AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich discusses how veterinarians can get involved with semen selection strategies for their clients. Guests for this episode include Dr. Julie Adamchick, post-doctoral candidate at Cornell University and AABP liaison to the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), Dr. Daryl Nydam, Professor of Dairy Production and Health Management at Cornell University and incoming AABP Vice-President, and Dr. Michael Capel, Perry Veterinary Clinic and Past-President of AABP.

This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and the PYRAMID(R) line of vaccines, a premier choice to protect calves from BRD. Get relentless protection at PyramidVaccines.com.

Advances in youngstock management and reproduction programs has provided an opportunity for dairy producers to utilize gender-selected semen to maintain the correct number of replacement heifers while taking advantage of the increased revenue from the sale of beef-on-dairy calves. Producers should develop a strategy with their dairy clients to plan three years in advance for the number of replacement heifers the herd will require. The veterinarian can play a role in not only assisting with implementation of these programs, but also monitoring reproductive performance and semen selection strategy monitoring to ensure success. The value that is added from maximizing beef-on-dairy calves produced can be equivalent to $2-$3 per cwt of milk. Our guests also provide tips for avoiding pitfalls and what to discuss with clients during the implementation and monitoring phase of this program. 

Cornell University has developed a tool to assist veterinarians in consulting with clients on use of gender-selected and beef semen in their herds. You can find Semen Solver 2.0 at this link. 

If you have feedback about the tool, please contact Dr. Julie Adamchick at jms349@cornell.edu.