Yesterday I introduced you to the Nancy M. Cummings Research and Education Center. I'm Jeff Keane; today I'll tell you how the center's work examines advances in artificial insemination cattle breeding programs. The Nancy M. Cummings Research and Education Center in Salmon, Idaho under the guidance of superintendent John Hall has been studying costs and ways to cut the costs of artificial insemination or AI in cattle breeding. Producers use AI to achieve a more uniform, productive calf crop from bulls too expensive to buy, but semen is affordable from those superior sires. To decrease the labor cost of AI, ranchers use estrus synchronization systems to breed more cows in a shorter time frame. Most synchronization methods now use a controlled intervaginal drug release or CIDR which contains progesterone. The research center has compared these CIDR systems against other target synchronization and found the CIDR method had the highest upfront costs, but labor cost was lower, AI pregnancy rates were better and returns were similar to target synchronization. Some research suggests CIDR costs could be lowered by reusing the implants up to four times, but Hall recommends only using them twice. One new innovation the center is looking at is sexed semen. This way producers could select semen that would produce superior replacement females or more profitable steer calves. Drawbacks to using sexed semen are lower pregnancy rates since more sperm is damaged in the sorting process and a per unit price over twice that of conventional semen. 

Western Farmer Stockman, T.J. Burnhan March 2009