Artificial insemination

So when it comes to breeding, are you using any technology or what's your system there?

Yeah, so I suppose we're using a mix of AI and stock bulls.

Again, because we have dairy beef, our stock bulls would be Angus.

So for the first round of breeding for the first month, we're using AI.

We used sex semen last year as well.

That went really good for us.

Okay, fantastic.

So you're aiming for kind of a 12-week season, I presume.

So when it comes to breeding, are you using any technology or what's your system there?

Yeah, so I suppose we're using a mix of AI and stock bulls.

Again, because we have dairy beef, our stock bulls would be Angus.

So for the first round of breeding for the first month, we're using AI.

We used sex semen last year as well.

That went really good for us.

Okay, fantastic.

So you're aiming for kind of a 12-week season, I presume.

In the distant past, it used to be a pedigree bull testing facility, a performance testing facility.

And then in 2012, we transitioned it across into an AI sire progeny test centre.

So instead of testing pedigree bulls, we've now been testing the commercial progeny of AI bulls since, as I said, in 2012.

So over the last...

I suppose it's 12 years or more that we've been at this, that we've built up a really big, powerful set of data in terms of the hard to capture traits that we can measure here in Tully.

So we have a facility here to measure the individual feed intake for every animal that comes through the centre here.

And that data then is used to reflect back on the sire of that animal.

So as I said, we test AI the progeny of AI bulls here in Tully, and if the animals, the progeny are performing quite well, feed efficiently, they're growing well, they're not consuming too much feed, the sire will then see an increase in his figures as time goes on.

We gotta talk after this about...

Well, we can talk tomorrow about it, but timing for some AIs I have planned.

Um, we gotta look at your schedule and start looking at when I need to put cedars and goats.

Yeah.

Um, you know, didn't have any equity in equipment and having, I mean, in all of these things.

So I started working with the company Gen X they're in, um, they're cooperative, but they're a genetic company for beef and dairy, but Started working with beef, so I had a custom AI business on the side.

I would also bring in other people's balling calves and wean everybody's calves and background them through the winter, which afforded me to make equipment payments.

So I just did a lot of different, you know, basically side hustles to try and cash flow, to build equity, to eventually, you know, grow the operation.

What, what about, you said diversification, like you had a lot of different things going on to kind of keep you afloat.

What was like the biggest thing? Like what, what thing do you think of all of them helped you the most during the hard times of getting started?

Yeah, well, definitely to segue into the seed stock operation we have now would be working with GenX and doing custom AI.

Because I built relationships with a lot of people in our county or even a bigger area than that, not only just doing the armwork of AI and cattle, but genetics and talking genetics and understanding genetics and conversations we had and goals we were trying to achieve.

Somebody would sit out there and watch the cattle.

And then we got fixed time AI.

And then we just read them on appointment.

And so actually, estrus maybe slipped down in importance in my mind because of how we're actually managing cattle.

George, you've done a lot of research in this area.

And what I'd like to do to frame the conversation is, I'd like to talk about heifers first, and then we'll talk about cows.

But let's talk a little bit about heifers, because that's where we may see a lot of these fixed time AI programs.

And tell me maybe where I'm wrong by just kind of letting estrus slip down on the list of importance.

Me and my dad, Todd, run about a 250 head cow operation.

We do a lot of ET work, a lot of AI work.

Mainly been focusing really hard on our ETs.

We put in darn near 200 eggs a year now and a lot of steer embryos, a lot of Maine, Angus.

And just had a really intriguing pedigree about as it gets last year.

And if you know anything about that semen, it's not cheap.

So when you're, when you're AI and, and sticking that in cows, you better feel darn sure confident in a cow to pull through for you and make you something nice.

And, you know, I think lining up the broker with the good as it gets, and that cow is actually a broker on the top side of her pedigree with the slick 50 back there.