BROOKINGS, S.D. - Twenty-one South Dakota 4-H youth involved in the beef project area traveled to Milbank to participate in the SDSU Extension Youth AI Day Camp held March 20. During the camp, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialists Olivia Amundson and Robin Salverson guided youth through the process of artificial insemination (AI) in beef cattle.
"Understanding how the female and male beef reproductive tracts work is critical to a successful AI program," said Audra Scheel, SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Program Advisor for Sanborn, Aurora and Jerauld/Buffalo counties, and a key organizer for this year's event. "The youth asked great questions, and this year marked our fifth clinic of its kind. It's our goal to move this day camp to other locations in the future so we can extend the opportunity to youth across South Dakota. We want to see youth excited to go home and assist with AI in their family cattle operations."
Once they learned the basics, youth received hands-on practice in pulling, thawing and loading semen. Salverson and Scheel led this station.
"This is a critical part of AI; you can have the best technician in the world inside the cow, but if the semen isn't handled correctly outside the cow, your conception rates will show it," Salverson explained to youth during the demonstration.
Youth were also able to work with real, female beef cow reproductive tracts, led by Amundson and Kiernan Brandt, SDSU Cow/Calf Field Specialist. Taylor Grussing, Special Projects Manager at Vytelle, took youth through the process of embryo collection. These breakout sessions allowed youth to see what they are working with inside a cow.
Upon the conclusion of these break-out sessions, youth were able to visit a local dairy farm, Mill Valley Dairy. Each participant was able to palpate a cow and take a tour of the facility.
"The hands-on, real-life portion of this day really tied it all together for me," said Kate Luken of Watertown.
"At camp, we provided youth with knowledge and hands-on techniques of AI, but then followed that up with how to AI a real cow. This allows youth to see how successful AI is in a real-life scenario, and it really brings the day full-circle for the kids," said Amundson.
More about South Dakota 4-H
SDSU Extension's 4-H Youth Development Program is a partnership of federal (USDA), state (land grant university), and county resources through youth outreach activities of SDSU Extension. Youth learn and experience leadership, health and wellness, science and ag-vocacy through a network of professional staff and volunteers reaching more than 9,000 enrolled members with yearly programming efforts to an additional 35,000 youth participants.
To learn more, contact your local SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Program Advisor. A complete listing can be found here.
