Reproduction
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Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. – There have been considerable improvements in sexed semen products over the years and producers have been taking advantage of this technology. This short article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the use of sexed semen in beef cattle.
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Pedro L. P. Fontes, Vitor R. G. Mercadante, and Reinaldo F. Cooke – Maximizing fertility during the breeding season can have a significant impact in the profitability of both commercial and seedstock herds. As the breeding season approaches for spring breeding herds, this article will discuss the use of fat supplements and their impacts on…
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Dr. Pedro Fontes -Sire over conditioning is a common phenotype observed in the beef industry. In this article, Dr. Fontes will discuss the implications of sire over conditioning on semen quality and fertility in beef bulls.
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Brent Credille, DVM, PhD, DACVIM -Producer-level surveys of cow-calf operations across the country have shown that a minority of herds adopt management practices that promote herd efficiency and profitability. The easiest way to improve herd profitability is to focus on optimizing herd efficiency. The goal of this article is to provide producers with management practices…
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Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. -Like other assisted reproductive technologies utilized in the beef industry, the main goal of embryo transfer programs is to maximize the genetic merit of the herd. There are two main approaches utilized in the beef industry to produce embryos: (1) In vivo and (2) in vitro embryo production. In this article, Dr.…
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Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. One of the most important management practices for a cow-calf operation is the establishment of a controlled breeding season. There are a number of benefits that producers miss out on when they fail to adopt a controlled breeding season, benefits that will be discussed in this article.
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Pedro Fontes, Ph.D. With the fall bull sale season approaching, it is important to acknowledge that our sire selection this fall will shape the herd’s genetic merit for years to come, making it essential to invest in sires with proven genetic value. This article provides a practical review of how cattle producers can evaluate the…
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Dylan Davis and Lawton Stewart As winter slowly approaches and producers are planning their winter supplementation, the question comes in each year; can I feed whole cottonseed to my bulls or will it make them infertile? This article will go over the impacts of cottonseed on bull fertility and describe how to safely take advantage…
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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