E627 $4.17 a Straw for Polled. The A2A2 Premium Isn’t Reaching You.

Purdue set the polled semen break-even at $4.17 a straw — $5.70 in 2026 dollars. Check that against tonight's semen invoice.Two traits get sold to you as the future. Only one has a testable number behind it. The Bullvine Podcast works through the Journal of Dairy Science figure on homozygous polled genetics, then the Minnesota survey where 82% of farms converted to A2 believing consumers wanted it — and only 15% said anyone was actually paying more.What You'll LearnWhy $4.17 a straw is a ceiling, not a target, and how inflation moved itWhat the Purdue authors admitted about the limits of their own modelThree questions to ask your milk buyer before you weight A2A2 in a matingWhy an 82% belief rate against 15% payment is the gap that should worry youThe polled number is peer-reviewed, dated, and verifiable against a real invoice. The A2 premium is largely belief — only 15% of converters surveyed could point to anyone paying them more. The authors noted that farm-specific semen and dehorning costs likely swamp the differences in their model, which is precisely why the instruction is check your own numbers, not accept an industry average. One decision costs a phone call. The other costs a breeding program.Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/farm-economics-management/polled-semen-break-even-4-17-straw/ Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.