What Today & Tomorrow's Technology Is Doing For The Cattle Industry
Integrity of the food chain, from farmer through processor and retailer to the end consumer is a dominant issue in the food industry. The increasing awareness and concerns of consumers over food safety, consistency of product and the genetically modified (GM) content of foods highlights the need for real guarantees of product quality and traceability to source, so the need to monitor integrity and quality is of critical importance. Auditable tracking systems are essential. And careful selection of breeding stock is required since the supply chain starts in the "paddock" and continues through to the "plate".
Embryo Transfer Program
We work very closely with Dr. Boyd Bien of Bovagen in our Embryo Transfer program. Dr. Bien has had more than 20 years of experience in the field and is one of the very few accredited Embryologists to do embryos for export. He has an excellent tech crew consisting of Bob Klein and Russell Cable who have been with him for more years than they care to count!
Melody Acres does the recipient and donor setups. Melody Acres, at times, will find recipient cattle for clients. As we only use very gentle animals for ourselves, we find the same for our clients. Dr. Bien does the actual flushing and transfers. Many times we do fresh transfers with the breeding of their choice for our clients. Thank you Dr. Bien for our wonderful success rate!
  
An embryo out of Beaumont Matilda and Admiral J222 produced two heifers ~ the embryo twinned!
Congratulations to Marjo!
Embryo Transfer Process
The DONOR cow, in this case a fullblood Lowline is super ovulated with drugs and either naturally bred or AI (artificial insemination) is performed.
The RECIPIENT cattle or SURROGATES ( of any breed or mix) are synchronized to come in heat the same time as the donor(s).
Seven days after standing heat, the DONORS have their embryos flushed from their horns and the embryos are transferred to the SURROGATES who were in heat at the same time.
Hopefully, 9 months later we have a cute little black FULLBLOOD Lowline calf cavorting with it's off- breed "mom"! As we are working with nature, ova transplant is not a 100% sure thing, but we sure like to get those 65-75%'ers! Each Embryo is fully recorded as either a fresh or frozen transfer ,date, parents etc. and the calf is DNA tested ( as are all fullblood Lowlines) through the Lowline Registry for correct parentage before it's registration papers are released.
About GeneStar Rating
DNA testing done from a few tail hairs can now determine the quality of an animal's meat. Two stars ** is the top rating for tenderness. One star * is the preferred rating for the amount of marbling most desired by American consumers. We are pleased to report that both our bulls tested ** for tenderness and * for marbling. Our goal is to breed from and continue building our herd with only those animals which test positive for the preferred ratings.
Mankato Maid
4 Months Old
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Red Lowlines
