Replacement beef heifers bred by artificial insemination have an added value of $100 to $200 per head in Georgiacompared with heifers pregnant by natural service. While artificial insemination is a powerful tool to maximize reproductive efficiency and improve genetics of beef herds, most cow-calf producers still use natural service as their main breeding strategy.
University of Georgia animal and dairy scientists developed a novel pre-synchronization strategy that increases heifer pregnancy rates to fixed-time artificial insemination. Estrus synchronization in beef cattle involves manipulating the females’ estrus cycle so they are in heat about the same time and can be bred at the same time
After developing this novel pre-synchronization strategy in research settings, the scientists performed an on-farm demonstration trial to evaluate this novel strategy in the field. The demonstration trial included about 1,400 replacement beef heifers from eight cattle operations in four states – Georgia, Virginia, Montana and South Dakota.
The Georgia novel estrus synchronization approach resulted in a 24% increase in pregnancies resulting from artificial insemination compared with current industry practices.
Link to full statement on website: https://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/show/5479