Since 1981, the year following the start-up of Casamú, I have offered the market seminal material from Casamú’s outstanding bulls.
We began with RP 2 Citarín, imported from Leachman Cattle in Montana, in the womb of his mother, JHL Reena 2761, and promoted to be used in heifers – a total innovation for those times. It accomplished its mission and many pellets of its semen were sold.
The semen production was carried out at SIRBO, as I have a great friendship with Mr. Alfredo Witt, who I deeply admired.
RP 4 Fafner, son of Gure Echea Miluna 1625 and almost winner of a progeny test in Del Viso, whose semen was collected during the test, had no commercial importance because of its sudden death but did have genetic merit as it left numerous productive offspring through Nothung, Apolo, Portazo, etc.
The promotion of Casamú’s Angus in the 80’s continued with RP 22 oubaas (Choctaw/Citation, son of Miluna 1625), winner of a progeny or growth test at the Sociedad Rural Argentina (Argentine Rural Society) in Del Viso, from which I had sold 50% to several breeders for an equivalent of 20,000 kilos of bullock which, converted at the current livestock prices, would be about 170,000 pesos. More than 20,000 doses of its semen were sold.
That procedure was followed with other bulls I produced and, in 1989 and 1990, with RP 334 Yeroviá T/E (grandson of the founder breeding cow Gift 225), I received the Champion Red Angus Bull Award at the Palermo Agricultural Show. Its semen was widely sold among the Angus breeders of our country and neighboring countries, encouraging the promotion and consolidating the production of such a variety (which had encountered great reluctance until then) throughout our country and Mercosur. More than 20,000 doses were also sold and, in the end, it was exported to Brazil.
That outstanding boost helped me found my own insemination center named Casamú-Gen, when the stock farm was still located in Los Cardales. The semen was still traded in pills and Mr. Raúl Sara was in charge of the technical direction.
Remarkably, all the genetic material offered for sale was not supported by any sound genetic information. The little information we had was incomplete and only related to growth. The aspects taken into account were appearance and conformation or the awards received at the Palermo Agricultural Show.
I was concerned about this and, after having followed such a procedure for some time, I restrained the genetic offer because I had no expectations of its result. I observed that all bulls produced very similar animals in terms of genetics even though they had different conformation.
I confirmed this when I received the first Breedplan information after the year 2000. It could be said that almost all the popular bulls of that time had high birth weight with long gestation, which usually caused birth difficulties and which did not correlate with a higher growth rate, and generally had high mature weight and frame. All of them had poor fat cover and probably had no marbling. I had no doubt that the genetic situation had to be reversed and go back to the origin.
Very discreetly, I continued offering the semen of the bulls I used with the certainty that they were the best of my selection line. Whenever I could, I informed the EPDs or EBVs reported by ERA or Breedplan.
Therefore, after 10 years of Breedplan information, today I only offer proved genetic material with accurate and reliable EBVs and reliability percentages above 95% in relation to birth weight and calving ease. The growth rate accuracy and the carcass data increase with each generation that contributes more calves exceeding 80% of reliability, which occurs when bulls are more then 5 or 6 years old. This is how a proven bull is obtained, a bull supported by full genetic information of high reliability.
Nowadays, I offer evaluated and tested genetic material which I wish I had had when I started up the stock farm. The genetic progress would have been much faster. Anyone using these bulls will not be wrong if agreeing with the above-mentioned production objectives. Today, those bulls are RP 4100 Alca Alu, RP 5622 Lihuén and RP 6448 Alulén. Their EBVs and comments are on our website.
The bulls with lower reliability percentage are genetic adventures; such is the case of the new ones. In the case of the Breedplan information I manage, I have verified the little variation of the information initially given when it is modified by data obtained from their progeny evaluation; therefore, an initial EBV will vary very little. That is why sometimes I pay attention to and evaluate new bulls, after having seen and measured their first progeny. Bulls with very interesting initial data are assigned more than 50 cows for their first service, so that data reliability at calving is already above 90% for the amount of evaluated offspring.
I have not mentioned yet that, for the promotion of a bull to continue, its offspring must have good breed traits pleasing to the eye, with good frame, balanced shape, and clear sexuality and adaptability.
The comments I make on a bull whose genetic material I offer are accurate because they are based on genetic data and the detailed observation of its progeny until the age of three.
That is why I do not offer the semen of all the bulls I use but only of those I really consider important to achieve each selection objective, even though they could be increasingly more.
Due to the wide use of the straws and the implementation cost of technology with a restricted level of production, I could not carry out such production at Casamú-Gen. So, I decided to continue trusting the production of semen in straws to Mr. Raúl Sara who, together with Mr. Marcelo Durán, had started up their Centro de Reproducción Bovina – CRB (Bovine Reproduction Center) in San Antonio de Areco, 50 Km away from Casamú. Today, CRB is also in charge of sending transportation thermos to all destinations.
Last year, I signed a service agreement for Lihuén with the renowned semen distribution company of Juan Debernardi. In this way, its semen will be promoted among the company’s wide portfolio of customers and its genetic merit will have the opportunity to be compared with that of other popular bulls imported.

I intend that each Male Donor have complete and balanced traits consistent with the selection objectives of the stock farm: unlimited calving ease, high growth rate, early fertility and sexual maturity that determine reasonable mature weight, fattening ease in pasture conditions, very good muscling and good marbling, with all the favorable tenderness markers currently measurable, good conformation and good breed traits.

The thorough observation of the EBVs will allow buyers to distinguish the slight differences among bulls and then choose the most appropriate for the achievement of their goals, or just pick the ones they like.