Sales of gender-biased semen are also leaping, as farmers bank on breeding female-only calves.

Semen importers and artificial breeders say they can’t keep up with demand for single-sex semen for eastern Australian dairy herds.

The specialised product has had male sperm removed to provide as much as a 90 per cent chance of producing a female calf.

Orders for the semen, sourced mainly from North America, have risen four-fold in the past six months.

Most farmers are paying $60 a straw – three times the typical price of standard semen used in artificial insemination programs – in a bid to increase heifer numbers to speed up herd building, but some sexed semen is selling for as much as $120 a straw.

Many producers say it is the only option they have to ramp up their production, given dairy heifers are virtually impossible to buy at present, thanks partly to a rush of Australian dairy cattle export activity in recent years, particularly from Victoria.

And if orders for Holstein semen are anything to go by there will be a lot more milking cows in Far North Queensland in three year’s time.

The region’s Holstein semen sales from the local artificial insemination (AI) co-operative have more than doubled from an average of less than $20,000 per month, to more than $40,000 per month in June, July and August 2008.

According to Frank Cuda (pictured), who in addition to suppling fresh milk to Dairy Farmers is the Chairman of the Tableland Artificial Stock Breeders Association, semen sales are by far the best indicator of farmers’ future intent.

“Farmers place their orders in advance and the AI co-operative then works with Australia’s major distributors, who source semen from around the world,” Frank said.

*Full story in this week’s North Queensland Register, out Thursday.