{"id":33816,"date":"2025-02-18T09:59:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=33816"},"modified":"2025-12-16T14:16:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:16:08","slug":"empowering-maines-livestock-farms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/empowering-maines-livestock-farms\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Maine\u2019s Livestock Farms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Training the Next Generation and New Farmers in Sustainable Reproductive Practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sponsor:<\/strong> Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Team Members<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dr. Glenda Pereira Assistant Extension Professor, Dairy Specialist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Colt W. Knight Associate Extension Professor, State Livestock Specialist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Livestock owners have long depended on the use of artificial insemination (AI) for impregnation. One benefit of AI is that it allows farmers to improve the genetics of their livestock; a Maine farm producing grass fed beef, for example, can source semen from a grass fed New Zealand bull.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Genetic diversification via AI can help livestock gain weight faster and improve their disease resistance. AI can also improve on-farm safety because dangerous boars and bulls become obsolete. There\u2019s also a biosecurity benefit because farms no longer have to bring male animals \u2014 and potentially disease \u2014 onto the farm. These benefits may ultimately improve a farm\u2019s economic bottomline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Performing AI, however, is a skilled trade, requiring an understanding of reproductive physiology, handling of frozen semen and delivering that semen to female animals. In Maine, there are very few professional breeding services and most are not accepting new clients. Compounding this challenge is that there is only one yearly AI class held in Maine, and this class only teaches AI on cattle. There is no formal training for swine producers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help grow Maine\u2019s AI capacity, Knight and Pereira will purchase two AI simulators \u2014 one for cattle and one for swine. AI simulators are life-size models of the livestocks\u2019 hindquarters and reproductive systems providing learners with a realistic, hands-on opportunity to learn AI.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the one-year grant, Knight and Pereira will bring in outside experts to teach four free AI workshops, with a focus on reaching new and beginning Maine farmers. Two undergraduate students will be mentored in AI throughout the year, and they will help to document the project\u2019s outcomes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is for all participants to gain the necessary skills to complete AI resulting in increased productivity, efficiency, reproductive performance and sustainability which will increase profitability.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesse Caron, owner of Casa Cattle Company in Corinna, Maine and Bangor State Fair livestock superintendent said in her letter of support for the grant, \u201cI firmly believe that this initiative addresses critical needs within Maine\u2019s livestock farming sector specifically around improving reproductive success and increasing the use of artificial insemination.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Training the Next Generation and New Farmers in Sustainable Reproductive Practices Sponsor: Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions Team Members Livestock owners have long depended on the use of artificial insemination (AI) for impregnation. One benefit of AI is that it allows farmers to improve the genetics of their livestock; a Maine farm producing grass fed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33816","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"mitchellcenter","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/mitchellcenter\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33816"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35677,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33816\/revisions\/35677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}