Ovum pick up, in vitro embryo production, and embryo transfer as value-added theriogenology service in miniature Hereford cattle operation

Goal was to provide evidence for adopting assisted reproductive technologies (ART), ovum pick up (OPU), in vitro embryo production (IVP), and embryo transfer (ET) in small beef cattle operations as value-added service. Day 7 embryos (n = 14) were produced via IVP utilizing oocytes (n = 87) collected by OPU from miniature Hereford donor cows (n = 3; mean age: 7 years) and fertilized with semen from miniature Hereford bulls. Irish Black (n = 8; 14 months) and Hereford (n = 1; 20 months) recipient heifers were synchronized using 5-day Select-Synch + controlled internal drug release (CIDR) protocol. On day 9 after CIDR removal, heifers (n = 7) with a corpus luteum (> 2 cm in size) received an embryo in the ipsilateral uterine horn. Pregnancy/ET was 57.1% (4/7). Economic advantage (increase in number of offspring) was realized comparing OPU-IVP and artificial insemination procedures. These ART technologies (OPU, IVP, and ET) can be utilized in genetically superior cows as value-added theriogenology service to increase their offspring.