One of the important economics factors of cowherd management, of course, is getting the cows bred. I’m Jeff Keane; I’ll be back right after this with new research on cow pregnancy rates.Getting a high conception rate in a group of cows is the first step in eventually weaning a profitable calf crop. Maintaining that conception rate until a healthy calf is born is not without its problems. Diseases, certain forages, accident and even extreme weather can cause cows to abort fetuses or have an unhealthy calf. One of the risk factors I never gave much thought to, is transporting cows in early pregnancy. An article by Alan Newport in Western Farmer-Stockman magazine tells of the potential problems of transporting pregnant cows. Animal scientists at South Dakota State University have found that generally the earlier shipping stress occurs in a cow’s pregnancy cycle, the higher the potential rate of loss. Research has shown the best time to transport cows is, of course, before pregnancy or within the first four days of conception. Hauling cows eight to twelve days after insemination could result in up to 12 percent of pregnancy losses. Transporting cows from days 29 to 33 after breeding could show losses up to nine percent. After the 42^nd day following conception the fertilized embryo attaches to the uterine wall and is increasingly stable. These results were taken after a synchronized pregnancy rate was established for a base reference. To me, this is just another reason to employ easy handling techniques whenever cattle are hauled, driven or worked. I’m Jeff Keane.