A.I. & Breeding

Training and working with many A.I. technicians – both herdsmen, inseminators and professional inseminators – reveals common mistakes that should be avoided. The following are seven points that can make or break insemination results.

It is easy to measure the impact certain decisions on your dairy have to your profitability. Changing the number of cows you are milking has a direct impact to the pounds of milk produced, changes to rations have a direct impact on feed costs, and high animal health incidents directly increase the vet and drug bill, just to name a few.

Digital technologies: They’re not just for activity monitoring anymore.

Automated devices that track physical activity changes, with a focus on detecting estrus, date back to the 1970s.

Genetics are an efficient tool to achieve healthier cows and thereby contribute to empty the sick pen. Breeding gives a permanent and cumulative effect; genetic improvement achieved today is of value also for future generations.

The use of beef semen in dairy cows over the past three years has simply been amazing. A recent National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) report on semen usage indicated that nearly 7 million units of beef semen were used with dairy cows in 2020.