Embryo Transfers Build a Super Herd

The central Kentucky farm of Bobby and Judy Lutz is truly a family business. The Lutzes’ three children help to care for and milk the Holstein herd, which is a family in its own right.

About three of every four cows they milk is a daughter or granddaughter of Mitzi or Alice, two registered Holsteins the Lutzes bought more than 10 years ago.

In just one decade the Lutzes have built a superior herd of about 200 purebred Holsteins, something that once took a farmer’s lifetime. Embryo transfers--implanting fertilized eggs from Mitzi or Alice into surrogates--has made it possible.

Bobby Lutz says a cow normally will have about four offspring in a lifetime. Mitzi and Alice each have produced several dozen. He says all of their female offspring, born to surrogate mothers, have become super milk cows.

Investment Paid Off

Embryo transfer, commonly called ET, began in the mid-1970s. Lutz says he and his wife invested $30,000 in start-up costs in 1980, when ETs were financially risky and the couple was struggling to pay off their 230-acre farm.

The investment paid off.

The Lutzes last year earned more than $50,000--about 25% of their farm income--from the sale of frozen embryos and live bulls from embryo transfers.

The family sells embryos for $800 to $1,500 per egg, depending upon pedigree.

“Foreigners prefer the embryos because the risk of importing a disease is less and it’s less expensive than sending a bull or a breeding female,” Lutz says.

Pregnancy rates of the surrogates range from about 65% to 80%, about the same or better than natural breeding, according to farmers and veterinarians.

The process used to be more costly because implants were done surgically. Now they’re generally done with a plunger-type device, and unregistered commercial animals are usually the surrogates. This allows the farmer to continue using the superior cow as an egg producer.

Some Eggs Frozen

Some eggs are frozen in liquid nitrogen so they can be used or sold later.

Fees for embryo transplants vary, but the costs generally are about what the Lutzes pay Cheryl and Larry Nelson, owners of Nelson Reproductive Services.

The Nelsons charge $200 to flush embryos from an egg-producing cow with a saline solution, about one week after the eggs are fertilized through artificial insemination. It costs the Lutzes $100 per cow for implants and $50 for each egg that is frozen for export.

Injections of hormones beforehand, to prompt an abundance of eggs, aren’t harmful to the cows and don’t present a health risk to people who drink their milk, according to George Hershey, a University of Kentucky dairy specialist.

The protein hormones aren’t like steroids and seem to break down in cows’ bodies, he says.

Lutz says the biggest drawback to ET is the record keeping. He says it takes hours of detailed paper work to track the bloodlines of his herd and embryos.

Embryo transfers may not be for every farmer.

Panayiotis Zavos, University of Kentucky reproductive physiologist, says farmers who don’t own a registered herd may not find the process cost-effective. He says those who are interested in the technology should consult an expert with a successful track record.

“Don’t let just anyone in to monkey with your cows,” Zavos says.