About this episode

This episode discusses the impact of fertility traits on the success of embryo transfer in dairy farming.

Embryo transfer has become increasingly popular on US dairy farms to rapidly advance the genetic profile of the herd. This month’s feature article looks at the associations between fertility traits on the success of embryo transfer. Fertility traits such as daughter pregnancy rate (DPR), cow conception rate (CCR) and heifer conception rate (HCR) are consistently classified with low heritability. However, this retrospective study takes a deep dive into the data stored at the Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) to use the statistical power of dairy farmers data. There, the researchers were able to find a clear impact of these traits on the success of an ET program and long term impact on herd fertility. Because ultimately … we’re just interested in more calves on the ground, so listen in to better understand how data is improving ET fertility setbacks. Topics of discussion 1:39 Introduction of Dr. Sophia Ortega 2:18 Fertility traits discussion 3:47 How to improve these traits with low heritability 6:25 In vivo (IVD) and in vitro procedures (IVP) definition8:11 Grade 1 embryo improvements when selecting females using fertility traits9:27 Embryo loss discussion 10:30 Difference…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Sophia Ortega

Topics covered

• embryo transfer
• fertility traits
• dairy industry
• genetic profile
• calf production
• data analysis

Keywords

• embryo transfer
• fertility traits
• daughter pregnancy rate
• cow conception rate
• heifer conception rate
• in vivo procedures
• in vitro procedures
• blastocyst rate
• dairy cattle breeding

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding

More episodes of Dairy Science Digest

• DSD 7.5 | Impact of A2 milk on cheese production · May 19, 2026 · 30 min
• DSD 7.2 | Take a second look at Sorghum · February 16, 2026 · 36 min
• DSD 7.1 | Deliver more protein to the herd at a lower cost through microbial efficiency · January 16, 2026 · 31 min
• DSD 6.12 | Brachytic corn for increased production · December 16, 2025 · 28 min
• Spotify DSD 6.11 | The sweet spot - Insemination timing for peak profit · November 23, 2025 · 36 min
• DSD 6.11 | The sweet spot - Insemination timing for peak profit · November 17, 2025 · 36 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Dairy Science Digest podcast page.