The onset of estrus in dairy cattle is accompanied by changes in physiological activity, rumination and feeding behavior. These alterations can be monitored via direct observation or through the use of automatic sensors to identify deviations associated with estrus, subclinical illness or lameness.

In a dairy herd, efficiency and profitability can be achieved or lost depending on the successful balance between production and reproduction. Better reproductive performance benefits the herd directly by decreasing the days open and the average days in milk (DIM), placing cows closer to peak than to late lactation in their curve, and consequently producing more milk per cow per day.

I’m a cop show fanatic – NCIS, NCIS: LA, NCIS: NOLA, Castle, Hawaii 5-0, CSI. You name it, I watch it. When I was recently asked to write in Progressive Dairyman’s “I Belong To” segment, one of the questions was: If you were not a veterinarian, what would you be?

The reasons for seeking optimal reproductive results in your dairy herd are many. However, given the current dairy economic climate, the financial consequences of poor reproductive performance are even more top-of-mind for most dairy farmers.

For years, 50 to 60 days has been branded as the ideal length of time between calving and first service, but a recent study is looking at how giving dairy cows closer to 90 days before breeding could impact reproductive performance, and the results may surprise you.

Consider the scenario of a cow leaving the milking herd. Culling a cow can sometimes be a good situation when she is sold for reasons like poor production, fertility issues, health challenges or overstocked pens, thus allowing your best cows to thrive. But what about when a cow leaves the milking herd because she died?

The use of polled genetics can be a “kill two birds with one stone” solution for dairy producers: It can relieve the onerous management task of dehorning calves and can also ease consumer concerns about a problematic animal welfare issue.

Good luck in business is financial strategy in disguise. The most successful business owners have a financial game plan. Talent and hard work can only take a business so far.

Properly identifying uterine diseases like metritis and developing effective treatment protocols can be a bit of a challenge for dairy farmers and their management teams.