Madison County is currently the third largest beef cow/calf producing county in the state of KY with approximately 25,500. head. It is well known that proper management of reproduction in cattle contributes to increased productivity and profitability on the farm. Since early 2015 the UK Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (IRM) team and Madison County ANR agent have worked with a local Madison County beef producer to increase reproductive efficiency in their herd.

UK Extension Beef Specialists and the Madison County ANR agent have made numerous visits to the farm giving suggestions for improvement and providing assistance. Changes made include: converting to controlled spring and fall calving seasons by utilizing estrus synchronization, timed breeding, ration balancing and hay testing for an improved overall nutrition program, adjusting the vaccination and mineral feeding program, culling of low performance cows, applying fertilizer to pastures for increased grazing days, using artificial insemination to incorporate improved genetics into the herd, and retaining high quality crossbred heifers as replacements. More recently, the farm owners have started producing and selling freezer beef and plan to sell 8 head this year.

From 2015 to 2021 many aspects of herd performance have improved including: a 16.5 % increase in the number of cows that conceived, 20% increase in AI heifer conception, a 159 pound average increase in calf weaning weight, a 124 pound average increase in replacement heifer weight at first breeding and a 14,893 pound increase in total pounds of calf sold. Using the current average market value for a 550 lb steer/heifer, since 2015 this farm increased income by approximately $21,384 by adopting the practices recommended in the UK Beef IRM project.