About MJA

About MJA Cattle Scan

Thank you for visiting the website of MJA Cattle Scan, an ultrasound pregnancy scanning service for beef and dairy farmers run by Mark Adams.

My interest and experience in cattle reproduction and husbandry management began early growing up in rural NSW. After leaving school I was employed by Australian Agricultural Company (AA Co.) in the Northern Territory during the BTEC (Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign) program years.

In 1987 I completed tertiary studies in Agricultural Science at Wagga Ag College. In 1988 I travelled to Montana, USA , to take on a 9 month traineeship on a large cattle ranch. It was here I gained my first hands-on training in Artificial Insemination (AI), manual pregnancy testing, and intensive cattle husbandry management.

After returning to Australia I worked on a Central West Queensland cattle property, before taking on a research and extension role with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPIF) in the Northern Territory, based in Tennant Creek.

The Tennant Creek region covered an area of 240,000²km running 400,000-600,000 head of British breed, Santa, Brahman and Composite bred cattle. A major component of my role as Beef Cattle Production Officer, revolved around improving breeder herd efficiency. All research and extension activities were implemented on commercial herds run on both private and corporately owned cattle stations. My hands-on experience was complemented by post graduate studies in reproduction and nutrition at Charles Sturt University, Wagga.

In 2001, I established a rural contracting business, MJA Rural Services, providing animal husbandry services, including manual pregnancy testing to central NSW producers.

Demand for earlier pregnancy diagnosis rose as successive dry seasons in the 1990’s forced producers to de-stock. Empty and late calving females were the obvious targets for early de-stocking decisions.

In 2009 after researching information on the benefits of ultrasound pregnancy scanning, I purchased the latest linear equipment, undertook training and established MJA Cattle Scan.

Recent drought conditions across many pastoral areas have again demonstrated the importance of cattle ultrasound pregnancy scanning as a drought management tool. The ability to identify early non pregnant females allows producers to make informed decisions for herd reduction.

If you would like more informaiton on any aspect of ultrasound pregnancy scanning, including costs and benefits please feel free to phone or email me.

Once again, thank you for visiting the MJA Cattle Scan website.

Mark Adams