HOPE, Ark. — For producers interested in improving their cattle through artificial insemination, the Cooperative Extension Service is offering a two-day training course on June 8-9.  

Charles Looney, extension professor of cattle improvement for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will lead the workshop. The training runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on June 8 and 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on June 9 at the Southwest Research and Extension Center, located at 362 Hwy 174 North in Hope, Arkansas. Registration is $450, which includes lunch on both days. Participants must register by June 5 at uada.formstack.com/beef_cattle_ai.  

“The goal of the workshop is to introduce participants to the practice of thawing, loading and inseminating cows with frozen semen from genetically superior bulls,” Looney said. “We have live cows to practice with, and each participant will have the opportunity to learn the art of the procedure.”  

The workshop will also include presentations on nutrition, herd health and record keeping, basic reproductive anatomy and physiology, pregnancy determination methods and more. Looney said the training provides important information about the benefits of AI technology for cattle producers.  

“Artificial insemination is one of the most underutilized technologies in beef cattle,” Looney said. “Only about 10 percent of overall producers utilize this technology. Beef cattle producers who raise purebred cattle use this more than commercial breeders, mainly because of the labor and improved facilities that are necessary for AI technology to be successful.”  

Looney said cattle producers can also benefit from adopting estrous synchronization technology, which involves manipulating females’ estrous cycle so they can be bred earlier, “thus producing higher weaning weight calves when they are older.” By then using AI technology to breed cattle with high genetic merit bulls, Looney said producers can “utilize the best bulls available at reasonable prices.”  

Sponsors for the workshop include Premier Select Sires, CattleMax, Nashville Animal Hospital and Purina. For more information, contact Charles Looney at [email protected] or 870-777-9702.