What it really costs to AI cows on a large-scale ranch (and why we still do it)

As the 2025 AI season comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on another year of a decades-long process of getting cows artificially inseminated in order to have a successful calving season. 

For the past 30-plus years, we’ve tried every protocol out there, and for the fourth year in a row, we’ve done the 7 & 7 Synch protocol.

What exactly is the 7 & 7 Synch protocol?

The 7 & 7 Synch protocol is a timed process that allows us to prepare the cows for artificial insemination without relying on bulls. The goal is to get our cows into heat at the same time (we sync up their cycles) so they can get pregnant at the same time with artificial insemination.

I’m sure you’re wondering how we can get all the cows in heat at the same time (or at least at similar times), and, no, it’s not like the weird phenomenon where you and your girlfriends’ period sync up. Instead, we use a small hormone-releasing device called a CIDR. It’s a lot like an IUD that women use to avoid pregnancy, except we use it, paired with hormone shots in cows to reset and prepare their cycles for pregnancy.

Over the course of 17 days, the cows are given carefully timed treatments that get their bodies ready to release an egg. Once that happens, we AI them at just the right time, and hope that it all works. 

Why we decided to crunch the numbers of the protocol

Last year we took the time to really focus on the input costs of the 7 & 7 Synch protocol. We wanted to know, was it really worth it? 

This question especially came into focus because the protocol required one more step to the AI process than other methods – that step is running the cows through a working facility one extra time. But, after year one, it really felt like a no-brainer to keep at the 7 & 7 Synch protocol because we had a 20% increase in our AI conception rate compared to the previous protocol we had tried. As we always do on the ranch, though, we wanted to really figure out if this new protocol was worth the dollars it cost us.

So, in 2024, we tracked every cost associated with the protocol. That included keeping track of all the hours spent rounding up and working cattle – just to make sure it still made sense.

When I calculated out the costs, I was accounting for around 250 cows that were sorted into the AI group at calving time when paired out. That group consisted of primarily 3- and 4-year-old cows, as well as a select group of older cows all the way up to 15-years-old. These were the cows we relied on to tell us whether the protocol – and the price tag – was worth it.

What it takes to make this protocol happen

Starting on July 5, 2024, we began the protocol process with inserting CIDRS (the IUD for cows) and a shot of prostaglandin after sorting calves from their mommas. We opted to put the CIDRS in over the side of the alleyway because it’s far more efficient and faster than if we were to catch every single cow in the chute. That, and we also give all shots in the alleyway, which decreases time spent working cattle.

After the CIDRS were inserted, we gave the cows a shot of GNRH the following week, and then pulled the CIDRS the week after that, along with giving another prostaglandin shot. Finally, we followed up with actually AI’ing the cows (66 hours later) and the final shot of GNRH. 

Every second was accounted for – from the time we left the shop, to rounding up the cows in the pastures, to sorting cows and calves, to running everything through the alleyway, ending with getting the cows back into the pasture.

On AI day, we bring in a team that includes two extra pairs of hands to help with insemination, while our crew handles all the semen prep. Last year, we used semen from four main bulls and two others we only had a few straws left of and wanted to use up.

Each cow was matched with a bull based on her performance, pedigree, previous calves, and body type – decisions I made ahead of time to keep the day running smoothly.

The bottom line: what did it actually cost us?

So what does all this syncing, sorting, and scheduling actually cost?

For 250 cows, the total for semen, CIDRs, vaccines (two rounds of prostaglandin and two rounds of GnRH), and the contract labor team on AI day came to about $13,225.

On top of that, our ranch crew of four logged exactly 15 hours – time spent rounding up cattle, sorting them, running them through the alleyway four times, and getting them back out to pasture. We estimated the value of that labor at $1,800.

That brings the total cost of the 7 & 7 Synch protocol to $15,025.

Now, to be fair, there were a few things we didn’t include in that total. For example, we didn’t account for the time it took to plan each individual mating (deciding which cow gets bred to which bull) or the quick trip to retrieve the semen tank from storage. Still, this gives us a solid look at what it truly takes – in both time and dollars – to run a timed AI program at scale.

Comparing the cost of AI versus buying bulls

To put things into perspective, if conception rates are 50% for the cow herd (don’t get us wrong, we’re always hoping for more, but we need to be realistic), that would mean we would need to have bulls to breed the 125 cows that took if we didn’t AI. While we do raise our own bulls, the cost to buy the bulls needed to improve our genetics is a sizable one.  When figuring the original economics on this, we were using the 50% conception rate, but this calving season the conception rate was over 65% which improved the economics even more.  

After all, we would need to purchase seven bulls because we like to have one bull for every 15-20 cows. 

We’re comfortable spending about $8,500 for a bull, but, at seven bulls, that adds up, and quickly. That’s also without accounting for the cost to keep the bulls fed, healthy, and managed year-round. We’re looking at a cost of about $62,300 to run these bulls for a year.

In contrast, the total cost of running the 7 & 7 Synch protocol was just over $15,000. That’s less than a quarter of the cost to run bulls for a year.

Beyond the dollars, AI gives us access to higher-quality genetics than we could realistically afford if we were buying bulls. It also tightens up our calving window, improves consistency with our calves, and can lead to more cows calving earlier – all of which add value to our operation long after AI day is done.

If you’ve ever been on the fence about AI, maybe it’s time to run the numbers.  

After AI’ing, we run cleanup bulls with the herd to catch any of those cows that did not ‘stick’ with AI’ing. The bulls will be in for around 43 days before they will get a long rest the remainder of the year, hopefully after doing their job.