We live in a changing world. Many of the things we now take for granted did not exist one-hundred years ago. The same can be said of production agriculture, where things like AI, estrus synchronization and embryo transfer have gone from scientific curiosities to mainstays of farm and ranch operations. Along the way there are always those forward thinking, trailblazers who take the risk and show the rest of us the benefits of incorporating new technologies into everyday use.

The authors would like to dedicate this book to one such operation, the RA Brown Ranch and its Patriarch and Matriarch, Rob and Peggy Brown. Not only has their forward thinking changed an industry, but their willingness to share has allowed educational opportunities to thousands of students through the years. Their forward thinking has been instilled in the family line and is well represented in the current ranch management team of Donnell and Kelli Brown and in their sons, who are the forward thinkers of the present and future.

Thanks to you all for your leadership and thank you for the support you have provided the authors’ students and research through the years.