March 6, 2008
Breeding soundness exams for bulls offered at Purdue clinics
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Seven southern Indiana locations will offer cattle producers an opportunity to have their bulls examined for breeding soundness."It's important that producers make a breeding soundness exam part of their management plan," said Brad Shelton, Purdue University Cooperative Extension educator in Washington County. "It has the potential to save a producer $10,000 if a bull is found to be unsound, and about 10 percent of the bulls examined fail."
Typically a bull is expected to successfully breed 20-50 cows during the breeding season, he said.
"Assume that a bull will be bred to 20 cows and each cow will wean a 400-pound calf," Shelton said. "That totals 8,000 pounds, and with the market price at $1 per pound that's a loss of $8,000.
"If a producer were to assume they had $100 of pasture, minerals and other supplements invested in each cow between breeding season and being pregnancy checked at weaning, that adds an additional $2,000 loss, resulting in a potential loss of $10,000. This is a loss that can be avoided."
The exam is done by a veterinarian and includes an evaluation of structural soundness, reproductive anatomy and semen quality. A semen sample is collected and immediately evaluated to make sure at least 30 percent of the sperm are motile. Then the individual sperm are examined, of which 70 percent must be normal for the bull to be acceptable.
The exam costs $30 per bull at each site, except for Bartholomew County where it's $25 per bull. Cattle producers are required to register in advance by calling the appropriate number below to schedule a time. Dates, locations and contact information are:
* March 18 beginning at 1 p.m. at the Clark County 4-H Center in Charleston. To schedule a time, contact David Trotter at (812) 256-4591, dtrotter@purdue.edu.
* March 19 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Salem. To schedule a time, contact Shelton at (812) 883-4601, sheltonb@purdue.edu.
* March 22 beginning at 1 p.m. at the South Central Indiana Livestock Marketing Council (SCILMC) Auction Facility in Milltown. To schedule a time, contact John Sieberns at (812) 738-3607.
* March 29 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Rodney Hager Farm in Orleans. To schedule a time, contact Andy Boston at (812) 723-5796.
* April 2 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the John Harker Farm in Hope. To schedule a time, contact Mike Ferree at (812) 379-1665, ferreel@purdue.edu.
* April 8 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Scott Whaley Farm in Martinsville. To schedule a time, contact Chris Parker at (765) 342-1010, cparker@purdue.edu.
* April 14 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Springville Feeder Auction in Springville. To schedule a time, contact David Redman at (812) 275-4623, dredman@purdue.edu.
The breeding soundness exams are sponsored by Purdue Extension and the local cattleman's association. For questions and more information about the exams, contact Shelton at (812) 883-4601, sheltonb@purdue.edu.Writer: Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu
Source: Brad Shelton, (812) 883-4601, sheltonb@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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