Prime_Time_Fall_2019

AAA and EBS A Quality Partnership

BY HANNAH GILL, FREELANCE WRITER

T wenty-five years ago, Elgin Breeding Service (EBS) was approached by indi- viduals who needed a place for the origi- nal imported Akaushi bulls to be held in quarantine, as they had just entered the United States, recalls Hillary Kvamme, vice president and chief operating officer at EBS. “We didn’t really know them very well and that wasn’t something that we normally did, but we said, ‘Okay, why not,’ and it kind of flour- ished into this relationship that we have today,” Kvamme says of the Cardwell family business and the American Akaushi Association (AAA). EBS was founded by Kvamme’s grandfather, W.H. Cardwell, DVM, 40 years prior to the Akaushi breed making an appearance in the United States. Today, family remains involved in running the business, continuing the com- mitment to service and quality that Cardwell began. In 2018, EBS was inducted into the AAA hall of fame due to their impact on the breed in the United States from the very beginning when EBS held and then collected the original bulls: Shig, Tam, Hikari, Big Al and 518. “The gist of our business over the years has stayed the same because the quality control of our program has stayed the same,” Kvamme says. “When my grandfather started this, he was using fresh semen, then we moved into the

glass ampules and now we’re into the half-cc straws with all of the information printed on it within a matter of seconds – the straws being filled within a matter of seconds and sealed right away.” In 2014, EBS added a building that elimi- nates the challenge of collecting semen during Texas summers. The PolarPen is capable of maintaining 76 degrees with limited humidity, even on 100-degree days. The units are chemi- cal free, use less electricity than traditional air conditioners and have the capability of being monitored 24/7. This technology means that EBS can ensure the best possible semen quality without concerns of heat stress on the semen or the health and safety of the bull. “Although technology has changed quite a bit, we’ve always remained the same with quality being our No. 1 priority and goal through the years,” Kvamme says. Quality has always come easily from Akaushi bulls, and EBS has noted that Akaushi outper- forms other breeds when it comes to producing quality semen. This is a trend that has contin- ued ever since the first bulls were collected, according to Brad Cardwell, EBS president. “We have not seen one single bull fail to pro- duce excellent frozen semen,” Cardwell says. “This level of performance is unprecedented in our laboratories.” Although EBS collects semen

from most breeds, Kvamme says that they have seen an increase in the number of Akaushi over the years as they gain popularity both domestically and internationally. “It started off with just Heart- Brand ® , since they started the breed here in the United States, but now that there are many other breeders of Akaushi, we have several Akaushi clients that we work with,” she says. The largest international shipment EBS ever sent was in collaboration with HeartBrand Beef, bound for Brazil.

Akaushi Prime Time • Fall 2019

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