108. Assessing the Impact of Reproduction Management Schools on Participant Perceived Knowledge Gains: A Multi-county Evaluation

Abstract The adoption of reproductive technologies in beef cattle systems can influence long-term operational success. Indeed, increased reproductive efficiency is key to optimizing natural resources and strengthening the economic sustainability of the U.S. cattle industry. Therefore, our objective was to train cattle producers, farm employees, and livestock extension agents on reproductive management strategies. Fifty-eight participants from 17 counties were trained between May 2024 and June 2025 across North Carolina. The training focused on breeding management, estrous synchronization and artificial insemination, mating selection, and pregnancy diagnosis methods. The training was composed of lectures and hands-on, totaling 8 hours per school, capped at 10 participants each. After the school, participants answered a questionnaire to rate their perceived pre- and post-training knowledge. The questionnaire applied a 1 to 5 Likert scale where 5 was the greatest improvement/rate and 1 was the lowest. The fixed effects of topic, time (pre- and post-training), and their interaction, and the random effect of participant were analyzed by ANOVA. The participants reported improvements in their understanding of cattle reproductive management, citing the content as better than expected and the presenter's strong style. Each participant had a different rate of knowledge gain per topic (topic × time, P = 0.0001). Interestingly, among all topics, participants presented the greatest improvement in the hands-on tail venipuncture to conduct a blood-based pregnancy test (odds ratio = 183.17, P < 0.0001), and the lowest change was in selection and mating decisions (OR = 17.85, P < 0.0001). In addition, selection and mating decisions had the lowest probability (0.37) for a decreased score on the pre-training assessment (P < 0.0001), meaning this was the topic with the greatest previous knowledge. However, determining pregnancy through palpation had the highest probability of a lower answer before the workshop (0.87; P < 0.0001), meaning the participants did not have good prior knowledge in this topic. After the workshop, the probability for a decreased score in determining pregnancy by blood test was 0.0134 (P < 0.001), highlighting the knowledge acquisition by the respondents. Lastly, the majority of the participants (53%) expected the economic benefit of applying the knowledge gained to be $1,000 - $10,000. These findings suggest that reproductive management schools are an effective extension tool for translating complex reproductive physiology into practical applications for beef producers. The combination of research-based content and applied demonstrations increased confidence and competence in reproductive management practices.