Using An Ultrasound Machine To Diagnose Pregnancy In Angus Cattle

Kansas rancher Barb Downey does things a bit differently on her Angus operation.  One of the most notable difference for this rancher, who runs marathons in her spare time, was the purchase of an ultrasound machine.

“And not in the way that most Angus producers are use to using it, we’re using it for pregnancy diagnosis and we find we can sort our AI sires from our cleanup breed ones and use that information to make marketing decisions.”

Downey said the ultrasound machine allows them to detect open cows quicker, creating a range of opportunities to increase profitability.

“More importantly, we feel it has offered us the chance to identify open females in our herd, at an earlier time when those females are A.) in a better body condition score so they have more pounds available to sell and B.) at a time of year earlier in the year when the cattle markets are higher.”

She noted having such information at hand has allowed her to already pay for the ultrasound machine.

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