AI- Buy Equipment or Hire Tech

[lovehammer]

I have 10 black brangus heifers I would like to AI in April of next year. They will be about 22-24 months old then. I AI'd dairy cattle when I was in high school ag class some 26-27 years ago (jeez, I'm getting old...) and have not done it since. I am by no means an expert or experienced in AI.

Given that tidbit of info, would it make sense to buy a semen tank, gun, and all of the other gear to AI myself? Online shopping tells me the cost is somewhere around $1000-$1200 dollars for a bare bones AI setup. Does that price sound right to you all?

What about hiring a tech? The cost seems to be about $100 a pop, so the cost difference is minimal. Does that price sound reasonable? I sort of like the notion of buying the tools and doing it myself, but I don't want to fool myself into thinking I'm saving myself money and end up with no pregnant heifers. I don't want to pay the stupid tax again.

Should I bit the bullet and buy a bull? The fellow I bought my heifers from will sell me a yearling brangus bull for $1400. He is a quality cattle breeder, sells better stock as replacements and sends the rest to feedlots or the sale barn. His bulls look good to me and he has been very helpful. Followed up with phone calls after the sale of the animals to make sure I was happy, that kind of thing. In other words, he's a good guy and I trust him. Is is worth keeping a bull around for 10 cows?

Is there something I'm missing? Does AI make sense for a small timer like me?

 

[tistis]

You could keep a bull cheaper I thought the same thing !

 

[dun]

Check with your local semen/nitrogen route guy about a used tank, that wiould drop the price some. For a small producer AI makes more sense then a bull. If you did much AIing in the past it's a lot like riding a bike. The first time after a long layoff things will be hard to figure out, by the second or third it should all come back to you.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We strictly AI. Our tank was around $350, and the AI kit was around $250, so about $600 to get started. All new. We also sent hubby and 13 year old daughter to school (AI), since I was the only one with experience (doing dairy cows). Anyway, $150 per class. So $900. Semen runs $25 a straw. We have been doing this for more than 6 years, so how much have we saved on a bull? A lot! Now, we raise a few from our embryo calves or AI calves, and help pay the feed bill for the show heifers.
I guess it all depends on how much work you want to put into it, because it is time consuming heat checking twice a day... but my kids have learned so much about genetic selection and EPD's, since they get the final say on which bull to use on which cow or heifer!

 

[Kscattle]

Some semen reps will rent you a tank for a while, if your gonna sync them, that's what I would do to save costs. Then you just need to buy the supplies, those are fairly cheap. Also some shipping containers will hold for a week or so, if your not storing semen long term, just time it just right and it'll work out.

 

[lovehammer]

Thanks for the info. I think I will give the AI route a go. I'll see if I can't locate a used tank.

 

[dun]

Thanks for the info. I think I will give the AI route a go. I'll see if I can't locate a used tank.

used CERTIFIED tank

 

[Jessica06]

Bovine Elite is another place to try for a used tank. The Kombicolor guns are the best, by far.

 

[djinwa]

Plus bulls are a pain. Like to beat stuff up, and tend to go wandering if ladies are on nearby farms, so you would need better fences.

You would also hope that AI bulls are much better than whatever local bulls are, and have more accurate EPDs based on many more calves. Don't know how to place a dollar value on better calves, but surely that can cover a lot of the AI expense.

Did you say $100 for one AI service? I found a young dairyman near here who offered to do it for $20 each (I bought semen). I told him I'd pay $50 just to keep him interested, as I have but a couple of cows. He stores semen for nothing. Do you have any dairies nearby?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Plus bulls are a pain. Like to beat stuff up, and tend to go wandering if ladies are on nearby farms, so you would need better fences.

You would also hope that AI bulls are much better than whatever local bulls are, and have more accurate EPDs based on many more calves. Don't know how to place a dollar value on better calves, but surely that can cover a lot of the AI expense.

Did you say $100 for one AI service? I found a young dairyman near here who offered to do it for $20 each (I bought semen). I told him I'd pay $50 just to keep him interested, as I have but a couple of cows. He stores semen for nothing. Do you have any dairies nearby?

My daughter AI's at the dairy next door for $5 a head, but they have everything there, and they set the cows up so they are ready when she is there working (she takes care of the calves). So it is convenient for both her and her employer.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

What I like about AI is that you can pick and choose which bull to use on which specific cow. Having said that, I have not done much in the way of AI within my own herd.

Katherine