Pedigree cattle breeders, Fermanagh based Crawford Brothers, has launched the first Limousin male sexed semen in the world from their prolific winner, Sauvignon.

In partnership with Cogent, the world leader in sexed semen technology and the UK's largest bull stud, this development will have a significant impact for export markets. Sauvignon is one of the world's most highly regarded Limousin bulls and has been standing at Cogent since 2006. In 2007 he became the first Limousin bull in the world and the first beef bull in the UK from which sexed semen was made available. His straws have been successfully exported throughout the world with his progeny achieving significant success.

Raymond Crawford said "This is another very exciting development for us and one which we have been working on for some time. Each straw has on average over 90% male sperm and it gives breeders and commercial producers the opportunity to buy world-class semen to improve the profitability of their family business. "

He added: "We are continually working to develop our export markets and have already achieved significant success in selling female sexed semen in Germany, Poland, Australia, America, South Africa, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Uruguay, Holland and Hungary. I have recently returned from Brazil and was really encouraged by the interest there in importing genetics to regenerate bloodlines and believe the worldwide potential to be enormous."

In 2007 Sauvignon made history when he was the first bovine animal from the UK to attend the SIMA Show in Paris, there he was crowned the European Limousin Male Champion, the European Limousin Carcass Champion and the European Progeny Champion. An outstanding winner, he was also the 2007 Supreme Beef Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show and the Overall Limousin Champion at the Royal Welsh Show in 2006. He was imported from France by Crawford Brothers in 2006. Straws can be purchased online at www.crawfordbrothers.co.uk or by phoning +44 (0) 28 8953 1276.