AI versus natural breeding          
Basic herd data     Benefits per year     Costs per year  
Herd size (lactating goats)   Goats replacing bucks    
A measure of the fertility: how many inseminations are needed to obtain a pregnancy? When you need 1,5 inseminations, it means you have a conception rate of 67% (1 / 1.5 = 67%) Inseminations per pregnancy
Yield level, liter/goat/year   Fewer bucks on the farm  
Per pregnancy the number of females that is born alive and lives to be a replacement goat. Live-born females per pregnancy
Replacement rate %  
In case getting rid of the bucks means that you have stable capacity to milk more goats, you can enter the number of goats here. More goats on the farm
 
Necessary to make the required number of replacements every year
Inseminations necesarry
This calculator looks at either creating the replacements with a buck or by AI. It's these costs and benefits of this comparison that is focussed on. Replacements every year #
 
The milk produced every year by the extra goats More milk produced on farm, liter/year
 
Price of semen straw and the costs of breeding Price of semen + breeding
This is the number of bucks that you are going to get rid of, when switching to AI Bucks to breed replacements #
                  
     
The value of the milk produced by the extra goats that are now on the farm Milk revenues
   
Profit     
The feeding costs will decrease when getting rid of the bucks, but the feeding costs will increase when milking more goats.
Feeding costs
     
Benefits - Costs  
The extra goats will also generate revenues from the kids that are born from these goats Livestock sales 
     
     
The costs of buying (or raising) a buck. The costs are not just the price of the buck, but depends also on the number of years the buck is used and the cull value. See the tab "Assumptions" Costs of buying/raising bucks
     
      Total benefit       
               
      Bucks causing stress in the herd        
     
When removing bucks from the herd, there is less stress and unrest among the goats, which as associated with a higher yield. Yield increase when getting rid of the bucks %
     
      More milk produced on farm, liter/ year      
      Benefit from more milk revenues      
               
    Genetic progress        
      Higher yield level of the replacements %      
      Higher yield of the replacements, liter/goat/year      
      Benefit from more milk revenues      
               
             
               
             
GIC is not responsible for how this calculator is used. Herd specific assumptions should be used. Disclaimer
               
Artificial Insemination versus natural breeding: assumptions  
   
Milk, feed and livestock  
Milk price, per liter
Feeding costs goats, per liter 
Feeding costs bucks, per day
Livestock sales, per goat per year
   
Assumptions to calculate the annual costs of a buck
Price of a buck
In case the productive life of a buck is 2 years, the price of the buck is divided over 2 years. In other words, the buck is written off over 2 years. Productive life of a buck
Culling value of a buck
This parameter is also important to calculate the costs of using bucks. With a mortality rate of 10%, it means you have to buy 11 bucks to get 10 in production. Mortality rate bucks %
 
MT