The use of artificial insemination in cattle is certainly not a new practice, having been utilized already for many decades in the dairy and the beef seed stock industries. In the dairy industry heat spotting is practiced whilst in the beef sector it is done either by heat spotting or more commonly by fixed time synchronization whereby large groups are commonly inseminated all in one session. What has begun to change more recently are improvements in the fixed time protocols and a better understanding of what is involved. This has led to more cost-efficient implementation and higher conception rates.

In South Africa, there has been a very strong emphasis traditionally on functionality and visual phenotypic evaluation, however, we have not made the most of the opportunity afforded us for breed improvement by better utilizing technological innovations that have long been available that enable one to go beyond selecting primarily according to visual appraisal. One indicator of our local industry’s degree of development is the quality of our meat in SA and the lack of incentive to improve it as dictated by our present national system. Certain overseas countries have a far higher quality end product. Our market and national systems are part of the reason for why we may not have embraced the technology that is available to us to as much as some overseas countries.

Even so, I’d like to briefly discuss the use of A.I. for both stud and commercial cattle farmers as a means of improving their herds.

Any effort to make progress in breed improvement requires some understanding of basic genetic principles, having legitimate, meaningful and practical goals, and deriving a means to accomplish those goals. The subject of breed improvement alone is one of primary importance and needs to be addressed up front, otherwise what follows can be a well thought out plan that could fail in its outcome even when it accomplishes exactly what was aimed for. If the goal is not sound even the perfect execution of it can’t ultimately be that good. With that in mind, I’d like to propose something which is an acceptable breeding goal, no matter where one farms with cattle, irrespective of differences in systems and environment, namely, “general efficiency.” General efficiency includes feed efficiency but incorporates many more aspects, such as fertility, longevity, functionality etc. and all things pertaining to an animal’s ability to be more cost efficient relative to others in a population. In the remainder of this article, I hope to give the reader some idea of why I think the strategic use of an A.I. program, in conjunction with some other critical technological tools can help us make progress towards this goal.

Selection for improvement based on a visual appraisal alone, cannot account for an animal’s non-visible breeding value. Neither does it take into account the valuable information which a pedigree can provide. We need as much information as possible in order to be able to make more informed, fact-based decisions.

Usually, an A.I. program would be based on utilizing semen from specially selected sires, which are thought to be superior in genetic value for certain traits than most other bulls in the population. They should have good EBVs, a sound if not superior phenotype, and have a pedigree that can give some indication of the potential quality of the genotype. A pedigree stacked with maternal excellence, for instance, increases the likelihood of there being such genes in the animal’s genome.

The Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for various traits are simply the average of the parents’ breeding values, adjusted additionally by also taking into account the animal in question’s own recorded data. When data from the progeny becomes available the EBVs adjust and become increasingly more accurate. More recently, Genomic EBVs have been developed in an attempt to make the initial EBVs more accurate so that there is not the long wait for progeny that is usually necessary.

Not only will an A.I. sire with a lot of recorded progenies have EBVs with higher accuracy but an evaluation of the quality of the progeny is particularly helpful in determining whether or not to use the sire. Proven sires are what we are all looking for because they have the advantage of having been tried and tested, which removes a lot of uncertainty.

This is an enormous advantage over an untested bull purchased at an auction which might have impressed in appearance but is otherwise an unknown quantity. A further advantage of using proven A.I. sires is that for a fraction of the cost of the animal’s value, one can make use of the sire without having to purchase what would otherwise be a very expensive, high value bull. One can also acquire semen from a number of different top bulls at once rather than put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. Risk is reduced, and a variety of sires enables better complementary matching to each female in the herd thereby increasing the prospect of more successful matches.

The key to taking advantage of A.I. is in being able to identify top end sires that genetically have what it takes to shift the bell curve of your herd’s various traits in the desired direction. As mentioned already, ideally the chosen sires should be those that have proven themselves already. It is rare to see top A.I. sires that have below average EBVs across the board. Usually, they might be weak in certain traits but are strong in the majority of others. Occasionally one might see sires that are generally weak in their EBVs but are outliers for a particular rare quality. Such animals can be expected to see more limited, but strategic use.

In genetics there are certain traits which can be negatively or positively correlated whereas others have no correlation.

An example is how birth weight and weaning weight correlate to each other. We might want ease of calving but also want heavier weaners, however, the normal trend between these two traits is for lower-than-average weaning weights being associated with lower-than-average birth weights.

A proven A.I. sire with high EBV accuracies, that has a lower-than-average BW value whilst at the same time having a higher-than-average WW value will enable the breeder to make progress in both traits simultaneously and would be considered an outlier. Normally, when one selects for improved weaning weight the birth weight also goes up, which is undesirable.

There are other traits too that have antagonistic correlations such that as one selects for improvement in one, there is regression in another. However, there are animals in the population that are exceptions to the rule and these outliers can help us make much quicker progress simply because they enable multiple trait improvement at once.

I look for sires that have balanced EBV profiles which show superiority for as many of the traits that I’m focused on as possible. Maternal traits (particularly connected to fertility), Gestation Length, Scrotal Circumference, Longevity (Stay), and of particular significance a curve bending growth profile, are things to pay attention to. In addition to these, Rib Eye Area, Marbling (intramuscular fat) and the other carcass traits are also important to consider if one wants to produce better quality beef. A further indicator of whether or not an A.I. sire is suitable for use in your herd is his frame score.

Most farmers, stud breeders included, do not measure frame scores nor know how to, yet it is an invaluable piece of information in determining the best maturity type for your herd and system.

By using sires in an A.I. program that have superior EBV profiles year after year, enables one to increase the probability of introducing genes for efficiency into your herd. At the same time, one still needs to apply strict visual selection for functionality, adaptation etc. and employ management practices that apply selection pressure on fertility, and in so doing it will soon become apparent that the productivity of the herd improves.

A further benefit of utilizing the right A.I. sires is that there will be an increase in consistency, quality and prepotency over time.

Another benefit of doing A.I. is that it enables one to continually bring in new outcross lines so as to maintain genetic diversity and have available new desirable bloodlines that can appeal to other breeders. If one can maintain genetic diversity it also enables you to keep and use some of the bulls that you breed if desired. Those who restrict themselves to a limited number of lines for the sake of uniformity will be limited in their ability to utilize their own bulls because of the risk associated with inbreeding.

From a management perspective, the fixed time protocol has been shown to help contract the breeding season, help cows begin cycling earlier and even improve ICPs. The extra cost of the program can easily be recouped by the benefits derived and bring about greater profitability overall, especially through the genetic improvement of the herd that will materialize.

At Clydesdale Brangus we started our A.I. program in 2006 and have been doing it every year since. Without any doubt, the most significant and positively impacting sires that we have used have been A.I. sires and bulls that we have in turn bred out of cattle that were derived from them.

We breed both black and red Brangus and run them all as one herd, with the intention of breeding better red cattle out of new black lines. The gene pool worldwide of Black Brangus is far bigger than that of Red Brangus so it makes sense that there is more opportunity for improvement by tapping into that resource. It is a simple matter to use a homozygous black sire and get red cattle by the second generation. Our best red sires and cows invariably have black A.I. sires in their pedigrees.

A couple of examples of the result of employing the principles touched on above, are two sires we bred that are having a big influence in our herd and in turn have also become A.I. sires for us, based on having proven themselves through their progeny. FS1710 is red, and has highly proven A.I. sires in his pedigree, including Brinks Brightside 607L11, a black Brangus sire. 607L11 was a USA sire that was heavily used in Argentina and is one of the most influential and successful Brangus bulls to have been used there.

FS1710’s grandmother is a red cow out of a red USA sire from the first group of A.I. calves that we produced. She showed her value by going on to have 15 calves with an ICP of 357 days before her teeth wore out. Her hooves, legs, udder and teats were perfect right up until she was sold. She was functionality and fertility exemplified.

FS1721 is a half-brother to FS1710 and also comes out of proven black genetics. He is a true curve bending sire with genes for feed efficiency, as evidenced by his own performance and that of his progeny. One of our aims has been to produce early maturing, shorter framed, high-capacity cattle and FS1710 and FS1721 were the first sires that we produced that really accomplished that goal.

They weighed about 1000kg at maturity on good grazing but only had a frame score of 3.5. Usually, a bull that weighs a ton will be about a frame score of 6, which gives an indication of their rather unique type.

The Brangus breed is particularly versatile, combining the heat tolerance and hardiness of Brahman cattle with the fertility and meat quality of the Angus, amongst other qualities. However, along with its versatility, it is the balance and combination of traits that really sets it apart and in particular the curve bending genes that exist within the population that cause me to think that it has possibly unmatched potential as a breed.

A.I. can be used by Brangus breeders to begin unlocking this potential and take their herds to another level. This article hasn’t gone into the finer details of how to specifically analyse EBVs for the purposes of improving general efficiency however, it should give the reader some idea of what is entailed.