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AI - Worth it or not for us?
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<blockquote data-quote="bandit80" data-source="post: 534972" data-attributes="member: 7956"><p>Depends on several things that you need to decide. You need to look at labor involved, and cost per cow exposed. </p><p></p><p>I will use 10 cows because that is easier math. </p><p></p><p>If you AI, you will have around $20 per straw of semen, thus $200. Since you don't have any experience or equipment to AI, you will have additional expenses to hire someone to do it, or take a course on AI and buy the necessary equipment. If you have to pay someone $10/hd to AI, all of a sudden you are up to $300. Also with AI, there is increased labor with heat detection, and if you use synchronization protocols, increased expense. </p><p></p><p>You should be able to buy a good bull for around $2,000. If you get 60% of your cows AI'ed, that bull will need to cover the other 40%. Thus you only get 4 calves out of a $2000 bull each year. If you use the bull for 5 breeding seasons, you will get approximately 20 calves from him. So, essentially, you are paying $100 for each calf. If you do not AI and use the bull only for 5 years, you would get 50 calves out of him, (assuming every cow gets bred every year) thus lowering your cost for each calf to $40. Also with a bull, there is no increase in labor. He knows what to do, just turn him loose. </p><p></p><p>With a smaller number of cows, I believe it would be more cost effective to buy a good bull vs. spending the money to get set up for AI. As your herd size increases, it may be cost effective to utilize AI and a clean up bull, because you will be getting more calves out of the bull each year.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="bandit80, post: 534972, member: 7956"] Depends on several things that you need to decide. You need to look at labor involved, and cost per cow exposed. I will use 10 cows because that is easier math. If you AI, you will have around $20 per straw of semen, thus $200. Since you don't have any experience or equipment to AI, you will have additional expenses to hire someone to do it, or take a course on AI and buy the necessary equipment. If you have to pay someone $10/hd to AI, all of a sudden you are up to $300. Also with AI, there is increased labor with heat detection, and if you use synchronization protocols, increased expense. You should be able to buy a good bull for around $2,000. If you get 60% of your cows AI'ed, that bull will need to cover the other 40%. Thus you only get 4 calves out of a $2000 bull each year. If you use the bull for 5 breeding seasons, you will get approximately 20 calves from him. So, essentially, you are paying $100 for each calf. If you do not AI and use the bull only for 5 years, you would get 50 calves out of him, (assuming every cow gets bred every year) thus lowering your cost for each calf to $40. Also with a bull, there is no increase in labor. He knows what to do, just turn him loose. With a smaller number of cows, I believe it would be more cost effective to buy a good bull vs. spending the money to get set up for AI. As your herd size increases, it may be cost effective to utilize AI and a clean up bull, because you will be getting more calves out of the bull each year. [/QUOTE]
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