The science surrounding A.I. programs has advanced tremendously over the past five years. Despite all this advancement in science, getting cows pregnant is still primarily in the hands of your breeders. I wrote an article in El Lechero describing the effort and attitude required for breeders to “get one more additional cow pregnant each day that they breed.” I called it the “art” of getting cows pregnant. Individual breeder attitude, focus, attention to detail and cowside confidence are intangibles that I see make the difference between breeders that get average results compared to the best performers. Your influence is necessary to focus your breeders. They may not need to understand all the details of your Ovsynch program, but they need to know enough to work to the detail necessary to ensure theirs and your success. I suggest you channel your management energy in two areas to maximize fertility results on your dairy through your breeders.

Management and environmental factors account for about 96 percent of fertility variation in a dairy operation. Our challenge is what are those factors affecting fertility, and how do we help improve them? The answer to this question is too broad to summarize in this article, as it includes facilities, nutrition, overcrowding, semen handling, A.I. technique, etc. In this article, I will summarize challenging issues that are frequently found on U.S. dairy operations while conducting on-farm visits.

Click the link below to download a two-page pdf of the August 2010 A.I. Tables http://www.progressivedairy.com/downloads/2010/1310pd/1310pd_ai_tables.pdf

TRENDING TOPIC ARTICLE: A.I. & BREEDING Published: September 1, 2010 print issue of Progressive Dairyman In this past article, Nate Zwald and Gerbrand van Burgsteden of Alta Genetics highlighted the benefits of genomics and the data to back it up. Scroll down or to jump to the article.

After a six-year endeavor, the Bovine Genome Project was completed in 2009 through the efforts of over 300 scientists from 25 countries. A female Hereford cow served as the genetic source for the project, and her genome was compared with that of other cattle breeds. The researchers determined that the bovine genome consists of three billion base pairs and 22,000 genes.

The 2009 dairy industry crisis caused everyone to re-think previously held dogmas, analyze all inputs for value and return on investment and seek alternatives to business as usual. When I started in a veterinary practice in June 2009, one of the clients I inherited was struggling as everyone else and even remarked, “You picked a heck of a time to start in this business.” Thus began my challenge to improve dairy profitability during tough economic times. One area of focus was reproductive performance.

I have had the privilege to visit dairy herds which consistently achieve high milk production and excellent reproductive performance. Some major common characteristics among these herds are: 1. Commitment to maintaining a high heat detection rate or submission rate to first service. The strategies to accomplish this vary among herds but include one or more of the following systems: