Production Practices and Value of Artificial Insemination and Estrus Synchronization Programs of United States Beef Producers

By K. Johnson and G. Dahlke

An online survey of AI users was developed to determine how industry segment (commercial, seedstock, or multiple segments) influenced profitability and current management practices used in conjunction with AI and estrus synchronization in the United States beef industry.

Survey results came from 42 states and included 425 completed instruments. Value of replacement heifers (80%) and reducing calving difficulty (55%) were the most common ways AI contributed to profitability. Commercial producers ($187 ± 79) assigned a lower (P < 0.05) value to AI-sired calves than did seedstock producers ($709 ± 63).

Producers used estrus synchronization always (46%), usually (26%), sometimes (28%), rarely (6%), or never (4%). Insemination after observed estrus was the most common method of insemination (42%), followed by single fixed-time AI (34%), and then AI after observed estrus with cleanup timed AI (24%).

The most frequently used system for synchronization of estrus in cows and heifers was a 7-d CO-Synch + controlled internal drug-releasing insert protocol. Use of reproductive tract scoring, temporary calf removal, and natural service sires on synchronized heats was relatively low, ranging from 20 to 28%, and did not differ among industry subgroups.

Seedstock producers were 2.5-times more likely (P < 0.05) to use pelvic measurements than commercial producers. Producers identified nutrition, heat detection, and skilled labor as key components of successful AI programs. Survey data pointed to opportunities to increase producer awareness on management issues related to AI and estrus synchronization, in particular, the success and convenience of fixed-time insemination protocols.