Nutrition is one element of dairy management that can have a profound effect on the cow’s ability to conceive. Many key components of the ration – like energy levels – directly impact the dairy cow’s ability to become pregnant.

A decade ago, the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Dairy 2007 study showed the average voluntary waiting period (VWP) on U.S. dairy farms was 54.8 days in milk and did not differ by herd size.

The last 80 years have seen great innovations in the field of assisted reproductive technologies, which has rendered farmers and their agricultural businesses more efficient and more profitable.

No matter what, there is almost always a group of cows that don’t conceive on the first attempt. They are inseminated, but within a month or two, they have either required another insemination or unexpectedly turn up open. What is going on?

Reaching breeding size sooner. Improving conception rates with fewer services. Achieving an earlier age at first calving. Healthier first-calf heifers and calves. Don’t you want it all on your farm?

If they say two are better than one, how great are three? One California dairy has found success putting three breeds into one cow to reach their goals for a more profitable and efficient herd.

Eliminating horns has long been part of basic herd management, but the economic value, practicality and acceptability of traditional horn removal practices is in question. A recent analysis compares the cost of dehorning with breeding for naturally hornless cattle.

Reproductive management is a game of averages. Different strategies for getting pregnancy established in dairy cows encompass a range of targets for timing artificial insemination (A.I.). Some are precise, aiming for the ideal timing. Others are broader and simply aim for an acceptable average. Most approaches result in pregnancies, but in some cases there remains opportunity for improvement and economical gain.

Achieving a heat detection rate between 68 and 75 percent, conception rate as high as 40 to 48 percent and a pregnancy rate range between 30 and 37 percent is attainable, and top dairy herds out there are doing it.

Intense genetic selection can have an unintended side effect – the loss of genetic diversity.