This demand for bull studs was fairly new, arising about 1967 with the importation of European bulls. SBL director Frank Smith recalled those days in an interview with the Canadian Livestock Journal (Tue., July 11, 1978):
“Units sprang up overnight because of this demand,” Frank relates, “We had bulls in stud stations in Canada and the U.S.. The quality of the service varied. We became concerned over the safety of the bulls and of the men handling them.” / This sparked the idea of setting up a stud station. This decision was made late in 1972. … / “[As well] poor quality semen results in financial loss to ranchers. We had experienced this ourselves. Our main objective was to produce top quality semen,” Smith affirms. (“Eleven years later Parisien is still making history” by Edgar Bain)Over the next year, SBL did considerable research. They looked at stud stations in the U.S. and Canada intent on designing a facility that would be unique in construction—focusing on the safety of both bulls and handlers and on the speedy collection of top-quality semen. They found the man they wished to spearhead the project and to supervise construction—Dr. Merlin Gebauer whose doctorate was in reproductive technology.
Construction was begun in 1974 and it began operation in 1975. The result was Universal Semen Service—a state-of-the-art facility located just south of Cardston. Not only did this give SBL both financial and physical control of its valuable bulls, it also provided a much-needed custom facility for other breeders. From “SBL Means Simmental” by Don Sylvester, we read about SBL’s commitment to quality.
Dr. Gebauer says the new stud will emphasize quality control. Owners putting bulls in the stud will have to agree that semen not up to Universal’s standards will not be released. (p. 34)
