A.I. & Breeding

What breed is tied for the lead in fertility as determined by daughter pregnancy rate?

The American Guernsey Association (AGA) has experienced several years of growth highlighted by increasing registration activity and escalating prices for top-end genetics.

Over the last 20 years the Brown Swiss breed has been stable in registration numbers and overall national herd size.

Recent years have shown tremendous signs of growth for the breed, such as increased prices for Ayrshires at public and private sales; increased production, making her competitive with other breeds; added value for high-solids milk; and growing potential for niche markets.

It is still possible to maintain good reproductive performance in dairy herds without synchronization and timed A.I. (TAI), but it requires an effective systematic heat detection program that identifies approximately 70 percent of all possible heat periods.

Almost since the advent of A.I. breeding, producers and researchers alike have anticipated the development of the ability to sort or select semen in order to produce more female offspring. This technology is now a commercial reality thanks to technological developments in recent years that have improved cell sorting capabilities.