COMRADE became a household name for beef producers, and he was considered the standard against which other calving ease sires were compared. Over time, his influence shifted from commercial beef heifer programs to new avenues in beef x dairy and international markets. With his moderate size and high-quality, fertile semen, he was successfully used on Holstein cows. Most recently, farmers in Argentina have been using COMRADE to reduce frame size.
Both the Select Sires sales team and farmer-owners have experienced the contributions of COMRADE. He led Select Sires’ total unit sales for beef in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2014 and 2018, he claimed the No. 2 spot for total unit sales of beef. This past year, Select Sires marketed more than 30,000 units of COMRADE semen, as a 10-year-old sire.
COMRADE’s success would not be possible without the expert care and dedication from the team at Select Sires MidAmerica. He has lived and produced semen at the Illinois facility for the entirety of his career. COMRADE was taken off collection in the fall of 2021 and in the spring of 2022 he will return to Nebraska to retire at Connealy Angus, where his story began.