The concept of developmental programming states that the function of an adult animal depends on environmental conditions to which it was exposed to before birth. Developmental programming can occur in the preimplantation period. Accordingly, certain environmental signals, acting either on the mother (for pregnancies established in vivo) or on the embryo directly (for cultured embryos), can program development of the preimplantation embryo to have effects on postnatal life. It is proposed that research on developmental programming in cattle could lead not only to elimination of adverse outcomes associated with in vitro production of embryos but also to discovery of approaches to produce a neonatal animal with superior prospects for achieving optimal production later in life.