Parson, Kansas —
Agriculture teachers have new tools for teaching the latest beef reproduction practices to their high school students. Twenty Missouri teachers saw a sneak preview of computer-based lessons prepared by University of Missouri scientists.
“We’ve made lots of progress in developing new breeding protocols,” said David Patterson, MU Extension animal scientist. “It is time we begin to address the needs of commercial cattle producers in the state.”
Ag class students will be learning the protocols at the same time beef producers are learning at field days, tours and winter meetings.
The lessons, which can be used in many settings and combinations, teach the detection of estrus, the reproduction cycles in cows and heifers. The MU scientists have developed ways to synchronize those cycles so all cows in a herd can be bred on one day. That reduces labor, increases conception rate early in the breeding season and produces uniform calf crops.
Understanding estrus is basic to understanding and using most of the new beef technologies, Patterson said. “The lessons tell both the management needed and the technology available. We’ve never had this opportunity before.”
Patterson and fellow MU professor Mike Smith wrote the lessons as part of a USDA grant that integrates research, teaching and extension. “The grant allows us to extend what we have learned,” Patterson said.
The lessons were converted into computer-based modules by a professional design company with support from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company.
The lessons are based on research on farms of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station and cooperating beef herd owners. “We’ve tested these breeding protocols on more than 7,000 cows in 70 herds,” Patterson said. “We can reasonably expect timed artificial insemination to achieve conception rates of 60 to 70 percent on the first day of the breeding season.”
By using semen from proven high-accuracy sires, producers can improve their herds dramatically, Patterson told the teachers. “Concentrating the breeding season and making a uniform calf crop expands marketing opportunities.”
Techniques developed by MU scientists are used by producers enrolled in the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program, a yearlong educational program to help grow quality heifers for the farm herd or for sale.
Before the introduction of timed artificial insemination, producers using AI needed to check their cow herd three times a day for a month to detect cows that are ready for breeding.
The teaching modules explain herd management practices on a beef farm. They also explain the science of reproduction, define and illustrate all of the processes in the lessons, and contain a glossary of scientific terms.
“Tell the biology teachers in your schools about this tool,” Patterson told the ag teachers.
The beef reproduction curriculum can be used by anyone, from high school students to farmers.
To see the lessons, go to the Website of the MU Division of Animal Sciences and click on “Estrus Synchronization Courses.” Of the three courses, Patterson suggested that high school teachers start with course three, the management lessons.
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