Embryo Transfer In Beef Cattle

"Embryo transfer also known as ET, is an advanced reproductive technology and progressive tool that can help farmers produce more offspring from an elite cow and can extend the impact of outstanding cattle genetics in your herd."

My family’s first experience with embryo transfer was when we flushed my best show heifer/cow named Stacy. She won multiple shows and received many compliments. Right then, we knew we needed to find a way to insure that her legacy would live on in our herd.  She had many features that many farmers desired in their cattle including structural soundness, deep bodied, big ribbed, and excellent udder quality.  She was a fantastic mother and always raised a high quality calf.

After she had her first calf, we decided to learn about the embryo process and ended up flushing embryos from Stacy using 2 different sires.  Throughout two different “flushes” we collected a total of 21 high quality embryos and froze them for transplanting at a later date. We then picked a couple of donor cows to act as surrogate mothers. These cows carried the embryos and gave birth to Stacy’s calves and raised them as if they were their own.

We are currently going through the same process with my brother’s Red Angus show heifer, Reba. Embryo transfer is a way for farmers to invest in quality to make their best cattle even better, although there is a little bit of risk in doing this, if it goes right it is worth it in the end. We have had a positive experience with this process and are excited to see the results with my brother’s Red Angus. We plan on selling the offspring of Reba’s embryos next calving season at the Iowa Beef Expo. Our family goal is to start raising high quality animals to be able to sell to other farmers some day!