A.I. & Breeding

Metritis is among the most common and important diseases that strike the dairy farm. While there are many effective treatment options available, cows with even mild cases pay a considerable price during their lactation period through decreased milk production and reproductive efficiency.

“I now say that the world has the technology – either available or well advanced in the research pipeline – to feed on a sustainable basis a population of 10 billion people.

We’ve all heard the statement, “Genetics don’t matter without first creating a pregnancy.”

This insightful truth has shifted our global breeding strategy to a stronger focus on fertility.

One of the things I like about my job as sales and marketing manager for Simplot Animal Sciences is the variety of activities I can be involved in. My office is located on a 400-acre Idaho ranch stocked with 350 cows we use as recipients for our in vitro fertilization (IVF) research and other assisted reproductive technologies.

Pregnancy rate is a standard measure of the success of a dairy reproductive program. It is the percentage of females eligible to become pregnant in a 21-day period that actually become pregnant. The good news is that average pregnancy rate (PR) has been increasing again over the last decade.

Increase profit. Reduce management inputs. Design a cow that eats less, doesn’t know what a hospital pen is and rarely gets the “open” diagnosis at pregnancy check. This can be accomplished in a single generation with a $100 increase or more in profit per cow per year.