An Overview of A.I. in Dairy Goats

An Overview of A.I. in Dairy GoatsBy Jaclyn KrymowskiTraditional live cover tends to be the status quo breeding program protocol in many dairy goat herds, especially in the U.S. However, the continued advancement of reproductive technologies gives more opportunities for A.I. to proliferate and accelerate genetic...

Use of Sexed Semen in Dairy Cattle

Use of Sexed Semen in Dairy CattleBy Heather Smith ThomasStarting a couple decades ago, sexed semen revolutionized the dairy industry’s production of replacement females, allowing dairymen to breed their best animals with sex-sorted semen--giving a 90% chance of producing heifers from that semen.  This...

Beef Embryos in Dairy Cows can be Profitable for Dairies

Beef Embryos in Dairy Cows can be Profitable for Dairies  By Heather Smith Thomas.  Some dairies seeking new ways to increase profitability find that purchase and implanting of beef embryos, utilizing lower-end-genetic animals in the dairy herd as recipients, can produce more valuable offspring. Genetically...

ProCROSS Dairy Genetics Experiences Rapid Growth

 ProCROSS Dairy Genetics Experiences Rapid Growth. By Heather Smith Thomas. ProCROSS is a crossbreeding concept that rotates Holstein, VikingRed and Montbeliarde.  The combination of these breeds has proven to be the most profitable because they are a good fit for many types of U.S. management...

Linear Measurements Can Help Dairy Goat Breeders

Linear Measurements Can Help Dairy Goat Breeders. By Heather Smith Thomas - From an Article by Mark Baden A few years ago Mark Baden (ADGA Board of Directors member, Licensed ADGA Judge and Linear Appraiser) wrote an article for the American Dairy Goat Association about the ADGA’s Linear Appraisal...

Semen Handling for Maximum Fertility

 Semen Handling for Maximum Fertility By Jaclyn Krymowski A good part of your pregnancy rate hinges on the individual bull and quality of semen you use. It takes two to tango, after all. While a simple procedure in principle, A.I. is filled with numerous intricacies. It requires a certain gamble putting...

GENDER PURITY YOU CAN TRUST

GENDER PURITY YOU CAN TRUST  In a recent study (Evans et al., 2019), STgenetics® proved their commitment to gender purity in their sex-sorted product. After analyzing 9,447 calvings between 2016 and 2018, STgenetics® concludedthat their sex-sorted semen with a reported female purity of 91% in the lab...

Best Practice for Frozen Semen Handling

 Best Practice for Frozen Semen Handling. By Michael Cox. Using artificial insemination straws as part of a herd’s breeding program is a wonderful way of rapidly improving the quality and genetic merit of the herd. But the benefits of A.I. can only be achieved if the straws themselves are...