| Southern Eagle Ranch’s challenge: When his longtime veterinarian partner stopped offering AI services, owner Mark Slusher needed a reproductive solution that was accessible, reliable, and cost-effective. |
| How Vytelle helped: Vytelle ADVANCE™ gives Mark better results, while also allowing him to strategically manage his costs and offer customers more genetic uniformity. With this strong foundation, Mark can make bigger investments into his IVF program. |
About Southern Eagle Ranch – Evington, VA:
Mark Slusher’s family began raising cattle shortly after World War II. Today, Southern Eagle Ranch operates the largest performance-minded Salers herd east of the Mississippi, with more than 115 females, each carrying at least three-quarters Salers genetics.
As a purebred seedstock operation, delivering consistent, high-quality genetics to commercial cattle producers is the ranch’s top priority.
The Problem
For years, Mark trusted a nearby veterinarian to perform conventional flushes on his donors. Unfortunately, the vet had to stop his services because of health issues. Mark searched for a new AI pro, but all were inconveniently located three or four hours away from the ranch.
As Mark thought about a transition, he also wanted more cost-efficiency. With conventional, Mark sometimes spent $2,500 or $3,000 per animal for egg collection — only to get no results. If Mark was going to find a suitable replacement for his long-time vet partner, he needed a solution he could count on, both for convenience and results.
The Solution
Mark first discovered Vytelle at Cattlemen’s Congress. At the time, Vytelle’s sites were concentrated out west. But when Vytelle arrived in Virginia many years ago, Mark became their first OPU customer in the state. Using Vytelle ADVANCE, Mark could leverage the most modern in vitro fertilization technology, stop using hormones on his herd, and improve reproductive efficiency.
Vytelle’s outcome-based pricing allows Mark to only pay for Grade 1 embryos produced. There’s also a discount if he pays invoices within 15 days. “Every little penny helps” with cost efficiency, Mark said, and it paid off for his ranch.
The Results
Thanks to the partnership with Vytelle, Southern Eagle Ranch:
Had so much success it forced them to rethink their budget: With conventional flushing, Mark “thought we hit the jackpot” if they got 8 or 9 embryos per animal. But with Vytelle, that number regularly doubled. Females in the herd that already had at least one calf now average 16 embryos with Vytelle ADVANCE, while new heifers average 6.
One heifer even yielded 28 Grade 1 frozen embryos: “That blew our budget right there,” Mark said. “We got so many embryos we weren’t financially prepared for the success. It’s a good problem. Now we’ve adjusted and are putting more money into our IVF line than in the past.”
Vytelle’s predictable pricing model helps Mark navigate his budget more strategically. He knows in advance what he’ll spend per animal — and trusts the process will yield embryos.
Could count on reliable results and provide more genetic uniformity to customers: Mark no longer has to worry about shelling out thousands of dollars for an animal, only for the process to be a “bust” with no Grade 1 embryos.
“With Vytelle, we’ve never gone home without results,” Mark said. “Every animal produces something.”
Vytelle’s IVF process also provides more consistency than conventional AI methods and helps Mark keep up with hot genetics: “I can increase the volume out of these cows and provide customers with uniform calf crops much better than I could before,” he said. “That uniformity helps me with marketing to customers.”
Could leverage better-quality semen: Before Vytelle, Mark spent between $30 and $40 per straw of semen. But it was a “wonderful surprise” to learn that with Vytelle, he could stretch a single straw further: sometimes up to four or five females. He once used two straws for six animals during a single session — and fertilized 65 embryos.
Mark is laser-focused on genetic acceleration. Now that he gets more results and higher ROI, he can splurge on pricier semen at around $75-$100/straw. This helps him make even faster genetic progress and strengthen critical Salers traits like maternal ability and carcass quality.
Build the business — while giving animals a better experience: No stressful injections, no complicated shot schedules, no hormones. Vytelle’s IVF process is better for Mark’s animals.
That ease transfers over to the business side too. With Vytelle, Mark can keep growing his ranch and enjoying strong ROI, while giving his animals the easiest experience possible. “IVF is a financial investment,” Mark said. “But as a purebred seedstock operator who’s got to supply quality, stable genetics to commercial cattle customers, that investment is worth it.”
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