Over the past decade, the use of reproductive and genetic technologies has increased in dairy herds across Canada. The evolution of electronic activity monitoring and timed artificial insemination (A.I.) protocols has impacted the overall reproductive performance of the Canadian dairy herd.

Over the past decade, reproductive tools used to get cows pregnant have evolved tremendously. Automated activity monitoring technology has developed to deliver accurate detection of heats.

With more herds achieving outstanding milk yields, more questions are raised about how these high yields impact reproductive performance. If your herd is achieving a high milk yield average per cow, do you need to change the way you manage your cows reproductively?

Automated activity monitoring systems are now the backbone of many herd reproductive management systems. This technology is helping herds achieve reproductive results that seemed impossible only a decade ago.

Automated activity monitoring systems are now the backbone of many herd reproductive management systems. This technology is helping herds achieve reproductive results that seemed impossible only a decade ago.

After nearly a decade of being widely available to dairy producers, sexed semen is now commonly used across the country. What is interesting about sexed semen, however, is the various ways and reasons it is being used, and it isn’t just about making more heifers.

After nearly a decade of being widely available to dairy producers, sexed semen is now commonly used across the country. What is interesting about sexed semen, however, is the various ways and reasons it is being used, and it isn’t just about making more heifers. When deployed as part of a greater genetic strategy, sexed semen will open up new opportunities and change the way you manage your herd.

Five years ago, it felt like there was a ceiling on reproductive performance in the lactating herd. Once top-performing herds got to the 24 to 26 percent annual pregnancy rate level, there was no room to grow. Higher annual pregnancy rates were not sustainable or economical for long periods of time.

CanWest DHI has been producing an annual reproduction benchmarking report for its customers for the past five years. Nearly 75 percent of herds on test contribute reproductive data used for creating these benchmarks.

There are many ways to benchmark your herd’s reproductive performance. But pregnancy rate is the best measurement to use when it comes to getting a sense of how well your whole herd is doing.