Dr. Francine Henry
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Francine Henry, Jason Duggin, Pedro Fontes, Lawton Stewart Over the years, commercial cattle producers have only had visual appearance and individual measurements known as phenotypes to use for heifer selection criteria. Now producers can evaluate the genetic differences known as Molecular Breeding Values (MBVs) between heifers well before their first potential breeding season. Having genomic…
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Pedro Fontes, Nathan Eason, Andy Carter, Jason Duggin – Estrus synchronization programs have the ability of inducing cyclicity in postpartum cows and can be used in combination with natural service breeding to increase the percentage of cows and heifers that become pregnant early in the season. This publication describe different estrus synchronization protocols that can…
Posted in: Reproduction -
Dr. Lee Jones, DVM. Associate Professor – Though modified live virus vaccines have been around for years and have been approved for use in adult cows for about 20 years, there’s still a lot of confusion about using them. In this short article, Dr. Lee Jones goes over some of the practical differences between modified…
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Darren D. Henry, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Very often there is a gap that exists between an optimal weaning time and availability of cool season forages for grazing in the southeastern US. As summer is coming into full swing, it is important that producers are preparing for the winter months ahead. Whether a producer buys or…
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Pedro L. P. Fontes, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist The Relative Age Effect is a term commonly used to describe how children athletes born early in the academic year tend to perform to a higher level than those born later. For example, softball athletes born between May and August are 40% more likely to…
Posted in: Reproduction -
Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – There has been a remarkable increase in beef semen sales over the last few years. While artificial insemination (AI) is a powerful tool that has really helped the beef industry make genetic progress, thisincrease in beef semen sales not necessarily reflects an increase in the…
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Jason Duggin, Dylan Davis, and Pedro Fontes – Expected progeny differences (EPD) are essential tools in the beef industry. Thus, it isimportant to understand their basic usage in beef herds. By utilizing the following keysteps, EPDs can be readily understood. Let’s overview the following three steps to betterunderstand how to use them effectively.
Posted in: Bull Evaluation and Sale -
Martin Wunderly, Raymond Fitzpatrick, Robyn Stewart, Shanna Reynolds, and Pedro Fontes – Good quality water is essential for adequate animal performance and cattle need between 8 to 20 gallons of water per day, depending on size, diet, status, and weather. As we get into the warmest months of the year, having an adequate water supply for…
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Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – We now know that a variety of factors such as nutrition, semen quality, AI technician, and vaccinations (to name a few) can influence the success of an AI program. In this article, Dr. Pedro Fontes discusses how long-term commitment to estrus synchronization and AI influence…
Posted in: Reproduction -
Darren Henry, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor – This article provides a summary of the International Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture Conference held this summer in Orlando Florida. This conference is a venue for scientist and industry leaders to present data and discuss current developments in greenhouse gas emission in livestock production.
Posted in: Sustainability