“Change is easy. Transition is hard. Are you open to surrounding yourself with people who have the best knowledge and listening to them?” Nancy Charlton of DeLaval asked listeners of the “Capitalizing on robotics to enhance animal health and reproduction” panel at the 2023 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council annual meeting.

A productive cow isn’t always a profitable cow. A profitable cow performs in milk volume and quality, breeds back quickly and experiences few health events.

Beef embryos are becoming a part of many dairies' targeted reproductive programs, use of these embryos results in a higher value calf and can help improve reproductive performance during the heat of summer. In today’s episode, we will visit with Skylar Gericke of Triple G Dairy in Buckeye, Arizona, about his experience using HerdFlex beef embryos.

“I used to raise a lot of heifers just because it was cheap to raise them and if one didn’t work out, there were others to replace her,” Souza says. “That doesn’t work anymore. You have to be very intentional with the heifers you choose to raise.”

Reproduction management plays a critical role in any dairy. The ability to monitor, detect and act quickly when heat is detected significantly impacts herd performance. 

It is often said that there is never just one diet that is fed to a group of dairy cows. There is the formulated diet on paper, the mixed diet in the bunk and the diet the cows eat.

Dairy producers must realize that improving first-service conception rates to 45%-60% is possible. This goal takes a multifaceted approach that starts in dry and transition phases and leans on superb management practices.

Reproductive success is more than just maintaining a good protocol and catching heats. At Horning Farms LLC of Manchester, Michigan, diet, environment and an activity monitoring system contribute to a 48% conception rate.

When thinking about lactation length and milk production, one aspect to consider is maximizing the returns to your most fixed resource on the farm. Is your most fixed resource the cow or the stall she occupies?