Trouble getting herd bred

[ATM OH]

Having some problems getting our herd bred this Spring and Summer.  We breed the same amount of cows artificially every year, usually around 30 head.  We almost always end up with the same conception rates from year to year, around 75-80 percent.  We started just slightly earlier this year but not necessarily enough to cause any problems.  The past few weeks we have watched our herd bull breed around half of the herd and now most have cycled through.  It is a sickening feeling when you see him breed a cow that you had high hopes for.  Anyone else experience difficulties this year or ever had a year when it seems that something must be out of the norm?  Thanks, any encouraging tips or stories will help.

 

[OH Breeder]

2 Summers ago we had lots of difficulty. I looked at our mineral program. We added mineral and changed up feed and supplements. This year we did the ABS protocols. 7 day CIDR Shot prior shot pulling and shot breeding. My herd bull I have is sneaky and gets the job done without alot of commotion. BUT...it looks like we did 12 synch's and had 1 come back in. We let 4 others clean up to bull intentionally. I would re-evaluate your synch program if you used one and herd health. I started in May as not to get into the hot weather. Just a thought. Its very frustrating if you used any expensive semen for the planned matings.

 

[Top Knot]

Could be a semen quality issue. Did you buy and use any new semen this year that might have been handled improperly? I've had differences bull by bull. Most 80% plus conception rates. Every once in a while I use a bull where I don't even get 50% settled. That semen generally came out of a breeders tank, often half a rack. I don't do that any more. I've seen people handle semen pulling canes way out of the tank to check numbers, pulling straws to read them, wiping off the frost and sticking it back in the tank. Every time those straws warm up, you're losing sperm.