Headquarters in Sioux Center, IA 1

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1 Nicholas Lemmel Cornfields, soybeans, and cows, I had finally arrived at Trans Ova Genetics Headquarters in Sioux Center, Iowa. I pulled into the drive of the intern house located on the corner of the property at 5:45 PM and called my boss to tell him I had arrived. At 6:05 I was traveling to Belle Fourche, SD in our white Trans Ova Genetics suburban to begin a weeklong road trip to complete the first leg of farm calls. It was mid August and the peak of breeding season for the beef industry. I was excited and ready to learn as much as I could while interning with Trans Ova genetics. Dr. David Faber founded Trans Ova Genetics in 1980, as an on- farm embryo transfer service, which was an extension of a large animal veterinary practice. Today Trans Ova Genetics provides industry- leading reproductive technologies and expertise to cattle breeders through the United States and internationally. Reproductive technologies such as embryo transfer, in- vitro fertilization, sexed- semen, genetic preservation and cloning are all services offered to producers. As a technical services intern I was able to assist veterinarians in performing reproductive procedures. Many of my duties involved set up and tear down of required equipment, regulating the flow and order of recipient and donor cows through the chute, and administration of the epidural block prior to procedures requiring it. I was trained on the proper protocols and techniques in freezing and thawing embryos as well as organizing and synchronizing recipient and donor cows. The internship was a one of a kind experience and I was able to travel most of the Midwest and get paid! The internship was exclusively on the road for the first half on the summer during peak breading season. We would spend five to six days on the road and return home to headquarters for the weekend. I was lucky to spend time in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska. While on the road I was able to visit many of the worlds top producers and take private tours of their operations. I was lucky enough to stop in at Shaff Angus Valley, Wulf Limousin, and Reimann Ranches just to name a few. Another highlight was being able to spend a considerable amount of time at Yackley Ranches one of Trans Ova s Satellite donor facilities. Once peak- breeding season started to wind down I spent much more time at headquarters working on the in- house donors and haul- in cows. It was during these hours that I was able to really get a grasp on embryo aspirations for IVF procedures. Once the client has designated that they would like the donor to complete an IVF cycle we begin to synchronize the donor with various hormones and drugs in order to super ovulate her. Cattle normally only ovulate once per 21 day cycle. With the use of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) we were able to create many follicles without suppressing others. Once the donor was at the appropriate stage in the protocol we would collect the oocytes from the ovaries by ultrasound guided follicular aspiration. The aspiration needle and ultrasound would be inserted vaginally and upon rectal palpation we would manipulate the ovary to the vaginal wall. Once we had a clear ultrasound picture of the ovarian follicles the needle was inserted to the follicle trans- vaginally and the oocyte aspirated into a collection filter. The collected oocytes are then rinsed and given stages and grades in our lab.

2 The owner has the option to use sexed semen, conventional semen or our reverse sorted semen (conventional frozen semen that is thawed then sexed). The oocytes are fertilized and allowed to mature for seven days in an incubator before they are transferred into a recipient cow or frozen for later use. The Trans Ova team was amazing to work with and made me feel more than at home during my internship. They would go out of their way to make further my education in advanced reproductive technologies. One of my favorite parts of the internship was being able to practice all of the procedures Trans Ova has to offer on cull cows. I enjoyed every minute of the internship and continue a strong relationship with the company to this day. Headquarters in Sioux Center, IA 1

3 Ultrasound Image of super ovulated ovary 1 Aspiration Room 1

4 Main Transfer Barn 1 Semen Sorter 1

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