Our service area includes up to 60 miles of Waco, TX; including cities such as Gholson, TX; West, TX; Whitney, TX; Hillsboro, TX; Valley Mills, TX; Clifton, TX; McGregor, TX; Riesel, TX; Bruceville, TX; & Hallsburg, TX.
We prefer to serve clients within a 30-minute radius of our farm so we can make ourselves available when your cow is in standing heat.
Cattle AI Services & Costs
These service plans do not include the cost of semen straws, associated shipping costs for straws, and mileage over 15 miles from our farm. Please see our FAQ below for more details.
Basic Breeding Plan
Elevate your herd's genetics with breeding and genetic consultation and AI service for two cows, plus pregnancy confirmation.
Services Include:
- Breeding and genetics consultation
- AI service for two cows
- Blood pregnancy testing post-breeding
- Receipt and handling of your chosen semen and storage until we facilitate your AI services
- Three farm calls—one to sync heat, one to facilitate the AI, and one to draw blood for pregnancy confirmation
Supplies Included:
- Natural hormones to sync heat
- Needles, syringes, gloves, lubricant, anti-septic, and other AI-related supplies, not including semen
- Lab fees and shipping costs for laboratory processing
Price
$300 for two cows
+ Semen and related shipping costs
+ Mileage ($2 per mile one-way over 15 miles)
Add-On's
$100 per additional cow
Reproductive Health Plan
Preventative care is key for reproductive health. This plan includes annual health testing alongside our breeding consult, AI service, and pregnancy confirmation. Plus, semen storage in case you want to buy in bulk.
Services Included:
- Breeding and genetics consultation
- Annual AI service for two cows
- Blood pregnancy testing post-breeding
- Palpation pregnancy confirmation mid-gestation
- Annual health testing for Johnes & BVD
- Semen storage (up to 15 straws)
- Four farm calls—one to sync heat, one to facilitate the AI, one to draw blood for pregnancy confirmation, and one for pregnancy confirmation via palpation mid to late gestation.
Supplies Included:
- Natural hormones to sync heat
- Needles, syringes, gloves, lubricant, anti-septic, and other AI-related supplies, not including semen
- Lab fees and shipping costs for health testing and pregnancy confirmation
- Nitrogen for semen storage in our owned tanks housed at our farm
Price
$400 for two cows
+ Semen and related shipping costs
+ Mileage ($2 per mile one-way over 15 miles)
Add-On's
$150 per additional cow
Comprehensive Care Plan
Our most thorough plan includes AI breeding services, annual health testing, pregnancy confirmation, and preventative care, including vaccinations, immunity boosts, and parasite treatments to maintain your herd's peak reproductive health year-round. You can even add your calves to this plan for preventative care!
Services Included:
- Breeding and genetics consultation
- Annual AI service for two cows
- Blood pregnancy testing post-breeding
- Palpation pregnancy confirmation mid-gestation
- Annual health testing for Johnes & BVD
- Semen storage (up to 15 straws)
- Preventative care such as vaccinations, parasite treatments, and immunity boosts. Available for your calves, too!
- Six to seven farm calls—one to sync heat, one to facilitate the AI, one to draw blood for pregnancy confirmation, one for pregnancy confirmation via palpation mid to late gestation, and two to three throughout the year to administer preventative care.
Supplies Included:
- Natural hormones to sync heat
- Needles, syringes, gloves, lubricant, anti-septic, and other AI-related supplies, not including semen
- Lab fees and shipping costs for health testing and pregnancy confirmation
- Treatments, medications, and vaccinations [provided under the guidance of a licensed veterinarian]
- Nitrogen for semen storage in our owned tanks housed at our farm
Price
$650 for an annual plan for two cows
+ Semen and related shipping costs
+ Mileage ($2 per mile one-way over 15 miles)
Add-On's
$250 per additional mature cow
$50 per calf for preventative care
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are you located so we can calculate mileage?
Please click here to calculate your distance from our address by entering your exact address in the ending address field.
Our starting address for farm calls is 4256 N Rock Creek Loop, Waco, TX 76708
How much do semen straws cost?
Most semen straws for standard breeds are $25 to $50 each. Micros, minis, and popular breeds like Highlands can range from $50 to $300 each. Shipping is usually around $100 to $150. We offer semen storage if you're looking to buy in bulk and have them stored for you. We have some semen in stock, drastically decreasing our clients' costs as shipping costs are now shared and split among many.
We recommend providers and farms depending on the breed and offspring desires you're looking for: some local, some nationwide.
Why AI over a live bull?
Bulls Are a Nightmare
There is no other way to say it. Bulls are a pain in the bum. They escape. They destroy. They growl. They are naughty. Sure, they're cute sometimes, but at what cost?!
Replacing Bulls is a Pain
If you're maintaining stock, bulls have a fairly short lifecycle in your herd. It's a lot of work to shop and purchase the perfect bull or create the perfect pairings to hope to raise the perfect bull. It never seems to work in our favor.
Good Bulls Are Expensive
You can buy semen from bulls that have a market value in the tens of thousands or even more. To purchase an equivalent bull, you'd need to have the operation required for that investment to make sense. Most of us don't have that.
Calf Gender Reveals are Stressful
What if you could put the odds in your favor when it comes to the sex of your calf? We're always hoping for one gender over the other, with sexed semen there are no more suspenseful in-pasture gender reveals that bum you out. You already know.
In Summary, AI Usually Wins
Between the extra feed and hassle of maintaining the bull and the overall investment to purchase and replace, AI seems like the clear winner.
What is the cost to AI?
There are four parts to the cost of AI services.
- Ranch call or service fee
- Semen straws
- Syncing supplies
- Mileage to your property
Service Fee or Ranch Call
Our service fee is $250 and includes insemination services for up to two cows. This provides us with a full hour of service time at your property. The cost to AI a herd varies based on the infrastructure needed to shift around cattle and the time required to provide services.
For example, if you have secure stanchions for dairy cattle, we can quickly move down the row and service many cows. However, if we have to wait for cattle to be shifted in and out of one chute or stanchion, the process will take longer, and therefore, require more of our billable time.
Semen Straws
Semen straws can range from $20 to $300+ per straw. This varies drastically on the bull semen you choose. Specific breeds, sizes, colors, etc., all have different prices. We can help you find the right semen for your herd. You can either cover the process of ordering the semen and having it shipped to us, or we can order and extend the cost to you on your AI invoice.
Semen straws must be shipped to our property via dry ice and be immediately stored, as they must stay frozen. We're happy to store extra semen straws for you for a small annual storage fee. We prefer return relationships, so we ensure we are very competitive on storage for our clients. Shipping can be $100 to $150.
Syncing Supplies
Unless you watch your cows daily and know exactly what behavior to watch for, it makes more sense to sync your cow. Syncing your cow means initiating the heat cycle to ensure we do not miss the perfect opportunity to AI your cow. This improves our success rates by ensuring the insemination is appropriately timed. Syncing supplies cost around $20-$30 per cow. We extend our direct cost to our clients; there is no markup.
We understand that some clients may not want to sync their cows using natural hormones. If this is you, we will work with you to understand precisely when your cow is in heat and how to recognize it. From there, we can estimate the perfect time to come out and AI your cows. Since we're estimating based on symptoms, sometimes we need to AI more than once for it to take. It's a timing game with cows, and not syncing heat does make that game more challenging.
Mileage
We charge a flat rate of $2 per mile, one-way, after 15 miles. Local clients are preferred! We prefer to serve clients within a 30-minute radius of our farm, so we can make ourselves available when your cow is in standing heat.
Our service area is 60 miles or less from 4256 N Rock Creek Loop, Waco, TX 76708.
Please click here to calculate your distance from our address by entering your exact address in the ending address field.
Invoice Example
For two cows, your invoice could look something like this if we ordered the semen straws and did a post-AI pregnancy check:
Cost of Goods: Semen Straws $160
- Semen Straws, $30 per straw x 2
- Shipping: $100
Visit 1: Initiate Sync $90
- Service fee, Initiate Sync $50
- Syncing supplies, $30
- Mileage, 20 miles away, $10
Visit 2 (7-10 days later): AI Cows $210
- Service fee, AI $200
- Mileage, 20 miles away, $10
Visit 3: Post-AI Pregnancy Check (Optional) $60
- Service fee, Blood Draw or Palpation $50
- Mileage, 20 miles away, $10
Total: $360 to Homestead Herds, $160 to Semen Straw Provider
This invoice could represent two confirmed pregnant cows from high-quality, meticulously selected bull semen without the hassle of a bull.
Your investment per calf is ~$305 (in this scenario). Depending on your pairings, weaned calves from in-demand breeds are going for $2k & up. You can also plan a profitable herd by selecting in-demand bulls and selling calves you don't intend to keep. Or breeding for quality in calves you do intend to keep. In some cases, you can even get sexed semen—either male or female—to align with your ideal herd plan.