After providing 150,000 doses of semen and siring 5,531 daughters, Elton the bull could be one of Australia's most prolific fathers.

Also known as Mr Reliable, the popular bull was based at Total Livestock Genetics in Camperdown, south-west Victoria, where Semen Production manager Tony Urek looked after him.

"The farmers love the shape, loved his daughters and we loved him here because he had an excellent temperament," Mr Urek said.

"He had excellent semen quality which the farmers would have appreciated as well.

"Fabulous libido, right to the end he was always keen to get up and do the job which made our job a lot easier as well."

Irrewillipe dairy farmer Alan Carson bred Elton and has many of his sisters, daughters and nieces still on the farm.

"His mother was an amazing cow — she bred ten daughters and all were classified excellent," he said.

Jersey Australia General Manager Glen Barrett says Elton was the most significant jersey bull of the modern era. ( Supplied: Jersey Australia )

Jersey Australia General Manager Glen Barrett said Elton was a special bull.

"He is one of the most significant jersey bulls of the modern era," Mr Barrett said.

Breeder Alan Carson said he is proud of the accolades Mr Reliable received after a long and illustrious career.

"It's a tremendous honour," Mr Carson said.

"Anybody can buy a cow or show a cow and do lots of things, but to breed a bull that's had the impact that Elton has had for such a long period of time [is unique]."

End of an era

Tony Urek said Elton was one of the old school bulls and the last of his kind, with genomic testing changing the way the industry works.

"As a young bull his semen was collected and released to the market-place and then as his daughters were born and came into milk, they were tested," Mr Urek said.

Back then it was a four year wait before Elton's semen was marketable, his daughters had to be tested for things like milk production, fertility, longevity and temperament.

"He came back with the proof — and as a result lots of semen was sold," Mr Urek said.

"We have to try and keep up with demand here by collecting semen that will satisfy the demand set by the end user — the farmer."

Elton was ranked number one jersey bull in 2016 and remains in the second spot at the time of his retirement.

But now young bulls are measured by a simple genomic test that uses their DNA to measure semen quality.

"Instead of going through the progeny test procedure which is lengthy and the bulls are laid off during the best years of their life, as soon as the bull calves are born the milking capabilities of their daughters can be measured through the bull's genetics," Mr Urek said.

"What we're finding is that young bulls are suddenly in demand really young — often even before they're able to produce semen."

Janine and Alan Carson are proud of the accolades Elton the bull has received as he ends his career. ( Facebook: Janine Carson )

Memorial

Breeder Alan Carson said Elton will be put down and buried with a plaque at the front of Total Livestock Genetics in Camperdown.

"There's no point bringing an old bull like Elton back here, he'll just get old and die, he's better off if he's buried and buried graciously," Mr Carson said.

Mr Carson said that Elton deserves a place there after his impact on Australia's jersey herd.

"These days in the artificial insemination industry bulls seem to come and go quickly but with Elton he's just stayed there for so long, he was what the farmers needed," Mr Carson said.