A.I. & BREEDING

Can you believe up to 60 percent of embryos don’t “make it” in the lactating dairy cow? That’s right.

A dairy producer panel discussing the return on investment based on genetic strategy was presented in November as part of the Supreme Dairy Show in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

In 2014, Joe and Barb Terpstra replaced a 17-year-old milking parlour with six automatic milking systems because help was getting scarce and the next generation showed interest. In doing so, they were able to use the area that once held their parlour and holding area for a calf facility.

This summer, the heifer barn at Cranbrook Farms Ltd. in Brussels, Ontario, was getting crowded. Joe and Barb Terpstra decided to use genomics to aid in their culling decisions and also confirm if their breeding program was actually meeting its goals.

To make more money on a commercial farm, dairy producers should aim to work with a herd of cows with longevity and have good milk production with the lowest costs possible.

The last 80 years have seen great innovations in the field of assisted reproductive technologies, which has rendered farmers and their agricultural businesses more efficient and more profitable.