Continuous monitoring of beef cows significantly improves estrus detection. Put SenseHub Beef to work 24 hours per day.
Gain an edge:
With SenseHub Beef, commercial cattle producers can remotely observe as heifers and
cows come into estrus, monitor the intensity of natural or induced heats and make
timely breeding
decisions.
Reproduction is among the top variables affecting revenue.
Many producers first apply monitoring to improve their ability to detect estrus and increase reproductive rates.
Also, many beef producers AI breed their replacement heifers and their best cows to accelerate genetic gain.
It is well known that heifers and cows which conceive earlier calve earlier, have longer intervals to rebreeding and wean older, heavier feeder calves.3
SenseHub Beef — by monitoring the onset of estrus in heifers and tracking heats in cows — delivers added data to help identify the best female candidates for AI breeding with elite genetics.
A 13-year Nebraska study4 compared reproductive performance of heifers born in the first, second or third 21-day period of a typical calving season.
The percentage of heifers cycling at the beginning of their breeding season increased the earlier they were born (70%, 58%, and 39%, respectively) and 45-day pregnancy rates were lowest for heifers born in the third calving period (90%, 86%, and 78%, respectively).
Heifer calves born during the first 21 days had greater weaning, pre-breeding and pre-calving bodyweight; greater percent cycling before breeding; and greater pregnancy rates compared with heifers born in the third calving period.
First-calf progeny from early calving heifers also had earlier birth dates and higher weaning weights. The steer calves born earlier in the calving season had lower birth weights, plus higher weaning weights, higher hot carcass weights and better marbling scores.
Longevity has a major impact on cow/calf lifetime productivity, a study shows.
Longevity data were collected on 2,195 heifers from South Dakota Integrated Resource Management groups. Longevity and weaning weight data also were collected on 16,549 heifers at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC)5.
Average longevity for South Dakota heifers that calved in the first or later period was 5.1 and 3.9 years, respectively. Average longevity for USMARC heifers that calved in the first, second or third 21-day calving period was 8.2, 7.6 and 7.2 years, respectively.
In summary, heifers that calved early in the calving season with their first calf had increased longevity and pounds weaned compared with heifers that calved later in the calving season.
Advantage of continuous estrus monitoring for earlier breeding and increased weaning weight:
| Twice-per-day heat checks | 24-hours-per-day estrus monitoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Heifers bred at 55% mature body weight | 23 | 28 |
| Heifers bred at 65% mature body weight | 26 | 31 |
| Calves from 55% group | 20 | 24 |
| Calves from 65% group | 23 | 27 |
| Lbs weaned from retained heifers' progeny | 17,774 | 20,150 |
| Calf value at market price ($150 cwt) | $425.67 | $463.83 |
| +$38 per head |
In this example, identifying true estrus among light-weight yearling heifers would allow for earlier breeding and higher average calf weaning weight. Example calculated from using pregnancy rates expected from 24-hour monitoring. The early bred heifers would be expected to produce 2,376 more lbs of weaned calf weight and $38/head advantage. Actual results will vary based on unique operation factors and markets.
Advantage of increased pregnancies in herd genetic improvement programs:
| 200 cow herd | 20% cow replacement rate | 15% cow replacement rate |
|---|---|---|
| Replacements needed | 40 | 30 |
| Heifer development cost ($500/head) | $20,000 | $15,000 |
| Calf sales ($150 cwt/95% calf crop) | $136,800 | $145,350 |
| +$13,550 |
| AI heifer production rates | Twice-per-day heat checks | 24-hours-per-day estrus monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Top 33% of cows targeted for AI | 66 | 66 |
| Pregnancy rate | 39% | 67% |
| AI heifer production (sexed semen) | 25 | 44 |
Increasing the effectiveness of estrus detection and a 67% pregnancy rate using sexed semen from elite genetics. Sexed semen may result in slightly lower conception rates than conventional semen. This program supplies the operation's needs for high-quality AI heifers as replacements, accelerating genetic improvement goals. At a lower pregnancy rate, a period of eight years would be required to fill the herd with high-quality AI heifers. Keeping 40 AI heifers per year would complete the transition in 5 years. Actual results will vary based on unique operational and environmental variables.
