Eden Shale Update- July

May continued to be too wet to make hay, which is a blessing to us because we were busy managing the cow herd through the synchronization process to get everything ready to AI. This year we had 25 replacement heifers, and 70 cows that were bred artificially.

The replacement heifers were pelvic measured the end of April, then CIDR’s went in on May 14th.  The heifers follow a 7 day synchronization protocol, and the CIDR’s came out on May 21st. Jason Crowe with GENEX bred the heifers on the afternoon of May 23rd. The heifers were sorted into two groups, one getting bred to Angus (Architect) and the other to Hereford (Richmond). The heifers will get cleaned up with an Angus bull. 

The cows also follow the 7 day synchronization protocol.  Their CIDR’s went in on May 20th and were pulled on May 27th.  The 70 cows were bred on May 30th by David McGlothlin with Genetics Plus. The cows were also sorted into two groups, one getting bred to Angus (Sustain) and the other to Hereford (Smokey). The cows will also get cleaned up with Angus bulls.

The cleanup bulls got turned in on the first week of June and will remain with the cows for approximately 45 days and will get pulled out around July 20th. This will give all the cows three heat cycles to get bred and remain in our tight calving window. Any cows that preg check open in September will get culled.

I want to say a huge Thank You to both Jason Crowe and David McGlothlin for their help developing our herd at Eden Shale Farm. Their expert advise and insights into the complex industry of bovine genetics is top notch and we truly appreciate their professional services.