AI School
The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Animal and Dairy Sciences Department host two Cattle Artificial Insemination (AI) Schools each year. The AI Schools are held in March and October/November annually.
Fall 2024 Cattle Artificial Insemination School
Thursday through Saturday November 7-9, 2024
This course is limited to the first 35 paid participants once it is filled you will automatically be placed onto a waiting list. The system will not allow you to pay and regsiter if the course is full.
Schedule
Thursday (Location: Mississippi Horse Park)
6:00 – 6:15 p.m. Introductions/ Opening Comments
6:15 – 6:45 p.m. Economics of Artificial Insemination
6:45 – 7:10 p.m. Reproductive Anatomy
7:10 – 8:15 p.m. Estrous Cycle, Estrus Synchronization, and Sexed Semen
8:15 – 8:30 p.m. Equipment for Artificial Insemination
8:30 – 8:45 p.m. Break
8:45 – 10:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions (Groups will rotate among stations)
Estrus Synchronization Planning Software and Breeding Box
Artificial Insemination Equipment and Semen Handling Demonstration
Work with Bovine Reproductive Tracts
Friday
(Location: Mississippi Horse Park)
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Sire Selection
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Heat Detection and Heat Detection Aids
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Break
9:45 – 10:30 a.m. Nutritional Programs for A.I. Success
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Reproductive Herd Health and Biosecurity
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. Question and Answer Session
11:30 a.m. Lunch (provided)
12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Break and Travel to Dairy and Beef Units (Groups will alternate locations)
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Corral Work (semen handling & A.I. technique practice) (Beef/Dairy Unit)
Saturday
8:00 – 11:30 a.m. Corral Work (semen handling & A.I. technique practice) (Beef/Dairy Unit)
11:30 a.m. – Noon Course Wrap-Up
Location
Mississippi Horse Park
Bearden Dairy Research Unit-Heifer Unit
Mississippi State University Beef Unit
Area hotels
Map to MSU ADS Building
Map to Bearden Dairy Research Unit-Heifer Unit
Map to MSU Beef Unit
Registration Information
The registration fee for the MSU Artificial Insemination School is $450 per person. School attendance is limited to the first 35 registrations.
Fall 2024 Registration Link: https://reg.extension.msstate.edu/reg/event_page.aspx?ek=0081-0004-ecfd1327226441708a42661e92925b1a
Note: You will need to set up an account if this is your first time regsitering for a MSU Extension event.
Note: Registration fees are non-refundable if cancelled less than 3 weeks prior to the start of the school.
4-H Parental Release and Code of Conduct Agreement
Bull Semen Storage and Handling YouTube Video
Visit the Mississippi State University Extension Service Beef Cattle YouTube channel to view this cattle artificial insemination-related video. A variety of other brief educational videos are also posted on beef cattle production topics on the MSUBeefCattle YouTube channel.
Publications
News
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Beef cattle prices are the best they have been in nearly a decade for Mississippi’s producers, but they face some tough management challenges to ensure their operations are profitable.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Small ruminants are a popular choice for people like J.T. Crownover who want to get into the livestock business but do not want to raise cattle. Crownover attended the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center’s Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 20. The forum, where agricultural producers can discuss their needs with MSU administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents, was the catalyst for the university’s active small ruminant program.
Mississippi cattle operations must constantly improve efficiency to remain profitable, as rising production costs are decreasing the benefit of high market prices. Brandi Karisch, beef specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said beef production is a significant component of the state’s agricultural economy, with a total estimated value of $318 million in 2022.
Success Stories
In late February, Mississippi State University hosted the 2024 National Floriculture Forum, an annual conference held at different locations around the country.
Cruising into Madison County, you see a cultivated urban landscape full of brick edifices and manicured lawns spring up around you. Your cell phone announces your turnoff, and you comply, turning onto an older road that soon turns to gravel.
Gaddis & McLaurin might sound more like the name of a law firm than a general store, but the name is synonymous with all manner of dry goods in the Hinds County community of Bolton and has been since the 1870s.