AI School
The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Animal and Dairy Sciences Department host two Cattle Artificial Insemination (AI) Schools each year. The AI Schools are held in March and October annually. Spring 2020 AI School will be March 19-21.
Spring 2020 Cattle Artificial Insemination School
Thursday through Saturday,March 19-21,2020
Note: This course is limited to the first 30 paid participants.
Schedule
Thursday March 19, 2020
6:00 – 6:15 p.m. Introductions/ Opening Comments
6:15 – 6:45 p.m. Economics of Artificial Insemination
6:45 – 7:05 p.m. Reproductive Anatomy
7:05 – 8:00 p.m. Estrous Cycle, Estrus Synchronization, and Sexed Semen
8:00 – 8:30 p.m. Equipment for Artificial Insemination
8:30 – 8:45 p.m. Break
8:45 – 10:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions (Groups will rotate among stations)
Estrus Synchronization Planning Software and Breeding Box
Artificial Insemination Equipment and Semen Handling Demonstration
Work with Bovine Reproductive Tracts (WISE 4036)
Friday March 20, 2020
8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Nutritional Programs for A.I. Success
8:45 – 9:30 a.m. Heat Detection and Heat Detection Aids
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Break
9:45 – 10:30 a.m. Sire Selection
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Reproductive Herd Health and Biosecurity
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. Question and Answer Session
11:30 a.m. Lunch (provided)
12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Break and Travel to Dairy and Beef Units (Groups will alternate locations)
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Corral Work (semen handling & A.I. technique practice) (Beef/Dairy Unit)
Saturday March 21, 2020
8:00 – 11:30 a.m. Corral Work (semen handling & A.I. technique practice) (Beef/Dairy Unit)
11:30 a.m. – Noon Course Wrap-Up
Location
Bearden Dairy Research Unit-Heifer Unit
Mississippi State University Beef Unit
Area hotels
Map to MSU Wise Center
Map to Bearden Dairy Research Unit-Heifer Unit
Map to MSU Beef Unit
Registration Information
The registration fee for the MSU Artificial Insemination School is $450 per person. School attendance is limited to the first 30 registrations.
Note: Registration fees are non-refundable if cancelled after March 1.
4-H Parental Release and Code of Conduct Agreement
Bull Semen Storage and Handling YouTube Video
Visit the Mississippi State University Extension Service Beef Cattle YouTube channel to view this cattle artificial insemination-related video. A variety of other brief educational videos are also posted on beef cattle production topics on the MSUBeefCattle YouTube channel.
Publications
News
For the first 15 years of their marriage, Ted and Janet Parker lived off one income. She made the living, and nearly every penny he made as a beef cattle farmer went right back into growing their farm.
Mississippi State University experts see a positive outlook for the state’s beef cattle industry, with prices at profitable levels and herd numbers up.
Agricultural clients met with Mississippi State University personnel to discuss research and education needs during the annual Producer Advisory Council Meeting for the southwest region February 20.
Producers of grass-fed beef cattle will learn the latest recommendations for producing high quality and profitable livestock.
The first shipment of U.S. beef to China in more than 13 years reached its destination in June, and Mississippi cattle producers are beginning to see modest rewards of new market access.
Current cattle prices in Mississippi are up from a year ago. Lightweight cattle are $1.67 per pound, while heavyweight feeder cattle are around $1.35 per pound. A year ago, lightweight cattle were $1.55 per pound, and heavyweight cattle were in the range of $1.17 per pound.
“The cattle market has exhibited strong demand through most of 2017 despite the increased supply of cattle in the U.S.,” said Josh Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Prices have generally decreased over the past month, which is due to a combination of seasonal factors and the increased supply.”
Success Stories
For the first 15 years of their marriage, Ted and Janet Parker lived off of one income. She made the living, and nearly every penny he made as a beef cattle farmer went right back into growing their farm.
On his Rolling Fork farm, Bill Rutherford is living the life he dreamed of as a child. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)
See what's new in Extension: Gather for First Extension Beef-Production Workshop, the Food Factor Goes Digital, Extension Professionals Share Expertise, and Extension Offers New HappyHealthy Program.
Greg Chambers is one Mississippi producer who’s focused on innovating. Whether he’s growing soybeans and wheat on his Prentiss County property or raising cattle and goats on other acres, Chambers is always looking for a better, more efficient way of doing things.
The people who know Virgil Walker look up to him. The Covington County native is a leader for his church and several local organizations. He loves his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, and he values his way of life.
“It’s just in my blood to walk out and see a cow on my farm,” he says on a humid, late-summer afternoon. “It’s five generations, counting my son’s kids. The one who’s 9 or 10, I gave her a calf, and she wants to come every day to look at it. I believe she’ll be the one to come and live on the farm. It would be rewarding for me. Where I’m living, I’ve been here for 50 years.”
