Reproduction Management

Protecting Your AI Investment: 10 Rules for Proper Semen Handling

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:35:56 GMT

Proper semen tank management is critical to the success of any artificial insemination (AI) program. A standard 20-liter liquid nitrogen (LN) tank can hold up to 720 straws, representing a significant financial and genetic investment.

Sandy Johnson, Kansas State University Extension beef specialist, says in a recent Beef Tips article , “Collecting and packaging semen is a routine job performed by highly trained professionals. Once it leaves the collection site, its quality is maintained only through proper handling as it makes its way to the cow.”

A LN tank can be thought of as a large thermos with a vacuum between the inner and outer walls. The vacuum must remain intact to maintain the proper storage temperature. If frost is seen on the outside of the tank, action must be taken immediately as the seal has been lost.

Johnson shares these 10 rules for proper semen handling:

Keep the Tank Off Concrete: Store your LN tank on a wooden pallet or stand. Direct contact with concrete can cause corrosion and lead to a vacuum seal failure.
Inspect for Frost Daily: Regularly check the outside of the tank for frost. If frost appears, the vacuum seal is lost, and the semen must be moved to a functional tank immediately.
Monitor Nitrogen Levels Weekly: Establish a routine for checking LN levels. Never let the tank run dry, as sperm cells are permanently damaged when temperatures rise above -130°C.
Transport Tanks in Open Spaces: Never transport a tank in the passenger compartment of a vehicle. Oxygen displacement happens rapidly; always use the bed of a pickup or a well-ventilated trailer. An ABS Global study found that nitrogen gas can reach unsafe levels in a truck cab in just three minutes.
Maintain a Strict Inventory: Use an inventory system to know exactly where each sire is located. This reduces the time the tank is open and prevents unnecessary exposure to the neck’s temperature gradient.
Use Tweezers, Not Fingers: Always use tweezers to retrieve straws. Fingers can transfer heat to adjacent straws and often require the canister to be raised higher than necessary in the neck.
Follow the “8-Second Rule": Keep all handling below the frost line in the neck of the tank. If you cannot retrieve a straw within 8 seconds, lower the canister back into the liquid nitrogen for at least 10 seconds.
Calibrate Thaw Bath Temperatures: Ensure your thaw bath is between 95°F and 98°F before use. Temperatures outside this range can cause thermal shock to the sperm cells.
Observe the 15-Minute Window: Only thaw as many straws as can be inseminated within 15 minutes. Post-thaw semen quality declines quickly as it reaches room temperature.
Prevent Straw Contact During Thawing: When thawing multiple straws, ensure they do not touch each other in the water. Contact can cause uneven thawing and reduce the total number of viable sperm.

Best Practices for Thawing Semen

Johnson encourages producers to consider these four strategies when thawing semen:

Monitor Temperature: Use a digital thermometer to ensure the thaw bath is between 95-98°F.
Timing: Thaw straws for 30 to 60 seconds.
Efficiency: Only thaw the number of straws that can be inseminated within 15 minutes.
Protection: Load straws into a pre-warmed AI gun and protect them from cold shock or direct sunlight during transport to the cow.

“We often focus on factors that might impact cow fertility when evaluating an AI program,” Johnson summarizes. “Just as important is the male contribution. Review your process to ensure that semen quality does not limit the outcome.”

Your Next Reads:

Successful Heifer Pregnancy on First Service Brings Lifetime Returns

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:31:28 GMT

Getting heifers developed, inseminated early and confirmed pregnant plays a significant role in the lifetime productivity of beef and dairy cows.

“Replacement heifers are an investment in the future of beef and dairy operations,” says Joe Dalton, University of Idaho professor and extension specialist in dairy cattle reproduction. “It takes two years to raise a heifer before she starts generating returns.”

Achieving a successful pregnancy from first service breeding, especially when practicing artificial insemination (AI), has the most potential to realize the greatest return on investment for their development.

“There is a difference between an animal that calves at 23 months versus 29 months of age,” Dalton says. “The longer it takes to get a heifer bred, the more it increases management costs and lowers their lifetime potential.”

Why Age Matters

Age at first calving directly impacts the productivity and longevity of beef and dairy replacement heifers. With current calf values, early calving heifers offer greater profit potential for beef and dairy producers.

“Earlier first calving in beef herds brings greater longevity and more lifetime weaned pounds,” Dalton says.

Ideally, beef heifers are selected from cows that calve early in the breeding season so they have more time to develop and can then be bred on first service to calve at the start of their first calving season.

“Heifers that calve early tend to keep calving early and produce more weaned pounds,” Dalton says. “Late-calving heifers rarely catch up or pay off on their $1,500 to $2,500 development costs.”

Most dairy farms don’t have the same seasonality as beef herds, since calving occurs year-round to keep a steady stream of cows in milk, but the same thinking holds true.

“The goal for dairies is to develop heifers that are approximately 22 to 24 months of age at calving,” Dalton says. “The data shows that dairy heifers calving in that age range have more longevity and produce more lifetime milk than older heifers at first calving, which can help sooner recoup development costs that can exceed $2,500.”

Set Up For Reproductive Success

For heifers to conceive on first service and stay productive, it begins with good management practices early in life.

“It all starts when the heifer is born,” Dalton says. “And that sounds like a cliché, but it’s not, because that heifer will carry all of her life experiences with her.”

Beef and dairy heifers require high-quality colostrum after birth to support their immune systems. Then health must be maintained through vaccinations, deworming and timely treatment of illnesses. Ensure nutrition supports growth to at least 55% of mature weight by breeding at 13 to 15 months of age.

“With nutrition, heifers need to stay in appropriate condition to have the best reproductive outcomes,” Dalton says. “Fertility is lower when they are under- or over-conditioned. It needs to be just right.”

Dalton recommends dairies have heifers at a body condition score (BCS) of 2.75 to 3.25 on a 5-point scale. Beef operations should have heifers at a 5 to 6 BCS on a 9-point scale.

“Having heifers at those benchmarks is really beneficial for overall fertility,” Dalton says.

Some breeding indicators have easy-to-read bullseyes (black surface ink) on them. Once the bullseye, or the equivalent surface area, is rubbed off the animal, that animal is ready to breed and is up to three times more likely to result in a confirmed pregnancy.

(Estrotect)

Breed Heifers On Time

Once heifers are developed to their target size goals, it’s time to begin a breeding program. There are some variances in AI breeding protocols between mature cows and heifers.

“The difference is that while heifers respond to synchronization protocols the same as cows, there’s a little bit of variation in heifers in the number of follicular waves,” Dalton says.

A vital component of a breeding protocol to ensure success is to utilize estrus detection through tools, such as an Estrotect Breeding Indicator, to accurately gauge estrus intensity.

“Determining when estrus intensity is at its highest is incredibly important to fertility because the pieces of the puzzle are all where they should be when it comes to hormones and the reproductive tract being ready for insemination,” Dalton says. “Data has revealed that high estrus intensity leads to increased pregnancy and decreased pregnancy loss for cattle.”

Estrus detection aids, such as breeding indicator patches, help monitor estrus activity and provide a quick visual indication when heifers reach high estrus intensity.

“Accurate estrus detection tells us a heifer is ready to breed,” Dalton says. “Synchronization protocols can combine estrus detection and AI or timed-AI for better pregnancy rates.”

Heifer-specific protocols have been developed by the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) and the Beef Reproduction Task Force (BRTF) that can be accessed on their websites for specific details. A cattle reproductive specialist can also help identify which protocol will work best to breed heifers.

“By implementing quality management protocols, you’re better controlling the investment in developing heifers so they can become productive members of the herd,” Dalton summarizes. “For both beef and dairy producers, earlier age at first calving results in lower costs and higher lifetime productivity.”

For more information on accurately breeding heifers with breeding indicator patches, visit ESTROTECT.com .

Your Next Reads:

Earlier Calves, Bigger Paychecks: Utilizing Estrus Synchronization to Increase Ranch Profit

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:44:46 GMT

In a cow-calf operation, timing is the primary driver of profitability. By using estrus synchronization, producers can ensure more than 50% of their herd conceives on the first day of the breeding season, leading to earlier calving dates and heavier weaning weights. According to Mario Binelli of the University of Florida, shifting the calving window to the “front” of the season ensures calves are older and more uniform when they hit the scale on sale day.

Binelli was a featured speaker during the Beef Reproduction Task Force’s 2025 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium . He says the purpose of estrus synchronization is to get cows to come into heat and ovulate together in a short window of time. Estrus synchronization works with a series of hormone treatments to control the cow’s natural cycle; as a result they all come into heat at the same time.

The 3-Step Synchronization Process

By synchronizing cows, more of them are bred at the start of the breeding season rather than spread out over several weeks. Binelli shares these three steps to get a cow herd on the same schedule:

Reset the Cycle: A GnRH injection and a progesterone device (CIDR) are used to reset the follicular wave.
Producers typically start by giving a shot to reset the cows’ cycle and inserting a progesterone device to keep cows from coming into heat.
“We want to remove a dominant follicle — then a new follicular wave will emerge,” Binelli explains.
Induce Estrus: After approximately seven days, remove the CIDR and a Prostaglandin shot is given to bring the cows into heat simultaneously. Producers should watch their herd to identify when the cows are ready to breed.
“The goal is to have cows expressing estrus within a short, predictable window so producers can make breeding decisions more effectively,” Binelli says.
Insemination and Cleanup: Cows are artificially inseminated (AI) upon heat detection, followed by bull turnout approximately 15 days later to cover any remaining cows.

Because of the improved cost to reward ratio, more producers are utilizing synchronization protocols with natural service breeding programs . The Beef Reproduction Task Force’s website has a list of protocol options for producers to consider when planning their estrus synchronization program.

Read More About Synchronization Strategies:

Maximizing Reproductive Success: How to Use Estrus Synchronization to its Full Potential

Technology Takes the Guessing Out

Adapting to new technology makes heat detection easier. Accelerometers, commonly used in dairy cattle, are wearable devices on ear tags or collars; they are used to track rumination, activity and welfare. During the estrus cycle, a cow’s behavior changes, with activity peaking while rumination declines. The cow data is sent to the producers’ devices; from the patterns they can identify when she is ready to be bred.

“New technologies are helping decrease labor while increasing the accuracy of estrus detection,” Binelli says.

Read More About Technologies Available:

24/7 Employee: How One Rancher Is Using An App-Based Monitoring System

Bridging Genetics, Management and Technology in Beef Production

Another heat detection tool is heat detection patches placed on the cow’s back. Patches take the guesswork out to determine if the cow is in heat. As another animal mounts the cow, the paint on the patch is scratched, indicating she is in standing heat.

Why Timing Makes Money

Every day a calf is born earlier in the season adds age and weight. By consolidating the calving window through synchronization, producers reduce labor during calving and increase the total pounds of beef sold at weaning.

Your Next Reads:

4 Key Factors for a Profitable Artificial Insemination Program

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:51:49 GMT

To achieve high conception rates in artificial insemination (AI), producers must prioritize consistent implementation and attention to detail over the technology itself. During the 2025 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle (ARSBC) Symposium , experts from the University of Idaho, ABS Global, Select Sires and Genex identify the critical roles of facility design, technician consistency and herd nutrition in maximizing AI conception rates.

Leading the panel discussion was Joe Dalton, University of Idaho professor and extension specialist. Panel members included Bobby Strecker of ABS Global, John Herrick of Select Sires and Brandon Miller of Genex.

The panel shared these four key factors for AI success:
1. Defined Objectives: Align semen selection with specific outcomes like carcass merit or calving windows.
2. Functional Facilities: Create low-stress environments that promote steady cattle flow.
3. Precision Execution: Ensure proper semen handling and timing by trained technicians.
4. Management Fundamentals: Maintain high standards for nutrition and herd health protocols.

Start With a Clear “Why”

Before selecting protocols or sorting through semen catalogs, producers should first define their goals. Whether the objective is to build a stronger set of replacement females, improve carcass merit, tighten the calving window or target a specific market, every decision should align with that purpose.

Panelists note operations lacking clearly defined objectives often struggle to achieve consistent returns from AI programs. They encouraged producers to consult with veterinarians, reproductive specialists or genetic consultants to ensure their breeding plan matches both short- and long-term goals.

Why Facilities and People Matter Most

While high-tech genetics are essential, the panel emphasizes “people and pipes” (personnel and facilities) often dictate the ROI of an AI program.

While trained AI technicians are essential, equal importance should be placed on those handling cattle and managing semen. Strecker notes that low-stress cattle movement and meticulous semen handling are the primary differentiators between average and elite conception results.

Although a high-dollar facility is not required, a functional and efficient setup is. Panelists recommended working with industry professionals when designing or improving facilities to ensure they meet the needs of an AI program.

Execution Drives Results

Panelists caution producers against overcomplicating AI programs. Even the best genetics cannot overcome poor management. The panel stresses many reproductive challenges stem from simple management issues rather than advanced technology failures. Attention to these core practices remains essential.

Read more about synchronization options and the benefits of AI:

Upgrading in One Generation: The ROI of Artificial Insemination

Maximizing Reproductive Success: How to Use Estrus Synchronization to its Full Potential

The Role of Nutrition in Reproduction

Successful AI programs require cows to be in adequate body condition with a robust vaccination protocol in place before the breeding season begins.

When these elements are combined, AI becomes more than a reproductive tool. It serves as a driver of long-term profitability, genetic progress and overall herd improvement.

Ultimately, the consensus from the ARSBC panel is clear: AI is most effective when viewed as a comprehensive management strategy rather than a standalone technology. By mastering the fundamentals — from facility design and low-stress handling to precise nutritional management — producers can move beyond average conception rates. When execution matches the quality of the genetics, AI becomes a powerful engine for long-term herd improvement and operational profitability.

Your Next Reads:

Breeding in the Drylot: Strategies for Success in Confinement

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:00:51 GMT

Whether confinement feeding of beef cows is part of a cropping and livestock integrated system, or if cows have been displaced due to drought or fire, there are several key concepts to keep in mind when breeding season occurs in confinement.

When drought or wildfire forces cattle off the range, the breeding season doesn’t stop — it simply changes location. Transitioning cow-calf pairs into confinement is often a move of necessity, but maintaining reproductive efficiency in a drylot requires a specialized blueprint.

Breeding beef cattle in confinement presents a unique set of challenges, but it also offers a significant opportunity for precision management. According to Nebraska Extension Specialist Karla Wilke , success in a confined breeding system hinges on three critical factors:

Providing adequate bunk space to manage social hierarchy
Delivering nutrient-dense rations that meet the high energy demands of lactation
Leveraging the close proximity of working facilities to implement advanced reproductive technologies like artificial insemination

Wilke shares her suggestions regarding breeding season confinement in a recent UNL BeefWatch article and in a webinar focused on confinement feeding cow-calf pairs .

(Karla Wilke)

Housing and Space: Beyond the Feedlot Pen

According to Wilke, bunk or feeding space needs to be about 2 feet for cows and bulls and about 1 foot for calves. This is especially true if a nutrient-dense, limit-fed ration is being used.

“Feedlot pens are not the only place cow-calf pairs can be confined,” she says. “Producers may also be able to use fallow ground, pivot corners or calving pastures. However, a minimum of 500 square feet per pair is recommended.”

When possible, it is also recommended that calves have their own loafing space inaccessible to the cows. Wilke stresses this reduces exposure to pathogen loads, may provide shade or wind protection and during breeding season can shield calves from getting stepped on.

The Lactation Gap: Meeting High Nutritional Demands

Lactation is a huge energy drain on the cow.

“Feeding a diet similar to what the cow received during gestation will not meet her needs, causing her to draw from her energy reserves to feed her calf, and thereby decrease her chances of rebreeding,” Wilke explains. “A lactation diet similar in intake and quality to green grass is needed.”

Read more about why energy, protein, minerals and weekly body condition checks are critical to getting cows and first‑calf heifers rebred on schedule:

From Calving to Conception: Nutrition Strategies to Keep Cows on Track

Wilke adds the calf is beginning to eat forages, so extra feed needs to be provided to ensure the calf is not eating feed that was assumed to be for the cow, thereby causing her to lose body condition.

The Confinement Advantage: Streamlining AI and Synchronization

She says one positive aspect of maintaining cows in confinement is that they may be in close proximity to working facilities, providing an opportunity to employ artificial insemination (AI) or allow producers to tighten the calving window by synchronizing cows while still using natural service.

Read more about synchronization options and the benefits of AI:

Upgrading in One Generation: The ROI of Artificial Insemination

Maximizing Reproductive Success: How to Use Estrus Synchronization to its Full Potential

(Karla Wilke)

Social Dynamics: Managing Bull Age and Hierarchy in Close Quarters

Older bulls tend to dominate the breeding season, and this can be especially true in confinement.

“If possible to divide cows into groups, consider pairing younger bulls together, giving them the appropriate ratio of cows for their age ,” Wilke explains. “When dividing bulls into groups for confinement breeding, strong fences between groups are critical. Giving bulls two or three weeks to acclimate to breeding groups before turning in with cows when possible also helps reduce fighting.”

Drought and fires can take a toll on cattle. While it is always recommended to have a breeding soundness exam on bulls before turnout, it is especially important when bulls have experienced stressful situations that may impact structural soundness and fertility.

Read more about how a bull’s fertility and breeding ability are crucial to a producer’s success:

Wanted: Bulls Ready to Work

Is Your Bull Ready for Turnout? 4 Steps to Ensure Breeding Success

Due to the size of mature bulls, the growth requirement of young bulls and the activity level during the breeding season, bulls also need a high-quality diet. Maintaining bulls in a body condition score (BCS) of 5 or 6 on a 1 to 9 scale helps keep them healthy and productive.

Read more about how body condition scoring is an important tool for producers to use to make sure bulls are in good condition:

Body Condition Scoring Bulls: Now is the Time to Make Sure Bulls Are Ready for Turnout

Your Next Reads:

Upgrading in One Generation: The ROI of Artificial Insemination

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:26:05 GMT

For smaller producers, having access to advanced reproductive technology can feel like a hassle and often limit their genetic options during breeding season. From understanding synchronization protocols to ordering and storing semen to heat detections and artificially inseminating their cows, the process may seem inconvenient at first. The biggest benefit artificial insemination (AI) offers producers is being cost-effective and easily accessible.

“The price comparison of using AI versus buying a bull is one of the biggest benefits,” says Christian Lewis of Lewis Cattle Services LLC. “With AI, we can get all cows exposed for around $60 to $70 per head, depending on semen price. There are a lot of high-quality bulls with semen available for less than $50 per straw. We can also mate cows individually. AI-bred cows and AI-sired calves generally bring more at sale barns.”

Lewis offers a variety of reproductive services to producers looking to improve their genetics without breaking the bank. After growing up on a small feedlot and grain farm in South Dakota and earning an animal science degree, he went to work for Select Sires in Minnesota.

“I got introduced to AI while working at a purebred Charolais operation after college,” he says. “I wanted to be more involved with AI so I got a job with Select Sires and I was a large herd dairy technician for them for five years. I helped progressive dairies over 1,500 cows with genetic selection, reproductive management as well as AI.”

Now, Lewis resides in Redfield, S.D., and offers AI, embryo transfer (ET), estrous synchronization and ultrasound services to local cattle producers. His typical customers are looking to build on their genetics without sacrificing structure and functionality, and reproductive services like AI allow a larger genetic pool to select from.

Anton Hermes of Hermes Livestock in Colorado and his brother, Derek Hermes, who operates Hermes Genetics, travel and breed around 10,000 to 12,000 head a year with their AI services.

“The energy to upgrade your genetics in one generation is probably the most valuable tool or asset that we have, especially in a small herd,” Anton says. “If you want to go buy those calving-ease bulls, they are very expensive. You can buy those genetics a lot cheaper than you can buy the bull. That straw of semen is going to cost $20 to $30 and the process of AI, it is so much simpler than people think.”

An ABS Global representative, the majority of the genetics Anton recommends and uses to breed customer heifers are ABS sires. Both ABS Global and Select Sires serve dairy and beef producers with genetic and reproductive technologies. For Anton, many customers will bring the heifers to him and he develops them in his grow yard, will AI them. He helps with majority of the mating decisions as well.

Read more about how Hermes has found success selecting and developing bred heifers and marketing them:

Building for the Long Haul: The Hermes Strategy for Premium Bred Heifers

Nutrition First: Preparing Females for a Successful Breeding Season

The first step in utilizing AI is preparing your females . Lewis says the heifer or cow needs to be at a five or six body condition score and on an increasing plane of nutrition without getting too fleshy.

“We cannot expect cows to get pregnant from AI, or from a bull, if they are losing weight going into the breeding season,” Lewis adds. “A good mineral program that includes chelated minerals is important, as well as working with a good nutritionist.”

Can I AI My Own Cows? The Path to Certification

Both Lewis and Anton recommend trying AI in your herd and even taking an AI certification class.

“I would recommend they take an AI class if they’re interested in learning to do it themselves, with the understanding that the more cattle you can get into, the more comfortable you will become,” Lewis adds. “I have told my previous AI school students that it takes about 100 head to start to feel comfortable. The best way to gain experience is to find a dairy that will let you work through its cull cows. Select Sires, ABS, Genex and Alta will put on AI schools throughout the year. Most agriculture universities have them as well with help from the major AI stud companies.”

Lewis says AI can be a great tool for producers and skill to build on.

“If any ranchers, or anyone else for that matter has any questions or is interested in knowing more, we are more than willing to speak with them,” Lewis continues. “Our services are built around each cow and each breeding season. We aren’t going to suggest anything we don’t believe in.”

Anton echoes Lewis in that there is a lot of opportunities with AI and people to share their knowledge and experience.

“Don’t be scared or intimidated to try AI for the first time because there’s a lot of opportunity out there, and the genetic enhancement is invaluable to your herd,” Anton says. “There’s plenty of guys out there like me that are willing to help.”

You can find more information about Lewis Cattle Services and Hermes Livestock on Facebook.

Your Next Reads:

As Breeding Begins: 3 Keys to Success

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:51:25 GMT

As pastures green up and calves hit the ground, the real work of the breeding season quietly begins. It’s a short window with long-lasting consequences. From post‑calving cows trying to regain body condition to replacement heifers who must stick the first time to bulls whose soundness and stamina drive the whole program, every decision you make now echoes through future calf crops.

As breeding begins, industry experts share these three keys to help ensure you don’t just turn out cattle — you turn out results:

1. Cows: Manage the Post-Calving BCS Slump

Shelby Roberts, Alltech beef technical support, encourages producers to manage energy, protein and water so cows, especially first‑calf heifers, maintain a body condition score (BCS) of 5 to 6.

She says it is important cows don’t lose more than one score post‑calving. Thin, losing cows come into heat late and breed late.

Read more about why energy, protein, minerals and weekly body condition checks are critical to getting cows and first‑calf heifers rebred on schedule:

From Calving to Conception: Nutrition Strategies to Keep Cows on Track

2. Heifers: Get Replacements Ready to Stick

Dan Tracy, Zoetis beef technical services, says heifer selection drives the herd. He suggests producers select heifers by birth date and quality, then grow them to 65% to 70% of mature weight and BCS 5 to 6 by breeding.

“The most single important thing is their birthday,” he says. “The older heifers are going to set the tone. They’re going to stay in the herd longer. They’re going to calve earlier.”

He says it is important to be hard on heifers — set minimums.

“We’re going to spend a lot of money getting them bred, so we want to get that payback,” he adds. “Use reproductive tract scoring and pelvic measurements 45 to 60 days ahead of breeding to cull the ones that won’t keep up.”

Read more about the importance of heifer development:

Building for the Long Haul: The Hermes Strategy for Premium Bred Heifers

From Selection to Breeding: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Productive Heifers

3. Bull Power: Soundness, Condition and Semen Production Cycles

It is important to manage bulls as seriously as cows. Take the time to evaluate bulls and make sure they are ready to go to work.

Saulo Zoca, University of Tennessee assistant professor and beef cattle reproduction specialist, says a breeding soundness exam (BSE) is like a car insurance policy for a bull. He suggests testing bulls 30 to 60 days before the breeding season to allow time for management decisions.

Read more about how a bull’s fertility and breeding ability is crucial to a producer’s success:

Wanted: Bulls Ready to Work

Along with a BSE, another tool producers should use to make sure bulls are ready to go to work is BCS .

Phillip Lancaster, Kansas State University beef cattle nutritionist, stresses, compared to cows, bulls require more weight change to move between BCS points due to their larger size.

Read more about how environmental and nutritional factors can affect fertility:

Factors That Can Affect Bull Fertility

Synchronization and AI Can Front‑Load Pregnancies

Artificial insemination (AI) and synchronization programs can be a powerful tools when they’re planned, not improvised.

“Synchronization only works if you work the protocol,” says Jennifer Koziol, Texas Tech University associate professor of food animal medicine and surgery. “Put it on a calendar, know who’s doing what on which day, and don’t try to wing it between everything else.”

Oklahoma State University’s Mark Johnson says regardless of when your calving season occurs, manipulating the reproductive process of your cow herd can result in shorter breeding and calving seasons. Accordingly, more calves born earlier in the calving season result in an older, heavier, more uniform calf crop when you wean.

Johnson explains estrus synchronization can be used for natural mating or AI breeding. The labor, not the products, is usually the limiting factor.

“Synchronization protocols permit us to concentrate the labor needed for heat detection to a few days, and in some cases eliminate the need for heat detection when cows can be bred on a timed basis,” he explains.

Read more about synchronization protocols in heifers versus cows and how to find what works best in your operation:

Maximizing Reproductive Success: How to Use Estrus Synchronization to its Full Potential

Trace Minerals: Important for the Whole Herd

A good mineral program can help set a herd up for success. Trace minerals play a critical role in reproduction — supporting fertility, embryo survival and sperm production.

Craig Louder, Axiota Animal Health senior technical consultant, explains, after calving, a cow has roughly 90 days to rebreed in order to stay on a 12‑month calving interval.

“Because that window is so short, we can’t afford delays — mineral deficiencies need to be addressed promptly to support timely conception,” he says. “If we do not have adequate trace minerals. We decrease both the ability to achieve pregnancy and the ability to maintain it. Getting a cow bred has little value if she cannot carry that pregnancy to term and deliver a viable calf.”

Reproduction is one of the first things to suffer when trace mineral status isn’t right. You may not see a sick cow; you just see fewer pregnancies.

“Research has shown that if we don’t have adequate copper, we’re going to be nearly four times more likely to end up with a stillborn calf,” Louder says. “If we don’t have adequate selenium, we can be 31 times more likely to have a stillborn calf.”

As soon as a cow delivers a calf, her trace mineral status drops by 30%. Louder stresses producers have two months to get the trace mineral status built back up.

He says research shows even when on a great organic trace mineral program, feeding a cow 150% of what her requirements are is still going to take close to a month to be able to build it up.

“That’s if your cow is smart enough to go out and read the label and understand that she has to do this and gets all that taken care of,” he adds.

With an injectable, like Multimin 90, producers can bypass a lot of those hurdles an oral supplement takes and rapidly replenish that cow’s trace mineral status.

“It doesn’t replace the oral program,” Louder says. “This is simply a way that we can get it into her at the time we need it for those management practices in a more rapid and efficient manner.”

He suggests producers give a Multimin 90 shot twice per year:

Precalving — 30 days prior to calving is ideal. However, if management doesn’t allow that, supplementation at any point during the third trimester can still provide meaningful benefit.
Prebreeding — 30 days prior to breeding is ideal. If using AI, there is benefit when putting it in at the same time as the CIDR.
“We have reset the follicular waves, and the minerals can be utilized by the follicle that will ovulate the egg that will be fertilized,” he explains.

Don’t forget the bulls.

“Sperm production requires a lot of trace minerals,” Louder says. “It’s a 63‑day process. Most breeding soundness exams are done about two months before turnout. We can hit them with a dose of minerals then, and I recommend giving them another dose at turnout.”

The Countdown to Breeding: A 90-Day Management Timeline

Here’s a suggested timeline as producers prepare for breeding season:

90 days before breeding:
Evaluate cow and heifer BCS. Adjust rations.
Pull previous conception data. Identify problem groups.
60 days before:
Schedule BSEs for bulls.
Finalize heifer development targets and mineral program.
30 days before:
Confirm synchronization protocol and handling dates.
Double‑check facilities, labor and record systems.
Day 0 (AI or bull turnout):
Quick recheck of bull condition and soundness.
Confirm tags and records.

Breeding season will never be completely simple, but it can be far more intentional. The experts agree: protect body condition before you lose it, develop heifers like the high‑dollar investments they are and expect your bulls to work as hard on fertility as you do on everything else. Every pregnant female counts, and success comes from stacking small, disciplined decisions across cows, heifers and bulls.

Your Next Reads:

Maximizing Reproductive Success: How to Use Estrus Synchronization to its Full Potential

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:43:14 GMT

Synchronization programs are always evolving, and you want to use the best one.

Kansas State University veterinarian Brad White says, “The problem is, the best has a couple of different definitions.”

In a recent episode of “Herd Health,” White and fellow K-State Veterinarian Bob Larson compare estrus synchronization protocols for heifers and cows, and how to determine which is best for your operation.

When determining what protocols to use for artificial insemination (AI), Larson explains there is a difference in steps for heifers versus cows. To see a list of protocols and steps, Larson recommends utilizing the Estrus Synch Planner on the Beef Reproduction Task Force website.

The Hormonal Toolkit: GnRH, Prostaglandin and Progesterone

Protocols are similar for cows and heifers, but there are a few differences to be aware of. Larson explains the three hormones used to synchronize estrus are progesterone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH) and prostaglandin F2Alpha. What varies from cows to heifers is hormone placement time and combinations.

The period from giving the prostaglandin injection to optimal insemination time, is shorter in heifers than cows. When using fixed-time AI, cows should be serviced later.

Why Heifers Respond Faster Than Cows

Larson discusses a key difference in fixed-time AI with heifers is the length of protocol from start to finish. Some protocols can be as long 33 to 36 days or as short as eight days, so producers must decide how much time they have or are willing to spend.

Another factor to consider is how many times a producer will run animals through the chute. In some cases, it could be twice, once for a prostaglandin injection and once for insemination, and other cases could be up to four times. Group size and animal location are both items to consider when choosing the best protocol.

When looking at specific components like progesterone, different protocols list giving this for five, seven or 14 days. If heifers have not already reached puberty and are cycling, they will be jumpstarted, Larson says.

He explains some will reach puberty sooner than usual with this progesterone addition. The longer they’re exposed, the more successful jumpstarting will be. The downside is it is a longer process.

MGA vs. CIDR: Weighing Cost Against Convenience

Heifers can receive progesterone needed for estrus synch in feed form with melengestrol acetate (MGA) or intravaginally with a CIDR that slowly releases progesterone into the bloodstream.

MGA is inexpensive and you don’t need to run heifers through a chute, so if cost and gathering are concerns, this is an effective system. The disadvantage is that the dosage is 0.5 mg per head per day, and that can be difficult to maintain when factors like weather and herd dominance come into play.

To ensure the most successful synchronization, Larson stresses maintaining feeding schedules and allowing plenty of bunk space is crucial. If using MGA, the feeding period is usually 14 days.

White explains the decision to use MGA or CIDRs as cost versus convenience. However, MGA can only be used with heifers.

Most protocols include a GnRH injection at the time of fixed-time AI. This is because all protocols are designed to be optimized, meaning for the majority of the heifers, Larson says.

For example, a 66-hour time frame from the prostaglandin injection to insemination is best for most heifers. This could be late or early for some, so the GnRH injection causes heifers to ovulate if they haven’t already, but most protocols state that heifers will have ovulated prior to the time of insemination.

Some sources say to provide GnRH seven days prior to removing the progesterone source. Larson reminds producers that the whole point of these protocols is synchronization. Giving this injection at that time ensures heifers’ follicular waves are in the same pattern, meaning synchronization is tightened among the group.

The Postpartum Countdown: When to Start Synchronization

The main difference in synchronization in cows is timing between hormone administration and breeding. However, Larson also points out that cows do make the process a little more difficult when they have calves at their side or they are on pasture.

Cows are also actively calving, and Larson says they should calve at least 40 to 50 days before the start of synchronization, but they will vastly range.

Crunching the Numbers: Is AI Right for Your Operation?

Ultimately, deciding to use estrus synchronization and AI comes down to what works best for your operation.

“You have to do the math to make sure it’s worth it for you,” White says.

There are some differences when comparing the protocols for a seedstock and commercial operation.

Once you find a protocol that works for you, he adds, “There are some real advantages to picking a protocol, working with it, and going through the process.”

Consulting the Beef Reproduction Task Force , veterinarians, semen dealers and other community resources are great options when deciding what to implement in your operation.

Your Next Reads:

Building for the Long Haul: The Hermes Strategy for Premium Bred Heifers

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:07:56 GMT

Selecting and managing highly desirable heifers is Anton Hermes’ specialty. He offers various services to develop heifers on a custom basis for customers and markets his own bred heifers.

Alongside his brother, Derek, who runs Hermes Genetics, Hermes manages Hermes Livestock, and the brothers work hand-in-hand to breed sale and customer cattle. They travel and breed around 10,000 to 12,000 head a year with their artificial insemination (AI) services. For his own herd of commercial mother cows, Hermes will purchase heifers from AI customers or ranches the brothers do business with.

“The customers bring their heifers to our grow yard where we feed and develop them, and later artificially inseminate them, then send them back to the customers pregnant,” Hermes explains.

(Hermes Family)

Steps to Developing a Bred Heifer

The heifer selection process starts with their home-raised females and then buying load lots of females, often from Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming ranches. Then they do pelvic measurements, bangs vaccinations and sort non-breeders into grass cattle groups.

“We prefer to buy heifers when they’re 500 to 600 lb. in the fall, but we will buy some later in the spring if we have pasture available,” Hermes says. “About 200 of these heifers would be grown in our own herd.”

Hermes Livestock’s heifer program consists of Red Angus, F1 red baldies, black Angus and F1 black baldies. Hermes says he prefers the Hereford influence in their F1 heifers but also breeds purebred Angus and Red Angus.

When sorting heifers to the top of the group to develop and market as bred females, he looks for the feminine, moderate-framed heifers with adequate temperament.

“That’s what we’re after, and that’s what our customers are after,” Hermes says. “A lot of times there will be 500 head, and we want to sort 150 off the top to keep for us to breed. We look for something that’s structurally put together, that can walk miles out here in eastern Colorado or Oklahoma or Wyoming or wherever they will end up, and really maternal. We want these cows to live to be 12 years old and still be productive in the cow herd. We’re trying to build the cow herd in the U.S. right now, so maternal longevity is very important. We strive to develop these problem-free cattle that function in any environment.”

Once heifers are sorted, they synchronize them at the grow yard and breed heifers using AI. If they don’t show a heat, he will synchronize and AI again, so every heifer gets a chance to get bred on the AI cycle. After, they are turned out with bulls on grass.

Hermes chooses the bulls he’s going to breed customer heifers to by using them on his herd first.

“I test all the bulls on my own cows. I’ll find a young, up-and-coming sire that I really like and I’ll use them on my own heifers,” Hermes explains. “We’ll calve them out and if they pass the test we’ll use those the next year on the commercial groups. Typically, it’s all ABS genetics. They have an exceptional lineup of calving-ease bulls. We have some mainstays that we’ve used for four years in a row now that are just so popular that we can’t get away from them.”

Other bull selection criteria are liking the bull’s phenotype. Many of the bred heifers sold will go on to produce replacement females for producers so phenotype is important to Hermes.

“We’ll sell somewhere between, depending on the year, 600 to 1,100 head and we’ll market them through a couple different sales of our own as well as private treaty,” he says.

(Photos provided by the Hermes family)

Selling Across the States

Hermes helped start the Maternal Merit Sale Group with Dan Warner of Warner Beef Genetics and Don Maclennan with Valhalla Ranch. The sale offers bred heifers through live auction twice a year in Arapahoe, Neb., and Denver, Colo., at the National Western Stock Show. The Nebraska sale sells heifers in groups based on breed, size and AI- or bull-bred sire. He hopes to add another sale in Colorado this fall.

“We identify the sire groups then; we sort off by size and docility. We are especially picky on the heifer’s docility,” Hermes says of the heifers selected for the sale. “If they’ve got too much fire, then we sort them off. We don’t put them through our sales or private treaty large groups. We’ll sort them by breed and size, and then we’ll market them through that sale, and they usually go to about nine to 13 different states; we will deliver them right from there.”

The sale has offered up to 700 head between Anton, Warner and Maclennan.

The Denver Maternal Merit Sale started after a meeting with Warner, Maclennan and Bobby Strecker, ABS Global district manager. After which Hermes wrote the National Western Stock Show a letter in 2020 and asked if they would add a commercial heifer sale to the lineup at the new facility when it was done.

“We are trying to bring a commercial element back to the National Western and this sale gave us an excuse to do that,” Hermes explains.

Maclennan says it’s given them a platform to show commercial producers the quality of heifers brought to the sale.

“We are very particular on quality and after the first year, people saw that,” Maclennan says. “They have supported us quite nicely since then. We have had nothing but repeat buyers coming and either buying or at least bidding.”

Starting with around 400 Red Angus heifers selected in May, Maclennan will sort off the top 50 or 60.

“Throw them through so many hoops that by the time Denver comes, we’ll have 15 to 20 that are just the elite,” Maclennan says. “They’ve got excited about it and we had a really good crowd.”

The strategy in Denver differed from Arapahoe in that they were showcasing their programs developing heifers and offering programing for commercial producers at a major stock show.

“We’re really just trying to showcase the front end of our commercial genetics as a marketing tool and to bring the basic commercial element of the cattlemen back to Denver,” Hermes adds. “It’s a good tool for us to use for marketing, but it’s also been a good tool for the public. We have since added speakers and educational panels addressing current industry topics.”

A large portion of the private treaty sales tend to come from southern customers in Texas and Oklahoma.

“We have a big following where they’re really looking to improve genetics,” Hermes says. “Some of our best customers for the last five years have been south. We had a ranch last year where about 300 head of bred heifers went to in south Texas.”

His advice to marketing bred heifers is to start with a high-quality animal.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re selling five over 500,” Hermes says. “Sort through them and don’t just breed every one of them. Make sure you get them pelvic-measured, and tract-scored. Do a quality sort for docility and phenotype. If you’re planning to AI them or if you’re going to buy a bull, use a sire that is really current and recognizable. Everybody really likes to know what the cattle are bred to, so I recommend finding a calving ease sire. If you buy them as replacements find out as much information as you can about the genetics.”

His best marketing tactic has been repeat buyers and word of mouth.

“We get more and more phone calls from repeat buyers and their neighbors and that’s how we’ve done a majority of our marketing,” Hermes concludes. “We have grown our brand and sales through positive feedback.”

Your Next Reads:

7 Common Questions and Answers About Embryo Transfer

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:49:47 GMT

As breeding season approaches, schedules become busier, so planning and efficiency are crucial.

Breeding season is a year-round planning process as discussed in the February episode of the “ Powered by Trans Ova Podcast .” During the podcast, veterinarians Tim Gibbs and Cody Bailey answer some commonly asked questions about embryo transfer (ET) programs.

What Causes Early Breeding Season Setbacks?

Starting too late or not having a game plan from the beginning tends to affect results.

Bailey summarizes, “It’s a recipe for failure.”

He recommends planning the whole season in advance, including:

What donors will be used?
When will embryos be made?
What embryos you will put in?
What recipient cows will be used?
Do you have a vet or technician scheduled to put embryos in?

Having conversations each year to discuss the process is important so you can decide what works best or how to make improvements for the next time.

Bailey explains most changes that could be made to improve conception rates are minor things that add up. Successful programs are all in the details, from mineral and nutrition programs to vaccine protocols and more.

He summarizes, “It’s really getting all those boxes checked.”

What Nutrition Mistakes Reduce Conception Rates?

Gibbs explains it is a good idea for all producers to have a nutritionist help with nutrition decisions. What tends to have negative impacts are big changes in diets. Moving from feedlot diets to pasture too quickly often sets cattle back.

Gibbs recommends continuing to supplement diets when turning out to grass until it has fully come up.

“That’s really the worst situation for a recipient is to have her going backwards nutritionally around breeding time,” Gibbs says.

Ensuring females are maintaining condition or heading in a positive direction is most beneficial.

What Should You Prioritize With Younger Recipients?

With cattle inventories being at a historic low and increased embryo production, recipient pools are low. Some producers are looking to use virgin or 2-year-old heifers to expand recipient numbers.

Gibbs explains the beef industry varies from dairy producers who often see more success with using virgin recipients. If using virgin recipients, it is important to manage their body condition closely and keep them in low-stress environments.

“The good thing is to set expectations that if we hit 50% conception rate on heifers, that’s a win,” he explains, as opposed to 70% being ideal in mature cows.

Two-year-olds also need special management, separating them from mature cows to lower competition rates for resources. Gibbs says first-calf heifers’ post-calving interval should be 90 to 110 days rather than 60 to 70 days used with mature cows.

Like virgin heifers, they still tend to have a less sensitive heat response and a lower conception rate.

What Health Protocols Ensure Success?

“It really depends on the individual client, the type of cattle used as recipients and where they’re located,” Gibbs says. “Ensure there is a herd health protocol in place that fits the location and operation.”

A vaccine program is crucial for all ages. Gibbs and Bailey both recommend vaccinating cows either before synching or waiting until preg-checking time. However, both say parasite control with pour-ons and dewormers is appropriate to administer at breeding time.

What Synchronization Protocols Are Recommended?

Both Gibbs and Bailey suggest the 7 & 7 protocol. Results have shown that more cows will express heats with this method compared to a 7-day CIDR (controlled internal drug release).

The window for heats is extremely tight, ranging from 48 to 72 hours. The constraint with this protocol is management if producers are short labor or time.

There is also a 30-day protocol that tends to work well with virgin heifers, specifically with artificial insemination. Both express reminders that producers understand correct procedures for what protocol they use.

How Do You Manage Environmental Changes?

Bailey emphasizes to always have a plan. With good weather comes good results, and inconsistent weather brings challenges.

Simple changes like increased feed for more energy in colder weather, bedding or windbreaks can all help reduce stress when cows are in heat.

“Just try to have a plan for when things are going to happen because they probably will,” Bailey stresses.

How Should Recipients Be Managed Post-transfer?

“Try not to make any big changes for four or five weeks after transfer day,” Gibbs suggests.

Stress issues are mitigated when everything is kept consistent. If any location changes are to be made, doing these the day of or the next day is best.

He explains that once days 17 to 24 of the cow’s estrus cycle are reached, stress should be minimized since this is the point where she will either stick or cycle back. When times arise where changes must be made, consult practitioners to make the best plan.

Your Next Read:
Why Embryo Products Make Sense for Commercial Cattle Operations

Beyond the Pass/Fail: K-State Veterinarians Decode Bull Fertility

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:02:01 GMT

Bull fertility is directly tied to herd productivity.

Bob Larson, Kansas State University veterinarian, says reproductive efficiency drives the income side of cow-calf operations.

Larson and fellow K-State veterinarian Brad White recently discussed a University of Tennessee case study on the “ Bovine Science with BCI ” podcast focused on breeding soundness exams.

“They evaluated nearly 1,400 bull breeding soundness exams conducted between 2008 and 2018,” Larson explains. “They came up with several factors and split them into intrinsic and extrinsic categories.”

Intrinsic factors include age, breed and history. Extrinsic challenges relate to season, nutrition and temperature.

From the exams, about 25% of the bulls failed. Not because of one single issue, but a combination of factors.

The Puberty Gap: Age Matters

Age plays a role on both ends of the spectrum. Older bulls have a higher failure risk, but so do yearling bulls. An important note is that yearling bulls may fail due to immaturity, not permanent infertility.

“If we test bulls around 11 months of age, there’s a fair number that will fail. But within six to eight weeks, they are maturing,” Larson says. “Age does make a difference around the yearling stage.”

Seasonal Slumps: How Heat and Forage Quality Impact Semen Counts

Seasonal challenges bring different impacts to your herd. In the cold months of winter and the heat of summer months, bull semen counts are at their lowest. The harsh elements combined with nutritional challenges influence fertility.

“Winter and summer were associated with a lower chance of passing the BSE than in the spring and fall,” Larson says. “Sometimes it’s not just the temperature, it’s the forage that’s available and quality of diet that’s available during the colder parts of the year.”

Read more about how environment and nutrition impact bull fertility:

Factors That Can Affect Bull Fertility

Context is Key: Evaluating the Whole Picture

Not all factors are equal, and neither are all failures. BSE’s are a snapshot of time. It is important to understand BSE failures versus deferred bulls.

A bull is deferred when issues are likely temporary and reversible with time or treatment, such as immaturity, sickness or an injury that can heal. In most cases, deferred bulls will improve and pass when retested.

Bulls that failed previously are six times more likely to fail again. But there can be more factors contributing to the failure of a BSE. Age at testing, time of year and environmental conditions can all have an impact.

Larson encourages producers to look at their herd circumstances and think critically about the BSE results.

“Breeding soundness exams provide valuable insight, but they should not be viewed in isolation. You’ve got to look at the context, including year, quarter of the year, age of the bull and what defects we’re seeing,” Larson says.

Your Next Reads:

Why Getting Cows Bred Earlier Pays Off More Than You Think

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:07:30 GMT

Timing is one of the most powerful and underleveraged tools in cow-calf production. While genetics, nutrition and health protocols often take center stage, both research and field experience point to a simpler truth: When cows get bred matters just as much as whether they get bred at all.

In a recent conversation, Jacques Fuselier, manager of cattle technical services at Merck Animal Health, reinforced what many veterinarians and producers have observed for years: Cows that calve earlier in the season consistently outperform their later-calving herdmates. They wean heavier calves, rebreed more efficiently and generate greater returns per head. But the real story starts earlier in the cycle.

Calving Timing Starts With Breeding Timing

The advantage of early calving is well established. Earlier-born calves have more days to grow before weaning, often align better with peak forage availability and enter the market at a weight advantage. Their dams also have more time postpartum to resume cyclicity and conceive again.

As we know, calving timing is not random; it reflects when cows conceive during the breeding season.

As Fuselier explains, “The goal is to get as many cows pregnant as you can in the first 21 days.”

The more cows that conceive early, the more calves that are born early, and the more consistent and productive the system becomes.

Uniformity Is the Economic Engine

The biological advantages of early calving translate directly into economic returns.

“When calves are sold, they are sold by the pound, so pounds matter,” Fuselier says. “If you could come up with a way to not do a lot more to your herd — but whatever you do make it better to where you have more calves born early in a calving season — you’ll end up with a heavier, more uniform calf crop and weaning, therefore being more profitable.”

Uniformity is one of the most important drivers of value in a calf crop. Calves that are similar in age and weight are easier to manage, easier to market and often command stronger prices. A tighter calving window produces a more consistent group, improving both operational efficiency and sale outcomes.

The Hidden Cost of a Long Breeding Season

“When the breeding season is strung out, the calving season gets strung out. So, the uniformity of your herd goes down,” Fuselier says. “Plus, the time for those cows, after calving, for their uterus to repair, to start cycling again and to be able to get bred again is important. If there’s an overlap of when bulls go out and when those cows are recovering from calving, you just perpetuate that cycle.”

Late-calving cows have less time to recover before the next breeding season, making them more likely to breed late again or fall open. Over time, this creates a persistent tail of late-calving animals that erodes herd performance and profitability.

Small Timing Shifts, Big System Changes

Even modest improvements in early breeding can create meaningful downstream effects.

“By shortening the number of days that cows are calving, it allows you to focus your labor force better and for a shorter period of time, instead of having to split duties over multiple months,” Fuselier says.

This improved labor efficiency complements the biology and economics of a tighter calving window. In an environment where labor is increasingly limited, concentrating calving into a shorter, more predictable period can significantly reduce management strain.

A Tool to Move the Herd in the Right Direction

Long-term strategies like genetic selection and heifer development remain essential, but there are also practical tools that can help shift breeding timing more immediately.

One example is the use of prostaglandin-based synchronization products, including the cloprostenol injection Estrumate , at or shortly after bull turnout. This product induces luteolysis in cycling cows, encouraging more animals to return to estrus early in the breeding season and increasing the proportion bred in that critical first 21-day window.

“With very little effort, just the addition of another injection, you can start moving that calf crop up and tightening the calving window by having more born earlier in the calving season than later in the calving season. You end up increasing the uniformity of your calf crop,” Fuselier explains.

In natural service systems, where synchronization options are often more limited than in artificial insemination-based programs, this type of approach offers a relatively simple way to influence breeding distribution without significantly increasing labor or complexity.

The Compounding Effect Across Generations

The impact of early breeding extends beyond a single season.

“Heifers born to cows in the first part of that calving season will end up reaching puberty earlier and breeding earlier. You try to build the herd with cows that have their biological clocks that way. So, generation after generation after generation, you’re seeing it,” Fuselier says.

This creates a powerful compounding effect. Early-born heifers are more likely to become early-breeding cows, gradually shifting the entire herd toward improved reproductive efficiency over time. Few management decisions influence both short-term performance and long-term herd development so directly.

Early calving gets the attention, but early breeding is the lever that makes it happen.

A Life Built on Genetics, People and Purpose

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:40:55 GMT

When you ask Lorna Marshall how she built a 30-year career at the center of the beef genetics world, she doesn’t start with titles, company names or big industry deals. She starts with people.

“The thing I’m most proud of,” she says, “are easily the relationships I’ve built — with bull owners, sales reps, team members and industry leaders.”

That simple emphasis on relationships and culture is the thread that runs through Marshall’s journey from a Kansas 4-H member to one of the most influential voices in beef genetics and sire acquisition.

(Provided by Lorna Marshall)

From Junior Leader to Industry Connector

Marshall grew up on a small cattle farm near Valley Center, Kan., where she recalls early experiences in 4‑H and the American Junior Simmental Association helped shape her future.

She describes her participation in junior programs as educational-based — opportunities that developed her curiosity and drive. It also placed her in the orbit of key Kansas industry leaders like Bob Dickinson, Ansel Armstrong and Michael Dikeman. Their work in performance-based beef cattle selection lit a spark in Marshall. Add to that her love of livestock judging and competition, and Marshall quickly found herself on a path that blended science, performance data and people.

She attended Colby Community College where she served as student body president and competed on the livestock judging team. The 1989 Kansas Community College Student of the Year, Marshall transferred to K-State where she was a Block & Bridle officer and a member of the 1990 reserve national champion livestock judging team.

Marshall says judging not only sharpened her eye for cattle, but it also expanded her network, something she credits as “what got me to where I am in my career.”

“An animal breeding professor at Kansas State, Dr. Linda Martin, was someone that I not only loved her class but also really admired her teaching style, how she built relationships with and motivated students,” Marshall says. “I followed in her footsteps when I chose to complete a master’s degree in animal breeding and genetics at Colorado State University.”

Marshall studied under Jim Brinks, whom she calls “very science-based, but very applied — always focused on what’s most important for the producer.”

While at CSU, an internship with ABS Global gave her a front-row seat to the artificial insemination (AI) industry. She started as a GTS evaluator, learning AI from the inside at a time when the beef industry’s use of reproductive technology and performance data was accelerating.

(Provided by Lorna Marshall)

Her Path in Genetics

After a brief stint at a breed association, ABS called her back — and that’s where one pivotal moment quietly shaped her career.

In 1995, ABS leadership turned to Marshall and asked her to oversee sire acquisition. She credits the opportunity to her network in the seedstock industry. Her role in sire acquisition gave her the opportunity to use her knowledge of genetics combined with her natural talent as a connector.

Over the next 16 years at ABS, she built deep relationships across multiple breeds, breed associations and regions. She also began traveling internationally, learning where U.S. beef genetics fit within the global beef supply chain.

She moved to Genex in 2011, shifting her focus more toward marketing, key accounts and large herds. There, she dug deeper into the sales process and started working more in the beef-on-dairy space, where large entities were experimenting with new supply chain models and genetic strategies.

About four and a half years later, Select Sires called and offered her the role she currently serves in: vice president of beef programs.

At Select, she has a chance to integrate everything she’s learned: training, people management and development, acquisition, marketing and product management.

“It was really the opportunity for me to put together everything I had learned in my career,” she summarizes.

(Provided by Lorna Marshall)

A Career Grounded in Cattle and Family

Marshall’s credibility in genetics isn’t just academic or corporate. It’s rooted in a lifetime of raising cattle with her husband, Troy.

The two met at CSU, married and have been together 34 years.

“I think Troy is one of the greatest visionaries in the beef industry; he always is challenging the status quo, and he makes me think bigger and more forward-facing, which I feel has served me extremely well in my career,” she says.

Early on, the couple bought cows together — even before they got married — and eventually built Marshall Cattle Co., a registered Angus and Simmental operation in eastern Colorado. For 20 years, they hosted an annual bull sale and raised their three children in the cow-calf and seedstock world.

“During that time, we’ve had over 20 interns live with us,” Marshall says. “It’s been rewarding to see them succeed. I think every single one of them would tell you that no meal at our dinner table was complete without discussing some current beef industry topic.”

As Marshall advanced through AI companies, most of which are based in dairy country, she negotiated remote work long before it was common. When their first son was born in 1996, she secured a remote office so she could live in beef country and stay close to the cattle and her family.

That dual life — corporate AI leader and hands-on seedstock producer — sharpened her perspective.

“You are better at bull selection if you are a producer,” she says. “You understand all of the problems firsthand. Sometimes the problems aren’t fully described by EPDs on a piece of paper.”

Living and working in the harsh eastern Colorado environment also gave her a practical perspective of how genetics perform in the real world — not just on paper or in theory.

In 2020, the couple chose more family time and dispersed their seedstock herd.

“Our kids decided to go to college in Oklahoma and Texas, and it kind of got to the point where I love cows, but I love my family more,” she says. “That’s really what made us transition to less cows… and more family time.”

Today, the couple resides near Prague, Okla., and has a small commercial cow herd.

(Provided by Lorna Marshall)

What Makes a Leader: Culture, Fit and Development

Across ABS, Genex and Select Sires, Marshall has managed teams, mentored young professionals and helped shape corporate strategy.

“Lorna is a great leader because she cares about others,” says Ryan Bodenhausen, Select Sires associate vice president of beef product development and marketing. “She is the first to give credit and praise to teammates before herself.”

Marshall says her leadership philosophy is simple and people-focused:

1. Culture comes first

“I’ve experienced culture — both good and bad,” she says. “It’s probably one of the most important things to me. We work really hard on culture.”

For Marshall, culture isn’t a slogan. It’s the day-to-day environment her team works in, and she takes responsibility for making it a place where people want to stay and grow.
Bodenhausen says Marshall is very thoughtful and genuine, often sending gifts or handwritten letters as a sign of appreciation or to be uplifting in a time of need.

2. Hire the person, train the job

Marshall is convinced she can train someone to do the job, but she cannot train core character. She looks for:

The right character and values
Strong work ethic
A teachable attitude
A fit with the team’s culture

3. Invest in people more than product

One of the most fulfilling parts of her role now is coaching and help develop young people. Lauren Kimble, Select Sires manager of ProfitSource supply chains, is one of the young professionals Marshall has mentored.

“In our company leadership trainings, we are always asked to think of someone in our organization who embodies a given example, whether it be communication, listening, change management, or so forth,” Kimble says. “Every single time, the first person that pops into my head is Lorna.”

She adds, “I think it’s rare to encounter someone who has both technical and subject matter expertise and also just ‘gets’ people on a deeper level. Lorna has taught me much in both areas and genuinely takes interest in developing people.”

Marshall credits her career and passion for mentoring to her mentors Calvin Drake, who insisted she be treated as an equal as the only woman on her K-State livestock judging team, Dave Spears, Dave Nichols, Larry Corah, Jim Brinks and especially Willie Altenberg, who hired her at ABS and later brought her to Genex and whom she eventually recruited to Select Sires.

From Altenberg, she learned how to accept challenging feedback and turn it into growth.

“He was the first person to really give me performance reviews and coached me. I learned how to take constructive feedback which fueled my development. Willie’s developed lots of leaders in our industry; I’m very proud to be one of the many,” she says.

Today, she sees that investment as something she’s obligated to pay forward.

Rethinking Sire Acquisition: Diversity Over Ego

In sire acquisition, it’s tempting to believe success comes from having a “gifted eye” and anointing the next great bull. Marshall has a more grounded view.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned is the power of diversity,” she says. “I don’t have to love every bull personally. It may not be a bull I would personally use, but if it serves a market, we need it.”

At Select Sires, that philosophy has shaped an acquisition strategy built around:

Understanding different markets
Matching specific genetics to specific needs
Offering the best bull for each market, not just one ideal type

Her favorite stories aren’t about famous sires as much as they are about the people behind them. She loves telling the story of Mytty In Focus at ABS — a bull that became a No. 1 registration sire for three up-and-coming Montana breeders.

“It changed their lives,” she says. “That’s just really cool to see — when we can change somebody’s life by helping to market their life’s work.”

Growth of Beef-on-Dairy

“One of the things I have been unable to change in my tenure is the amount or the adoption of artificial insemination in the beef cattle world,” Marshall says.

While use of AI in beef herds has remained stable, Marshall has been at the center of the beef-on-dairy shift. She has worked through the industry’s major structural change: beef moving from a side business in AI to a revenue driver.

She says historically, beef was 5% to 10% of an AI company’s income. Today, with beef-on-dairy, she estimates beef is 30% to 40% of revenue at many AI companies. She’s been in roles that touched both seedstock and beef-on-dairy supply chains, giving her a panoramic view of how genetics, packers and retailers are aligning.

Read More about Marshall’s philosophy about beef-on-dairy:

How Beef and Dairy Genetics Are Smarter and More Profitable

As the national beef cow herd is at a 75-year low, Marshall suggests AI and the use of sexed semen can help producers create the genetics that can excel either as a cow or as a feeder.

“I think we need to be focused on maternal traits to rebuild the cow herd,” Marshall says. “We can use sexed semen to create those females with specific genetics for maternal function. And then I think we can maximize quality pounds that we’re sending to the packer by, again, utilizing sexed semen and really elite terminal genetics.”

Looking Ahead: Data, Access and Opportunity

Despite the progress in AI, genomics and supply chains, Marshall’s biggest concern is who will control genetic information in the future. She sees two paths:

A “dairy model” with an open, multi-breed database where data are shared and improvement is accelerated.
A “swine model” dominated by a few large entities with private databases, limiting access and flexibility for independent and young producers.

She worries that without broader initiatives for more shared datasets and open genetic evaluations, our industry will look different with increased consolidation and less access to the necessary genetic information to remain competitive.

At the same time, she’s genuinely excited about sensor technologies, wearables and artificial intelligence-driven data collection that can unlock new traits — calf livability, vigor, red meat yield predictions and other objective phenotypes — without adding labor.

“I think we’re going to be able to solve problems we’ve been working on for 20 years in two years,” she predicts.

Marshall’s story isn’t just about genetics, AI companies or even technology. It’s about a woman who quietly built a career by staying rooted in cows, family and people, and who thinks that the real legacy in the beef business is measured in relationships, opportunity and the next generation coming up behind you.

Marshall’s 3 Strategies For Seedstock Success

Her advice to seedstock producers is consistent and grounded in being yourself and serving your customers.

Don’t copy someone else’s program. She sees too many new breeders trying to be a clone of who they admire. “Create your own path,” she explains. “One of the biggest problems I see in the seedstock industry is that new entrants come in and try to emulate a program they admire without a clear vision of what will differentiate their program.”
Breed cattle you believe in and that you like. The business is too hard to be passionate about something you don’t love.
Listen to your customers. The top programs, in her view, are the ones that: Take great care of customers and treat customer feedback as a primary guide to what works and what doesn’t.

She encourages a practical, relationship-driven philosophy rather than a “chase the hottest EPD profile” mindset.

“The seedstock producers that are the most successful are the ones that take really good care of their customers and listen to their customers,” she says. “So many times, I think in the seedstock world, we think we know more than our customer knows, and it needs to be the other way around.”

The Heifer Retention Blueprint: Why Preparation Starts Long Before Breeding Season

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:58:22 GMT

Preparing replacement heifers to breed starts earlier than deciding which bull to turnout or what semen to purchase. The long-term management of heifers directly correlates with higher conception rates and avoiding calving challenges, and nutrition is key.

When Should I Start Preparing Replacement Heifers for Breeding?

The process begins at birth. While it is common for heifers to be bred to calve at 24 months of age, nutrition management practices starting in the first months of life impact their entire reproductive future. Purina recommends heifers reach a body condition score (BCS) of 6 before calving to ensure a shorter postpartum interval and a successful breed-back the following season.

Weston Schrader says strong maternal genetics are incredibly important to their operation, and that’s where the process of heifer retention starts.

(Schrader Family)

What Are the Best Criteria for Selecting Replacement Heifers?

Schrader Ranch in Wells, Kan., manages around 400 to 500 purebred Charolais, SimAngus and commercial cows. Their replacement heifers are evaluated on strict criteria to maintain quality and efficiency. Well in advance of making breeding decisions, sorting replacement heifers is important to later success.

“Strong maternal genetics are incredibly important to our operation, and that’s where the process of heifer retention starts,” says Weston Schrader. “We keep detailed records of calving ease, udder quality, docility and body condition. Phenotypic quality has always been a priority for our operation; cattle must be structurally sound, functional and fit our environment. From there, we use EPDs (expected progeny differences) to confirm genetic merit and make disciplined, data-backed breeding decisions.”

Schrader identifies four foundational pillars for heifer retention:

Phenotypic quality — Cattle must be structurally sound, functional and fit the environment.
Maternal genetics —Detailed records are kept on udder quality and docility.
Data verification — Using EPDs to confirm genetic merit.
Calving history — Selecting for proven calving ease to minimize future labor.

Christina Christensen of Christensen Charolais Ranch recommends producers only keep their best heifers and avoid single-trait selection.

Located near Wessington Springs, S.D., Christensen manages more than 400 purebred and commercial cows, plus runs stockers on grass. Their breeding program is divided among embryo work, artificial insemination (AI) and using their herd bulls.

“Our primary focus is on carcass and performance while still maintaining functionality and soundness,” Christensen says. “We base our decisions off performance, phenotype and EPDs. This careful selection helps us pick the best of the best. Commercial heifers are selected on breedability, pelvic measurement, disposition and maternal qualities.”

(Schrader Ranch)

Why Is Nutrition Important in Heifer Development?

After sorting heifers, Schrader shifts to nutritional management strategies.

“Ensuring females attain appropriate body condition prebreeding is crucial and allows your best chance at shorter postpartum intervals and the ability to efficiently breed back the following breeding season,” he says.

Christensen echoes nutrition in replacement heifers is of utmost importance.

“Having a stable feed and mineral program is absolutely key,” she says.

The combination of selecting their best heifers for retention and a quality nutrition program is vital for Christensen. When breeding season is approaching, checking breedability and pelvic measurement helps ensure the heifers are ready for breeding.

“Don’t chase only certain traits; make sure to have balanced traits,” she says. “Don’t limit the selection process to single traits. Chasing single traits tends to take away from the broad picture.”

(Christensen family)

Why Is Early Calving Critical?

Another strategy Schrader uses is setting up first-calf heifers to calve in their earliest calving window, allowing them to keep pace with their mature cows the next year.

“Ahead of breeding season we identify proven, calving-ease sires for use in a 14-day CIDR (controlled internal drug release) protocol with a timed-AI option,” Schrader explains. “Then calving-ease bulls are turned out for 30 days.”

By calving heifers in their earliest possible window, producers give them the maximum amount of time to recover and rebreed as second-calvers.

Bulls Remain the Weak Link in Trichomoniasis Control

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:19:01 GMT

A breeding season can appear routine until the pregnancy check tells a different story. Conception rates fall short of expectations, cows return to heat off schedule and open females begin to stack up. What looks like a management issue is often something far more specific and far more costly.

Across the U.S. beef industry, bovine trichomoniasis continues to drive significant reproductive loss. Economic modeling published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics shows even modest reductions in disease prevalence can produce meaningful gains, with losses largely tied to fewer calves born and extended calving intervals. In affected herds, pregnancy rates commonly fall by 20% to 40%, and the financial impact compounds quickly over time.

At the center of it all is a consistent and often underestimated risk: the bull.

The Biology That Drives the Problem

Trichomoniasis, caused by the protozoan Tritrichomonas foetus, is a venereal disease transmitted during natural breeding. While both sexes are involved in transmission, the disease behaves very differently in cows versus bulls.

Most cows clear infection within two to four months. However, that clearance comes after early embryonic loss, often delaying conception by 30 to 90 days and stretching the calving season.

“The cow can mount a short-term immune response and clear the infection. She can eventually rebreed and carry a calf to term, but she’s going to lose that initial pregnancy that she had,” said Jennifer Koziol, associate professor of food animal medicine and surgery at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Texas Tech University on a recent episode of DocTalk .

Bulls, by contrast, create the long-term problem.

“The bull is a silent carrier because he doesn’t have any symptoms. He’s just going to spread it from female to female during breeding,” Koziol says.

A recent review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences explains why. The organism colonizes the preputial crypts, where immune clearance is limited. As bulls age, these crypts deepen, increasing the likelihood of persistent infection. Once infected, bulls typically remain carriers for life.

This biological mismatch is what makes control so difficult. The cow eventually clears the infection, but only after reproductive loss. The bull never clears it and continues to transmit it.

Recognize the Pattern in the Herd

Trichomoniasis rarely presents as a single obvious sign. Instead, it emerges as a pattern of reproductive inefficiency that can be easy to misinterpret early on.

“We see low pregnancy rates ... cows returning to estrus at intervals they shouldn’t, we can see abortions, ” Koziol says, discussing the big indicators that something is wrong in the herd.

These clinical signs reflect disruption during early gestation. Most losses occur within the first 60 days of pregnancy, often before confirmation, which is why the problem may go unnoticed until later in the season.

The full impact often becomes clear at pregnancy check.

“We go out and do pregnancy checks, and we’re only getting 50% to 60% conception rates. That’s a pretty terrible day when you’re just saying open, open, open,” Koziol says.

In heavily affected herds, calf crops can drop into the 50% to 70% range, well below the 85% to 95% typically expected in well-managed operations. At that point, the biological effects have already translated into economic loss.

“This is not an individual animal problem — it’s a herd-level problem. Once we find a positive, we have to start thinking about the entire bull battery and the whole herd,” Koziol says.

Epidemiologic studies, including one published in Theriogenology, show herd structure and management decisions drive disease persistence. The use of older bulls, multi-sire breeding systems and the introduction of untested animals all increase risk. Even a single infected bull can maintain transmission within a herd, particularly when multiple bulls are breeding simultaneously.

How Trich Continues to Spread

Despite long-standing awareness, trichomoniasis persists because of how easily it moves between herds and how difficult it can be to detect with absolute certainty.

“A lot of times the way a herd gets infected is if a neighbor bull breeds cows, then your bull breeds behind him and becomes positive. That’s why testing before and after the breeding season is so important,” Koziol says.

Fence-line contact, shared grazing and commingling all create opportunities for exposure. Diagnostic research, including recent work on evolving testing approaches, highlights another challenge: no single test guarantees detection. While PCR has improved sensitivity compared to traditional culture, false negatives can still occur due to sampling technique, organism load or intermittent shedding.

For that reason, Koziol suggests repeated testing should be used to improve confidence in bull status, specifically at the start and end of the breeding season. Even virgin bulls should be screened.

“We don’t trust a virgin-status bull,” Koziol warns. “When we buy a bull, we want to test him and know that he’s negative.”

No Treatment, Only Prevention

A defining limitation of trichomoniasis control is the absence of an effective treatment for bulls. Prevention depends on verification, not assumption. Bulls must be tested prior to introduction, regardless of perceived risk.

Once a bull tests positive, removal from the breeding population is the only effective option. There is no reliable method to eliminate infection.

Vaccination plays a supportive role, primarily in cows, where it can reduce the severity and duration of infection. While experimental vaccine trials in bulls have been performed, they have not yet produced a practical solution for eliminating the carrier state. As a result, vaccination should be viewed as an adjunct, not a replacement for testing and culling.

The Economics of Getting it Wrong

For producers weighing the cost of testing, the comparison is straightforward.

“The test costs about $45 to $60 depending on the state. That’s pretty economical compared to losing multiple $2,000 cows,” Koziol says.

Economic analyses reinforce this at scale. Losses are driven not only by fewer calves, but also by extended calving seasons, reduced uniformity and increased replacement pressure. Even relatively small drops in pregnancy rate can have a measurable impact on profitability, particularly in larger herds.

Where Control Succeeds or Fails

Operations that successfully control trichomoniasis tend to follow a consistent set of practices:

Test all bulls before and after each breeding season
Remove positive bulls immediately
Minimize commingling and fence-line exposure
Verify the status of all incoming breeding animals

When these steps are applied consistently, trichomoniasis becomes a manageable risk. When they are skipped, even once, the disease can establish and persist.

Trichomoniasis is not a new disease, and it is not a mysterious one. Its persistence is tied to a single, well-defined weakness in herd management.

Bulls remain the weak link because they are both the reservoir and the vector, carrying infection silently and indefinitely. The visible losses show up in the cow herd, but the source remains easy to overlook. Control depends on consistent use of the tools already available.

Trichomoniasis erodes reproductive performance quietly, one breeding at a time. In most cases, the problem begins — and continues — with the bull.

24/7 Employee: How One Rancher Uses an App to Monitor

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:48:54 GMT

What started as a small trial in 2018 has become a core part of Trinity Farms’ management program providing labor savings and improved conception.

Located in Ellensburg, Wash., Trinity Farms is a multigenerational SimAngus/Angus seedstock operation specializing in selling bulls to commercial cow-calf producers across the Pacific Northwest.

Robb Forman, owner, says his family started with the SenseHub system in 2018. They got aggressive with it a couple of years ago when Merck came out with the new tags and new algorithm.

“We are much more successful in getting cows pregnant,” Forman says. “Conception rates and our preg rates prove that.”

The Formans previously used a synchronization system and timed AI. Today, using SenseHub, they are beating those results by as much as 15 to 20% in given groups.

“That’s not in every situation, but it’s significant,” he says. “We’ve cut out the labor of all that synchronization work, and we were doing so much hormonal manipulation that the cows that weren’t getting bred for another cycle. But the biggest thing I keep coming back to is once you’ve used this thing long enough and you start to trust in it enough, I mean, it’s the best damn heat detector you’ll ever have, and it never, doesn’t show up for work unless the power’s off.”

(Photo: Merck)

A Full-Time Employee

Forman says for the last two years he has bred exclusively off the system alone, treating it like a full-time, highly skilled employee. This means they do not visually heat check cattle.

“The system is like having an employee on the clock 24/7,” he stresses. “A really experienced employee as it relates to heat detecting. I can’t tell you how many man-hours it’s replaced.”

SenseHub Cow Calf has allowed Trinity Farms to:

Replace most synchronization and mass timed AI work.
Improve conception and pregnancy rates compared with timed AI.
Run an aggressive AI and sexed semen program with less labor, even during the darkest part of the year.

What is SenseHub Cow Calf?

SenseHub Cow Calf from Merck Animal Health is an app-based monitoring system using ear tags with accelerometers to track the reproductive, health and nutritional status. It provides real-time alerts for heat detection and health issues to improve herd productivity.

According to Mallory Bormann-Liss, Merck Animal Health beef monitoring customer success specialist, the SenseHub Cow Calf system is the latest technology from the company that helps monitor and gather data in real time to improve decision-making.

“The system tracks activity and rumination in real time with an ear-mounted accelerometer,” she explains. “SenseHubCow Calf ear tags also illuminate and flash, making it easier for caregivers to find animals flagged by the system. SenseHub Cow Calf provides remote, 24/7 monitoring of individual cows and breeding heifers. It helps improve breeding decisions. You get heat detection data and insemination timing guidance.”

Bormann-Liss says the system provides three types of monitoring:

Reproduction monitoring — Receive data on the reproductive status of every cow and reduce the inconsistency of monitoring heat.
Health monitoring — Receive alerts of potential health issues earlier, often before clinical signs become visible.
Group monitoring — Understand key herd behaviors at a macro level, including rumination activity, herd movement and other comfort, nutrition and health information.

(Photo: Merck)

“This monitoring technology can help indicate reproductive issues faster, such as animals not having regular cycles or suspected of aborting,” she says. “All the while, it monitors animal well-being.”

Producers are given data, which is presented in simple-to-read, understandable dashboards. Reports on individual animal estrus, health and group status are available, and you can create custom reports to your needs.

“What the producer puts into the system is what information they will receive out of it,” Bormann-Liss summarizes. “As long as cow or heifer data is put in, it will generate reports, breeding dates and expected calving dates based on the information.”

Bormann-Liss says there are three key factors for the system’s success:

Tag placement is important. It should be placed in the middle third of the ear between the two cartilage ribs. The tag must be dangling and not caught on another ear tag. This will ensure the activity data is being captured.
A consistent routine also is important. To identify differences in behaviors and patterns, there needs to be a consistent routine for at least 10 days, but 14 to 21 days is ideal. This will set a baseline to determine if the animal is doing something unusual.
Read range is a factor to be mindful of. The system is highly accurate a quarter mile in front of it and an eighth of a mile behind it. Animals need to come within that range at least once a day, so the data collected in the tag can be synced up to the cloud and analyzed by the producer. That can be done by strategically placing the controller by the water source or another area the animal will be coming to at least once in a 24-hour period.

How Does Trinity Farms Use the Tags?

All breeding females are tagged and monitored. Tags go in before breeding season and are cut out at pregnancy check to avoid loss. “They say it takes nine days for the algorithm to establish the baseline before you can really start to rely on it,” Forman explains. “So, we try to get those cattle tagged 10 days to two weeks prior to when we start breeding season.”
Breeding decisions are based on SenseHub alerts. SenseHub sends heat alerts and creates a timed breeding window. “When they hit the system, it sends an alert, and that starts what I call the countdown,” Forman explains. He has two graphs set up — one for conventional semen and one for sexed semen — and breeds according to those windows.
The light feature and app are a training tool. Forman says new employees get access to the SenseHub app, and he turns tag lights on for pull times. This helps train employees and improve their awareness of when a cow is in heat.
System infrastructure is spread across multiple pastures. Cows are in big, brushy pastures, so he has multiple antennas and manages grazing and feeding to bring cows into range. “We try to feed up by the road every morning to draw those cattle to where they’re going to hit the antenna in the morning before we need to pull in cattle,” Forman says.
(Photo: Merck)

Trusting the Tag Was the Biggest Challenge

According to Forman, the hardest part wasn’t understanding or putting in the hardware; it was getting over traditional timing and learning to trust the data. The timing of the system is different from what you might have experienced when heat detecting.

He initially questioned the alerts: “I said, ‘Hey, I’m seeing these cows in heat like six to eight hours before they’re showing up on the system. Something’s wrong,’ and they assured me, ‘Oh, no. That’s how the algorithm’s designed to work.’”

And he frames trust as the central hurdle: “The biggest challenge was just the trust — to trust the system, to trust the process.”

Cost Versus Value

Forman says while the system is not cheap, the economics pencil out when you account for more AI-sired calves and reduced labor, especially when producing seedstock bulls.

“How we’re breaking this down is we’re looking at it from the respect of how many more AI pregnancies are we ending up with versus what we were doing in the past,” he explains. “Just think about what happens when we push another 20 bulls through the bull sale. We didn’t add an extra cow… we didn’t do anything different other than how we’re AIing the cattle.”

Forman summarizes, “If you’ve got a serious seedstock operation, I think it’s worth serious consideration, and I can’t imagine anybody who tries it would be disappointed. We’ve become huge believers in the system.”

While the system is a no-brainer for seedstock producers, Bormann-Liss explains commercial cow-calf producers can also benefit from the technology by tracking cow, heifer and bull data, including:

Monitor reproduction heats and when being bred by the bull.
Gather heat information to note which heifers and cows are being bred or may not even show a heat.
Track bull data allowing producers to select bulls to use for more accurate pregnancy windows or knowing how accurate the calving window will be.

Q&A About SenseHub Cow Calf

Bormann-Liss says these are the main questions she is asked by producers:

How is the equipment powered? You will need internet of some sort (Wi-Fi, hotspot, hardwire) to connect to the controller that collects the information and sends it back to the producer. You will also need a regular 110-volt outlet to plug the system in.
Do you have a tech support department and how do I learn more about the dashboard after installing? Yes, we have a great technical support department that will help you get started and installed. After installing, then a customer success representative will reach out and help with the dashboard and how to input cows along with watching heats and reading the graphs and breeding window when cows show heats.
Can tags be used more than once? Yes, you can cut the button out of the back of the tag and unassign it to a cow and reassign it to a new cow or heifer on the same day. Tags have a four-year warranty and five-year battery life.
What kind of computer do I need to install the system on? A Windows-based computer needs to be used to set up the system. After that, any Apple device can be used.
How soon can I get a system if interested in buying? We recommend giving yourself two to three weeks for ordering and installation and a month prior to breeding — so in all, four to six weeks to give yourself accurate results.

Cow-Calf Checklist: Start Preparing for Breeding Season

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:45:34 GMT

Each month, cow-calf producers are faced with management tasks related to seasonal and production goals. Kansas State University Extension cow-calf specialist Jason Warner summarizes the top 10 management practices producers should check off their to-do lists in March.

1. Start post-calving nutrition programs for spring-calving females.

Begin lactation rations/supplement levels or feed higher quality hay once first calving cycle is complete.
Ensure thin (BCS ≤ 4.0) females are maintaining or on an increasing plane of nutrition going into breeding.

2. As you make your bull selection decisions:

Review your past herd performance relative to your marketing and genetic goals.
Study EPDs and indexes that impact your operation profit centers and do your homework well before sale day.

3. If you will synchronize females this spring, schedule your protocols now well in advance of the breeding season and mark key dates on your calendars.

Inventory your artificial insemination (AI) supplies and order products in advance.
Check your tanks for current semen inventory and nitrogen levels.

4. If you have a fall-calving cow herd:

Schedule pregnancy checks if not already done.
Evaluate cost of gain vs. the value of gain when considering how to market fall-born calves this spring.

5. Evaluate your mineral program for the upcoming spring and summer seasons.

Work with your supplier to outline your needs.
Consider magnesium supplementation levels, particularly for lactating cows grazing wheat, rye, or triticale in the spring.

6. Evaluate herd bulls for body condition score, adjust as needed prior to breeding.

Bulls need to be in a BCS ≥ 5.0 prior to the next season of use.
Schedule breeding soundness examinations with your veterinarian well in advance of breeding.

7. Monitor replacement heifer growth and development.

Check weights help ensure growth rates are on track.
Consider tract scoring and pelvic measuring .

8. Review your calf health protocols before spring turn out.

Schedule calf working activities , mark dates on calendars.
Reflect if changes from last year are needed.

9. Take inventory of any feed/forage that will be left over from winter.

Cover piles or close bags if silage is left over and won’t be fed until fall.
Clean up any soiled bedding or unused/wasted feed in pens and calving lots to reduce the breeding and development of stable flies as the weather warms up.

10. Price risk management will be key again this year given record high calf prices.

Consider if specific price risk management strategies (forward contracting, insurance) need to be part of your operation.
Evaluate strategies for both cattle and pastures/forages.

Preparing for Winter Calving and Breeding Success

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:33:30 GMT

As winter calving approaches, veterinarians and producers alike begin the ritual of assembling calving kits, checking facilities and brushing up on best practices. To help refine these preparations, Dr. Adrian Barragan, associate research professor and Extension veterinarian at Penn State University, recently shared practical, research-grounded guidance on dystocia management, postpartum risks and strategies to set cows up for breeding success on an episode of “ The Beef Podcast Show .”

His message centered on one theme: Timing and monitoring matter more than anything else.

Early, Accurate Monitoring for Calving Success

Barragan emphasizes calving involves two patients: the dam and the calf. Monitoring needs to reflect the needs of both.

“One thing that is key when it comes to the calving season is having proper monitoring of calving progress. That is what is going to determine if the calf is going to survive and how bad it’s going to be afterwards for the dam,” Barragan says. “The earlier we can identify that the cow needs assistance the better. However, if we intervene too soon, that can also have negative effects on the dams.”

Cows must be allowed to complete dilation before assistance begins. Pulling a calf before full dilation can create severe trauma to the reproductive tract, setting the dam up for a cascade of postpartum complications.

Because beef cows aren’t watched as closely as dairy cows, Barragan recommends beef operations adjust management to close the monitoring gap. Simple steps like maintaining smaller calving pens near the home site, bringing close-up cows into more observable groups and checking them at least every three hours can dramatically improve outcomes.

Once labor begins, marked by the appearance of the amniotic sac or hooves though the vulva, progress should be seen every 15 or 20 minutes. If within 30 to 60 minutes you see no progress with the animal, it’s time to move her into a chute to see what’s going on.

Postpartum Priorities

Compared with dairy herds, postpartum disease in beef cattle is rare.

“We have retained placentas, and we have metritis. However, the incidence is very very low,” Barragan says. Nationally, retained placenta and metritis together occur in only about 0.3% of beef cows.

Even so, cows identified as high risk should be monitored 24 to 48 hours postpartum, even if they appear fine immediately after delivery. During that time, animal care professionals should confirm:

The placenta is expelled within 24 hours
The cow is standing, eating and drinking normally
No early signs of downer cow syndrome appear
The calf is nursing and remains vigorous

Calves also require careful management, especially if the dam is having issues.

“I always recommend to not keep the calf with the cow, because the cow … might step on the calf and injure that animal,” Barragan advises. “You have to protect the calf. If the calf isn’t going to survive, then what’s the point of having that cow?”

Managing the Calving to Conception Transition

Once calving is wrapped up, producers quickly turn toward breeding, but Barragan stresses that cows need a true voluntary waiting period before entering any breeding program. This allows time for uterine involution, for metabolic balance to return and for the reproductive system to restart cycling. Moving cows into breeding groups too early can delay conception or cause them to fall further behind.

If a cow is coming out of a difficult calving, they might take longer to resume normal estrous cycles; these animals are often late or repeat breeders. But also be aware of any larger scale breeding issues within the herd.

“It’s one thing if one cow isn’t getting bred, but if your whole herd is taking several cycles to get bred, that’s a clue that we need to evaluate what’s going on and do some deeper diving,” Barragan says.

Even in herds with low postpartum disease rates, Barragan reminds producers to watch for cows that simply don’t bounce back. Poor appetite, sluggish behavio, or delayed return to normal mothering behaviors can signal underlying issues that could affect fertility weeks later. Early, supportive treatments including fluids, electrolytes or additional monitoring can shorten that recovery window and improve breeding performance.

Preparation, Patience and Precision

Good calving outcomes hinge on practical, attentive management. Monitoring cows often enough to catch the start of labor, resisting the urge to intervene too early and giving extra time and space to cows recovering from hard calvings all play central roles. The first 24 to 48 hours after birth remains a critical window. Careful attention to the dam’s appetite, behavior and placenta expulsion, and to the calf’s strength and nursing, creates a solid foundation for the next breeding season.

Healthy cows are the true engine of reproductive success. Whether a producer relies on bulls, AI or simple synchronization, none of these tools can overcome poor recovery, delayed cycling or undetected postpartum issues. The best outcomes come from knowing which cows need more support, allowing them time to heal and making intentional decisions. Patience and observation can lead to improved fertility, tightened calving windows and a herd that is set up well for the next cycle.

Can We Shape Calves Before Birth?

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:35:48 GMT

What if the most powerful determinant of a calf’s lifetime performance isn’t the genetics you select or the ration you feed, but the environment that calf experienced as a one-cell embryo? As research accelerates, developmental programming is becoming one of the most promising frontiers in cattle reproduction.

For two decades, the beef and dairy industries have focused relentlessly on improving fertility — and it worked. Conception rates rose, days open stabilized and the long slide in reproductive performance reversed. With conventional reproductive efficiency nearing a functional ceiling, scientists are shifting attention upstream, where the environment itself may program the future trajectory of the calf.

It’s well known that a resulting phenotype represents the consequence of genotype and environmental interactions. The performance of an animal depends on the genes they inherited, how much feed they get, whether they get sick, whether it’s hot or cold, and a plethora of other environmental factors.

“We’ve made tremendous progress in optimizing the environment that those animals are raised in by providing the best nutrition, the best housing, the optimal photo period and treating disease with pharmaceuticals to optimize phenotype,” says Peter Hansen of the University of Florida. “But we usually do that after the animals are born. We don’t really think too much about what is happening to those animals when they’re embryos or when they’re fetuses or even when the germ cells are being produced.”

Evidence of Developmental Programming

Recent work has shown us the environment of the mother and the early embryo can affect the postnatal phenotype of that embryo. The environment of the fetus can affect what kind of calf it becomes.

When embryos are produced in vitro, they are put in an artificial medium. Under normal protocols, this culture medium is choline-free. Choline is a methyl donor that may factor into the one-carbon metabolism of bovine embryos. In the uterus, choline is present at millimolar concentrations.

Work led by Eliam Estrada-Cortes in Dr. Hansen’s lab investigated the effect of culturing bovine embryos with or without choline. They found choline cultured embryos resulted in calves that were heavier at weaning with altered muscle DNA methylation.

“We’ve done this experiment three times, and each time the choline calves weigh more than the calves without choline. And that goes all the way through to slaughter,” Hansen says. A nutrient present (or absent) in the culture dish during critical development time can make a big difference.

The condition of the fertilizing bull can also affect embryonic development and quality. Arslan Tariq from the University of Florida investigated the effect of bull overnutrition on fertility, finding heavier bulls produced semen that delayed embryonic development and decreased embryo quality, without changes to sperm motility or fertilization rate.

Historically, seminal plasma is removed from sperm for artificial insemination as it contains elements that can be detrimental during storage. That being said, seminal plasma modulates the maternal environment in a significant way, impacting the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. As a part of her PhD thesis, Gabriela Macay at the University of Florida evaluated the reproductive, health and production performance of female offspring conceived in the presence of seminal plasma. These animals had increased birth weights, increased milk yield and had greater persistence in the herd compared to controls.

“What we now know is the environment of the mother that the early embryo is in can affect the postnatal phenotype of that embryo. The environment of the fetus can affect what kind of calf it becomes,” Hansen says. “And the environment of the bull.”

How Does This Affect Reproductive Management?

Developmental programming shifts reproductive management from a focus on achieving conception to a broader view of how early-life conditions shape an animal’s long-term health, productivity and resilience. This expands the veterinary role from problem solver to long term system designer who helps producers make choices that shape herd-level outcomes years down the line.

The next revolution in cattle reproduction may come from understanding the earliest biological environment that determines how a calf learns to grow, metabolize and perform.

5 Factors for Transitioning Beef Cattle from Fall to Winter

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:30:36 GMT

As temperatures drop and daylight shortens, the transition from fall to winter marks one of the most critical periods in the beef production cycle. Nutritional demands rise, environmental stressors increase, and management routines shift. This seasonal shift offers a valuable opportunity to help producers fine-tune cow condition, ensure herd health heading into calving, and preempt disease risks linked to cold stress and nutritional deficits.

The fall-to-winter period is a high-value window of time for veterinary input with key interventions being body condition assessment, forage testing, mineral management, and parasite control. Fall management planning helps ensure cattle enter winter with adequate nutrition and resilience to minimize losses and support performance.

Body Condition and Energy Demands

By late fall, cows should be entering winter at an optimal body condition score of 5 to 6 for mature cows and 6 for first-calf heifers. Once cold stress sets in, regaining lost condition becomes difficult and costly. Nutrition plans are essential for this conditioning and forage analysis is required for formulation to fit requirements. Vets and producers can work together to create a management map based on an inventory of feed resources.

Energy needs increase roughly 1% for every degree Celsius below the animal’s lower critical temperature: 0°C/32°F for cattle with a winter coat and -8°C/18°F for cattle with a heavy winter coat. This is very important when cows are thin or forage quality is low. Regular monitoring of manure consistency and cow appearance can provide early warning signs of inadequate nutrition. Small interventions in November can prevent big problems in January.

Trace Minerals and Immune Function

Trace mineral status often dips as cattle transition from green pasture to stored forages. This is particularly important as immune competence is closely tied to copper, selenium and manganese levels. Inadequate trace mineral status has been linked to increased susceptibility to respiratory disease and reduced vaccine response , particularly in young animals. Fall supplementation programs should be tailored to forage tests and regional deficiencies as mineral content can vary widely by geographic region and storage method.

Injectable trace minerals and free-choice mineral mixes can be strategically timed prewinter or precalving to support both cow and fetal immune systems. This supplementation can affect both fetal development and colostrum quality .

Reproductive Success

Fall is the ideal time to evaluate herd efficiency. Pregnancy checks allow for the identification of open cows and allow producers to market cows that will not create revenue the next year. This can save significant resources and shorten the future calving interval. These checks also help with winter nutrition planning, allowing cows to be separated by gestation stage to match energy requirements.

Post-breeding bull evaluation is also important. Assessing body condition, soundness and breeding records can reveal fertility or injury issues from the season. Bulls that underperformed or lost excessive condition may need replacement or rest before the next breeding cycle. Reviewing performance and updating genetic selections based on conception data and herd goals ensures retained bulls contribute meaningfully to productivity and long-term herd improvement.

Parasite and Disease Control

The fall-to-winter transition also marks the ideal window for parasite control. Strategic deworming in the fall can reduce overwintering larval contamination, improve feed efficiency and set cattle up well for the spring. Deworming after a hard frost can help minimize recontamination of pastures. Performing this treatment during pregnancy checks on bred females is a great way to be efficient with chute time. Consider integrating fecal egg count monitoring to confirm product efficacy and any resistance trends.

Respiratory disease remains a winter concern across production stages. Cold, damp housing and poor ventilation increase the risk of bovine respiratory disease. Focus on ventilation optimization, stocking density and vaccination review — especially for feedlot entries.

Herd Health Planning

Late fall is an efficient time to update vaccination protocols and review overall herd health performance. A focused review now can reduce clinical disease and emergency calls later in winter.

For both cow-calf and feedlot operations:

Confirm vaccination timing for respiratory and reproductive pathogens
Assess biosecurity and animal movement plans before winter consolidation
Review mortality and morbidity data to identify recurring issues

The transition from fall to winter is a pivotal management window to maintaining herd performance and health. This period offers the best opportunity to assess herd efficiency, adjust preventative health protocols, and align nutrition and reproduction strategies before environmental stress intensifies. Proactive management now ensures cattle enter winter with the condition, immunity and resources needed for sustained productivity.

Unlock the Added Value of Producing More Calves

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:44:57 GMT

Successfully breeding cows and maintaining pregnancy is always financially beneficial. In today’s cattle market, the value proposition and profit potential of getting a calf to market are even more significant with record-high prices.

“If you’re in the cow-calf segment of the industry, the main driver of profitability is going to be your ability to produce calves,” says Pedro Fontes, Ph.D., associate professor in beef cattle reproductive physiology at the University of Georgia. “That’s highly dependent on whether we can generate and maintain those pregnancies.”

For a cow herd with 100 head, increasing pregnancy rates by 5% and having those additional calves make it all the way to market would result in approximately $12,000 more in gross revenue.

Keep the following strategies in mind when looking to improve your reproductive program to achieve more pregnancies and calves and optimize your income.

Know Your Pregnancy Rate

When evaluating your reproductive program, start with your pregnancy rate. Fontes recommends striving for a 90% pregnancy rate at the end of a controlled breeding season of approximately 65 days.

“Some of this will depend on your production system, what area of the country you are located and the type of cattle you run,” says Fontes. “You might be in a lower input environment, and it could be financially viable to achieve pregnancy rates in the high eighties (percentage) and still be able to profit from your cow herd.”

Management is key to establishing and maintaining pregnancy. Start by meeting the nutritional requirements of your herd via maintaining an average body condition score of 5 or greater. Then, have a quality health program established with your veterinarian that works around your reproductive calendar.

Another important metric is having cows that breed early and thus calve earlier.

“One thing I always try to get folks to think about is getting more pregnancies in those first 21 days of the breeding season,” Fontes says. “The main reason is we know when cows conceive early, they calve early, and they’re going to be more likely to breed back next year. Not only that, but those calves are weaned heavier because they are older at the time of weaning.”

Fontes believes a good benchmark is to have at least 60% of the cow herd calving within the first 21 days of the calving season.

Pedro Fontes, Ph.D., is an associate professor in beef cattle reproductive physiology at the University of Georgia.

(Andrew Davis Tucker, UGA)

Breed at Peak Estrus

Tightening up the breeding season and having more calves born early can be facilitated with estrus synchronization and artificial insemination (AI). Important to the success of AI breeding is identifying when cows and heifers are in estrus.

“If you synchronize a group of females and expose them to a round of AI, those females expressing estrus will get between 20-30% greater pregnancy rates than the ones that fail to express estrus,” Fontes says.

Estrus expression not only influences the ability of those cows and heifers to conceive, but it also impacts whether they can maintain their pregnancy until calving.

“If you know the estrus status, you can manage those cows appropriately or breed those cows differently,” Fontes says. “One of the things we see producers doing is breeding cows based on estrus expression, even though they might be breeding in a fixed time AI approach.”

(Estrotect)

How this looks in practice is that a producer can apply a visual estrus detection aid, like an Estrotect Breeding Indicator patch, to monitor estrus intensity. As the patch surface ink rubs off, it indicates the cow is starting to exhibit estrus. If 50% or more of the surface ink has rubbed off, that’s a sign the cow is going into high estrus intensity.

Create More Value per Pregnancy

There is an opportunity with estrus detection to determine which females are the best candidates to breed with higher value genetics or sexed semen to create more value from each pregnancy.

“For those females showing high estrus intensity, more expensive semen or sexed semen can be utilized with higher success,” Fontes says. “Then, the females in lower estrus intensity or showing no estrus can be bred with lower-priced semen. This is another strategy that can help us control the cost of pregnancy.”

Semen from sires that are higher value typically have more performance such as higher weaning weight, yearling weight and marbling which generates additional revenue down the road.

The use of sexed semen is a way to increase the profit potential of pregnancy, too. Steers are worth more than heifers, so breeding for more males is a way to capture additional revenue during strong cattle markets. Also, if you are looking to rebuild your cow herd or develop replacement heifers to sell, sexed semen can be utilized to breed for additional females.

“There are a lot of things that can go south when it comes to reproductive management, but if you do the basics right, you’ll be able to make a big impact on pregnancy rates,” Fontes says. “Beef cows are pretty resilient animals, and if you give them the conditions to perform, they usually do.”

Your Next Read: Buy or Develop Heifers: 3 Crucial Considerations