NORTHAMPTON — Covergirl, a 9-year-old cow, is expected to give birth this spring. The new calf, however, will be entirely, genetically unrelated to its birth mother, who will treat the newborn as if it was her own.
That’s because Covergirl was impregnated via an embryo transfer, a process in which the fertilized egg of one cattle is inserted into another to be carried to term.
Northampton’s Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School purchased four embryos, at $550 each, around a year ago to perform embryo transfers on its cattle, and teachers and students in the school’s agriculture program are excited to see how the project pays off.
It is a common practice in the world of livestock shows, where cattle are judged on a variety of physical characteristics, but a rare practice at high schools. This is Smith Vocational’s first foray into embryo transfers, and so far Covergirl is the only cow carrying an imported embryo.
“In general industry practice, usually you’re going to be looking at your show animals that are going to be doing this,” said Beth Wilson, an agriculture program instructor.
An embryo transfer gives farmers a chance to have calves with certain desired traits, even if the cattle in their own herd do not carry those traits.
According to Principal Joseph Bianca, the embryos were purchased from “a reputable farm in Nevada, to improve our herd’s genetic stock.”
Through personal connections — and even in catalogues — purchasers can locate embryos that may carry desired genes. On the other end, for example, a farmer whose herd is known to produce good-tasting, high-quality beef or milk can “flush” a fertilized egg out of a female, freeze it and sell it.
“It’s really about the genetics and quality,” Wilson said. “The result is hopefully what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a larger cow, sure. If you want a cow that’s going to make a lot more milk because it’s the dairy industry, then hopefully that’s your result.”
Covergirl is a beef cow herself, and students studying to be farmers and veterinarians at the technical high school expressed hope that the calf she’s carrying will be as good as its stock.
“She is a Hereford, which is actually the most popular beef cattle after Angus,” said Emily Johansen, a sophomore from Ware who hopes to become a veterinarian.
On Thursday, Covergirl was meandering around a large enclosure, and eager to prove her name. Johansen and another student coaxed Covergirl toward a fence for a photo opportunity.
“It can be a huge payoff,” Johansen said. “If it’s beef you can get amazing results. You can get the genetics you want, the real high-quality genetics.”
Ashley Holden, a Smith Vocational instructor currently studying in the Netherlands, initially made contact with the embryo seller and made the purchase. Seniors who graduated in 2017 were then involved with implanting the embryo in Covergirl.
Now, sophomores hope to be involved with the incoming calf’s birth.
“We are one of the only schools in Massachusetts who has hands-on agriculture training,” said Jacklyn Guthrie, of Washington, who was excited about the school trying the technology for the first time.
In an embryo transfer, the original “donor” cow — or heifer if it is a female that has not yet given birth — is often given hormones so it will produce more than one fertilized egg after artificial insemination. The eggs are examined under a microscope to ensure successful fertilization, and are either immediately implanted into another cow, or frozen to be sold.
Because the high-quality embryos can be used at a later date, and farmers can collect more than one embryo after each insemination. Some, like Johansen, think embryonic transfer will become more of a regular practice.
“I feel like embryonic transfers are getting more common throughout the years. I feel like its expensive right now because there’s not as many people who know how to do this,” Johansen said. “It will, of course, be used more in the show world right now because you want the best possible genetics, but as we do more research and more people learn how to carry out E.T. the price will go down.”
Elizabeth Allen, a sophomore from Easthampton, disagreed. The embryos often have been fertilized with the semen of an award-winning male, or the egg may have come from an award-winning female. Having grown up on a farm, she feels embryo transfers are too expensive to be done on a practical, day-to-day basis.
Allen also is confident in the time-tested artificial insemination method, a standard practice in the industry and at Smith Vocational.
“Personally, I think it’s going to be artificial insemination, because the embryo is much more expensive when you’re getting the embryo and it’s already alive. But with artificial insemination you just choose the semen you want from the bull you like,” Allen said.
Johansen, Allen and Wilson, their instructor, all spoke about the risk of embryo transfers: a high-quality father and mother does not necessarily mean a high-quality progeny.
“Embryo transfers are not as reliable as artificial insemination. Again, it’s why it’s a big cost factor, because it’s not always going to take,” Wilson said. “So I pulled up our records today because I didn’t really know how many took. So, I thought we had two that took, but according to our records it was one.”
She also said when it comes to genetics — whether in regards to embryo transfers or artificial intelligence — nothing is ever certain. Her students agreed, but Johansen was optimistic about the future of embryo transferring.
“Right now it’s around 60-40 percent chance and like a 40 percent chance it will take,” Johansen said. “So it’s almost 50-50. But as we do research and more people learn how I think it will be more certain.”
David McLellan can be reached at dmclellan@gazettenet.com.