On a Friday morning this summer, undergraduate students gather in a barn at Freeman Center to palpate cows—the practice of reaching inside of a cow to determine if the animal is pregnant.
As part of a Reproductive Physiology of Farm Animals class, the students pull on long plastic lubricated gloves and position themselves behind the animals, which are confined to a chute. With varying levels of squeamishness, they insert their arms into the cows’ rectums to feel the uterus for a fetus and other indicators of pregnancy.
Students learn how to check cows for pregnancy.
“It really doesn’t gross me out,” says Iswary Martinez, a senior animal science major. “If it’s pregnant, it’ll build the placenta and make a little round shape. How my professor describes it is if you can feel a little circle and can bounce it like a little basketball, that’s how you know it’s pregnant.”
Martinez and her classmates are not only gaining valuable experience in an important part of animal care, they’re also contributing to the Freeman Center’s breeding program to create a more resilient cattle herd that produces high-quality beef.
The Freeman Center is in the process of growing its cow-calf herd of crossbred cattle from about 80 animals to about 200 animals with a focus on the Santa Gertrudis breed, says Brian Bruner, an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Agricultural Sciences.
The King Ranch of South Texas developed the Santa Gertrudis breed in the 1910s, crossing European and South Asian cattle to maximize their mothering ability, beef production, and resilience to drought, heat, and insects. Santa Gertrudis are known for their cherry red coats, large ears, and loose skin.
In 2023, Central Texas ranchers Kevin and Heather Blewett donated a Santa Gertrudis bull and $523,000—and they arranged animal and embryo donations from other Santa Gertrudis breeders—to start a purebred Santa Gertrudis herd at Freeman Center and establish the Blewett Agricultural Research Project.
Brian Bruner, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, directs the Blewett Agricultural Research Project.
The project, Bruner says, focuses on providing TXST students with hands-on agricultural education; researching and improving the genetics of Santa Gertrudis breed; and providing a model for Central Texas ranchers who face mounting challenges in their industry.
“We’re interested in getting a good understanding of how cattle producers can be more efficient in Central Texas,” Bruner says. “Throughout the year we face several periods of drought, and so the quality of the forage may be lacking. Cattle ranchers need a breed of cattle that can be efficient in that type of environment, and the Santa Gertrudis help with that because of their heat tolerance and their insect resistance.”
Bruner and his colleagues are increasing Santa Gertrudis genetics throughout the herd by using artificial insemination and embryo transfers with its crossbred cows, as well as by breeding crossbred cows with Santa Gertrudis bulls.
The Freeman Center is growing its herd with a focus on the Santa Getrudis breed.
The TXST researchers are also working with Santa Gertrudis Breeders International, an industry group, on a genetics project to improve beef quality, specifically the amount of beef per cow and its marbling. In the future, they also plan genetics research to further refine the breed’s resilience to extreme climate.
“Part of it is trying to be as sustainable as possible,” Bruner says. “Santa Gertrudis are able to be efficient in drought environments, and in that way, they can require less inputs and be less strain on the environment. In general, they not only serve the purposes of the cattle breeder, but they do so in one of the most environmentally friendly ways.”
Students like Martinez are playing an active role in the research projects in various animal science courses, from cattle reproduction to genetics, health, and nutrition. Martinez says the hands-on training she’s experienced from working with cattle has shaped her future plans—she intends to get a master’s degree in animal science and become a large-animal veterinarian.
“At first I wanted to be a small-animal vet, but after working with beef cattle, I really got interested into doing more of the large-animal side,” she says. “I’m really glad to be going to TXST because I don’t know that I’d be getting these opportunities somewhere else.”
