system.   For overseas agents and companies selling our semen please contact the main office on 00353 504 21755. 

Training

We offer a comprehensive training programme for farmers who wish to train for D.I.Y. artificial insemination.  The training programme covers the practical, theoretical and legislative issues for D.I.Y. artificial insemination. Refresher courses are also available for anybody wishing to refresh their AI technique.   We also sell a wide range of D.I.Y equipment for new or existing clients.  Full details on the next D.I.Y. course and the cost are available from the Dovea office.

Dairy Programme

The focus of the dairy breeding programme is to progeny test the best Friesian type bulls annually.  The testing programme revolving around the Friesian type bulls has been very successful over the past number of years leading to an excellent home market and a significant export market developed for Friesian semen to the United Kingdom, Chile and Australia.  The company also imports Holstein Friesian semen from agencies worldwide working with these agencies to provide different type of bulls for Irish farmers.  The companies that we work closely with are GGI, CRI, Amelis, and Genes Diffusion.

Dovea also has the rights to the Montbeliarde semen from Coopex Montbeliarde whereby we work closely with the Coopex company in marketing and promoting the Montbeliarde breed in Ireland.   

Beef Programme

The beef programme revolves around buying the best young bulls in each breed from performance test stations, on farm, at shows and sales annually.  There is a comprehensive range of beef bulls in all breeds covering everything from the dairy market, replacement market, weanling export and finishing markets.  See the beef sires section for a full breakdown on the bulls within each breed.