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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
The adoption of new reproductive technologies is likely to have far reaching consequences on commercial dairy and beef herds. Within a dairy herd, milk production is influenced by the animal's genotype and its environment and their interaction. Whilst environmental factors may be manipulated in many ways, the animal's genotype is determined solely by it's parents genetic make up; therefore, animal reproduction plays a vital role in determining the genetic progress that can be made within an enterprise. Reproduction is also important within a beef enterprise as the production of a large breed calf can increase the output and thus achieve a higher production efficiency. Any reproductive technology that offers a faster rate of genetic improvement and/or an increase in production would be considered desirable if any increased costs of using that technology are compensated by the economic benefits. In order to appraise such technologies it is necessary to estimate their implications at an enterprise level in terms of production levels, efficiency and economic benefits.