Now more than ever top prices are being paid for the right kind of cattle. There is some serious money to be made on a uniform bunch of calves that will gain, and grade. The best way to clip this coupon is to deliver a consistent group of cattle – meaning that they are all very close in age that have proven pedigrees stacked with superior carcass sires. Select Sires can help you produce calves that earn premiums at just about any stage of production due to their consistent carcass superiority.
Getting started
Developing a uniform set of fertile profitable mother cows takes time, but you have got to start sometime to get there! Your cow herds and heifers need to be calving in a short window of time- 60 days is ideal – 90 days is probably more realistic to start with then continually cull those late calving cows. Once you have shortened your calving window, the best way to keep it there is through a synchronized AI program that gives every cow and heifer an opportunity to conceive on day 1 of the breeding season.
Get experienced help in setting up your AI protocol and program
There are so many heat synchronization protocols available today, that deciding which ones to use is often overwhelming. There are different protocols for mature cows and different ones for heifers. Each has its advantages and disadvantages depending on your particular circumstances and facilities. This is where you really need experienced help. All West / Select Sires have professional beef specialist whose experience and understanding of the beef business is extraordinary. Your first step should be to contact one of these specialists and set up an appointment one on one with you. They can determine your goals, help you in selecting bulls, view your cattle and facilities and determine which synchronized system is ideal for your operation. They can lay out a detailed schedule of events, and schedule the right people to be in the right place at the right time.
No project to large or to small
For years All West / Select Sires professional technicians have breed thousands of beef cattle through heat synchronized AI programs. Every spring 10 to 15,000 animals are bred AI by our AI Technicians. With the proper trained technicians and often times a breeding box if needed, it is not uncommon to breed up to 400 head a day. Several operations we work with will breed well over 1000 head AI every year by dividing them up, timing the synchronization systems and breeding over a 3 to 4 day period. To schedule our crew to breed 100 head or less in a single day while they are in your area is again no problem and something we are happy to do.
AI Advantage
The advantages of AI are nearly endless. On heifers, using highly reliable calving ease sire, that’s also sires the kind of cattle you are looking for, is a huge advantage when it comes calving time. Although your AI synchronized heifers will all calve in a short amount of time, the calves are born easily, unassisted, and get up and go.
It is all worth while.
The genetic improvement in your cow herd- the short calving season, the uniform set of superior quality calves and the increased weaning weights make AIing your cow herd well worth any additional cost and time. Another often overlooked advantage is that it will take a lot less 4 legged unproven bulls to breed your remaining cows, fewer bulls to feed and house all year round.
When considering an AI program for the first time, don’t let the information overload be too daunting. Call in your professional beef specialist from All West / Select Sires. Together you can set up a program that is best for you and tailored to your particular operation and circumstances. He will guide you every step of the way. After all, his goals are likely the same as yours. He will want your AI program to go as effortlessly and successfully as you do. High conception rates and superior calf crop is the recipe for repeat business, year after year. That is why All West has been assisting some beef operations in their breeding program every year for over 20 years.
For more information on making AI work for you, call the AI experts who have over 70 years experience in the genetics business
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