Select Sires

Previewing a Reproductive Course
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio Which Aired Sept. 9, 2004
With Dr. John Kirk,
Extension Veterinarian at the School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Cal-Davis

This week's Reproductive Moment is with Dr. John Kirk, Extension Veterinarian at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cal-Davis. Today we are previewing a reproduction course scheduled for October 22nd, presented by the University of California Cooperative Extension. Dr. Kirk, I understand this course is being billed as "not for the novice."

We are attempting to provide a refresher course on dairies, herdsmen, etc., for those people who might already be breeding cows. So, it is not a course where you can go to learn to be an A.I. technician, but more to sharpen your skills.

What are the topics?

We have several topics. The first one will be a review of the reproductive hormones, followed up with synchronizing programs, using the review to open the door into those synchronizing programs. Then we are going to talk about treatment of the postpartum cow, mainly metritis, retained placentas, and those types of things, as well as the temperature programs where they are monitoring these cows daily for, say, the first ten days after they calve. Following that we are going to have a little section on analysis of the reproductive records. Primarily we will be with dairy comp 305. Then, there will be another short presentation on the use of CIDR™s in heifers, as well as older cows. Following lunch we will have a presentation on the use of ultrasound in reproduction. After that a little portion on abortion diseases and how to get a diagnosis. Then we are going to have a laboratory portion of the course that will be taught by one of the A.I. companies where we will actually have some phantom reproductive tracts, they can inseminate these tracts and we will look to see if they are putting the semen in the proper places.

Who is teaching these courses?

Most of the faculty that will be teaching these courses are veterinarians who are at the vet-med teaching and research center in Tulare. Three are actually teaching veterinarians that work on the dairies here in this area, and then we have the abortion disease diagnosis portion of the course that will be taught by one of the pathologists here in the California Animal Health and Safety lab.

You are teaching one of those courses, as well.

I am going to give the little review of reproductive hormones to get the thing going.

What is the cost, and what does that include?

The cost is $75.00 per person, and if a dairy wants to send more than one person it is $75.00 for the first one and $50.00 for the second one and that includes the lunch, as well as notes and materials that we will pass out at the meeting.

How do we go about registering?

They can register through Jerry Higgenbothem, who is our dairy farm advisor up in Fresno. They can send the check to the Dairy Farm Advisor, U.C. Cooperative Extension, 1720 South Maple Avenue, Fresno, CA 93702.

If someone would like more information?

They can get in touch with me here at the Vet Med Teaching Research Center, at (559) 688-1731, extension 224. Or, they can visit with any of the dairy advisors in any of the counties of California.

Dr. John Kirk, Extension Veterinarian of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cal-Davis.

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Select Sires Inc., 11740 U.S. 42 North, Plain City, Ohio 43064 / Phone: (614) 873-4683 Fax: (614) 873-5751