Record milk and beef prices and rising replacement heifer prices offer commercial dairy producers options to manage their herd inventory. Herds with adequate supplies of replacement heifers have greater opportunity to cull low-producing cows and take advantage of high beef prices.

The topic of inbreeding has received quite a bit of attention over the years. Trends by breed and the negative effect inbreeding has on the bottom line have been well documented.

With the use of sexed semen firmly established in the dairy industry, dairy farms have been presented with an opportunity to improve herd-level genetics through heavier culling of animals with lower genetic values, selling more offspring for commercial purposes or changing the way they manage their herd inventory by potentially using beef semen on cows with lower genetic value. After several years of sexed semen use, what do the numbers tell us?

The easy answer to this question is yes, but the deeper question is: How much improvement are you making, and could you be making more? For the vast majority of producers, improving the genetics of offspring starts with the selection of A.I. service sires. On the sire side, decisions have to be made about which traits to select for, what minimum or maximum values you wish to consider and how much you wish to spend on a unit of semen.

Genetics has historically played a minor role in day-to-day herd management when compared to nutrition, udder health and reproduction. Genetic progress for most dairies consisted of selecting A.I. sires that might improve the herd’s main deficiencies, like production, feet and legs or udder composite.

If you are a football fan, you know that a successful year on the gridiron starts with summer training camp. Conditioning your star players and preparing them to hold up for a long season is a must in order to make it to the Super Bowl.

Although 2012 brought many challenges, some herds saw remarkable improvements compared to 2011. Midwestern states endured record temperatures for a prolonged period of time followed by a drought, impacting feed availability, price and quality.