A.I. & Breeding

The cost to raise a heifer from birth to freshening is hard to calculate. You don’t actually write a check for every replacement heifer expense.

As milk prices continue to waver, dairy producers across the country are looking down different avenues for profit. One that seems to be growing in popularity is the practice of breeding the bottom end of a herd with beef semen and selling the crossbred calves at a higher market value.

Is the modern dairy cow less fertile than 20, 30 and 40 years ago? Some would say, yes.

The genetics of feed efficiency was the central focus of the 2020 Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) industry meeting held via Zoom on Nov. 2. One of the latest Holstein genetic traits to be released with Dec. 1 evaluations is Feed Saved, which will aid in breeding more feed-efficient cows.

The use of beef sires on dairy cows and right-sizing heifer inventories have been some of the most sweeping changes on dairy farms in recent years.

The journey a unit of semen takes from arrival at the farm until placement in a cow is very important. Maintaining maximum fertility weighs heavily on the care and handling it receives from all members of the management team.