Repro Tech: The More You Know, The More You Can Control

There’s something to be said about simpler times. However, when it comes to life on the farm, the knowledge and efficiencies gained from technology are hard to pass up. That’s certainly true when it comes to herd reproduction.

“I like to think of reproductive management as a stacked pyramid of technologies,” says Paul Fricke, professor of dairy science and an Extension specialist in dairy cattle reproduction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Good reproduction is the foundation or base of the pyramid and everything else rests upon this base. Twenty years ago, reproductive performance was not very good, and when reproduction is not good, you need to raise all of the heifers you produce to keep up with culling.

“Once a farm achieves good reproduction, they can then go on to incorporate other technologies,” Fricke adds. “Good reproduction allows us to incorporate reproduction technologies such as genomics, sexed semen, beef semen and IVF [in-vitro fertilization] beef embryos.”

Genomics

Genomic technology allows a producer to identify genetically superior animals at an early age. In turn, this can accelerate a herd’s genetic gain while also shortening generation intervals.

“Using genomics can be helpful because it allows producers to identify their best young animals early on,” says Andrew Sandeen, a dairy Extension educator at Pennsylvania State University. “It allows producers to invest in those top animals’ genetics while finding other ways to use the less desirable genomic animals. You can test calves just shortly after they are born, get the results and decide which replacements to keep.”

Beef & Sexed Semen

Another tool in the reproductive toolbox is the use of beef and sexed semen on heifers and lactating animals.

“The reason we can use sexed semen on lactating animals is because, going back to the base of the pyramid, we have a good fertility program in place now,” Fricke says.

However, producers take a bit of a hit on conception rates when using sexed semen, he adds.

“If the conception rate in your lactating cows averages 35%, then you cannot tolerate using sexed semen due to poor fertility. This is why sexed semen was only recommended for nonlactating heifers early on,” Fricke warns. “But if conception rate in your lactating cows is pushing 50% to 60%, you can now ask yourself, ‘Of the animals in my herd, which are the genetically best animals I want to inseminate with sexed semen to make my replacements?’”

Industry statistics have shown sexed semen has a 90% accuracy rate, meaning nine times out of 10 the sex of the calf will be female. However, if female calves are born more frequently, the replacement herd might expand too quickly, causing producers to ramp up culling. One way to combat overexpansion is to use beef semen. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before making the decision to incorporate beef genetics into the herd.

“Even though you can get pretty low-cost beef semen, we’re definitely starting to realize just making a selection based on price probably isn’t the wisest approach in the long term,” Sandeen warns. “You’re probably going to end up with some animals the beef industry’s not real excited about, so being more thoughtful about what bulls you’re using and the traits the beef industry wants will be better in the long run.”

In-vitro Fertilization

For dairy producers who are looking to expand their reproductive toolset, Fricke says to look into IVF of beef embryos.

“Commercial IVF beef embryos can now be purchased to transfer into dairy recipients,” Fricke notes. “The cost of IVF beef embryos is down to around $55. You can transfer these embryos into your low-end genetic animals and produce a purebred beef calf to either raise yourself or to sell.”

Though crossbred beef-on-dairy calves are more valuable for market than purebred dairy steers, they still do not compare to the value of purebred beef animals. Thus, using IVF beef embryos gives producers the potential to earn a better return on investment than just using beef or dairy semen.

Activity Monitors & Rumination Collars

For those who are looking to invest in something that offers more than just reproduction benefits, Sandeen suggests activity monitors or rumination collars. Though these tools can quickly help identify a cow in heat, they often feature other valuable data points.

“I think initially a lot of people go into [purchasing these devices] to help improve their reproduction program, but oftentimes the real added benefit is the health monitoring,” Sandeen says. “When you’re seeing animals moving around less or not ruminating as often as they normally do that can be a really helpful early indicator she needs our attention. So, producers might find even more value than just improving their reproduction.”

A Glimpse at the Future

Dairy reproduction has evolved by leaps and bounds in the past couple of decades, but that raises another question — what’s next?

“I’d like to see a cow-side test developed that determines pregnancy status based on high or low pregnancy-associated glycoprotein levels.”Fricke says. “For the open cows, I would like to know if they have high or low progesterone, which allows us to tailor how we submit those cows to a resynchronization program to optimize fertility.”

Another possibility down the pipeline could be selecting for specific traits for certain niche markets, Fricke adds.

“I think we will start to see dairies selecting lines of cattle for traits specific to a niche market,” he says. “You might have a line of Holsteins selected just for cheese yield versus those selected for milk production or perhaps high omega-3 fat levels or A2 milk. So maybe we will get more specific about genetically selecting a line of animals to really fit into a niche market.”

Invest Wisely

Whether you’re looking to invest in reproduction technology or simply make a few upgrades to your current reproduction program, it’s important to do a little homework before diving all in.

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all this new technology, but you certainly want to look at the cost of all these different tools and evaluate different scenarios,” Sandeen says. “A lot of these things seem new and exciting, but unless you’re really aggressive and want to be at the very front of the curve, you want do some research and get proof you’re going to get the results you’re after.”