Good news about year ahead

from Trans Ova Genetics

Embryo transfer and In Vitro Fertilization are powerful tools for extending the impact of superior cattle genetics. Based on decades of experience with advanced reproductive technologies, Trans Ova Genetics has complied the following recommendations to ensure a successful program. MAKE HEAT DETECTION A PRIORITY

Heat detection is the most controllable factor in a producer’s cost per pregnancy. Proper detection is more vital for an ET program than traditional AI programs.

Acceptable heat detection methods:

• Avoid solely relying on palpation or ultrasound to identify qualified recipients, a corpus luteum (CL) is present from day 5 – 18 of the heat cycle, as the day of heat cannot be accurately determined. • Visual detection -Watch for 15 minutes minimum; both morning and evening. -Walk calmly among recipients to encourage activity. -Record whether recipient stood to be mounted or was riding only. -Heat date is first detection period that the recipient stood to be mounted. • Activity monitoring system - Heat date is considered period of highest (peak) activity • Timed embryo transfer - Industry recommended synchronization protocol that does not require heat detection. Heat date is the time that timed

A.I. is recommended • While we highly recommend heat detection, never rely solely on heat detection aids such as chalk, paint, or patches, as they may yield a high percentage of false heats. NEEDLES AND INJECTIONS

• Follow your Trans Ova Genetics schedule that is set up for the donor and recipient. • Use a clean 1 1⁄2 inch, 18 or 20-gauge needle when administering intramuscular hormone injections. • Give hormone injections intramuscularly (unless otherwise noted) in the neck • Do not give hormone injections successively in the same location. • Give injections every 12 hours. NUTRITION

• Make sure donor cattle and recipient cattle are maintaining or gaining (preferred) good body condition; a body condition score (BCS) of 4 to 6 is recommended for beef. • Discuss a suitable nutrition plan with a veterinarian or nutritionist. Vaccinations • Work with a veterinarian to discuss the best vaccination options for your situation and geography. • Consider reproductive/respiratory virals such as IBR, BVD 46 California Cattleman March 2022 (types I and II), BRSV and P13; a 5-way Lepto; a 7-way

Clostridial; and a parasiticide in the vaccination process. • Ideally, donor and recipient cattle should not be treated with antibiotics or steroids during the superovulation setup process. Please consult with a veterinarian if antibiotics are needed while a donor is set up for superovulation or to be implanted. • Do not administer modified-live vaccines within 30 days of the target day of estrus. FACILITIES

• Use a heavy-duty squeeze chute that is protected from the sun and outside elements for transfers and any donor collection procedure. • When doing frozen embryo transfers, a covered area next to or near the chute should be available for the embryologist to thaw embryos. If the chute is in an open area, there should be space nearby for the Trans Ova vehicle to park. • If you plan on freezing any IVF embryos, please let us know ahead of time. This allows embryos to remain in the lab and is beneficial for efficiency and embryo quality and handling. • If the situation calls for freezing fresh embryos on farm, we require a location that has ample electricity, temperature controlled and is free of dust and sunlight. WORKING WITH A CO-OP HERD?

• Every client must have a signed Client Service Agreement (CSA) and Trans Ova account prior to doing the work. All contact information must be provided so we have accurate information for communication and billing purposes. Every client must have a valid e-mail address. • We prefer that client’s embryos are sent to a Trans Ova center instead of to the co-op herd. This makes our paperwork, planning, and organization more efficient and aids in a successful implant day. • For additional information, contact your client service representative. What to expect from the Embryologist? • An embryologist will be in contact at least a week prior to the trip to arrange the trip details. • Requests for embryos to be brought on farm must be made at least a week before the trip. DAY OF TRANSFERS

• Please have a Client Priority List with the number of implants per client and matings ready for the embryologist. • Copies of the day’s transfers and procedures will be sent via e-mail within one week of the trip. • Optimal time for movement of recipients is 1-2 days after implantation. Movement between day 10 and 30 should be avoided if possible. If movement is necessary it should occur in cooler periods of the day and in low stress environments.

Pregnancy should be established after day 40.

BEARING GOOD NEWS

opportunities ahead for beef producers

from Biozyme, Inc.

For cattle producers looking for a little good news in the future, look no further than the first part of 2022. Although challenges will exist – drought, cost of gain, labor shortages – enough changes are happening to help, especially those in the stocker sector.

Derrell Peel, Ph.D., endowed professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, recently offered his perspective on the big picture of the beef industry as a whole before addressing more specific topics on the stocker and feedlot side. Cow herd size is shrinking after a cyclical expansion that peaked in 2019, with the height of the calf crop coming in 2018. The combination of timelines in the beef cattle industry with all that has happened the last 18 months with COVID and the pandemic, feedlot numbers didn’t really peak until early in 2021. However, now due to lower supplies and heightened demands, all segments of the beef cattle industry should experience higher prices moving into 2022.

“The supply side is supporting the market and will continue to support the market in 2022. Part of the optimism is coming from the supply fundamentals,” Peel said. “Beef demand has been very good across wholesale, grocery stores, retail, even with disruptions. Exports will set new records in 2021. Even with two months left to report this year, we are well on the way to beat the old record that was set in 2018.”

The Stocker Segment

What does all of this mean for those who run stockers and background calves? According to Peel, they are going to have ample opportunities to feed calves and realize added profit potential. With grain, especially corn, prices higher at least through harvest in 2022, the feedlots are experiencing higher costs of gain, and looking to buy calves at heavier weights than normal, meaning fewer days on feed.

“That affects price relationships across feeder cattle. If feedlots want bigger cattle, someone has to put that weight on them before they go to the feedlot, and that is the stocker sector. So, with high feed prices and high feedlot cost of gain, that increases incentives for stocker production in general, and we have certainly seen that,” Peel said. “The value of gain on 500-600 pound to 800-pound calves is elevated. Generally, stocker producers are looking at some good opportunities, and the futures market has optimism built into it.”

Although Peel said many feed yards might want to buy stocker calves at heavier weights to keep their cost of gains to a minimum, he iterated that feed yards also run feed mills, so they also need to keep a steady supply of calves on hand. Therefore, he projects there will be a divide in the number of feeders who do buy at heavier weights and those who buy at more traditional weights.

However, for those who do buy at heavier weights, the stocker segment offers great versatility in how they put gain on those calves. With a delayed wheat planting and then continued drought in the southern plains, Peel said that calves that are traditionally grazed on wheat pasture through the early part of the year will likely need to find alternative feed sources. Producers may opt to sell them to others who have pastures or dry lots, keep them and feed them their own grain or forages or sell them to a feedlot that isn’t bothered by buying some lighter weight calves to finish. Healthy, Efficient Pounds

Due to the drought through much of the country, hay prices are also higher than normal, and much of the usual pasture is not as readily available for grazing. With the high value of gain for those in the stocker segment, they should want to get the most nutritional value from their available feedstuffs regardless of if that is wheat, pasture or grain.

Progressive stocker operators feed the Gain Smart® line of vitamin and mineral supplements for beef cattle with the Amaferm® advantage that promotes economically produced pounds by maximizing the natural energy and protein available. Amaferm is a precision prebiotic designed to enhance digestibility by amplifying nutrient supply for maximum performance. It is research-proven to promote calf health and vigor, stimulate digestion and increase nutrient absorption for optimum gain.

“This is our third grazing season using the Gain Smart® Wheat mineral. It seems to me our gains are probably up between a quarter to a third pound a day compared to the past, since switching to the Gain Smart. We’ve run the same style of high-risk cattle the past 10 years. Our health seems to be substantially better. It seems like our sickness and death loss has been significantly less the last three years. The Gain Smart increases digestibility. If they are eating, they stay healthier,” said Gregg Pickens, Oklahoma stocker operator.

Four Gain Smart formulas exist geared toward individual management scenarios. Gain Smart Stocker is for calves on grass, Gain Smart Wheat is for those calves grazing wheat pasture or other small grain pastures, Gain Smart Balancer RU-1600 contains rumensin and is designed to balance those calves on high-grain diets, and Gain Smart Stocker HEAT is for cattle grazing fescue or any time temperatures get hotter than 70 degrees.

With an optimistic outlook for 2022, that should make the industry breathe a sigh of relief. No, it isn’t perfect. Drought has forced cow herd sizes to be reduced, packers are short on labor and the weather will still be unpredictable. However, the stocker sector, can look forward to putting some added value to their calves, getting more efficient gains and turning a profit.