Reproduction

If you’ve been involved in the cattle industry for any length of time, you are likely familiar with the term freemartin, a heifer who is born a twin to a bull calf.

Sire selection requires identifying a breeding objective; choosing a breed or (preferably) breeds, based on objective differences; choosing a seedstock supplier and then choosing a bull. This requires knowledge of production environments, firm-level economics, breed differences, heterosis and genetic predictions (e.g., expected progeny difference or EPD).

Thanks to new research and better techniques, IVF is more affordable for beef and dairy producers.

Success rates with artificial insemination (A.I.) are affected by many different things. Condition of the cattle, plane of nutrition, number of days postpartum for lactating cows, heat detection, semen handling and technician skill level are all important factors.

Kentucky 31 (KY 31) tall fescue is a cool-season perennial forage heavily utilized by cow-calf producers in the Southeast to Midwest.

One of the newer developments with A.I. in beef cattle is availability of sexed semen. Gender selection has been utilized for two decades in the dairy industry, and the number of beef bulls with sorted semen available from A.I. studs has increased during the past 10 years.