Discloses a method of identifying a cow that is receptive to embryo transfer, the method comprising the steps of: a) synchronising the oestrous cycles of two or more cows in a population； b) identifying a subpopulation of cows which are not in heat or which do not 5 show outward signs of heat, from the population； c) testing at least one cow from the subpopulation identified in step (b) for the presence or absence of a corpus luteum； d) identifying a cow that has a corpus luteum based upon that testing； and e) transferring an embryo to the cow identified as having a corpus luteum, and 10 testing the cow for pregnancy, where a positive pregnancy test indicates the cow&rsquo；s receptivity to embryo transfer. Further discloses related methods for decreasing the number of cows killed from a herd by selecting a subpopulation receptive to embryo transfer, and a method for maximising the number of cows selected from a herd to be recipients for embryo transfer.
