Reproductive performance continues to improve across the dairy industry. Herds routinely achieve 21-day pregnancy rates above 20%, up from 14% reported as the national average in the 1990s.

Saving money on feed costs is never a question to be debated. In 2020, the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) began offering a genetic indicator designed to aid in creating dairy cows able to utilize the feed they consume more efficiently for the level of milk, fat and protein they produce.

Dairy’s role in the beef industry cannot be overstated. Dairy cows, steers and heifers make up 18%–22% of U.S. beef. This percentage depends on the size of the native beef herd and its contribution to the beef supply, as well as how many dairy cows change careers.

Most dairy farmers labor under a strict routine they feel comfortable with. This comfort reaches well beyond daily milking parlor tasks and affects cattle breeding programs, likely touching on some variations of heat detection, estrus synchronization, artificial insemination (A.I.) and potentially in vitro fertilization (IVF), followed by embryo transfer (ET).

utside the quiet, historic town of Muncy, Pennsylvania, nestled in the beautiful Susquehanna Valley in Lycoming County, is the Scarlet Summer Holsteins farm.